Decorating Outside of the Lines

Let's talk a little about decorating outside of the lines, shall we? I'm not sure where I'm going with this thought so I invite you to just roll with it and let's see where we end up. I am LOVING the photography of Trine Thorsen, these rooms are gorgeous, ethereal, absolutely stunning and I can't help but think about this topic of decorating outside of the lines as I look at them and here are some reasons why.

I know so many are scared to decorate with lots of white but take it from me, someone who isn't neat as a pin and who never had a mostly white apartment in her life (until now), I LOVE it. I think it works for me because I have no children, no pets, and my husband is well trained (he he), but it also works because I have a slipcovered sofa and find it even easier to keep clean than color or patterned sofas because I can simply remove the cover and wash it with a little bleach so any stains vanish. I had lots of white growing up, I grew up on the coast so of course our home was filled with sunshine along with sea-inspired colors and textures (my mother loves blue, green, and yellow) but as an adult I fell into using lots and lots of color and pattern and got away from a mostly white palette since we relocated from South Carolina to Boston. Now that I'm using the colors and textures here in my German apartment that I grew up around in the Carolinas, I feel absolutely comfortable and at home. I also feel extremely peaceful inside. View apt. photos (here.)

My other flat in New Hampshire is mostly beige, brown, yellow, green, and blue with creamy white and tons of texture. Being in New Hampshire this works because of the nearby forests and lakes, the interior colors mimic the natural setting around me. But I have discovered recently that those colors don't really 'click' with who I am and my personality. When I came to Germany this year to set up my 2nd apartment, I assumed I'd fall into the same palette since the city I'm living in here is 1-2 hours from the sea, I'm mostly around forests - but I was determined not to do this and to experiment a little so I decided before even coming over to plan my entire palette and pull together mood boards in advance so that once here I could not change my mind. I decided on soft pastels, mostly white, with accents of black and silver. Much to my surprise, it was very easy to find the colors I wanted to use in local shops so the decorating process was an absolute breeze. I wondered though if decorating in pale hues vs. strong brights or earth tones would somehow be a problem. I once held strong to the belief that your home should absolutely reflect what is outside of your front door. That's what you learn in design school, design books, magazines, you name it. It's one of those rules of design you are told really matters. For instance, if you live on the coast, you should use colors that work with the natural palette outside. If you love in the country, you may want to go with a more earthy scheme. And while I still believe that to some extent that this is true since it can promote balance (spiritual, emotional, etc.) I believe that you can break the 'rules' and mix things up when circumstances call for it. The most important thing is that your home provides you with peace and fuels you to live a life you truly want to live. A home that nudges you to 'go for it' when it comes to all of your dreams and desires, it's not a draining place but an inspiring one. I think the rules can be broken (and should be) if perhaps the colors where you live are not ones you feel comfortable living around in your interior space.

When I say "mix things up when circumstances call for it" I mean... well let me illustrate. Here in northern Germany the weather can be gray a lot in the Winter and Spring, and it gets dark now at 4 o'clock, so using a very washed out light palette gives me energy no matter what the weather is like outside. If I had painted my walls gray, plum, and beige as I had originally thought to, I may have felt sad because while those colors are gorgeous they may have made me feel depressed. Having lots of light colors and tons of white makes me feel like I'm living in Sydney on days when the sky is showing me nothing but storm clouds. It's a good way for me to trick my mind and to feel like I'm living on the coast again too as I really do miss living beachfront and though I doubt I will again anytime soon, I am able to pretend that my city apartment is a lot closer to the shore than it really is because of the colors and textures I use.

It's quite fun to experiment with this, using colors that don't necessarily 'match' your place on the map, and I encourage you to try it in case you are totally bored out of your brain with your current hues or in case you feel a bit down or drained in your home. Try mixing things up a bit, pull in things that inspire you, if you are living far from your dream land try to bring bits of that dream to you no matter where you live.

Here's another good example of this: my friend Petra from southern Germany currently lives in the north and despite being German she has created a home, shop, and work studio that feels just like Morocco the moment you step inside. It's magical, amazing, transporting. She uses colors and fabrics that few here use, and she frequently travels to Marrakesh to pick up more fabrics and home accessories, notions, etc. to add to her home and shop and she shops online for silks and vintage suzanis and such from India and beyond. She has never lived outside of Germany but when you step into her 'world' here you'd swear she was born and raised in Morocco. She is absolutely inspired by this bohemian ethnic style and has been for years, long before it became trend, so I find her decorating style absolutely refreshing. Her colors are definitely outside of the lines so to speak. Locals flock to her shop to see what she's up to and to purchase what she has created with her own hands using materials from all over the world. There is absolutely nothing in her life that feels typical German and this is for a reason, she isn't typical and she doesn't feel inspired by some of the design in the country in which she was raised so she decided a long time ago to build the world around her, at least her personal surroundings and what she can control, to look and feel like what is rooted deep inside of her heart and soul which is ethnic design and an oriental lifestyle. And why not?

I've said a lot here today, but looking at Trine's photos I thought about how white has inspired me lately and well, all the words above that spilled out onto this page is just what ran through my mind as I thought about white, how I've used it successfully in my own home, and how no one has to feel confined by decorating rules - if you like a particular style or color then GO FOR IT. I think the days of interior design as it existed in the past up until a few years ago are OVER. I don't think we need to be told to do this or that in order to achieve the perfect space. I'm so over the whole minimalist chic, with perfect symmetry here and $10,000 designer sofas there with $600 per roll wallpaper. Aren't you over it? I pick up design magazines these days and unless they are showing realistic and somewhat affordable design, fun projects, well written articles, and inspirational homes, I don't even bother buying them. I once spent $150 a month on magazines. Now I spend around $30! Why? I'm not inspired by $4,000 chairs in a million dollar home. I am inspired by being totally original, loving your home, decorating in a way that supports you and your lifestyle (and wallet), and not stressing over impressing others - the key is to IMPRESS YOURSELF. This pride and happiness doesn't come from decorating to impress your friends but comes when you sit back on your sofa, look around, and feel extremely pleased in your nest because everything around you is 100% your style.

For more beautiful lifestyle and interiors photography, visit Trine online here.

(images from trine thorsen via the graphic exchange)