Home Decor Updates

So I shared most of this on Instagram but thought I would share it here, too, to have it all in one place and also share with you my decorating process. I actually wasn't planning on tackling this stuff for months to come because we had such a busy spring schedule. But you know, social distancing, has put a wrench in our business and we all of the sudden have all of the time to tackle some home to-do's! 

So I have been waiting almost a full year to find the perfect piece for under our living room TV. It had to be a certain length, and I really wanted something of very high quality, which I usually find in antiques. I held off until I found *the one* which is this vintage Henredon campaign chest. It's in pristine condition and I think it just looks so perfect in the space. 

Because we got the perfect piece, we were finally able to hang our Samsung Frame TV. I LOVE this TV. It's not only great quality with a great picture but this TV actually holds an image on the screen when it is 'off' so it looks like a painting/photo/etc. The way it is mounted is special/different than most TV's as the TV itself is super slim and then it mounts flush against the wall like a real framed piece of art would. You can get different bezels around the TV. I got the white so it would blend in with our walls more, but you can get black, or wood, or whatever. 

So now I can style the space. I have been waiting for this! Before I style something, I always mock it up. I use PowerPoint which is a very archaic way to do it, but you can use Canva or Photoshop to create something like I did. PowerPoint is just quicker and I can use it for 'less professional' needs. I's great for those who don't have the Adobe suite. If you are creating something important, definitely try Canva or Photoshop because you have way more control.

Step 1. I look on Google images to find pieces that are either exact or very similar to my own pieces. In the case above, I couldn't find exact but you can see in the two mockups below that I was able to find the exact pieces. When selecting the image, I try to get a straight-on image.

Step 2. Copy the image from Google images and paste them into PowerPoint. You can use the 'remove background tool' to isolate just the piece you want. You can also crop, etc.

Step 3. Once the background is removed, you can play around with different decor items until you get it to where you want it.

Step 4. You can save it as a JPEG, PNG, or PDF. I prefer a PNG or JPEG so I can keep these on my phone so I can reference it when I'm out and about shopping (or in today's world, online browsing). 

Mocking things up has saved me from mistakes and wasted money and gives me a clear vision so I know what to shop for. You can even make multiple of the same mockups and change them ever-so-slightly so you can compare and then choose what you like.

You have to remember that none of this is to-scale, though, so make sure to measure in person and pay attention to all of the measurements of things you see online. You can, however, make a mockup to-scale by sizing things correctly and all of that, but it gets quite a bit more complicated when you do that. I have done this before ordering very expensive items to make sure I can really envision the scale of something if I am unable to see it in person in a store. That's a tutorial for another day, ha! 

So because we finally got the new piece for under our living room TV, I was able to move this old dresser down to our finished basement. I don't love this piece. It is from West Elm and is called the Malone Dresser. It doesn't seem to be available any longer in the wood but is available in white. It served me very well in my apartment, but I'm ready for something new. However, the basement is always at the end of my to-do list just because we don't spend much time down there. The basement is now a culmination of basically all of the furniture I had in my apartment. It's really nice and cozy down there, but we just prefer to be up in our living room. When we entertain, we don't really go down there, either. It's kind of a shame! But right now I have been doing some at-home workouts down there and my fiancé set up a 'putting green' for the time being while we are social distancing. 

So I mocked up this TVwall to figure out how I would decorate. I wanted to make this wall a little 'busier' as sometimes I feel like busyness and layers make a space feel cozier. There is not a ton of decor down there right now and that's what it needs to have that homey feel. 

 

This is the new piece I found from the same antique store/consignment shop. The shop is called Serendipity Lane for anyone in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, the owner has closed since then, which is such a shame because she had the best taste and curation. This is a Drexel sideboard and I fell in love with the wood, the beautiful brass hardware, and the curves. It really is a special piece. 

I would say my decorating taste is pretty traditional- that's what this sideboard is. However, I feel like it's a little 'too' traditional so my goal is to style it up so that it has a modern touch. I thought the blue and white lamps were still very much in line with my love for blue and white/chinoiserie but the swirl pattern and gourd shape feel a bit more modern. I also feel like a framed scarf with a punch of color will do well here. I'm thinking of doing it in a lucite frame or something like that for that 'updated' touch I am craving. 

I am not good at decorating by any means so I am always open to suggestions and ideas! These are all just mockups so nothing is set in stone, but now I at least have an idea of the types of things to look for as I browse housewares. The mockups don't always work- sometimes it ends up looking too bare or too busy and I ended up playing around in person to make it look 'right'.