old country house blog

Editing – YOU HAVE TO DO IT!!! You MUST EDIT!

OOH!! OOH!!!
check it out, today My Old Country House is
featured on 
DIY Showoff!


NOW
Today
I am going to talk a little bit about 
EDITING
and specifically editing as it relates to
decorating.

There is a fine line
sometimes an almost invisible 
imperceptible line
between
too much and just right.

 


I know that somewhere there are probably 
actual “rules”.
I am a “visual” learner, so rules like that are lost on me.
But I can tell when there is too much.
Sometimes I am not sure which item to remove…or move…but I play around with it.
Style done to perfection!!! by Mary McDonald.
I will never forget one time I was visiting my cousin, Vicki.
Vicki has an amazing home. She also has a wonderful art collection.
For most people her art collection would feel like too much
but Vicki has a way of laying it all out where you look around and you cannot
think of one item that you would discard.
It is ALL styling and  editing.
I watched her one time, style a bedside table for 1/2 hour.
It was hysterical. 
but by God, if it did not look perfect when she finished.
The lamp, the photos, the little dish…
all perfectly placed.
************************************************
 Let your style of “styling” evolve and change …as
your life changes and grows and takes on different shapes. 

BC- Before Children

I decorated with more things that did not serve a purpose, 

But over the years, all of my 
decorating is utilitarian. 

NOTHING is out that cannot be used 
or does not evoke a special memory,
 like a special sea shell or the gorgeous colorful thread
on wooden spools inherited from
my sister in laws Grandmother.



ANY time
 I am embarking on a new decorating venture, whether
it be buying a new pendant light
or styling my coffee table
I hit my favorite blogs and magazine sites
and “google” what it is that I am wanting.
I look for inspiration, and rooms that catch my eye.
Then I add my own spin on it.
Like this Pink cabinet!!!
Or my chevron sofa!

EDIT! Edit! EDIT!
Remember how I loved this Missoni Pink Pouf so much
I went back for one more.
Well, TWO was too much.
The one I had lost its
specialness
and so I took the second one back. 
Too much of a good thing…
is not always a good thing.
But I HAD to see it, to know it.
HAVE FUN!
Make mistakes!!!!
That is how you learn!
PLAY!
The hardest thing for me to edit
is my photos.
 I LOVE photographs
I take photographs. I teach photography.
I adore Photographs and especially…
I cannot get enough of pictures of my kids when they were babies.
I have two coffee tables like this one, (both $6 yard sale scores)
that each came with a sheet of glass on the top.
 I have a whole
gallery of photos under each one,
which I rotate in and out. No frames, no clutter!


When the kids were babies, I had their framed photos

 decorating every single surface in every single room. 
and this is PRE digital era…now it is just SO easy to get a great photo!!!
But as they grew, and I had more babies, it became a cluttery mess.
NOW.
We have a gallery wall upstairs that I give my
 husband an 8″x10″ framed picture
usually, the “picture of the year”, every year for Christmas. 

So REMEMBER:
1. Make Mistakes
2. Rotate things in and out
3. Keep things out that are useful 
4. Change your style as you change

5. When in doubt, scour the blogs and magazines 

and find what YOU like!!
6. Have Fun!!! After all it is home styling 
we are talking about here, not

brain surgery.

8 thoughts on “Editing – YOU HAVE TO DO IT!!! You MUST EDIT!

  1. Found you through the DIY Showoff and am your newest follower. I had actually pinned a photo of your daughter’s bedroom a while ago and I absolutely love it – it made me rethink my whole design plan for my (soon-to-be) daughter’s nursery.
    You have a lovely home. 🙂

  2. It took me a long time to figure out home editing. I would add but not subtract, and I do not like dusting. So, it became too much. I love art museums and I realized I could “curate” my home like the museum does its artwork.
    Now my home makes me feel happy and calm, and I don’t have to dust all the time.

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