Decorating By Feel
I decorate a lot by feel. While I’m completely a visual person and I’m always looking at inspirational images, often it’s more of a feel of a space that intrigues me more than what it looks like.
This is a great example of what I’m talking about:
While this room is much more traditional than my style, the feeling I get from it is exactly I would like to re-create in our living room: on the formal side but also warm, inviting and relaxed. In other words, I want my living room to feel like this even if it doesn’t look like this. Do you know what I mean?
I’ve been thinking about this idea a lot so you may see some more posts on it over the next few weeks.
Thank you for all of your visits and comments this week. Have a great weekend!
(Photo: MyHomeIdeas)
I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been dreaming of re decorating our living room. It’s now too stuffy and not relaxed. I want to be able to live in it and not showcase it. A room should feel comfortable, whether modern or traditional.
Have a great weekend
I love this idea. When I’m drawn to a style of decor not usually my own, I often realize that it’s the “feel” I identify with. I especially find this when looking at older European homes. It’s not the stuffy patterns or the gilding that moves me; it’s the feeling of spaces worn over time, gradually decorated rather than staged in a phony way and the charming and homey dissonance that sometimes arises that I love. I can’t wait to read more on this topic here!
I agree, rooms evoke feelings. I love when a room evolves and doesn’t look like it all showed up on the same day too.
xo,
cristin
I know what you mean. A room should feel comfy and personal. There is a quote that I love. It’s from Vicente Wolfs’s first book “Learning to See”: “Absorb everything in your environment. Put yourself in places that open up your senses. Creativity comes from a place deep inside you. Follow your instincts, and you will find what you need.” Have a great weekend!
I totally get that!
Love this post–and I know what you mean….have a great weekend!
yes! I am re-doing our masterbath and I was showing someone my inspiration photo-files when I said, ‘this is how I want it to FEEL.’
Jane: We’re on the exact same wavelength. In most cases, it is older homes that move me as well. I’m glad this topic is of interest to you and look forward to continuing the discussion.
Design Elements: Thanks for sharing that quote. It’s definitely food for thought.
I know exactly what you mean! The image you chose is a great example. I have shown pictures to my husband and said ” I want the room to feel like this” and he has said something like ” Well, I don’t like that green chair” or something to that effect, and I just throw up my hands in exasperation! Silly guy, it’s not about the specific chair! Best of luck with your living room!
you’re so right! i’m so attracted to such a wide range of styles, and i think it’s for that very reason. i look at some of the images i post — and i LOVE them — but my own space has to feel lived-in and totally ME. which, hopefully, people see when they visit.
and on a creepster level, my hubs and i are looking at a house tomorrow in the neighborhood i grew up in. it was like a light went off when i realized how much i loved the style of the house…before i acknowledged that it was familiar. i think that plays a big part, too; what you’ve seen along the way.
love how thoughtful you are about design. keeps me coming back
love it all… and bits are always better than a showroom…
hope you are doing great my friend… xoxo
I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want my transformed living room to feel. We have sold/are selling all of the Victorian and replacing it, terrifyingly, with modern furniture. I’m VERY VERY excited – it’s such a style departure for me. At the end of the day though, we have a toddler & another baby on the way – I don’t like a home to be taken over by toys or baby paraphenalia, but the fact that there are tiny children *does* have to be taken into account with decisions about furniture, accessories etc.
I know what you mean. Comfortable and stylish at the same time. You do not want to live in a museum. Have a great weekend!
Amy R.
Wonderful topic. The way we want it to feel … IS the issue, but often much harder to achieve “the feel” without the accompanying architecture!!
This is exactly what I’m trying to achieve, too. Nice to see I’m not alone
I am positively 100% a “feeling” decorator. Last night my husband was befuddled when I said that our bathroom floor didn’t “feel right.” I think he thought I was speaking about the tactile aspect, because he tapped his foot around on the floor to test it!
I completely know what you mean, Ally! Whether I like a house or not is completely by “Feel”… when we used to look at houses for sale, we would determine whether it was a possibility by the fact that it had to have a “feel” to it… my Mom and I talk about this quite often. It’s amazing how our senses and memories can guide how we experience a space. I see this one above, and I am instantly warm. It feels grand, yet very inviting — the very combination, in my opinion. Love it!
Hope you are having a great weekend, my friend,
xoxo
Absolutely! It’s kind of a matter of the sum equalling more than its parts. Nothing better than when you get a mood right, and you know you, or your clients, will truly feel at home in a space…
Such a great point….A room is first and foremost about the feel. I like so many different styles of interiors that sometimes I get confused, yet….I am realising more and more that it is the ambience that I am attracted to more than the objects….xv
I’m right there with you. I love the feel of this room too. Our first impression of a room or a space is always the “feeling” that overcomes us – not the individual pieces or style, but the true nature of the space. I think it is the singular most important thing about a space: the Feel.
I love this post!!
it’s very interesting you bringing the subject up, as this is what I’ve been debating with myself for a month (and reason why I quit my fancy job in interior architecture). I love styling, or decorating, interiors. It is like dancing. you understand the brief and perform the way you feel inside, your director (client) comes to you because he knows you’re the right person to perform that. it’s a beautiful job… Well, I think I’m being too poetic in here, but basically what I want to say is that styling / decorating interiors is something that you feel, as you do Ally
Great comment Design Elements.
This is perfect. It helps explain why my style is allll over the place. I like the feeling of beachy decor, but also the look of more traditional rooms that hold some memories and substance. It’s gonna be tricky when I finally get a home and have to decorate!
It’s so thick, so layered…which is such a trick, I think.
I, too, had a reaction to this one even though it’s totally not my style! Very cool. Thank you for that!
Yup, I know what you mean. The trick is figuring out what about the room made it feel right.