I’m not really sure when one technically “earns” the right to a home makeover, but I’m going to call it for the Faust family after nine years. (Does a marriage, three cities to call home, a bambino, and two new jobs help my cause?)
Let’s start with the living room for now (baby steps, baby steps):
So serene…and orderly…and white! (Those poor couches, I can see them shudder every time our toddler son’s eyes light up in preparation to scale them.)
As perfect as this space once was for us, it doesn’t seem to quite capture the new, older, edgier, chaotic, willing-to-throw-caution-to-the-wind version of our little family…and as our mothers always told us, making sure we present ourselves in an honest light is super important, right? While this pitch still technically needs to clear the family congress around here (where we vote one to one and I get the tie-breaker “in case” of a deadlock), visions of home décor sugarplums are already dancing in my head.
The goal: clean California design with a dollop of glamor and an appreciation for the cheeky edginess of modern design…or in other words, a cutting edge yet livable design aesthetic.
First step: creating a new layout that works with this space that I’m convinced was just some evil attempt by the original architect to have the last laugh. Think a long rectangular room running from the second you step into the house until you hit the hallway leading to the bedrooms broken up on both sides by French doors on the one hand (which we originally decided to treat as middle children and ignore by plunking a couch right in front of them) and a fireplace on the other. Awwwesome. (Sorry, what I meant to say was, “OMG, what a cool challenge!”)
Second step: consult the Oracle / aka Pinterest for some inspiration.
Oooh, I’ll take a little helping of that casual glamor via Kelly Behun:
And add a dab of elegant eclecticism:
A dollop of California rustic:
And just one more little one of those, please:
And a lot of Mid Century fun:
And you get…????
Answer: a heart palpitation when considering (a) how the heck you’re going to integrate all of these styles into a cohesive whole and (b) what your grand operatic vision will run you.
So what is one to do?
Why, head to my newest obsession, Chairish.com, of course.
Straight from the horse’s mouth:
Chairish is an online consignment marketplace for design obsessed people to buy and sell exceptional pre-owned home furnishings. Our mission is to make the world more beautiful, one room at a time and save people money in the process.
I’m now thinking I myself might be the inspiration behind this site?! Okay, if they’re not going to credit me, at least I can reap the benefits with aaaamazing, inspiring finds which hopefully won’t break the bank. Check out a few such things that caught my eye during my last scouring session (note: while some of these might break my bank, they might not yours so I’ll include them here as well since I had so much fun window shopping them):
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While each and every one of these pieces won’t make their way into the Faust Family Operation Update, I’m sweating a little less knowing that Chairish has my back on this…and that like a good friend, it will always be there when I need it. And that, my fellow design obsessors, is why I’m cherishing Chairish these days.