Pondering decorating decisions

When I was deciding how to decorate our formal dining room in a previous home, I remember reading an article that showed me what I needed to do in that room and the entire house. The author of the article suggested readers think of their favorite restaurant or B&B, and then make a list of what it was that attracted us to those places.

Mine was easy; my favorite restaurant (up to that date) was The Queen's Inn in Holland, Michigan. We lived in Holland for nearly nine years, arriving when our daughter was just over age two and leaving when she was eleven. We would purchase a season ticket to Dutch Village, which is where The Queen's Inn was located. It was an enchanting place, set up to look like an Old Dutch restaurant within the village (also recreated to look Old Dutch).

As I pondered what it was I loved about the place that I could duplicate, I realized the most important items were the dutch lace curtains on the windows. They gave a light, bright, airy feel to the entire place as well as being beautiful in themselves. Since that time, I've had similar lace curtains in the dining area and bedrooms. Our dining room furniture is Early American, so the Dutch Lace adds a feminity that is a good balance even today.

I like the idea of turning our bedrooms into our own private Bed & Breakfast area. Ours we have now is in the process of becoming like we want it to look. It's odd that we have the same furniture that worked before but the way this room is situated, the large bookcase is now a distraction. Probably because I have to stare at it at the foot of my bed, rather than beside the bed in previous places. So it is going to our son's room soon and I'll have to figure out what to do with all of those books. (Perhaps finding a different style of bookcase for the family room.)

The bedroom was painted a soft yellow when we bought the house and it had the cutest shelves (painted white) over each of the windows. It had been a little girl's room for the past owner but it looks just fine for someone who is FAR from a little girl, anymore (although I think I'm regressing). The two shelves are now home for some of my teapots and tea cups. My husband doesn't think it is too "girly-girly" but I did have to compromise by letting him have the office to uh...decorate. We've been in this house a year in January and nothing has been done, yet. Everytime I walk in here, I wince. Perhaps by the time we've been here a year, he'll forget our agreement and I can start painting! I'm not sure if he will let me take Benny the Bull (or whatever the Chicago Bull's mascot is called) down from the shelves, though. Sigh... I guess he has to have control over one room of the house. I'll just have to put blinder's on when I'm in front of the computer.

By the way, I used a similar technique for decorating my living room when we moved here. I looked through my files of decorating pictures and articles for the look I most appreciated in a living room. I realized I wanted it to have an English Country gentlemen's library feel to it. That's exactly how it ended up and I'm very pleased. It is my favorite room in the house. By deciding this ahead of time, when we shopped for a sofa in that room, we went with a somewhat masculine style with a color called Havana (named, I guess, because it is a tobacco color) rather than the floral I had been considering. Thankfully, the sofa was the only purchase we had to make. Well, there are a few other items I'd love to have but that's another subject (frugality!).

I'd love to hear if anyone has used other ideas to get the look you want in your own homes. Hmmm..perhaps I should have titled this blog Coffee, Tea, Books, Decorating, Cooking and Me. I guess the "Me" incorporates everything else!

Photo: Allposters.com