I have a confession to make. Before the cottage core/granny chic aesthetic became a current trend in home design and fashion … I was and am often approached by mature and lovely ladies in what would be their late elder years with compliments on my clothes and furniture choices. And if my husband was in tow, I’d go red in the face as he would give me a “that old lady just said she liked your outfit” stare. Seemingly, my daily fashion gives grandma in a mumu vibes apparently. Back then it didn’t feel hip to tap into such an aesthetic, but I did it anyways as I thanked those mature gals with excellent taste for their kind words. And now that this style has come to light for all to see and enjoy I am owning up to it. Listen, I’m just here to say I like old people things and I’m not ashamed anymore.
Collecting and finding unique pieces for our home is like going on a little treasure hunt. Now, even though our current home was built in the 1980’s, it does have the bones for making an heirloom ambiance come to life. I’m incorporating lot of thrift, vintage, antique, homemade and some newer modern pieces that also reflect a particular time period. I don’t have any specific goals other than I really just want us to feel like we’ve been whisked away to another era. And while I have always tried to emulate a slower, more interntionally driven lifestyle in the home by doing small things like; lighting candles in the evening, baking my own bread, growing my own vegetables and of course collecting gently loved pieces some other family once loved. This time, I wanted to create spaces that wrap us completely in this warm feeling of home and heritage from wall to wall. Let’s call it primitive, which actually denotes feelings of nostalgia or rather “the preservation and character of an early stage of development”- per google’s exact definition. As well as “a style that is comfortable, convenient and efficient”. But let this not be confused with farmhouse.. no no no. Over the years I have gravitated towards the new england and old money, New York-esque vibes. This provides a nice balance between a rustic look that is polished and timeless. Here is a look at what I’ve curated for the living room so far.
Mood Board Rundown:
- The beautiful coffee table is a wishlist item. Oh and it’s high up there! Look how gorgeous she is.
- The chandelier pictured was my first choice. But when we hit some snags in the renovation that unexpectedly cost us, dialing down the budget for pieces like this instead made it easy to give up. We have it hanging and while it looks fine (and maybe installed a little crooked due to user error) I might zhuzh it a little and add some lamp shades to give it more texture
- Curtains. I’m on the hunt for a block print or floral style. We have two french doors that lead to the back covered patio. There isn’t a ton of blank wall on either side of the doors so I’ll likely put in only one panel on each set. I’ve also thought about doing something like this on the doors themselves as they currently have blinds on them.
- The rug is probably the second thing that was purchased for the room and it currently flanks our old couch and west elm wingback chair while we wait for the new sofa to come in.
- The gorgeous velvet sofa was purchased from Interior Define with a 23-24 week turnaround. But don’t hold your breath. We are well passed the date and there have been numerous issue going on with the company itself regarding transparency and financial issues. Thousands of customers have been affected.. thousands. I will likely hop on stories to share more about this at some point. But it’s very likely that we may not get a refund or the sofa at all (yeah it’s pretty crazy). So with that in mind, I highly caution everyone before making a purchase from this store. As a back up plan though, we have heard great things about Maiden Home and this rolled arm beauty has the curves to make my heart sink right in.
- Art and lots of it!
I’ve also collected an antique alabaster lamp, a chunky antique console table and some other pieces that will help pull the look together. The room is currently in it’s rough draft. But in the meantime, I’m going to start compiling old and new photos to give an idea of where we are now in the design of this room and where we began- which started with taupe walls, an 80’s built in cabinet and popcorn ceilings. Stay tuned!