A home tells a story…

I bought a house. I built a home. I saw a house. I love my home. I live here in my home. My house has a two-car garage. What’s the difference? Well, A house is defined as a structure; and a home involves an emotional connection. Do you have an emotional connection to your home? Or is it just a place to hang your hat. Does it feel warm. Is your home inviting or is it simply wood and stone that houses your furniture, appliances, and clothing.

I read a story the other day that so perfectly described my feelings on modern design elements–black, white, farm house, neutrals, bleached wood, back splash etc. When I first saw this trend, brought to us by shows on HGTV, I always felt that this was a design concept so far off the mark. Farmhouses never looked the way we’ve seen them looking in books, magazines, websites, Pinterest, IG etc. these past 20 years. Anyone that grew up in one would be quick to tell you that no one painted their kitchen white. Kitchens in the fifties were the lightest of blues and greens and yellow. Shelving was wood–sometimes painted, and sometimes metal, wood cabinetry, and sometimes featured a pantry wall or window pane cupboards (I grew up with these) for storage. There are two different styles of farmhouse–traditional and modern. Traditional is not a carbon copy of the farmhouses some of us grew up in or were witness to in the 1960’s or 70’s, but rather a progression of them. Modern farmhouse has cleaner lines, neutral colors and, in my opinion, a stark, bare, and lacking in imagination and uniqueness version of original or traditional farmhouse. Sorry, Jo, and everyone who copied to one degree or another the very first version of “modern” farmhouse. 

A few years ago, I decided to go after a master’s degree. I could have gone back to school to obtain a MBA, but, I wasn’t interested in pursuing any further degrees in accounting, finance, or business. I really wanted to finally go back to school for something that I was passionate about. 

When I was 17, I was passionate about fashion, clothing design, display design, and my dream was to work as a buyer for a store like Bloomingdales or Macy’s. Prior to graduation, I was accepted at a private fashion institute in Minneapolis MN. My first assignment in school was designing a window display. Alas, life had different things in mind for me before I could complete that assignment. I quit school and work and went home. I’ll never know how that would have turned out, but it was sure interesting while it lasted.

I digress. I decided that at the very least at this point in my life, I wanted to pursue learning about design. I applied at and was accepted at a school known world wide for fashion and design. I was enrolled pre-pandemic, attended all courses online, and graduated two years later with a degree in strategic design and management. This degree has everything to do with design, strategy, structure, and management and absolutely nothing to do with fashion or interior design. I knew this going in. In the end, I obtained a degree in something that has taught me everything about structure and design that also pairs beautifully with my degrees in business and finance.

One of our earliest assignments was to create a Pinterest account, which I’ve had for years, and start pinning. We studied trends in design, business, styles in management, and so much more. One of the trends that I just couldn’t come to terms with then or now is the farmhouse trend. Being a dyed in the wool farmgirl, it’s hard to look at the same design over and over and over again with very little variation every time you pick up a magazine, go into Target, or browse sites like Crate and Barrel, PB, and Wayfair. I’m constantly asked by friends in the business if I think this trend will ever die? I’m baffled because deep down, I’m beginning to think no. Kitchens are being designed for likeness, sameness, one duplication after another for pins, likes, and comments. Oh, here and there someone throws in a different color or different hardware, or mixed concepts (rustic w/ shiny, or bright w/ muted colors), but their design aesthetic is eerily similar to one another. I’ve watched, maybe, five HGTV episodes of anything related to fixer upper or design–so I’m not well acqainted with everything that is going on in these shows. That said, they have produced somewhat of a blue print that it would seem no one wants to veer too far off from.

In case you think that I don’t like Joanna Gaines, you would be most definitely wrong. I love her personality, her drive and ambition, and everything her and her husband have achieved. I just don’t like how homogenous everything is in her line of products at both Target and Magnolia.

In case you think that I’ve never fallen for a trend. Ooh boy, yes, oh yes, I have. Going back 30 years it was Amish blues/blacks/white and custom made Amish shelves and decor. Then it was apples–country colors of blue, sage, and cranberry. Then came Hobby Lobby, Pottery Barn, and all things boho from Anthropologie. One day, as I sat in the living room of the apartment that we’ve lived in 15 years, I noticed that although I loved every little thing that I’d ever bought (and I’d bought a lot of it), it was a mish mash of too many trends and not enough me. I sat quietly trying to find me in any one piece. Where was I? How could I spend this much time and money on “things” so unsustainable. How could I say that I was an individual and unique in my own style and ways and have so many things that were carbon copies of everybody else’s kitchen and living room decor. It took a while to find peace and quiet in the noise of it all and then–I took it all down, packed it all up, and donated it.

Eventually, once again, I accepted my own, very special to me, design aesthetic and it found its way back into our home. It’s an eclectic mix of old and new and modern mixed with tradition. Our home is unique and one like it will never be found anywhere on social media or design websites. Though many of the items that we’ve bought have been created by very creative people–our home is anything but IG worthy. And that folks, is a very good thing. When we move from this apartment into our next home or forever home (which I hope is both), this home will come with us because it is a part of us–uniquely designed by me.

Many of the items that I use every day, both in my kitchen, and throughout my home, have been designed or curated or styled somewhere by someone else and I’ve brought them home to use them in my every day life. I found that buying things that connect with who I am creatively and using them or decorating with them help me to make them a sustainable, ever loved and ever useful part of our home. Not an object, not a trend, but a part of the home that we live in every day of our lives. Home is an emotion. House is a structure. 

Just last night, I started watching a show on HGTV featuring Ben and Erin Napier. I must say, I absolutely love these two. I have 8 seasons to watch and I feel so optimistic that trends may finally change–their design aesthetic seems to leave enough room for individual ideas (less homogenous), unique concepts, and color! Lots and lots of color!

I suspect that they will have quite an uphill battle convincing the masses to think beyond the glass tiles, pendant lights, and quartz countertops that everyone designing a kitchen seems to hypnotically be drawn to. I’m here for it, not only for the fresh breath of air their show will bring, but also, perhaps, the challenge it will bring to some designer’s mind to go away from what everyone else is doing (and stop spending more to do it bigger and better). Stop, take a step back, breathe, and decide to let “you” play a bigger part in the design of your home vs. your Pinterest boards, future likes, clicks, and comments.

Until next time,

xoxox