What's my style

Mood board inspiration for my bedroom redesign. Inspired by the movie Amelie.

I was listening to one of my favorite podcast's, "After the Jump" and it was an interview with interior designer Jon Call.

I was struck by one of Grace Bonney's questions to Jon Call- "Go to recipes- what are some of the things you go to over and over again?...like I love going to a grey paint or using wallpaper in this type of room. Are there any things you go back to over and over? Or not."

His response- "It's funny there are a few. but I learned recently when you meet the buddha kill the buddha. It's a philosophy of once you start believing something too much you have to rid yourself of it before it becomes a crutch...I have found I do return to certain things..."

That made me wonder, what are the things that I return to again and again? Going back to high school and college-meh. I didn't really carry anything over from that time period, except for the Victorian secretary desk I inherited. 

I would say that my style has changed quite a bit as I've grown older. I have always been drawn to vintage items because I love things that have a story and some history. In the past I leaned a bit more to a kitschy style. Now I would say I have a modern eclectic style. I took some of the kitsch tendencies and cleaned it up a bit. 

I have a couple of things that I want to paint in the house and I pulled out the folder that I keep all of my paint samples and fabric scraps in. Some of these date back almost fifteen years. That is when I started laughing at myself.

The center color sample are colors I picked almost ten years ago. The top are the colors I picked more recently. Hmm. They seem kind of similar. There are a couple of constants. I like orange, but it is a very dark orange that complements well with burgundy.

I admit I have a thing for grey. There are so many shades of grey, but I like a very particular grey. I know this because I picked the exact same color sample of grey in 2011 and 2014. That was a little crazy. 

Except for colors I think my design is now made up of the things that I am drawn to, but I use a much lighter touch when decorating. I've learned to edit and say no. 

What things do you find yourself drawn to time and time again? 

Originally published 3/22/14