Humble beginnings
Hello and welcome to my blog! It's been a long journey to get here, for myself personally, and you may be wondering where and how I became the designer I am today.
Evolution of Color.
I first discovered my love for interior design when I was 12 years old. I told my mother that I wanted to paint my room black, purple, and turquoise. I know it sounds pretty fugly right now, but in my mind at the time, I loved so many colors it seemed crazy to have to pick just one! Of course, my black, purple and turquoise suggestion was met with a resounding "No." We ended up on a very safe light baby blue and picked a "Save the Rainforest" theme. which I didn’t hate. in fact, if i really think about it, my current sleeping quarters are very jungle-y!
From there, whenever I was asked to help design something or pick out a fabric for my parents' house, I came up against their strict ideas of taste. I was given three options, all the same design but slightly varying shade.
My design choices over the next few years were largely dictated by my budget and trends at the time. I'm not going to lie, HGTV guided a lot of my ideas on what made a beautiful home. A gray and white palette dictated every decision, in hopes that I would not offend the imaginary future home buyer. Aesthetically, yes it is easier to imagine oneself on a blank canvas, but I wouldn't want to live in a blank canvas. Imagine going to a museum without any art and being asked to imagine the art there. That being said, it is the blank walls that surround the art that makes it all the more evocative.
But I digress... I designed the below kitchen not for myself but for the next owner. I picked beautiful but inoffensive tiles, classic but safe fixtures, clean and bright grays and whites. But you know what EVERYONE'S favorite design element was?
THOSE FLOORS.
You can't see it (and at that point I was not designing for an audience) but these colors are so beautiful and saturated and perfect. But you should have seen what I REALLY wanted to choose.
And yes, I was just getting started.
With each room I designed, I came more and more out of that shell. I took more risks, and I started designing for myself. I even painted a ceiling the perfect shade of saturated blue! Fun was to be had. But I knew in my heart of hearts that I would one day need to sell my home and I was afraid of those judgmental, no-fun-having future homeowners. So I played it safe and kept my colors to my decor.
Which leads me to my current DREAM HOUSE. I walked in and saw the possibilities. At first, I wanted to keep it black and white and gray. But then I had an epiphany (and this came years after therapy and then also marrying a pretty awesome fella)... there are no wrong colors.
SCREW THOSE FUTURE HOMEOWNERS. I have taste, I have style, I have a sense of humor. I love color and I want to be free of the gray and white cage. Not that gray and white does not have its place, much like that museum and all its glorious art. I have no favorite color, nor do I dislike any. I love it all! And if those future homeowners don't like it, screw it. They were going to change everything anyway.
It may turn out fugly, but I'm going for it!
