"Does This Bring Me Joy?" - Applying Kon Mari to Interior Design

For a quick catch up on what Kon Mari is, it's a decluttering technique from Marie Kondo and her book: the life-changing magic of tidying up. I cover her book in my previous post, which I hope you will read! Although I haven't started Kon Mari on my house yet, I was inspired to apply it to interior design pretty much immediately! Some things that have been on my mind have been the idea that the decision making process that comes from picking and choosing things that you want to keep vs discard is so important to the growth of the person. If you are designing for someone else it may be more important to get the client involved in the decision making then you or they may feel comfortable with. Ideally if the client had gone through and decluttered already using the Kon Mari method they would be happy to make decisions, having a new found confidence in decision making!

Overview of "the life-changing magic of tidying-up"

So I just finished reading the life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo and I felt inspired to write up an overview of it before I forget and lose it all. It was such an amazing book that I read it in 3 days! For someone who has a hard time getting through a book, I have to say it was very easy to read and kept my interest the whole time. I usually lose interest in a book 10% of the way in, and power through another 10% then it just sits in my kindle app wasting away. Perhaps she can write a book about digital book tidying up as well! Hehe.

16 Neutral Mid Century Modern Style Sofas

Since our Ikea bed collapsed (while I was sitting on it!), we've slowly been replacing all of our Ikea furniture with more solid heirloom furniture. Also now that we have a baby, it's super important that we have safe furniture for the little guy. After the bed collapse incidence, my husband made a new rule: No more Ikea purchases for furniture that supports human weight*. Personally, I love the idea of my friends and family sitting on furniture that will feel solid and classy too; and as always, I love unique furniture that fits our home's mid century age.

I chose neutral (mostly grays) for a couple of reasons. First off, anything that is too bright and obnoxious, is something my husband would never go for, but also I wanted these pieces to last as long as possible and I wouldn't want to purchase anything that I would eventually get tired of or feel became dated. I should also mention that I did not pay much attention to price when I made this list. Some are more affordable than others so pay close attention and maybe you can find something that not only works for your style, but also for your pocket.

"In the Clouds" Montessori Toddler's Nursery

This project is very near and dear to my heart. This is the nursery inspiration board for our son's room. I say Montessori toddler's nursery, but really the bed is the only thing that is Montessori style. Perhaps I will post some additional Montessori style toys that are both educational and stylish in a later post, because they are so damn cool looking!

Mid Century Modern Living Room

I will admit I'm obsessed with mid century modern design right now. Our home is a mid century home so the thought of putting furniture in it that doesn't fit the era of it doesn't feel right. I love the minimal visual space that the furniture takes up and the simplicity of the pieces. Color scheme wise I tried to stay light and airy, but given that I had to work with some existing darker pieces that the client (Me!) already had, there are some rich colors as well like the Indigo rug and gold throw blanket. All together I think it works and it works well with the dining room which is good since it's an open concept space. I hope you enjoy it, please feel free to share your comments below!

Eclectic Midcentury Dining Room in Northern California

I'm so excited to introduce my first design inspiration board for my first client - Me! I have to admit that although this one is inspired by midcentury design, it's definitely more on the eclectic side. I tried to mix warm colors in the woods and tablecloth with cool colors in the art and linens. The linen tablecloth, napkins, place mats, and pottery make it feel like it's connected to earth and natural while the pendant and dark gray plates bring in the industrial (for my husband). The ocean art is what brings it to the coast and the dark cold colors really exemplify the colder northern California beaches. The Heywood Wakefield table and chairs are of course mid century and are what connects the look to the age of the house which was built in 1951. I hope you enjoy this aesthetic as much as I do, and please feel free to leave comments and show me your midcentury (eclectic) dining rooms!

DIY Shadowbox From an Old Soda Crate

I had some African masks that my mom bought in New Orleans and had shipped to me that I've been wanting to do more than just hang in our house. I've seen masks "framed" on TV by simply hanging them and putting moulding around them, but I wanted to do something more. This idea came to me randomly, because I have been smitten over old soda crates and had an extra one left over from a previous project where I used them for an end table. Since this project was slightly more involved than the end table I have listed materials and steps below.