(a photo of my mum's garden shed...taken by my talented sister-in-law)
photo: Country Home
Luckily for me, I don't want perfection. When you have perfection, you have nothing left to aspire to. You don't get that little thrill in your belly when you stumble upon a great accessory at a yard sale or in a thrift shop. Not that you have to get everything from a discounted source, mind you. But, I do roll my eyes when I read articles in decorating mags where the homeowners proudly reveal that they got this or that in "a big box store". Hooray for them...and welcome!! They eschewed the fancier, more exclusive shops to actually save a couple of hundred dollars on a light that is (virtually or actually) identical in a home building store. I sometimes wonder how the rich get rich in the first place, when they overlook great deals unnecessarily!!??
Another downside to perfection is that it often leaves out the creativity living inside our souls. I get a thrill when I see a really great style makeover of a room or piece of furniture, done on a budget. I love seeing creative solutions to a style dilemma; one that is solved because we are forced to think outside of the box. I also am inspired when I enter a home and see elements of whimsy living amidst the necessary. I applaud those who display their own art, handcrafts, children's paintings...I want to see fabrics that coordinate, not match perfectly.
I'm starting a new style movement! I figure it should be called imperfect style. That doesn't mean it is ugly, or cheap looking, but it does mean it is unexpected, and not designed with perfection in mind. It will work for those of us on a real decorating budget, and it will be affordable, pretty and definitely not plucked from the pages of a design mag or catalogue. You see, there are a lot of things in my home that could be done better. Flooring could be higher-end, furniture more purposely gathered, more "architectural interest", blah, blah, blah...Couldn't we all have chosen something better than what we have? Of course we could, but (ding dong), two things often get in the way of the perfect choices: money and accessibility. Without oodles of both, you had better hop onto my side of the fence and revel in all that is as good as it can be at the moment!!
photo: Country HomeLuckily for me, I don't want perfection. When you have perfection, you have nothing left to aspire to. You don't get that little thrill in your belly when you stumble upon a great accessory at a yard sale or in a thrift shop. Not that you have to get everything from a discounted source, mind you. But, I do roll my eyes when I read articles in decorating mags where the homeowners proudly reveal that they got this or that in "a big box store". Hooray for them...and welcome!! They eschewed the fancier, more exclusive shops to actually save a couple of hundred dollars on a light that is (virtually or actually) identical in a home building store. I sometimes wonder how the rich get rich in the first place, when they overlook great deals unnecessarily!!??
Another downside to perfection is that it often leaves out the creativity living inside our souls. I get a thrill when I see a really great style makeover of a room or piece of furniture, done on a budget. I love seeing creative solutions to a style dilemma; one that is solved because we are forced to think outside of the box. I also am inspired when I enter a home and see elements of whimsy living amidst the necessary. I applaud those who display their own art, handcrafts, children's paintings...I want to see fabrics that coordinate, not match perfectly.
My own sister is a perfect example of decorating that is perfectly imperfect. 
She came up with this ingenious way to make her "unloved garage windows" prettier by hanging older wooden window frames in front of them!
She displays artwork of friends, lesser known artists, and even the beautiful watercolour paintings of her own, talented children.
She loves taking you on a tour through her home, pointing out all the incredible finds she got at a yard sale, and she decorates with ease, flair, and in her own words,"lipstick."
I am joking, of course, about my starting a new style movement.I could never achieve that on my own; but I do, however, want to further the movement here in blog land. I figure we should designate this week "Perfectly Imperfect Week", and show off our imperfection for all to see. I want to see your furniture makeovers that took them from plain, old shabby (0r ugly) to unveiling the beauty within. I want to hear about your favourite yard sale/thrift shop find, and/or I want to see your artwork or artistic creations that you proudly display in your home. We all want to see it. It makes us feel better to see real decorating...decorating that we can all achieve if we are willing to put in the effort or do the legwork (literally)!
Here are the details: To participate, just post your "imperfect" make-over, artwork, decorating tip, you name it. Make sure you include a link back to this post so I know which post of yours is to be mentioned in my list. Then, leave a comment here with a link to your post. I will post the list of links as soon as I have a good (large) sampling of imperfection!
She loves taking you on a tour through her home, pointing out all the incredible finds she got at a yard sale, and she decorates with ease, flair, and in her own words,"lipstick."I am joking, of course, about my starting a new style movement.I could never achieve that on my own; but I do, however, want to further the movement here in blog land. I figure we should designate this week "Perfectly Imperfect Week", and show off our imperfection for all to see. I want to see your furniture makeovers that took them from plain, old shabby (0r ugly) to unveiling the beauty within. I want to hear about your favourite yard sale/thrift shop find, and/or I want to see your artwork or artistic creations that you proudly display in your home. We all want to see it. It makes us feel better to see real decorating...decorating that we can all achieve if we are willing to put in the effort or do the legwork (literally)!
Here are the details: To participate, just post your "imperfect" make-over, artwork, decorating tip, you name it. Make sure you include a link back to this post so I know which post of yours is to be mentioned in my list. Then, leave a comment here with a link to your post. I will post the list of links as soon as I have a good (large) sampling of imperfection!
