Myspace

This workspace is where I spend most of my time pondering over posts for Tattered Style.  This little corner of the universe is where I have the liberty to be completely and totally creative.  It's amazing to me how this teeny bit of square footage can provide such a sense of escape and freedom.  There's not one thing, by most standards, particularly indulgent about this spot.  In fact, the foundational piece of furniture, an old university desk ~ was found at a thrift store for less than $20.00.  I tossed a painter's drop cloth over it to conceal the unsightly laminate surface.  The unfinished sketch of the woman and dog was an estate sale find.  It leans casually against the wall and supports the undecorated approach to the room.  

It's the breakdown of all the little "things" on my desk that personalizes this space for me.  Papa's vintage stapler from his desk, a zinc letter "P" from Anthropologie, a set of stacking matryoshka dolls that my son brought me from a trip to Russia, an old English biscuit tin I found at a flea market and a hand painted coaster my son picked up for me in Switzerland.

Above my desk hangs a vintage wooden frame that I found on an antiquing outing.  I've repurposed it into a makeshift "inspiration board."  Meaningful objects are clipped to its wire with miniature clothespins I purchased at Walmart.  It's these little trinkets that inspire and motivate me ~  I could have easily incorporated a bulletin board or magnetic board that would have achieved the same purpose ~ but this appealed to me.

The beautiful hand-calligraphy (Dana) was used as a place card at a friend's wedding reception.   The black card reminds me of two things:  First ~ a memorable time in Chicago with some girlfriends (we each bought one to remind us of our time together) and second ~ it challenges me to live in the moment and make each moment count ~ some advice worth adhering to. The sepia toned photo is a cherished grade school photo of my father-in-law. 

This charming old English print hangs above the "inspiration board"  ~ a prized flea market find I picked up for a few dollars. 

To me, some of the best designed spaces are those that evolve or just happen.  They may not have been laboriously thought out or planned but somehow they end up possessing a wonderful, uncontrived feeling to them.  That's how myspace came to be...I hope you have a corner of the world similar to this ~  providing you the opportunity to dream and be inspired.  Have a good weekend. :)

Hiding the Ugly ~ Who Knew?

 

Sometimes we all have to live with life's little idiosyncrasies, not always our favorite thing to do...but oh well. Such is the case with some of the not so perfect things in my home. When we moved into our present location a number of years ago I aspired to have everything in our house "just right" in about 3 months (ha!). Well, eleven years later and counting, we're not quite there yet. Funny how words like "budget, emergencies and emergency rooms" can squelch a design plan. And honestly, who doesn't have things in life that come along and thwarts progress from time to time? Such is the case in my house as well. Long ago, I finally decided instead of bemoaning the "ugly" why not just camouflage instead? I happen to live in a house that is older, not old as in "old with an abundance of character," but old as in "lots of little quirky annoyances". Here are a few of the "someday I'll have a little extra to fix that" projects and I thought I might share them with you.

Master Bath Shower ~ see above photo.  Someday I will have a pristine shower in the Master Bath with shiny new tile and a lovely shower door.

Until then ~ I hung a curtain on the outside of the shower to conceal the unsightly tile and not-so-lovely shiny brass door (complete with custom etched water stains in the glass). I made an inexpensive curtain out of cotton twill and hung it from a curtain rod that I attached. I close the curtain when the shower isn't in use and just sweep the curtain open when it's time to suds up.