Evolving Style. Some of it Tragic.

OK. Apparently while my computer is in Safe Mode I can blog. Woohoo! 




It's funny how rapidly your taste can change, and how much social media has an influence on it.

When we first moved into our own place, I was in my early twenties and attracted to anything with bright colour and a bit of sparkle. I owned purple candle holders bedazzled with gems... fake pink and yellow gerberas in a vase, orange satin cushions and cornflower blue bedside lamps. Get the picture? It was a typical first home filled with a mismatch of furniture and cheap decorations which reflected my (very) average first wage. But, it was home and it was our space and despite the fact that every nook and cranny was filled to bursting point with photos and trinkets such as multicoloured Mexican cats, we were happy. Oh, and a thousand candle holders. I was crazy for candles man!

Tragic. Image 1, 2, 3, 4.

Fast forward six years later and I start craving the Balinese look. Heaven knows why, as I've never even stepped foot on Balinese land. I want lime green, carved daybeds and tea lights to give our place a tropical feel. Hello Yuccas and multitudes of pebbles and river stones! I start collecting images through Houzz and feel like a grown up by buying books such as Jamie Durie's Patio, which currently I still love and refer to constantly. However, it never really came together and the place always niggled away at me. I think it was the lack of personality and soul. Before I could really work it out, we moved to housesit my parents place for two years.

Dude, you don't live in a resort. Image 1, 2, 3, 4.

And then, I found Real Living Magazine. And Pinterest. And we're back in a house we can shape and mould to our taste.

Now, I'm all about Industrial Loft/reclaimed furniture balanced with gorgeous fabrics and texture. I want our personality to shine through, but in an understated way. I'm careful about the things we have out on display- I want each object to tell a story. I want each room to have a sense of warmth and to also be slightly eclectic. Anthropology has been a huge influence on me, and I'm finally starting to find my true style and mesh it with Deon's. 

I'm creating little treasures like Terrariums and hanging scarves as features for 'warmth' rather than packing it all away. Luckily Deon and I are on the same page at the moment with what we love and it's been exciting to fall in love with our house all over again together. I'm looking forward to when the whole moving part is all over, the boxes have been packed away and everything is finally in it's place.

Ah, that's more like it! Images found on my Pinterest Board. 

What did your first place look like? Was it as incredibly kitsch as mine? Please tell me there were no Mexican cats involved!