When it comes to decorating one’s house, I don’t believe in rules. Your house should be a reflection of you. It should make you happy. For that reason, I rarely pay attention to the house trends.
While ignoring the trends definitely gives me the look and feel that I want, it is typically more expensive because everything ends up being custom.
I have been told by any number of people that I am good at decorating because I am artistic. I guess I am. I don’t really think of myself that way, but perhaps they have a point.
Anyway, I’ve had people tell me that “They would have never thought to do that” when it comes to decorating, so I thought I would walk you through my though process in decorating my house.
- What is my decorating style?
As I mentioned in a previous post, my house was built in 1840, so that’s early Victorian. However, I am not doing the house entirely in early Victorian style. Over the 180 years of its existence I’m sure this house has been redone many times in many styles- Victorian, high Victorian, Art Deco, art nouveau, Gothic, mid-century, etc. Pieces would have been acquired slowly over time. So I’m taking a blending approach. There will be a lot of Victorian furniture; some European, and early 20th century furniture. I’ll be arranging things as they appeal to me.
- Do I have a color scheme?
I do have a color scheme. There is one scheme for the 1st floor and a different scheme for the upper floors. The first floor color scheme is pink, yellow, and green. With the second (and eventually third floor), I am taking a B & B approach. Each bedroom will have it’s own theme. I gave the bedrooms names, but I’ve already changed 3 of the names. My bedroom was called Anemone Avenue; I’ve changed it to the Wedgewood. The first guest room was Peony Place; I’ve changed it to Terracotta Terrace. The second guest room is Lavender Lounge. The 3rd guest room had the names Rose Room and then Shamrock Shack; but now I’ve decided on Peacock Palace.
- How did I decide on a color scheme?
For the downstairs, I found a lovely William Morris wallpaper that I liked; it had pink, yellow, and green. I matched paint swatches to the color. The Wedgewood is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Porcelain Glaze because it is almost identical to the Wedgewood blue Jaspware pottery piece that I own. Terracotta Terrace is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Rust. The inspiration was a duvet that I purchased from Spoonflower. The fabric design is called Edwardian Parrot. Lavender Lounge will be painted some shade of purple; I’ll know better once my fabric swatches have arrived. I’m going with an art nouveau theme in that room. Finally, Peacock Palace will be teal, but I have started decorating that yet.
Anyway, this is how I started the decorating process. What process do you use for decorating your home?
The Vintage Gardener 