Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Decorating Process

So, okay. I get asked by a lot of people for help decorating (which I love doing) but I don't think it's that difficult once you break it down. I honestly think the hardest part is getting started. From there, it's basically as tricky as copying. Yep. I am a big fat copier. So is every other decorator out there. There is nothing new under the sun, so let's just get that out of the way now.

There is no need to feel bad about not being original. Most people cannot just come up with inspiration out of the recesses of their brains. You know the expression that the best writers are great readers? Same idea. We get inspired by others, who were inspired by others. I used to feel like I wasn't good at what I love because I wasn't coming up with my own ideas. Silliness. There is no room for feeling inferior here. Decorating should be fun!

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let's break down this process.


I am going to use my kitchen as an example since that's what I am currently working on.


First, gather inspiration. You can browse Pinterest, magazines, books, blogs, or even Google images. I use all of those mediums for inspiration, but my favorite is still Pinterest. So for my kitchen, I just typed "kitchen" into a Pinterest search. Any image that made me stop to look at it, I would Pin it to a kitchen board.



Once I pinned several images, I began to see a pattern; I really love white kitchens the most. Every image I pinned had white cabinets. So I searched white kitchens. With each step, I would discover more of my taste and narrow even further to discover exactly what I want in our house. Through this process, I discovered I really loved the farmhouse style, so I searched that:



That search brought up some of my favorite kitchens ever. Like, as in, I clutched my hands to my heart and sighed and I am pretty sure I turned into that emoji with the heart eyes. You know, the images I couldn't get out of my mind and just kept thinking, "If I had THAT kitchen...... *sigh*". I think you guys know what I'm talking about.







All 3 above are Skies of Parchment


All of these kitchens are pretty similar. I picked out the common elements I *loved* and I am incorporating them into my own kitchen.

-White cabinets
-Beadboard backsplash
-Warm wood tones
-Open/glass cabinet doors
-Farmhouse style sink (more on this in a second)
-Bridge faucet
-Dark hardware
-Chandelier style light


After putting my wishlist together, I had to figure out what I could afford to do and what would be practical in my kitchen. I really really wanted a farmhouse style sink, but it wasn't practical for my budget or for the laminate counter tops I currently have. The counters are in good shape and honestly, they aren't my dream counters, but they far from bug me, so they stay. SO, the dream sink and butcher block (wood) counter tops are out, BUT I can make up for it! Instead, we found a HUGE beautiful white cast iron sink and I got my beautiful dream chrome bridge faucet and I LOVE it. Like, a lot. So I am totally cool with the compromise.

I instagrammed this last week as I was priming the cabinets. 
***All the heart eyes***
:)

The biggest change is still an ongoing process. That is the painting of the cabinets. I researched the best paint, process, and products for painting the cabinets, but the biggest obstacle was choosing a color. There are so. many. whites. So many. Like, a crazy amount. Once again, Pinterest to the rescue. I will share that process another day though if you like because picking the right color for any room or project... that is a WHOLE other story. 


So the process of decorating is really just a process of discovering taste, looking at beautiful images, setting a focus, then copy it with a few adjustments here and there. It's really not that scary or complicated to tackle a room makeover once you have a vision and some inspiration! I hope that maybe knowing a little more about my process will help you guys if you have been feeling stuck or frozen on a certain area of your home. Getting started is the trickiest part! Happy decorating, guys! :) 

2 comments:

  1. I am also a big fan of the farmhouse style, but all of that white with grubby little fingers has me terrified!

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    1. Haha I know exactly what you mean, Trish! I have already found a couple smudges from little fingers on the few cabinets that are already finished, but I was very relieved when I wiped it with a rag and it came right off with no issues! A good quality, wipeable paint has helped alleviate my concerns!

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