Let’s talk décor, or how I wound up with my mom’s decor

I haven’t talked much at all about décor. Why would I? I’ve had enough to do building the house that it wasn’t really worth thinking about. So I’ve thought about it in some vague future land, but locking myself into any plans (or spending money) didn’t seem fun at all. And also, the two things I loathe most are poorly made things that break after 10 years, and replacing stuff in the service of fashion trends. Rebuilding the house and attempting to preserve its original look seemed like a good way to avoid both of these things. And remember that bathroom tile? I was trying really hard not to be trendy there.

So when it comes to décor, let’s talk about how I felt about it from the beginning. I grew up in a house filled mostly with formal brown mahogany Colonial style furniture. Some of my friends growing up found this forbidding and of course my first plan was to run as far away from this look as I possibly could.

So the first ideas in my head were to have very stripped down modern décor. So I wanted an older house filled with charming details, but the plan was a lot of white paint. I’m still totally cool with doing this as long as everything you’re painting was painted before. But I decided that not only would it be cold, but you’d see every smudge and splatter if they were the most decorative things I had. And plus I inherited a lot of nice things that I don’t need to get rid of. So the new plan was to keep the antiques and traditional pieces my grandmother gave me and mix them with mid-century modern pieces. And I’m still rebelling because I’m making nothing match.

But there’s a problem. Mid-century modern furniture is in style. And that means that the plan sofas with slim proportions I wanted are expensive even used on Craigslist. I’ve glanced at the local listings now and then and found pieces that I thought would kind of work, mostly just to predict what I’ll end up being able to get. And then I landed upon this.

It’s as simple and slimmed down as everything I wanted, it’s Kittinger’s Williamsburg line (a very good make), and the cushions are filled with down. I could barely afford to look at something modern and this well made, let alone take it home. But this was $400. And let’s be honest, I decided I could trust the taste of a seller in that kind of an awesome old house.

I sent the listing to my mom and she said BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. A couple friends who are my age agreed so I decided this wasn’t crazy, so I went and got it. It’s a really nice shade of green, I love the soft but rustic fabric on it, and the color matches my rug perfectly. And authentic 18^th Century furniture designs are clearly sleeker than the cheesed up skirted versions that were popular in my childhood. So I’ve come full circle and just might have ended up furnishing my mom’s second house. But really, it’s better to rebel against fashion than my mom. She loves me and fashion just wants to sell me stuff I don’t need.

There was just one catch. It doesn’t fit through any of their interior doors, all of which are wider than my front door. It’s not allowed to stay here for too long even though you’d probably never notice that it doesn’t blong here. Anyways, the next step on its journey should be fun.