17 August 2011

new reason for insomnia / house & home blogs


image daydream lily via pinterest.

for years i've kept an inspiration binder devoted to a someday future dream house (why i packed it away, i have no clue. am currently keeping my favorite ideas on pinterest instead). other than that i've mostly ignored all sorts of paint swatches, home decor magazines, and house-ish type tv shows. i've lived with hand-me-downs and did my best with what we had; never really choosing a theme (people really do that.) or color scheme. basically all our homes (although filled with love, books, laughter - my recipe for a happy home) have seen our stuff haphazardly hung and flung everywhere; living in some sort of it's-okay-cause-we're-renting state of being. but now that i'm nearing being a grown-up, (can you believe my 30th birthday is next month!?), it's high time i stop horsing around and get my mojo on with the whole business of house improvement.

letting myself dive in and enjoy it (rather than envy everything i see) is so liberating. like a whole new set of hobbies before my eyes; painting walls (yes.), making curtains (doubtful.), framing pictures (definitely.), re-purposing old to new (possibly.), etc. when you open a door of possibilities the light of enthusiasm filters in. here are a few favorite home inspired websites chock-full of house hearty tips.

+ young house love
+ house tweaking
+ design-crisis
+ little green notebook
+ lolalina.com
+ design sponge
+ apartment therapy

any others i should know about? please divulge your designer tips, i'm the new kid on the block when it comes to this sort of stuff. 

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Marta, here are some home "decorating" blogs I like to look at.
http://theletteredcottage.net/before-after
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/project-gallery/
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/p/favorite-posts_14.html
http://colorspecialist-charlotte.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-choose-color-for-your-home.html
Sandy

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I was so happy to be able to paint walls in our last house I went crazy, every room was a different color and some changes colors frequently. When we moved into our current home I decided to keep the walls all white and I love it. I think it's because I can and not because I have to :)

amber, theambershow said...

Story of my life! I'm looking at 30 in a few months, too (eep!) and it's made me want to make my house beautiful.

Lexy of BeautyFash said...

oh, how i love being inspired by gorgeous home blogs. I adore makingitlovely.com

Moments and Impressions said...

Great list... I love a lot of those. You could totally make curtains Marta... easy straight seems or even iron hem tape!

Lori Cartwright said...

If you like turquoise: House of Turquoise provides lots of inspiration.

If you don't mind Spanish (or just translate) Lalole Blog has more inspiration.

For great design: Design Mom.

For simple crafts and sewing: Say Yes to Hoboken.

*I love to find projects through Pinterest!

Good luck and have fun feathering your nest.

Love from Lori C.

Unknown said...

I love your blog, I think you're honestly the older version of me :') although people find it strange when they see me flicking through home and craft magazines when I haven't even left home myself yet! Oops. That photo is lovely, ivy growing up the walls of my (future house) is a definite yes.

Louisejoyb xo | Bits&Bobs

Kristy said...

Yes! The first commenter suggested Centsational Girl and The Lettered Cottage - two of my faves!

Enjoy the process :)

torrie said...

i LOVE young house love!

here are some other ones i read!

www.stylebyemilyhenderson.com
www.desiretoinspire.net

Miranda said...

Hello dearie! I've been thinking about you too. Too bad you don't still live here, we could have had a combined 30th birthday bash!

If I were you I would add Making It Lovely to your reader. And if you're anything like me, you'll find that when you pull out your old binder your style has completely changed! I was kind of shocked when that happened to me.

Laura Gaskill said...

Thanks so much for including Lolalina! I read many of the blogs listed above, but two are new to me, so I'm off to check them out now! xo Laura

Cassie said...

I was faced with decorating our entire house when we built it seven years ago and have lived with my bad decisions since. I am now itching to start re-doing rooms, so thank you the inspiration sites. I couldn't live without pinterest for room ideas now - crazy isn't it.
xx

Dansie Family said...

even as a grown up my house has no theme, unless you call minimalist a theme. i'm not sure why, but neither of us have much desire to over decorate or to spend much money on decorating so we just keep it simple. i should try to add some color, maybe i need a new rug.

Elizabeth said...

Here are a few of my favorites - they all are moms & combine decorating with DIY and some posts about their adorable kids too -

jonesdesigncompany.com
www.thehouseofsmiths.com
www.thehandmadehome.net

KK said...

Ooh, if you want to be inspired and find yourself in the Orem area, come stop by Alice Lane. I'll give ya the full tour :)

Polly said...

I'm sure your new home will be fab. you have a great sense of style. can't wait to see everything as it comes together. my advice is eclectic can be a nice theme. (my definition of eclectic is handmedowns done over and all things put together in a fashionable way!?!).

sunny said...

I can't see what you come up with!

For inspiration, I love anna's blog: http://lamaisondannag.blogspot.com

Jen Holtkamp said...

buying a home is still so far away for us right now...best wishes in your search!

Deidra said...

I fancy Opal Never Shouts myself. Some good tips from two interior designers.

Allison said...

I'd add AB Chao's blog to your list: http://abchao.com/

She's super confident in her opinions, and her interiors have a wonderful light-and-airy feel. Plus she's very funny.

Anonymous said...

I'm in total love with purestylehome.com Lauren Liess's style is simple, meaningful, balanced, and oh so beautiful!

Anonymous said...

In case you haven't already, also check out http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/

and

http://www.thenester.com/

and, for very practical ways to arrange what you already own in a lovely and pleasing way, see:

http://imaginecozy.blogspot.com/

Have fun!

Have fun!

Katy said...

I agree Lettered Cottage is superb.

I think you'd also like www.decor8blog.com.

And for generally drooling over beautiful houses (and also a celebration of the truly awful ones) visit www.hookedonhouses.net

Ann said...

ahh my list grows longer daily. I'm adding you to my regular reads by the bye!

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