Focusing on Life, Week 38: A Quiet Moment

I think the stacks of magazines I have to go through is a testament to how busy my summer was.  I look at them now though and the weather outside and am anticipating many quiet moments where I settle down in my favorite spot with a bottle of iced tea, my dogs sleeping nearby, and my home decor and gourmet magazines.

 

I go through them once just reading and perusing, but then before I pass them on I go through a second time and tear out photos that have especially caught my eye through color, texture, or things I want to try.

 

 

For example, a couple years ago we were moving into a new home and wanted to have the whole interior repainted since we weren't fond of the pea green and dark red that permeated the entire house.  With my husband's help we selected colors from my binder through a process of each rating them and then me deciding what should go where and next to each other.  I used a Pantone color wheel so I could easily help our painter out.  We were so happy with our choices and how the home feels calm and coordinated.

 

 

 

There was one photo of a bedroom that we both loved the feel of, but when the room was painted neither of us thought we'd made the right choice.  The attic room glowed with pink.  Maybe a way to keep guests from staying too long, but maybe not restful enough for them to get a good night's rest!  LOL!  However, I had the ceiling repainted white this year and that helped a lot.  Then I had to hold off my husband since I really felt once furniture and linen were in the room it would work out to how I'd envisioned.

 

 

 

I've only got 2 twin beds in there right now and the linen colored duvet covers haven't arrived yet, but I think we did good.  The taupe-y pink looks different at different times of day.  I added the green to cool down the palette.  My Aunt gave me the handmade mixed media picture of two birds on a limb over the bed earlier this month that turned out to be perfect for over one of the beds.  Remember that hooked rug?  I love it in this room.

 

 

I know everyone uses Pinterest now in a similar way and I do save stuff there, too, but my very favorite way of getting ideas from photos is leafing through beautifully laid out magazines.