Your home decorating reveals you!

 

Earlier this year, I moved into an apartment, and I had the opportunity to create a living space for myself. In the past, interior design was not a priority. I had places to go, people to see, adventures to be adventured. But, because of the pandemic, my move to the apartment slowed down until it was in serious danger of losing a foot race to a sleeping snail. And, when my contacts with other people became mostly virtual, I gained an opportunity to learn about design in an online class format. The instructor, a professional storyteller and former interior designer, Lorna MacDonald Czarnota, got me excited about about design. I couldn't wait to get started.

Because of the slow move, I had the time  to work on the design that would make me happy and would tell a story about who I am. Also, the goal was to keep the apartment from turning into a chaos of art supplies and yarn! But I didn't want just order. I wanted a design that would reveal who I am as a person and as an artist.

I read on the internet that the way that you decorate your home can give a lot of information about your personality. But there is some level of controversy about this. Does choosing neutral colors make you a boring, predictable type of person who dislikes adventure, as was suggested in some of the articles?

Or does it mean that you have interesting pieces, full of texture and unusual shapes, that you want to show off, and you really would prefer not to have a bright orange wall attract all of the attention? Can you be a person who likes having adventure, despite having neutral walls?

So I moved into an apartment with a kind of muted blue carpet and off white walls. Sounds boring, right? But that was what I had to work with. Repainting the walls was not an option. although I admit that I would have chosen a light blue, as opposed to something bold and dramatic.

But that's just as well. Bold and dramatic walls in small rooms make them look even smaller. Muted colors are better for giving the illusion of space. And, since I am quite claustrophobic, I would prefer not to have the impression of the walls closing in on me. So the plain walls were a canvas on which I could create my Alice space.

Because I've been painting for a fair number of years, I wanted my paintings to get the attention, to be, so to speak, center stage. I felt that my artwork would reveal who I am and would create the image that I was hoping to create.

My first step was to group the paintings together by theme. After that, I chose the places in which to display the paintings.

By my couch, the theme is sunflowers.

I love painting sunflowers and I love photographing sunflowers. I especially like photographing sunflowers that are hosting a very busy bee. 

In my small eating area, I chose a a more food oriented theme.

And, because I am Alice, the theme also includes tea parties. I have an eclectic set of nonmatching bone china teacups that I purchased at various garage sales.

I love to display them, and the cube storage unit is a great place to show them off.

My bedroom has a teddy bear/storyteller theme.

It is my happy space, with hand crocheted afghans on my bed.

My apartment is really small, and, through my research into how best to decorate a small space, I found out that I should go vertical and utilize wall space. Placing shelves on the wall adds interest and excitement to the room.

I love to read so I needed to arrange my design around bookcases in my living room. And I found that the height differences between the bookcases added a good deal of visual appeal to the room..

Being an amateur interior designer has been fun, I hope that this glimpse into my space reveals the story of Alice. What does the way that you've decorated your home reveal about you?