Interior design is a love of mine. Give me a blank space to fill with furniture, trinkets, and such and I'm a happy gal. I think it takes a good eye for layout, symmetry, color pallettes, and the likes. But, more than that it takes creativity and a drive to turn a space into something special. Now that the Hills' home is almost completely together, I'll be giving a home tour on this blog of mine, going one room at a time. Today I thought I would start with one of my favorite aspects of our little abode. Out built-ins. Let me start from the beginning...
When looking for a rental home for our first year of marriage, husband and I had a want-list of the items in a home we just had to have, but could ultimately live without. After months of nothing, a quaint townhouse popped up that not only had what we needed, but all of what we wanted. And that included built-ins *swoon* on both sides of the fireplace (another want item). Ecstatic wouldn't even describe my joy.
Built-ins are good for two things: books and (well, mostly) decorative items. Really, they're storage for beautiful things. Little by little it has come together, but it has taken months to get it where I want it. With as many shelves as this particular built-in has, I made sure to keep decorating 101's in my head as I meticulously placed each item.
It's extremely important to remember a few things when you start decorating a big, organized space:
- Don't make your built-ins too busy. Select your favorite display items and start there. If you have to eliminate some for the sake of a clean look, then do so. I promise it doesn't hurt that badly.
- When in doubt, less is more.
- Use what you have. Books are great for sprucing shelving up, whether to fill empty space or help prop something up.
- And husbands require space too (see bottom shelves), even if they don't always keep it the tidiest!
- Storage is a great feature to add in; using the baskets I was able to find a neat way to store movies that I didn't otherwise want displayed. Plus, it gives the shelves a unique look.
- I'm about mirroring and symmetry without perfection. On each side of my fireplace I have mirrored the opposite shelf without using the exact same items. For instance, I have glass jars with photo frames across from one another, but they're not the same in any aspect. There are also succulents opposite succulents. Below, do you see it??
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were my built-ins' décor. Over years, I have collected trinkets that are finally finding a place of their own. I am also keeping my eye out for bargains on great pieces. Hello, ends of Target aisles (they're golden!). Little by little the pieces have fallen into place. So keep in mind that it takes time. Even though it can be difficult, patience is certainly required.
It's all in the details. That's what I've always got in the forefront of my thoughts when planning out a room or space in my mind. Make sure your pieces have something in common, that there's a matching detail amongst them. Otherwise you'll end up with shelves that look like cluttered chaos. And no one wants that.
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