So theres this house…
So there's this house in Chester that I walk by with Marty every morning. From the street, it doesn't necessarily stand out as it's close to the road, has no yard and is painted white cedar shake like almost all of the homes in our seaside village. But, every once in a while when the sun is bright, I can see through the windows. And yes, I am that girl who peers into windows as I'm walking by, not to be nosey about the people, but to see how the house is designed and what original features remain since many of our homes are century homes.
The thing about this Home in particular is that it has this window bench. If you've been following us for a long time you know I have an absolute love for window benches and they were my favourite places in our old house. We don't have any in this home and it's one of those things that we are really wanting to add one day. So that is what originally caught my eye.
OK back to the inside of this house without being a creeper. From what I can see on quick glances every day, it is decorated very token Chester with large comfortable white slip covered furniture, a creamy white wall, and wall treatments. In another window you can see wicker chairs. And through to the other side of the House you can sometimes see the dining room in which my dream chandelier hangs. It is the epitome of coastal collected style here on the East Coast with a massive Nancy Meyers flex.
So why am I telling you about this? Because the style that this house seems to possess in the quick glances in it's windows, is the style that made me fall in love with decor. Now if you go back into my feed you will see that our interior style has shifted many different ways depending on trends as most people's homes do. We went through a huge farmhouse era, a huge black and white era, and now are getting our feet around our true style which is collected with an English cottage feel. And I love every decision I have made in our home, it suits the stage of life we are in with three messy kids and a puppy. But this house has taken me a back. It has reminded me that we don't have to have a jewel box of a home that packs a punch for Instagram. A simple white wall with beautiful antiques and relaxed materials can create a warmth just the same.
As someone who's business relies on Instagram's growth, I find myself pushing boundaries with my design style. And sometimes it ends up feeling like I am mixing up appreciating a type of interior style, with actually knowing in my soul that it is MY interior style. The funniest part of this is I preached this to my design clients. When they come to me with a plethora of different styles in their inspiration photos for a space, I have to really quiz them on what it is in each space that they are drawn to. You can appreciate a style and absolutely love it to look at, but not need it to be for you in your home. I feel this way with so many styles.
So I feel like this blog post today is to remind you of your core loves for design. Cancel out all of the social media platforms that feed you what is trending now. Subtract all of the design books and magazines you've ever looked at. Sit and think about if you won $2 million tomorrow and purchased a home with it completely designed in your epitome of your personal style, what would THAT look like?
I'm here to say mine would probably be boring beige and white. It would have the big oversized white slipcovered furniture. It would have warm original flooring. There would be tons of textured walls. And there would be the perfect amount of coastal elements like wicker, sailboats, etc. So let's strip things back to basics, to the ideas that you've come up with and you truly love for the rest of 2024.
Katie-Rose
