Week Six

First published Nov 12, 2012

We had been discussing in class how painting and collage work has turned out to be a great way to meditate.  In the midst of my own meditating, a teenage memory came to me! My dad was a builder and we moved quite frequently, much to my dismay. I am the sort of person who should have been born in the family home and lived there for the rest of my life... that's how much I dislike being uprooted. (Yet I have moved across an ocean twice now, so explain that!)  Anyway, my dad promised me a sink in my room, as well as choosing the wall paint for my room, to sweeten the deal of the move. Who said men don't know what women want! This was the 80s... so I chose peach and green colors... one color on the bottom half the wall, and the other on the top half. I had an Ikea bookcase I was so proud of.  I remember keeping my nice Esprit shoe boxes and using them to display items on the book case, much to the entertainment of the rest of my family!

I say all this as I was thinking that this assignment was my first 'styling' project... when I have actually been subconsciously styling most of my life! My other interests overrided it.  It has been a fun exercise to discover this new interest.

This week's assignment was to take a boring interior and give it some punch using pictures found in magazines.  This is a fun styling exercise that can be used to see how a room looks before committing to it.  I had gone crazy, finding all sorts of items to put into my elegant beach cottage room!  Then I remembered what Coco Chanel once famously said... when leaving the house, look in the mirror and take one item off.  I think this is great advice for interiors as well.  I removed the blankets tossed over the couch and beach baskets on the floor.  As the other famous expression goes... when in doubt, keep it simple.