A Collection
“How would you describe your style?” a friend asked me recently as she thoughtfully looked around my home. I thought for a second, because, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how to answer her. (Even though it’s my job?)
I looked around, too. A Van Gogh print tinged green sat at the center of my mantle, and around it were stacks of books - one written by a friend, another found in Free Little Library, a third a favorite of mine - as well as candles, a framed photo of my daughter in a wooden frame, a couple of plants in modern pots. And around the room more of the same. Something vintage or antique, something modern, something thifted, something personal.
The common thread is that everything has meaning to me. Even the free book is about language, and I’m a writer. The Van Gogh depicts a scene atop Montmartre, one of my favorite places in the world. A ceramic bowl was made by a friend; I bought it from her collection of imperfects.
“My style is… collected,” I finally answered her. “I think that’s where the magic is. When people fill a room with things from one line of inspiration, it ends up with a rooms-to-go feel. It lacks soul.”
It lacks story.
When you blend things, that’s where your home becomes a manifestation of who you are and a depiction of the life you have lived and are living.
My house looks like how I feel on the inside.
And none of us is any one thing.
Take out a piece of paper and try the following:
(1) list 10-15 things you can see from one vantage point in your home. this can be furniture, art, books, decor, wall colors, etc.
(2) how do they differ? what do they each say about you?
(3) what’s missing? you’re an avid reader, but we can’t see your books? you love the outdoors but there’s no wood or stone or greenery in your textures?
Let us know what you learn about yourself and your home! And if you need help creating a collection to live vibrantly within, that’s what we are here for!
With love,
Kimberly
founder, first and evergreen
We are stylists and organizers for home and wardobe, in Portland, Oregon.
