While my day job is in commercial design, one thing I love about residential design is discovering these treasures. They always have a story associated with them and they bring forth some kind of emotion. I once saw a quote on Pinterest that said, "A room should be collected, not decorated," and that fully fits my style in my own home. Slowly over time, I've collected treasures that I love to display. Nearly everything I own has either been gifted to me, I've made, or has been collected. The drawing in the living room from New Orleans, the painting in the guest bedroom is from Nassau, the dining room table cloth is from Los Cabos, and so on. These particular items remind me of travel, but they also let me support local artist from the area I visit.
When considering all my treasures, I think of one in particular, which I call my inspiration wall. To anyone else, it may look no different to any other gallery wall. Various sized images all framed and hung together on a wall. But this gallery wall is special to me. Centered in the middle is the guest book from our wedding. It's a drawing of a small home that my Dad drew for me with dozens of balloons, lifting the house into the air. Each balloon is a thumbprint from a person, couple, or family that attended our wedding. Now, while many people thought I did this because of the Disney movie, Up, which I've unfortunately never seen, I actually had a different purpose in mind. The home signifies our new family - small and quaint, perfect for two lovebirds. The balloons lift the house representing our support system, which helps us and encourages us through our marriage. Each of these people are special to me.
Surrounding that image are various quotes and verses that uplift our spirits when we need it and remind us our our purpose in life. By donning our walls with these words of encouragement, we are reminded of peace and love every time we walk by it. Some of these are purchased by artists, some I've created myself. By locating the inspiration wall here, it is visible to the most rooms possible.
What treasures do you have in your home? If you are needing help finding a way for your treasurers to stand out, or have no idea where to start with designing your home, I encourage you to check out Havenly. This is a service I recently discovered, that includes a fun style quiz and matches your results with designers across the world. They also have a shop with page after page of furniture and accessories. My quiz results said my style was Scandinavian with a touch of Bohemian, which I think is spot on for the type of items I like to buy for my current mid-century modern home. If you take the quiz, let me know what your results say!
