My style is “Suburban”

So I’ve noticed something lately when watching my favorite design shows. There is one word that seems to strike fear in the heart of many a “real” decorator…

Their mouth puckers up like they just drank lemon juice.

They look like they just swallowed a bug.

They look as if they may just spit out the word…cause it’s just so completely hideous.

That word that makes them quiver…

 

SUBURBAN

 

(Runs screaming from the computer. Arms flailing. Trembling. Hives.)

But I don’t get it. Never have. I don’t understand what’s so bad about “suburban.”

I know, I know. It means normal…average…just like the next one.

To them anyway. To me it means warm…cozy…it can even be classic.

And, YES, normal.

What’s wrong with normal? Normal can most certainly be pretty. Warm can definitely be different. Cozy can be innovative once and a while.

But to me, more than anything…”suburban” means

A FAMILY LIVES HERE

Why is that so horrible? 

For years I’ve tried to figure out my own decorating style, and I’ve never really nailed it down. I’m really traditional, a little bit transitional.

But then I heard that “suburban” word one more time a couple of weeks ago, and I realized…that’s ME! My style is Suburban.

And I’m proud of it.

BoooooYAH.

Really. I’ll scream it from the roof of my suburban home. My suburban home in a neighborhood.

In Suburbia.

I love Suburban. It’s home.

To me, it’s family and friends plopping down on your couch, getting something out of your fridge, sitting around your kitchen table playing yuker.

Yeah, I said it. Yuker. I’m a Hoosier. Darn tootin’.

Although I usually just sit and watch…I won’t take the time to really learn how to play it. Which is probably a good thing because I am NOT a good loser.

It’s not pretty. :)

And yes, I know it’s spelled euchre. I’m being a Hoosier. Funny. Get it? :)

I found the definition of Suburban online, just because I was curious:

sub·ur·ban (sə-bûrˈbən)

adjective

1. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a suburb. (Check.)
   2. Located or residing in a suburb. (Check.)
   3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the culture, customs, and manners typical of life in the suburbs. (Check. Check. Check.)

We dream of having a weekend apartment in New York City someday.

And a mountain cabin…someday.

And one day…maybe moving to a house that’s not in a neighborhood, one that’s older than ten years old, on some land with a creek in the back. (Or crick, if you’re a Hoosier.)

You know – the kind of house that’s more than 30 feet from the road? Yeah. One of those.  :)

But any one of those would still be decorated in my Suburban style. Warm and cozy, cozy and warm…and normal. In my way, normal.

My normal is not your normal, which is why Suburban could never be average. Just in the same way one person’s contemporary isn’t another person’s contemporary. Styles are translated differently by all of us.

And every style can be comfortable and welcoming. Contemporary can most definitely scream A FAMILY LIVES HERE…but that doesn’t make it boring. 

My style is Suburban and I am not ashamed.

What’s yours?  :)

Welcome to my latest advertiser!:

My style is “Suburban”

So I’ve noticed something lately when watching my favorite design shows. There is one word that seems to strike fear in the heart of many a “real” decorator…

Their mouth puckers up like they just drank lemon juice.

They look like they just swallowed a bug.

They look as if they may just spit out the word…cause it’s just so completely hideous.

That word that makes them quiver…

 

SUBURBAN

 

(Runs screaming from the computer. Arms flailing. Trembling. Hives.)

But I don’t get it. Never have. I don’t understand what’s so bad about “suburban.”

I know, I know. It means normal…average…just like the next one.

To them anyway. To me it means warm…cozy…it can even be classic.

And, YES, normal.

What’s wrong with normal? Normal can most certainly be pretty. Warm can definitely be different. Cozy can be innovative once and a while.

But to me, more than anything…”suburban” means

A FAMILY LIVES HERE

Why is that so horrible? 

For years I’ve tried to figure out my own decorating style, and I’ve never really nailed it down. I’m really traditional, a little bit transitional.

But then I heard that “suburban” word one more time a couple of weeks ago, and I realized…that’s ME! My style is Suburban.

And I’m proud of it.

BoooooYAH.

Really. I’ll scream it from the roof of my suburban home. My suburban home in a neighborhood.

In Suburbia.

I love Suburban. It’s home.

To me, it’s family and friends plopping down on your couch, getting something out of your fridge, sitting around your kitchen table playing yuker.

Yeah, I said it. Yuker. I’m a Hoosier. Darn tootin’.

Although I usually just sit and watch…I won’t take the time to really learn how to play it. Which is probably a good thing because I am NOT a good loser.

It’s not pretty. :)

And yes, I know it’s spelled euchre. I’m being a Hoosier. Funny. Get it? :)

I found the definition of Suburban online, just because I was curious:

sub·ur·ban (sə-bûrˈbən)

adjective

1. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a suburb. (Check.)
   2. Located or residing in a suburb. (Check.)
   3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the culture, customs, and manners typical of life in the suburbs. (Check. Check. Check.)

We dream of having a weekend apartment in New York City someday.

And a mountain cabin…someday.

And one day…maybe moving to a house that’s not in a neighborhood, one that’s older than ten years old, on some land with a creek in the back. (Or crick, if you’re a Hoosier.)

You know – the kind of house that’s more than 30 feet from the road? Yeah. One of those.  :)

But any one of those would still be decorated in my Suburban style. Warm and cozy, cozy and warm…and normal. In my way, normal.

My normal is not your normal, which is why Suburban could never be average. Just in the same way one person’s contemporary isn’t another person’s contemporary. Styles are translated differently by all of us.

And every style can be comfortable and welcoming. Contemporary can most definitely scream A FAMILY LIVES HERE…but that doesn’t make it boring. 

My style is Suburban and I am not ashamed.

What’s yours?  :)

Welcome to my latest advertiser!:

You know it's bad when...

... you pull in the driveway and see your kid's tricycle and consider painting it. 

Or even getting another for Christmas...  

We found Christian's tricycle in the trash by the side of the road a couple of years ago (yes, I pick from the trash) and it's missing that cool thing in the back where we could have pushed him so it didn't get much use until he learned to pedal it on his own.  The colors are totally faded but the fact remains that it works and he loves it.   It's now parked in the front of the driveway (which is in front of our house) because he uses it so much and I have to be honest, it's irking me.  Not driving me crazy by any means, but every time I pull into the driveway and wonder if I should just spray paint the thing black or something, anything to get rid of the faded plastic and blue that just stands out like a sore thumb to me.  As much as I would love to say we could put it away in the shed every night, I know we won't.  Life just isn't like that for us right now.  

I know this is one of those things to let go, but it has my OCD-design head twitching.

We also have a toddler plastic slide/ gym thingy in our back yard...  it too makes me a little nutty and I can't wait to replace it.  

I know toys will be part of our lives for a while now...  and I have to say that I'm so much less bothered by the classic toys than the new plastic ones.  It's crazy that I care but seriously, I'm so much more okay with a bunch of cute little wooden cars on the ground than a bunch of plastic ones...

{Christian's trucks}

We try to limit the toys coming into our house...  When new stuff comes in, something else leaves.  There just isn't room and we don't want our kids to have a million toys they never use.  If something's not getting played with enough, we put it away and take it out a few months later. 

I know I sound like a freak.  What are your thoughts?   (Not on my freakishness, on toys ;)  And, any tips for spray painting a plastic bike?   Maybe just the blue parts???

 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

A fall mantel

Hello there! Well, the bins of fall decor have finally been pulled up the stairs, and I’m a little shocked at how much beady/leafy/pine coney stuff I’ve accumulated over the years.

I mean, I lurve me some beady stuff, but it’s a little much. :)

I set to work on the family room mantel today and started out putting it together like years past, but quickly realized I quite liked the way I had it decorated already…so I just decided to make some fallish changes and I LOVE it!

I especially love that it only took about 20 minutes and stuff I already had.

I started with some long, branchy, beady thangs I found deep in a storage bin…I don’t even remember buying them. :) I love finding surprises from the previous year! How fun is that?

I piled four of them up across the front of the mantel and fluffed. And fluffed. And fluffed some more:

I love that their twisted branches look so real.

Well, as real as branches with squishy foam beads can look:

:)

Instead of adding a ton of candles across the mantel like I’ve done in the past, I just changed out the cream candles for some in warmer tones:

The warm, fall-inspired candlesticks work perfectly!

I filled the cloche with some fall fillers, but when I stood back, it was looking a bit too busy. So I grabbed a candle stand, perched a twiggy pumpkin on top, and tied a ribbon around the base instead:

I love how the pumpkin ties in the texture of the large rattan platter in the back -- that platter stays up there throughout almost every season because it’s so honkin’ big and fills up the space perfectly.

I was determined to use what I have, and I realized this week I had PLENTY to use. ;)

I’m really pleased with how it turned out!:

I’m not sure where I got the beady stuff last year, but I’m willing to bet it was Hobby Lobby. I’m obsessed with the Hob Lob. The huge gourd was from Michael’s last month – I think $10? The twig pumpkin was a Goodwill find this summer ($1.99!) and the cream ceramic candle stand is from Target (they still have them in the Smith and Hawken section.)

I’ve mentioned before this corner mantel has been a thorn in my decorating side – it’s much deeper than a normal one and not nearly as wide. It’s a bit challenging to make it work, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.

It only took six years. :)

I love that I’m able to layer decor a bit more with a mantel like this:

Of course, I especially love it at night…lit candles make just about anything look lovely!:

There you have it! My fall mantel –- using what was already there, amped up with fall colors and fluffy beady stuff. You can’t go wrong with beady, seriously.

Have you started fall decorating? Are you feelin’ it yet? Just as I start to get in the fall mood…it’s supposed to get in the 80’s here again this week.

GAH!! Bring on October!! :) (I’ll be putting up the Halloween mantel before I know it!)

**I’m linking this up to Nester’s mantel party and Julia’s fall decorating party!

A fall mantel

Hello there! Well, the bins of fall decor have finally been pulled up the stairs, and I’m a little shocked at how much beady/leafy/pine coney stuff I’ve accumulated over the years.

I mean, I lurve me some beady stuff, but it’s a little much. :)

I set to work on the family room mantel today and started out putting it together like years past, but quickly realized I quite liked the way I had it decorated already…so I just decided to make some fallish changes and I LOVE it!

I especially love that it only took about 20 minutes and stuff I already had.

I started with some long, branchy, beady thangs I found deep in a storage bin…I don’t even remember buying them. :) I love finding surprises from the previous year! How fun is that?

I piled four of them up across the front of the mantel and fluffed. And fluffed. And fluffed some more:

I love that their twisted branches look so real.

Well, as real as branches with squishy foam beads can look:

:)

Instead of adding a ton of candles across the mantel like I’ve done in the past, I just changed out the cream candles for some in warmer tones:

The warm, fall-inspired candlesticks work perfectly!

I filled the cloche with some fall fillers, but when I stood back, it was looking a bit too busy. So I grabbed a candle stand, perched a twiggy pumpkin on top, and tied a ribbon around the base instead:

I love how the pumpkin ties in the texture of the large rattan platter in the back -- that platter stays up there throughout almost every season because it’s so honkin’ big and fills up the space perfectly.

I was determined to use what I have, and I realized this week I had PLENTY to use. ;)

I’m really pleased with how it turned out!:

I’m not sure where I got the beady stuff last year, but I’m willing to bet it was Hobby Lobby. I’m obsessed with the Hob Lob. The huge gourd was from Michael’s last month – I think $10? The twig pumpkin was a Goodwill find this summer ($1.99!) and the cream ceramic candle stand is from Target (they still have them in the Smith and Hawken section.)

I’ve mentioned before this corner mantel has been a thorn in my decorating side – it’s much deeper than a normal one and not nearly as wide. It’s a bit challenging to make it work, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.

It only took six years. :)

I love that I’m able to layer decor a bit more with a mantel like this:

Of course, I especially love it at night…lit candles make just about anything look lovely!:

There you have it! My fall mantel –- using what was already there, amped up with fall colors and fluffy beady stuff. You can’t go wrong with beady, seriously.

Have you started fall decorating? Are you feelin’ it yet? Just as I start to get in the fall mood…it’s supposed to get in the 80’s here again this week.

GAH!! Bring on October!! :) (I’ll be putting up the Halloween mantel before I know it!)

**I’m linking this up to Nester’s mantel party and Julia’s fall decorating party!

Cómo hacer una vereda de jardín para su casa

Pavimentos

Este breve tutorial le explica el proceso de construcción de las veredas de jardín para los alrededores de su hogar y de esta manera disfrutar de su jardín sin pisarlo. Los pavimentos exteriores sirven también para definir la arquitectura de la casa y los jardines le dan marco a la vez.

Por más información sobre pisos para la casa siga el vínculo, hay una lista de posteos relevantes que podrá revisar en forma ordenada.

Construcción de vereda con ladrillos

Las características de durabilidad y estética en las veredas de su casa son aspectos a tener en cuenta. Si bien la construcción de veredas y patios no es una tarea difícil, puede ser bastante lenta dependiendo del tamaño de laa vereda a construir. Cuando se van a instalar ladrillos para caminar sobre ellos hay que usar ladrillos de calidad. Estos ladrillos son adecuados para una gran variedad de condiciones climáticas y muy duraderos al desgaste.
Leer más de este posteo

Cómo hacer una vereda de jardín para su casa

Pavimentos

Este breve tutorial le explica el proceso de construcción de las veredas de jardín para los alrededores de su hogar y de esta manera disfrutar de su jardín sin pisarlo. Los pavimentos exteriores sirven también para definir la arquitectura de la casa y los jardines le dan marco a la vez.

Por más información sobre pisos para la casa siga el vínculo, hay una lista de posteos relevantes que podrá revisar en forma ordenada.

Construcción de vereda con ladrillos

Las características de durabilidad y estética en las veredas de su casa son aspectos a tener en cuenta. Si bien la construcción de veredas y patios no es una tarea difícil, puede ser bastante lenta dependiendo del tamaño de laa vereda a construir. Cuando se van a instalar ladrillos para caminar sobre ellos hay que usar ladrillos de calidad. Estos ladrillos son adecuados para una gran variedad de condiciones climáticas y muy duraderos al desgaste.
Leer más de este posteo

My mom's birthday

My mom's birthday was this past weekend so we decided to do dinner at our place.  The weather was perfect and we moved the massive harvest table Dave made out of old barn wood to the center of our back yard:

{sorry about the pics but something funny was going on}

It is insanely heavy and won't be moving anywhere for a good long while...  my back still feels it.

I added pumkins & gourds and eucalyptus & hydrangeas to give it a Fall vibe even though it was so warm:

I'd never gotten fresh eucalyptus before... Trader Joe's was selling it for $6 and I love how it looks just gathered simply in an urn:

I didn't notice any bugs so I think it definitely helped keep them away.

Here's the birthday girl with Christian and my little sister Morgan (13):

My mom's a special lady.  She's the kind of mom I could always tell anything to...  even my friends would confide in her in high school.  She was a single mom (until she & my stepdad, Tom, got married when I was in 8th grade) but still managed to be super-involved & spend a lot of quality time with me: Girl Scouts, festivals & musicals & plays & events...  She's amazing with advice and rarely judges. 

We've had our battles (oh my gosh would we yell!!) but I think mostly it's because battle alike:  get it out and get over it.  (No moping or stewing here!)  She's always coming through when I need her: babysitting, food, help at home, advice and also those "mom" hugs.  We're very alike but very different.   She's lower-key than me, yet supported me going into a creative field/ being self-employed even though it's not something she would ever do and scared her when I started because she understood me.  She had my sister late in life but still manages to be as involved in her life as she was in mine  (if not more so!! :)   I love her so much and she is one of the few people I actually lean upon.   

Here's my gorgeous cousin Jen who just got engaged & will be getting married in Puerto Rico next summer!!  (I'm her maid of honor ;) ;)

And my mom informed me it was time to pull up the carrots Christian & I planted back in March.  (Um yeah, I really know nothing about growing veggies -or anything for that matter- and thought that the time was right to pull them up when they were long like you see at the grocery store.)  So as we all enjoyed some cider (I'm a huge fan of woodchuck haha) and some hummus & pita chips, Christian and I pulled up the carrots:

And they really reminded me of those screaming baby-root things from Harry Potter (mandrakes)... especially the double ones:

(Justin enjoyed the food too as you can see from the bits on his face}

I didn't get any pictures of the food (besides that beautiful bag of pita chips) but we did grilled tilapia and shish kabobs with rice & salad.  We ate just as it got dark & there's something so awesome about eating outside with candlelight.

We finished up with s'mores by the fire where I proceeded to fall asleep. 

And that's a good night for me.  Most of our meals are "normal" and don't include special flowers or table settings and I know I couldn't handle this on a nightly basis, but I would like to do a pretty/ special table at least once a week.  It encourages lingering and laughing and talking on & on.  That's interesting to me...  that our environments really do affect our experiences.  Check out my friend Seleta's recent post to see the gorgeous table setting she created last week with her kids' help. 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

If you have a pretty table setting you'd like to share, feel free to link up!!