Perhaps It's Time for a Change

Yesterday's post about my dream bedroom got me thinking about redefining my style slightly. By nature, I'm neat, color-coordinated, and rather traditional. This spills over into my home, in general. And though I'd really like not to classify myself as a rule-follower (down with the institution!), most of the rooms in my house are staid, symmetrical, and incorporate a palette of two to three pre-defined colors; not stuffy exactly, just not quite so carefree as I might like, and I don't step outside of these lines very easily. My bedroom follows a pattern somewhat like this:

This photo actually looks nothing like my bedroom, which has chocolate brown walls, no white at all, and definitely no pink, because after all, my husband has to sleep there too. But in form, it's very much the same. We have a dark wooden sleigh bed, leather bench at the foot, dresser, chest, and nightstands to match, and a pair of candlstick lamps either side of the dresser, one looking exactly like its mate. Color combination is aqua and brown, matching pillows piled three rows deep on the bed, which is made every morning without exception. One side mostly mirrors the other. While I was going for something grown-up and a little less girly than my bedroom was before I got married, I found myself wishing last night that there was just a little more randomness, a little more color. I think all of this was prompted by a post I found on decor8 yesterday, about a designer called Selina Lake, whose style is almost the antithesis of mine: as many colors in a room as there are in a prism, floor cushions everywhere, very little, if any symmetry anwhere. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to make the crossover completely, but I really want to incorporate more of this sort of bohemian feel into my own house. Look how beautiful her rooms are!

I have some ideas for achieving this vision without spending much, if any money. They involve making a few mismatched pillows out of scrap fabric I already have, bringing some red (dare I say even hints of pink?) into the bedroom, and making it feel, at the same time, younger, but more lived-in. (By the way, let's keep this on the down-low, as I haven't even mentioned a single bit of this to Nate yet.) As for the living room, which is slightly more colorful, but not significantly, I've been kicking around the idea of making a rug to go under the coffee table by weaving together strips of fabric; I've looked everywhere, and can't find anything within my budget that fits the look I'm aiming for. I really like this idea, because not only would it allow me to add a very handmade touch to the room, but I can also choose my own colors and patterns for a somthing completely unique. I'll keep you posted if I decide to take on any large projects or do something drastic. (I may have to sweet-talk my husband first, in fact.) At any rate, I feel like I need a bit of a change; the resulting developments will probably not be as free-spirited as Selina Lake's rooms, and I'd never be able to get away with that much pink, but I'm getting excited just thinking about the possibilities.