Pretty. Today is simply beautiful. The grass has been mown, the birds are singing, blooms are about to open, the sun is shining. Oh spring, I’m very glad you’re here.
We took our lawnmower in to our local hardware store for a tune-up. The news was not good. The blade was bent, something else was broken and their advice was that it would be less expensive to replace the lawnmower than repair it.
We beat the heck out of our lawnmowers. There’s a lot of grass on this property and a lot of uneven, hilly, and sometimes rocky ground. They earn their keep, that’s for sure. I’m convinced that they have a five year shelf life. We’ve gone through two of them since we moved here. Just for clarification, we’re talking a push mower, not a rider mower. We do the pushing. A lot of it.
So, Don stopped at Lowe’s and we spent a half hour putting it together and then we did some serious mowing. It’s so shiny and red and purty. Alas, I know that will fade in time and it will look like the workhouse it is destined to be. But for now? Like a new red wagon. Or a red snowblower. Shiny and glossy and sleek looking.
I succumbed to the lure of magazines the other day and bought Country Living and a special publication called Bohemian Home – because you must have noticed that Boho decorating is all the rage. Lots of color, plenty of vintage and exotic fabrics and textiles, eclectic decor and, as far as I can tell, lots of plants. It’s a cheery look. As I thumbed through the pages of this particular publication, I was struck by the fact that the rooms I was seeing were rather like anyone’s home who uses a lot of color and an eclectic style. Like, for example, my home. Though I wouldn’t call it Boho – lots of pattern but not necessarily the same kind of pattern and of course I tend to gravitate toward reds and McCoy colors – it’s awfully close to what I see out there. I would choose the words eclectic (which I’ve used a lot in this paragraph already!) and colorful, with a dash of cottage style re: my home, but decorating is all about labels and trends and styles and Boho seems to be the word and hot style of the moment.
Anyway, I like the pictures but, at least in the magazine I bought, they don’t look shockingly new or different. They just look like the sort of mix I’ve alway preferred – both in my home and in the ones shown in magazines and online that seem to draw me in. Is it marketing? Or did home design bloggers like Justina Blakeney (whose style I really admire) coin this term and go with it?
Blakeney – I’ve been reading her blog for a long time – tends to use a mix of wonderful textiles and her multi-cultural upbringing and world travels have definitely influenced her style. Her style is truly Bohemian and happy and infectious.
But there’s nothing new under the sun. That particular style reminds me very much of the way young people (which I was at the time) decorated in the sixties and early seventies. Lots of fabric from India, beads hanging from doorways, lots and lots of plants and sunlight, cushions covered in exotic fabrics. And some macrame plant hangers. All done on a budget, because who had money in those days?
It all comes around again. Mid-century modern is the exact same style I grew up with. My mother, rejecting my grandmother’s style, went for all modern. No antiques. No period anything. Been there, done that. I, in turn, have rejected what was called modern or contemporary at the time, and have embraced the eclectic, with a nice mix of vintage thrown in. Mid-century modern holds no appeal for me, perhaps because I was surrounded by it when I was growing up.
The same goes for fashion, of course. I wore midi-dresses in the seventies. They’re back. And tie-dyed shirts? They’re back – at least around my neck of the woods. Again; been there, done that. (Although, to be honest, I was never a fan of tie-dye even back then.)
It’s fun to see how a style resurfaces, but with a new spin. It’s refreshed. It’s added to. It becomes a reflection of a new generation’s take on the subject.
What style did you grow up with? Have you embraced it or have you moved in a different direction?
Don’t forget to stop by my post about Enabling the Change. There’s a fun video to watch (you might see yours truly) and you could be the winner of a $100 Visa Gift Card!
Happy Friday.
Spring has sprung, over here in the UK. We have had lots of rain and some sunshine, so everything is in full bloom. A weekend of gardening awaits us, soo looking forward to the bank holiday weekend. Great blog, thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Linda!
Claudia, I grew up with a lot of mid-century modern and that is the style my daughter Sara and her husband Blake love (and they live in a 60’s home). I’m eclectic but have embraced the IKEA look a bit (LOL). Bookshelves I can decorate and a large TV in one area. Then an old dining table and another storage piece with a built in desk. In my bedroom I’ve gone back to my youth when I always wanted white bedroom furniture and Pink! All of this sure makes me happy, but my home will never be magazine worthy that’s for sure! I do love old things and have collected pottery and glassware for many many years. Funny how it all does go round and round.
hugs,
Linda
I also meant to say the the Boho look is something I did in the 70’s with fabric from India and those macrame plant hangers. Lots of plants and even my mattress on the floor! Cool back in the day! Fun memories!
The most important thing is that our homes make us happy and embrace our own particular decorating styles. Yours does, my friend.
I grew up with a sort of traditional/bohemian style home (if those two could go together?). My mom loved plants, hanging lamps with basket shades, books on shelves (quite like yours), shag carpet, but traditional, regular furniture. Oh, except for the wicker furniture in the area with the plants. A real eclectic style. That style is exactly what my house has now. Her kitchen walls were bright mustard yellow, mine are bright turquoise. She had dark wood furniture, I tend to too. She had books everywhere in our house, so do I. I go for vintage accessories more than she did, but my accessories are what was in style back then! I have more of my children’s art hanging than she did (we were not artists) and prefer leather couches to her traditional style ones. Overall, her style is pretty close to mine. And mine is extremely close to yours–that’s why I love your blog.
Ah, thank you, Laura. It sounds like your mom had a great decorating style which you loved and have made your own. Love that.
Fun post Claudia. I do remember the “Boho” look from the late 60’s/early 70’s. I think we all decorated that way back then out of necessity (lack of funds). What I find amazing now is how expensive that stuff is today. An Indian print bedspread could be gotten for under $10 back then…now the one’s I’ve seen are at least 10 times that much. We have a mix of stuff in our house…some furniture that was in my home growing up, some furniture my grandfather made (love, love, love the birdseye maple bureau we have), some pieces my husband found on the streets when he lived in NYC (60’s) and a few pieces from his boyhood home. Oh, and we still have Ikea furniture bought years and years ago — a love seat we used on a back porch is now in the bedroom that was/is our son’s and shelves in the livingroom. The mix suits us well.
I love that you have a mix, Vera. So do we. And I have some IKEA furniture, too. Some to it I really like!
Oh! Meant to say also that I tried to watch your post “Enabling the Change” the other evening, but my laptop froze…will try again this weekend. Looks interesting for sure. And, it was great to hear your voice!
My computer froze too. So sad! ~Sherry
Ah, too bad! That happens with my husband’s computer, which is my old one. Some laptops just can’t handle videos or maybe it’s the time of the day and the demands on the server….who knows?
I like the BoHo style. I think the difference is the fabrics and the colors. There is several colors you don’t usually see, like orange. I think I tend to go for more subtle colors. I call my colors Ice cream colors I always thought you colors were McCoy colors.
Brenda of Cozy Little House just redid her little home in BoHo and it looks so cute.
We are losing our little Yorkie. I have thought of you a lot his week. Our Springer is a mess watching her decline.
Hope you have fun this week-end with your new mower.
Orange can be nice, but in small doses! I have an orange-red Fiesta platter on the kitchen table – that’s probably enough for me.
I am so, so sorry to hear about your baby, Debby. Please know I’m holding you and your sweet dog in my thoughts and prayers. I know how very hard this can be. And is. Blessings to you and your family, my friend. xoxo
Whatever your style may be called, Claudia, you make it work for you. I like many styles, but I have had no particular style ever since I moved and had children. It’s enough to stay ahead of the chaos.
Oh, I bet it is! Children can definitely tip the scales in decorating!
Good Morning Claudia. We were fairly poor and I grew up with thrift store and hand me down furniture but never thought anything of it because everyone I knew was in the same boat! I don’t care for mid-century modern at all. I’m a mix of vintage, antique and cottage, (I think). I like blues and whites but not the Boho prints so popular now. I crochet doilies and blankets and they are allover the house. I think it makes it look comfortable and cozy. Bookshelves abound. I just received my Country Living yesterday and I’m looking forward to reading it tonight while in my comfy camping trailer at the lake.
Blessings,
Betsy
Oh, that sounds like heaven! Reading by a lake in a comfy trailer. I’m in!
I still have a large macrame hanging from the 60’s, and some plant hangers from back in the day, also. We had ORANGE shag carpeting in our first house…. and harvest gold appliances. I still love so much from the 60’s and 70’s ~ esp the colors ~ but NOT the orange shag and harvest gold! It does appear lately that so much from that era is back in style. I often think of that when we purge things. I don’t miss much when I do, until styles come back 30 or 40 years later and remember all of the “genuine” stuff I had that we gave/ threw away.
Hope you have a great weekend. It is just beautiful here today. Many many pots to plant over the next few days. Right now our picnic table looks like it belongs in a nursery with so many plants just waiting for their turn! If anyone is looking for hanging plants, Home Depot has them 2 for $10 this weekend. They are beautiful!! There are certainly more than $5 worth of plants in each one. (No, I don’t know anyone at HD, just a thrifty tip to share!!) :-)
We had avocado green everything! That was the brother to harvest gold! Even the appliances in our trailer were avocado green. Yikes!
Thanks for the tip about the hanging plants at Home Depot! Go get ’em, everyone!
I was born in the 50’s, a child of the 60’s, and a product of the 70’s. There’s a style in there someplace…I think it’s eclectic cottage country with a modern twist! Actually…I have no idea what my style is. I have plants…lots of plants…quilts, pottery…some mid-century…some not. My parents called their style Mediterranean…it was traditional, and they also had MCM furniture, of which I am not a fan. I’ve never turned down a free piece of furniture, so we have a healthy dose of hand me downs…I’ll just call them modern antiques, and furniture that we actually picked out. All I know is, it’s home…my happy place. I’m really just an old hippie at heart! ;)
I remember Mediterranean! Lots of my friends’ parents used that style. What a great memory!
Back when Pier 1 was where you went for Indian print bedspreads (and water buffalo sandals), my apartment looked like every other young hippieish young person’s, with a lot of stuff that pleased the eye. Now my style is an evolution of my grandmother’s and mother’s — and I have a lot of their finds that live happily with my own. I think I have a good eye inherited from and nurtured by them. My grandparents lived in a pre-Revolutionary stone house in the Hudson Valley, my parents in a 1911 Colonial Revival in Connecticut and I in a Gulf Coast Queen Ann Cottage. Our style is traditional with a somewhat eclectic twist. I leave the mid-century stuff to my daughters.
I well remember that Pier 1 and all of the shops in my college town that carried all those bedspreads and macrame plant hangers.
I did the Boho back in the 60’s and 70s. I like eclectic now. I am a firm believer that you should decorate in a way that makes you happy. xo Laura
Absolutely, Laura. I always say that you should be able to look around your living room or any room and smile. That’s all that matters.
We moved so much when I was growing up, I don’t think my mother ever embraced any particular style. Eclectic would fit though. Lately, I’ve been calling my style traditional, transitional, eclectic. After two months we are still transitioning from storage to home.
We bought a mower a couple weeks ago. A push mower with all wheel drive, since J has a few issues. He tried it out the other day and likes it. We gave our riding mower to the son in law with the most yard to worry with. J always used a push mower at our former home but decided a couple of years ago it was time for a rider. Of course, we then sold the house and bought this little beauty with a postage stamp yard.
I think your style is everything you mentioned. You have such great taste, Pat.
We’ve thought about a rider, but since the ground is so uneven we’re a bit wary of one. I think we feel like we’re more in control with a push mower. And, of course, it’s less expensive. So glad you’ve found your little beauty, my friend.
The Bohemian style makes me feel young. It was how we declared our independence in the home decor area in the 70’s. I never got tired of it as I did with other styles that came along. I’m glad it’s back with the beautiful print fabric, leafy green hanging plants, and general exotic vibe. Having said all that, I don’t think I have much Boho going on in my house right now. Must fix that.
I bet you could do it with a few pillows and throws.
Maybe something woven, as well?
My parents had six kids in seven years, and one [paying] job, so I guess their style, at first, could be called “early hand-me-down.” We got lots of furniture from relatives and friends. Once they had enough $$ to have a real style of their own, it was very traditional. They refinished a solid oak dining room set – table, 8 chairs, sideboard & china cabinet – given to them by a friend of my grandmother when I was a baby, installed woven wood Roman-style blinds on the main floor, bought new upholstered furniture for the living room, renovated the kitchen and bathroom etc – all during the years I was in high school and college. My own style is very similar except that my furniture is Shaker – and I have FAR less on display than my Mom did. She had things out on tabletops and shelves and growing up, I “got” to dust them all. Because of that, in my home I’ve made a real effort to avoid “dustables.” Lots of baskets and framed folk art, but much less tabletop clutter. Enjoy this sunshiny day!
I do love Shaker furniture with it’s clean lines.
I, for better or worse, have a lot of dustables! That’s what happens when you collect pottery, china and egg cups, I fear.
I like the BoHo colors, but don’t think I could live with them. Orange has never been one of my favorite colors. Don’t know why tho.
It’s raining cats and dogs here again. We are suppose to have 5-6 inches in the next 24 hours. Hopefully, this will mean a cooler summer. Who know s???
Have a great weekend.
Judy
Gosh, Judy, Tulsa has sure had a lot of rain! 5 to 6 inches is a LOT! Surely everything in the garden must be shooting up and blooming like crazy! Hang in there, my friend.
I grew up in the 60’s, harvest gold and avocado green everything, even the kitchen sink was avocado green! Sofas that looked like fabric covered boxes, naugahyde recliners, heavy drapes, kitchen and bathroom carpet…all in colors I hate to this day. My grandmother had brand new colonial revival furniture, never much cared for that either.
I’ll take simple and functional furniture but it must be comfortable like something from the 1930’s. I prefer thrift shop finds that don’t match, anything with a real story behind it gets my attention. A smattering of true colonial, the warmth of wood, especially wood floors, a mix of color but muted and welcoming with a pop here and there. I love handmade pottery as much as you love McCoy and handmade linens and doilies have to be rescued from yard sales and thrift shops.
Your style sounds lovely!
And I feel the same way about avocado green and harvest gold. Detest them! Never again!
I bought that Bohemian magazine too Claudia..I haven’t got to sit down with it yet but now I think I will tonight..I agree that the Boho style is what we loved in the 60’s/70’s and I am loving it again and trying to add a bit to my home..I have a lot of items from those years that I find at yard/garage sales..flea markets..thrift shops..Back then I made and sold Macrame and Tye-Dye..
I’ve just thumbed through it, I really want to sit down with it and take my time with it.
I had several macrame plant hangers back in the day!
The house I grew up in was the same house my mom grew up in. It was built in 1916. I don’t know that there was a style. We just had things left by her siblings and parents. As needed things were replaced, but for the most part we lived with the old things.
We had real wood Venetian blinds, hard wood floors, cabbage roses on the wall paper. We had a built in Hoosier.
When we finally moved out of that house we took all of the antiques with us. When my mom died I got all of the antiques. My neighbor traded me a wonderful old oak table for a monstrous glass dining table. The oak table has battle scars which I love.
I have “decorated” around the antiques, and anything I have added is with them in mind. My house is crowded, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nor would I, Trudy. Your house sounds so lovely, as does the house you grew up in!
My mom embraced the avocado green and harvest gold of the 70’s. Me?? I begged, and begged until I got blue carpet in my bedroom, with blue paneling on the walls (yes, you read that right!). I’ve loved blue since childhood … so you’ll find blue in every room of my house, mixed with the red from my massive vintage Schilling tin collection. I’m not sure what to call my style – I guess more of a cottage look. Definitely NOT magazine worthy, but filled with things I love.
We must be on the same wave length because I was just thinking the very same thing today. My first apartment was very boho. Because of my father’s travels around the world, I was exposed to so much multiculturalism (before that was a buzzword) that it seemed to me the only way to decorate. I lost all of it when it went into storage when I went to live in the middle east for three years. I was told that the warehouse it was in caught on fire. Lot’s of us lost all our furniture. I was sad of course, but I have fond memories of my hippie chic apartment in NYC. I got an insurance check and went for a modern look when I moved to Houston. But then, that townhouse was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Now I am quite traditional with a mix of things inherited from all sides of our families. I am hoping that my current look stays with me for a long time because it’s comfy and broken in and filled with the memories of everyone I love. BTW ~ love that McCoy blue/green and red. Great color combo!
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
Well, since you asked…
My problem is that I like too many home decorating styles.
Yes, boho/hippie in the 70s with no plastics or pastels or white-painted furniture (nor frilly or fluffy or sparkly)…everything had to be neutrals, like natural-woven baskets, wood fruit crates for bookcases or to house record albums, maybe throw a paisley scarf over a lampshade, macrame/jute plant hangers…green plants everywhere…rocks and shells and dried flowers…flared jeans with peasant blouses; eating at the ‘new’ health food restaurants with a sandwich made of homemade bread and sprouts; herb tea. It was all new back then. But by late 80s and thru the 90s we trended to shabby chic; sage/pale pink or baby blue ditsy and chintz fabrics, lace and delicate bone china; white wicker and vintage-everything. Beachy. Cottagy. Beadboard.
I grew up mid-century modern but my parents had furniture from the 40s. All we usually had was a bunch of old stuff so, when I ‘grew up,’ the last thing I wanted was old stuff. I didn’t really have an appreciation for vintage and antiques until I was middle-aged. Now, and I’m sure it’s true of a lot of us, I’ve wound up with a mix of old and new; I’m drawn to frou-frou and then get sick of it. Love soft colors and then get hungry for bold colors.
One time I was at a party for a wealthy attorney in Malibu…not my usual crowd at all (I’m a plain, small-town girl). The house was professionally decorated to where the same color theme and furniture was pretty much uniform from room to room for good ‘flow.’ It looked like it was done up for a magazine shoot, but this is how they lived every day…which can never be me, with pets and garden mud and too much stuff accumulated and kept for too many years.
Through my work, I once stayed a weekend at a gorgeous adobe-style house near Phoenix, Arizona, and a lot of the furniture was from Mexico…magnificent rough-hewn wood entry doors, tile floors, terra cotta pottery, colorful woven blanket-throws. I liked that, too.
If I can just harness clutter and try to contain ‘collections’ of things, that’s my best decorating ‘style’ now. Each room of my small house is much different from the other, so it’s not as ‘restful’ and calming as it should be but it’s an imperfect reflection of imperfect me.
I’m not into industrial-type lofts. Not too much into Far East decor. Not really drawn to Early American/Colonial American. I appreciate elegance and refinement but I can never seem to pull it off!
I think you just have to surround yourself with things you love. Hopefully, they’re comfortable and useful.
As young adults during WWII my parents, after emigrating to the states,
were able to afford a few nice things. My mother chose Conant Ball birch
Modernmates dining room pieces. I remember she could only have the
hutch base at first until they could afford the top. I, however, developed a
love for maple colonial. I started out with refinishing Goodwill things and
making do. I still have my teenage French provincial white (painted over
many times) set in my guest bedroom. This French style was a short lived phase. One, I am sure, many teenage girls go through. Now at nearly seventy years old I have the lovely
maple that I had always wanted. I was able to get my maple just
before Tell City closed its factory. My parents are no longer alive and my
daughter has the beloved Conant Ball. Authentic mid century. I still have and use the dishes I
chose at 21. Johnson Brothers Fruit Sampler. Never cared to have
‘fine’ china. My taste has not diverged much over the years. There are
lean patches where colors are not available. I sure did not like the ‘jewel
tone’ era. Comfy, and well worn, might describe my space,
Claudia, I was going through old comments on my blog, and I came across your comment and thought, “Hey, I never checked out her blog”. So here I am. I just subscribed because I like what I see!
Also, I wanted to comment to this particular blog post because it made me think of a blogging idea I had recently. Are you like me and when you enter someone’s home and see that they love books, that one of the first things you want to do is explore their bookshelf? Ha!
Kim