Comments on: Real Spaces {Share Your Thoughts}

By: Nadine

Nadine — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:57:56 +0000

Dear Holly, thank you so much for including the picture from our living room. I´m so delighted. Nadines last blog post: Sssssh...

By: moline

moline — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:41:57 +0000

Hi Holly! just stumbled over this post! hugs to you for including me! molines last blog post: Jakob and me and 16 things

By: becky from hatch

becky from hatch — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:44:10 +0000

Holly, You Said: "I think that it’s obvious when you read certain magazines or even blogs, sometimes it’s as though everyone is decorating in somewhat the same way and professing to be unique and not “mainstream” yet they are all unique in exactly the same way, you know?" I found myself chuckling. It reminded me how every waitress at the messenger bike bar has the EXACT same shade of maroonish-red hair, which I have dubbed "alternachick red." A good example: One blogger posts some Catherine Holm stuff. The next thing you know, EVERYONE has it, and I think, hmmm, my cousin grabbed all this Catherine Holm stuff from the 60s from her mother's basement 15 years ago because she dug it, not b/c she saw it in a blog. Everything I see lately looks very "Brooklyn Modern" to me and thus makes me yawn, even though I like the look. It's a lot like that design overload/oversaturation you spoke of quite awhile ago. I haven't been keeping up on all my favorite design blogs lately due to travel, and it was a nice break, and I'm also glad to have TONS of posts to enjoy and catch up on. Glad your blog troubles are cleared up - what a total nightmare! Hope you have a safe trip back! becky becky from hatchs last blog post: A Late Start to My Blogging Week..

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:09:31 +0000

I love Domino, but I can't help but wonder "But where is their stuff?" when I look at the featured houses. I don't necessarily mean clutter, which has such a strong connotation, but just the things one collects and accumulates over the course of life, the things that make a house interesting and unique--the little plate from Stockholm, the candlesticks from Ireland, or even just the old shelf from the neighborhood thrift store. Just before reading this blog post, I was reading Domino's article about its recent $20,000 living room makeover contest--in which the author kept stressing their fixed budget. I may never be in a place where 20k seems a tight budget for renewing a living room, but I'm not sure it would be as much fun, either. Emilys last blog post: Cleaning up and out

By: Niki P

Niki P — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:06:16 +0000

Holly, your post is a much needed reminder.

Truthfully, my home is cozy, friendly, and fun but not very trendy or stylish. If I was single and living on my own, it would be relatively easy to decorate every minor detail. However, I am creating a home for my husband, daughter, and I. That means “perfect” is neither an option nor important to me. My space is more a reflection or how it is used, coupled with my favourite things.

Have you ever read “The Not So Big House Book”? It *completely” changed the way I viewed the purpose of my living space.

By: Nestled In » Friday Flowers*

Nestled In » Friday Flowers* — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:57:36 +0000

[...] about our home and blog! Thank you, AT!) Also, Holly at decor8 featured a photo of our home in her recent post about real spaces. It’s a very interesting read, so for those of you who haven’t read it, I really [...]

By: the creatist

the creatist — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:52:22 +0000

hey! normally, i just read your blog, save the pictures which inspire me, and go blog-hopping. but this post hit the nail. you have just voiced out my own thoughts. all those glossies are selling the perfect house decked up with their sponsor's stuff. its cute, but it's not us. we don't have to be that. home is an extension of the people who live there and not a design idea of a pro. i think people should let their home be acc to their own taste, whether its in trend or not. cheers! the creatists last blog post: on my wall

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:46:35 +0000

When I lived in Ireland I used to go for long, meandering walks along the coast where the fanciest houses were. Of course the most grand of the houses were hidden away behind gates - but there were still plenty of Edwardian era ones with big windows for me to cheekily gaze at every Saturday on my walk. I'll never forget how one morning one of the houses had their long curtains thrown open and I could see a grand piano with a dozen empty wineglasses sitting on it. I imagined what a fantastic and elegant party it must have been the night before. Beths last blog post: Personalized Seamless Tif - Gamer Bear

By: lush bella

lush bella — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:33:44 +0000

i especially agree with julie’s comment about how a space is defined by familiarity and memories. i once visited an apartment we had in seattle. we painted the open shelves in the tiny kitchen (so tiny that only one person could be in there at a time) an apple green. the quirky color scheme extended to the room off the kitchen, whose ceiling we painted gold and walls, blue. not something one would see in an interiors magazine, but we loved it all the same.

the sad thing is that when i was there for a weekend business trip a couple of years ago, i made a point to visit it. it’s a ground floor unit, so i was able to peer in the window…not that i’m in the habit of doing this! anyway, the garden i had planted outside the kitchen window was overgrown with ivy, and the apartment was vacant. it had all been painted white (must’ve taken several coats) and was bare. empty of things, but more than this…empty of emotion, love, and it brought a tear to my eye.

so i think that people, memories, & love are what define a space.

By: Jenni Horne

Jenni Horne — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:49:59 +0000

My Mother had a beautiful gold charm bracelet that I could be caught playing with in her jewelry box all the time. When I became of proper age for my own sterling charm bracelet I was tickled. Slowly over the years I've added to that bracelet. It has on it tiny little symbols of my life's accomplishments, dreams, vacations, and more. Each little symbol on its' own is dainty, but together on my wrist, they make a wonderful chingly noise and become a constant reminder of my past present and future. I say this because it is a wonderful anaolgy of my home. I have collected so many items for my home that represent accomplishments, dreams, vacations, family, and more. Each little piece on it's own is charming, but together, the pieces of my house make it a home. All the nooks and crannies represent our past, present and future. From the markings of the children's height on the door, to the recently rearranged furniture, each component of our home makes it sincerely a place to come home to and feel loved. Jenni Hornes last blog post: Some Mini's and a New Color in the Palette