I was trying to clean up some of the folders on my computer over the weekend and came across some pictures of our last house. Blogging was a foreign concept to me then, and it was funny to see how much my taste/style has changed.
I really did love our last house, but looking back, the decor seems too old for us. I was inspired mainly by model homes (which I kind of loathe now. . . ). This was our family room:
I was definitely into oversized furniture and bought this whole set (sofa, loveseat and chair/ottoman) all at one time, in one place--my first mistake. I actually liked the rug, but just bought the artwork over the sofa because it "matched." (I also had a slight infatuation with sticking large fake trees in every empty corner. . . )
(Recognize the lamps? I sprayed them, replaced the shades and use them in our dining room now.)
And, just for comparison, here's our living room now:
I also found a picture of our old breakfast area:
I may have overdosed on red in this house, which could explain why you'll find little of it in our house now. We ended up selling the iron table and chairs on Craigslist. Apparently, wrought iron isn't kind to little heads who happen to run into it. . . .
In our breakfast area now, we have a much sturdier (kid-friendly) table:
It's amazing how design blogs have changed my concept of what I can and can't use, and how there's really no rules for any of it. From house #1 to house #2, these are some of the things I've learned:
To buy what I like, instead of what I think I should buy for a certain spot.
It's okay to mix styles.
Personal touches make a house a home.
To decorate for our family and how we function instead of just for looks.
Spray paint can make you fall in love with your old stuff all over again.
Fake trees are bad (in almost every scenario).
I'm off to search for some more pictures of our old house. I think I have some of our last bedroom. That should make for a good post. . .
Wow, what a difference!! It is always fun to go down memory lane and look back to see how your style has changed. PS: Love your current style :O)
ReplyDeleteit's fun to see how your style has evolved. for sure love the new living room better!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Fun to see how your style has evolved.
ReplyDeleteThis great on some many levels. Been there too and still trying to edit. Isn't is funny how you can end up with a house full of stuff that you don't really like? Maybe I should dig through my old photos too.
ReplyDeletewow! what a great transformation. i love your living room. xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this! It's great to see how your style has changed over time. I already know that in the next house I'll make different decisions now that I'm armed with all the knowledge I've learned from blogs like yours.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, a BIG BIG difference! thanks for sharing Emily, it's great to see how you and your style has evolved
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I worked at Kirklands in college and my apartment looked just like your old house. Filled with fake plants, tan walls and giant gold/red floral prints on the walls. It must have looked like an old lady lived there haha!
ReplyDeleteOh didn't we all do that!! Haha...the tough part is getting rid of it all without feeling guilty. I'm almost completely free of my 20's decorating errors, YAY!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these....so fun to see the difference. It is amazing how blogging has shaped my style too. (I don't have a blog--but you ladies inspire me everyday...and therefore, nothing in my house is safe from spray paint either.) : )
ReplyDeleteLove your current style!
I think we all tend to mock ourselves with previous design ideas. I do prefer your new designs so much more.
ReplyDeleteBig change for you! I know what you mean about model homes though. That used to be one of my favorite things to do, but now its like walking into the past!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I have some old pics very similar to that. I was so into the tuscan Red & golds! and now I can barely stand to look at them-only because I so overdid it. There are still very tasteful ways to use those colors. But I have jumped all the way to the other side-Im now into blues, grays and creams (wonder if 10yrs from now I;ll be sick of those too?) LOL
ReplyDeleteIts fun to see how your style changes over the years.
Holy cow! What a difference!
ReplyDeleteI think I may show this post to my husband, because he's of the belief that everything needs to "match." Not true!
Seeing your decorating "mistake" makes me feel better. My husband and I have the same problem with rooms that look too old and frumpy for us based on our ages and personality. I hope to change that in the future.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we have what we like to call a dust tree (fake tree) that is going in our garage sale in a few weeks. :)
wow I just loveee your place now. My favorite is the stripes in the dinning area and the lighting above the table.
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ReplyDeleteYou have definitely evolved into a chic(er) version of your former self. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteI love your living room now! Where did u get that rug?
ReplyDeleteI love this post! It's fun to see how much your style has evolved. What a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteLooking at your previous home, albeit the fake trees and the overstuffed sofa, there is great decorating potential. Everything were in the right scale and proportions, good furniture layout and etc.
Anyway, I love your new style. It's more fun, young and more stylish. I especially love your blue rug and the starburst mirror. They are so chic!
Jessie
www.mixandchic.com
I'm just realizing my own transformation in style. My husband and I are getting ready to move from House #1 to #2. In #1, I also used too much red, had oversized furniture, and decorated way to old. House #2 will look much different (and better!).
ReplyDeleteI've always been a traditional decorator (in my few short years alone), and my style is just like my mom's (who is awesome at decorating) since she has given me a lot of pieces. However, I LOVE your new house. It's cool, comfy, and stylish and looks young! I want that, but I have no idea how to do it.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difference! It is always fun to see how our tastes changes and evolves.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these! It's so fun to see how your style evolved. Great lessons learned along the way. :)
ReplyDeleteI am definitely liking the evolution of your style. I think you're right that blogging makes us better designers.
ReplyDeleteI love your currently living room. I love how it looks so clean and airy, even with dark walls.
ReplyDeleteAs someone 4 years into their first home and seriously having a change of heart with decor, I SO appreciate this post! Your new living room (and, quite frankly, all of the house) is to die for.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to look back! I think we shopped at some of the same places in our previous decorating lives! And I think I have the same fake tree lurking in a corner of our storage room-- any ideas on recycling or repurposing THAT?? ;-)
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, Emily!
Emily, I would say you have come a loooong way baby!!! I can not even imagine you in the other rooms. You are so perky and fresh like your home is now!!! Glad you found your true style!!! It is perfection.
ReplyDeletePS I got the fern bookplates today, now for the hunt of the perfect frames. I posted my summer familyroom today, come by if you have a chance!! Kathysue
Great post! Although a major transformation, the common thread still seems to be your talent: you clearly have a great ability to place things artfully and unify a space, fake trees or not ; )
ReplyDeleteWOW! Love your new style! The old house doesn't even seem like you! LOL
ReplyDeleteSo fun to see such an amazing evolution. I am in the midst of doing something similar in my living room - traditional to a cleaner, more contemporary. I love your rug. Would you mind sharing the source?
ReplyDeleteSo funny Emily...I HATE looking at pictures of my house 10 years ago...so much stuff! It is amazing how we change styles and I love that everyone edits now so you can see what you really have.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I wasn't the only person with a house full of fake trees :) I have one left (that I'm trying to get rid of) down in the basement. It's always fun to look back - my style is always changing.
ReplyDeleteToo funny. I love seeing how style changes over the years. I know mine has! Thanks for sharing! Love that living room.
ReplyDeleteThis was great! Your style HAS changed a ton. But I think you are being too hard on yourself: I bet so many people walked into your former home and thought it was beautiful -- because it was reflecting a beautifully done style of that time. (I mean who did not have overstuffed furniture?) Not only has your style evolved, it has also changed to reflect the times and/or is ahead of its time!
ReplyDeleteOMG what a long way you've come! i shiver when I think back to how I decorated my home when it was new just 8 years ago! Amazing how we take on what's new over time and make it seem like what we always wanted! Your new style is KILLER
ReplyDeleteStacy
This post made me laugh!! congratulations on changing up your style, I definitely like your new style better (although if you post this in 5-10 years, who knows? haha).
ReplyDeleteOMG! Your old house reminds me of my home. I am so over it I'd rather an empty house. This post is so funny and inspiring at the same time. Thanks for sharing that even designers can get caught in the model home trap and there's a way out.
ReplyDeleteIt's like looking back at old pictures of yourself and now you're style is so much different! The change is so dramatic- I love it!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! What an amazing transformation! Looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing shots like this and how peoples design eye changes and the how the world of blogging opens them up to so many new concepts.xx LOVE IT XX
ReplyDeleteIsn't it so much fun to look back at old pictures? Ok, so maybe fun is not the word, but it's certainly entertaining. And you are right that it reveals so much about how we've grown and changed. And sometimes, if I'm lucky I see something good that I've completely forgotten about!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing more! :)
Love seeing your 1st home vs. your current one. Yup you 1st one looked too old for you - your current home is a perfect blend of styles and looks like a fun place to live in! I think we've all made the mistake of buying in sets / or sticking with older fabric
ReplyDeleteI had to look twice - I thought it was the same house! The orientation of the rooms looks identical. I love seeing how styles change....although when I look at photos of our first house from 15 years ago there are still some things I did then that I still (and always will) love: beadboard, wainscotting with chunky trim, graphic patterns.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this same evolution is something that I know paralyzes people into not doing ANYTHING in their house ( i.e What if I don't like it in 5 years? What if it goes out of style? What if what I *think* looks good now I look back at someday and say 'That looks dumb?') So I suppose there is a happy medium. Don't pay too much for anything since you'll want to change it up, but don't "wait" until you figure out who you are.....that's something that's always growing.
Great post!
my husband always turns his nose up (at first) to everything that i like as far as decorating our home goes...and i always yell at him "my house will not look like a model home!" haha. by yell i mean speak sweetly of course :)
ReplyDeleteLove to see the difference and how you have grown as a designer. Cracks me up about the 'fake trees are bad' comment! You mean fake ficus trees are out? OH MAN ...
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post. When we moved, 7 years ago this week, my style was very similar to what you had in your last home. I too have learned a lot through reading blogs like yours and just simply mixing things up.
ReplyDeleteI'll second your opinion that fake trees are pretty bad.
I love taking a peek into your old life....your style has evolved beautifully!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, blogging really can change your tastes and opinions on just about everything! And to that...I am forever grateful :)
ReplyDeleteI just popped over from Kat and Grass Stains and had to giggle over your last comment about fake trees almost never work. I would agree but recently my husband and I moved to an apartment in Wake Forest. It's one of those buildings with twelve units on three floors. The next building over on the top floor the owners are using fake trees on their balcony as a kind of privacy curtain. I saw birds flying in and out and apparently, overheard from the owner, there is a nest in the tree with baby robins in it. I can't get over how we have a complete forest behind us but these birds chose a fake tree on a third floor balcony for their nest. So in their case, fake trees totally work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the information. That’s a awesome article you posted. I found the post very useful as well as interesting. I will come back to read some more furniture manufacturers
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