Room Tour

I've been meaning to do a post like this since I got home for the summer, but never found a time in which my room was clean and I actually had the right light to take pictures. But! At long last here it is, my bedroom in good old Darien, CT.

It's been through many evolutions since we moved here when I was 8, from the same furniture and linens I had since I moved up to the big girl bed in toddlerhood, to the early tween years of bright neon colors on literally everything, to it's current state of clean white meets spatterings of color plus minor hoarder.

While it's always a bit of a mess (even when it's clean) I seriously adore my bedroom. I find solace and inspiration and energy in this room and the memories that I've saved up here. So, without further ado, here's a peek into my little paradise:

 A recent, but long awaited, addition to hold all my big statement necklaces.

 My absolute PRIDE AND JOY, the biggest and baddest moodboard I've ever made.

Left: The creativity corner, consisting of art supplies, half finished paintings, an old guitar, and all my favorite books from childhood and adolescence.

Right: One of many stacks of books supporting the foundation of the room.

A close up on the mashup of personal photos, handmade items, old jewelry, and magazine tears that is the Wall of Awesome.

Souvenirs and photos from Paris waiting to be scrapbooked and my beloved bag of yarn (note: second stack of books).

 My nightstand and stack 3 of books (these are actually currently in circulation).

My rainbow library/chotchkie collection (and more book stacks that are not being counted).

 My second favorite part of the room, the chalkboard. Updated every few weeks with a new inspiring quote to remind me and all visitors to my abode of the important things in life. (To the left, photos from my high school photography career that I still think are pretty ok).

 A truly excellent 15th birthday gift.

Hoarder evidence... I keep at least one shopping bag from every store I go to.

 Left: The Bed. And yes that is a teddy bear and yes I'm pretty sure I'm cool with the internet knowing about it (pretty sure). PLUS! One of my new favorite magazines, Darling. Check it out. It's fantastic.

Right: Stack 4.

 And finally, atop my dresser, more rainbow books, keepsakes, flowers, and photos.

Dark Room Love

We're in the midst of renovating our house (a much needed bigger kitchen and a new family room yay!) and even though I'm not technically in charge of the renovating, or even the owner of the house for that matter, you better believe I'm giving my two cents on all the design decisions. As a result, I've been thinking about things like paint, furniture, and wall hangings even more than usual. 

 

The current trend on my mind (that I'm almost sure my parents will never OK for any room in our house but that I of course love for any room): dark walls.

 

Rather than making a room feel, well, dark, or small, black, charcoal, or deep navy walls can bring a cozy intimacy into a room. They're also a fantastic backdrop for a gallery wall that really pops and great as accent walls. They're even better if the paint is chalkboard, making a statement wall into something versatile, practical, and creative. While it may sound a little crazy my personal favorite way to use black wall color is in bathrooms. Paired with clean finishes and tasteful touches of color dark walls can make a bathroom modern, unique, and inviting.

 Via Southern Shore Decorating Blog

 via South Shore Decorating Blog

 via Live Breathe Décor

    

via flickr

Journaling

I've always loved journaling. The writing, the notebooks, the gel pens, I love it. Recently, what with the influx of Project Life photos on Pinterest I've started getting even more interested in writing more regularly. I think the concept of documenting your experiences, even the most mundane ones, like you can with something like Project Life is absolutely wonderful.

via flickr

via bloglovin

Another popular journaling form that I've noticed growing online is the calendar journal. Be it in a handmade calendar out of a sketchbook or an index card system, calendar journaling involves writing down your daily life and organizing it in a beautiful way.

via Whit and Whistle

 via Flickr

While I have yet to find the time and/or stamina to start any of these things, I desperately want to. I have a pretty terrible memory and love writing about my day as a way to wind down before bed so it's pretty much ideal for my journaling needs. Before moving up to the expert level of making my own calendars and accumulating a million dollars of Project Life stuff, I'm beginning with the simple act of writing down 5 things from my day at the end of the day. Good, bad, memorable, or boring, I'm writing down 5 things to remember. Eventually I'll hopefully find a store of overwhelming creative juices and turn these little journals into big, colorful, ticket stub and photograph ridden journals.