Accessorizing

A ROOM WITHOUT ACCESSORIES REMINDS ME OF A WOMAN WHO GOT DRESSED AND FORGOT TO PUT ON HER JEWELRY! - HEATHER CLAWSON from HABITUALLY CHIC

Do you bet these women have beautifully decorated homes as well?

These are similar qualities I want to surround myself in my home; soft, luxurious fabrics, layers, a bit of bling, a mixture of textures and accessories and above all STYLE.

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO OUR TAG SALE PAGE!

-Nancy

All images from my PINTEREST files

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices.
Nancy and Bethany

a matter of taste

We've mentioned stores like IKEA and Pottery Barn, West Elm, World Market, Home Goods lately - all favorites of ours. However...

When I see a room made up of only store bought things, I feel like they have missed the point of making a home your own. I appreciate and value custom pieces, custom draperies, custom anything.  And those things vastly improve the look of a space just by being unique, feeling amazing and expressing a more personal touch. But custom comes with a price!  And there are so many ways to add custom touches to store bought products to convey a designer 'look for less', like Bethany showed us here.

The many ways to make a home look custom, personal, updated, well-loved and evoking family heritage:

1.  Artwork of varying types (framed under glass, paintings on canvas, drawings, photos and so much more).  Bethany said she read a wonderful quote the other day : A house without art is a house without soul.

2. Personal mementoes from travel or family, antiques, heirlooms that help to tell your story.

3.  Mixing in aged pieces or things with a patina with new or updated pieces.

4.  Sensory experiences through candles, fresh flowers, greenery or fresh air stimulate memories of far off places or make a memory within your home.

5.  A beautiful dish filled with candy or nuts, or a bar cart with varying

beverage choices is a lovely invitation to sit and chat.

6. If you've tuned in to Powell Brower Home from the beginning, we often reference our favorite BRAGG concept.  A simple checklist that we like to run through when completing a space.

7.  Adding custom touches to storebought or dime-a-dozen furniture or accessories, like trim, additional fabric accents, new legs, hand dipped legs, paint, nailheads and O'verlays can do wonders.

Certain rooms in a home can be designated for the custom treatment while others you can cut corners with.  What point are you at in your life?  Do you have all custom pieces in your home?  Do you have mostly store bought?  Are you at a time in your life when you've had the makeshift, lower cost version and now you're ready for custom?

Or do you get more joy making and repurposing items than buying new?  We'd love to know.

Whatever your style, it all boils down to TASTE. If you have good taste, you can just about make anything work. But you just can't manufacture good taste.

That's why fashion and decorating are so intertwined.  A room that evokes good taste are just like the clothes worn by someone with real style. No matter your budget or where you buy your products, taste and style go hand in hand. It's all in the eye of the beholder. 

-Nancy

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DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO OUR TAG SALE PAGE!

If you are looking for help with your home, we'd love to work with you! Contact us for a listing of our services and prices.

Nancy and Bethany

Thinking about MY style....

I've been a fan of color all my life, and although I make some bold moves occasionally in my choice of interior colors, I lean toward a spa-like retreat, a respite space of calm and sophistication. It is hard for me to pin point my tastes, because I am passionate about so many 'looks', but I think I'm more 'transitional', with a touch of modern. I grew up with Mid Century Modern in the 70's plus a house full of family antiques. I haven't fostered a love of antiques, but I like to mix a few in with every room to give it character and to keep it from being too 'New" and catalog-looking.

I like straight lines, textures, rich fabrics, leather, and architectural details. Comfortable but sophisticated, classy yet grounded and 'earthy'- all punctuated with lots of original art.

Here are some of the things I love... Let us know YOUR style!

                                             

- Nancy

Gettin Styled

So as we stumble through the process of getting up and running, we are searching for an image befitting of our style and personalities.   Low and behold, it's not so easy.  I'm soliciting the help of some designers who can put our style and tastes into a streamlined vision and while in the process of doing so, I started to think, what is our style?


Personal style is a funny thing, isn't it?  There are facets of style that embody who we are; they are less easy to place and more easy to "feel".  And then there are the things that we like and are pleasing to the eye, but it's not really "us" at our core. Take for instance trends.  Everyone loves a good trend (and loves to hate them, too).  Many times they start out feeling a bit odd or a little too off-beat, but when seen over and over again, they start to grow on you.  But if you've never been 100% in love with a trend, and you want to incorporate it in your home somehow, it can end up feeling insincere and ill-placed. If you always go with what you love, it's never in or out of fashion.  We all know that.


But back to personal style.  There's so many terms floating around these days and it's hard to sum up my sentiments on style for myself.   I can easily identify when someone's Vintage Modern, Eclectic Glam and of course the style of the moment, Union Jack'ed Industrial Rock.  But I can't quite identify what my style is in two adjectives or less, because it varies.  I am a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal, until it's time to really get cleaned up, and then I feel pretty comfortable in a pair of really high heels and lots of [fake] bling.  And I want my home to showcase that same utilitarianism (partly because it has to - it's a small cottage and every inch counts!).  I want my home to feel designed and inspired, but its imperative to me that it feels cozy and comfortable.


But when I look at interiors by Kelly Wearstler, or even other bloggers, I notice when a style is super distinct.  Take for instance Amber from Amber Interiors.  She's got that Global Bazaar meets Boho Chic thing down to a tee.  And Christine at Bijou and Boheme is an obvious Flapper Pin Curls meets Hollywood Regency while Erika from small shop Studio has a definite 70's Palm Springs vibe going on.


I gathered my favorite, favorite images that's I've held onto both in paper and on Pinterest, so now the question begs, what is my style?

And lastly, my favorite mood board ever done, by a one Erin Gates at Elements of Style Blog.  LOVE this style.

Wow - what a great exercise.  I already see some patterns, most notably, MOODINESS :)


- Bethany