In Search of Style
When Evan and I first saw this house, we were overwhelmed by its design and style. The staged furniture and decor was simple and basic and did not beg for attention in the slightest, which isn’t to say it was not well done because that is exactly what stagers strive for. But once Evan bought the house, we knew that this simplistic style was not what we were going to pursue.
For a second, we did consider furnishing and decorating the house in a way that would match what it must have been like when it was built in 1927, but not only would that be incredibly difficult and expensive, it would be uninspiring to our tastes. So instead, we decided to start off in a logical and budget friendly manner and use what we already had. Luckily, Evan’s love for all things thrifted meant we had a solid starting point. He already had numerous lamps, tables, chairs, and plenty of good ole “bric-a-brac” amongst other items. I had begun to accumulate a bit of decor myself from all the thrifting and estate sale shopping Evan and I had done since we started dating and before. Since the move-in process was quite strenuous (both Evan and I had to move all of our things down stairs from our previous living situations and then back up the way-too-many stairs to the new house), we kind of dumped all of our things in the music and living rooms.
The living room was quite honestly a huge mess for quite some time, but I did not feel it was worth cleaning and setting up until the roof construction was done since an incredible amount of dust and dirt kept falling down into the house. But once construction ended, I was able to clean things up slowly. Then, towards the end of October, I was lucky enough to have my parents and sister come up to help me speed things along. To everyone’s amazement, the room looked like a completely different space by the end of the day. With my dad vacuuming all surfaces, while my mom wiped everything down and I putting things away, we accomplished what I alone would have accomplished in 3-4 weekends in just a few hours.
From that day and on, I have been able to start setting up and decorating the room with all the items Evan and I already had before moving in and those we have since purchased.
If I were to have to name the style we are going for in the living room I would either say “eccentric” or “wonderful thrift vomit.” As I sit here writing this post, I cannot think of a single item in that room that was purchased new. But that is not to say that there won’t be a few someday since, really, the decor is a collection of things Evan and I love and find beautiful and unique. While I am very happy with the state the room is at now, with its budget friendly items and arresting aura, I cannot wait to see where we take it. This room will be forever changing and constantly unique.