Et Plus Ça Change...

One of the remarkable things that I've noticed as I've gotten older, is how much my aesthetic taste has changed.  It's noteworthy to me because when I was younger, I thought I knew myself pretty well.  I knew what I liked and why I liked it and I couldn't imagine that would ever change.  Those of you who have been down this road can go ahead and start pointing and laughing now.

The younger me was drawn to things that were, well, fussy.  Think dried floral wreaths and Laura Ashley bedding.  Cute was a big factor.  Now, I want clean.  I want simple.  This photo from Regan Baker Design is a pretty good representation of my current style.  I love the simple, serene feeling of it.  The paint colors look like soft linen and it's somehow classic and modern at the same time.  I like to think of it as "beach casual".

Of course, this set photo from "Something's Gotta Give" has become downright ubiquitous and almost cliché, but I still love it.  Everything is neutral, yet, still has great character.  It's hard to imagine ever getting sick of this grouping and if for some reason you did, it would be easy to fix with some new pillows and maybe a new area rug.  Another thing that grabs me every time is the detailed woodwork.  The paint colors are not competing with the molding detail, but rather enhance it through subtle shadowing.  The piece of art over the mantle is wonderful and it's almost as if the rest of the room were designed to fade into the background so you will notice the piece.  Sublime.  The more art I collect, the less interested I am in having my decor compete with it.  The art is the star, not the wall itself.

In my own little universe, I added some more calm to my new living room/studio by saying goodbye to a truly tragic coffee table from a previous life (that LAM had always silently hated) with this overstock.com linen storage ottoman.  It's a coffee table!  It's a bench!  It's a place to stash things I don't want anyone to see!  It's also a great color and pretty well made for the price.

Lately, I've been on a mission to remove floral patterns from my house.  This is one of the things that I loved as a younger person, but no longer have any affection for whatsoever.  The throw pillows on the couch were floral, old and not washable.  They needed to leave.  A trip to Ikea to procure an Alex flat file (this sort of deserves its own post, so I won't go on about it here), revealed these tie pillows.  Yes, Ikea.  Ok, I realize some of you may love the Swedish box store and I don't hate it, but we have a sort of love/hate relationship.  They suck you in with good styling and then you look a little closer and it's well, not always what it's cracked up to be.  There are a few choice pieces that go the extra mile, however and this collection of throw pillows hit the mark perfectly.  Beachy, serene, washable.

One thing that should never be missed whenever visiting any Ikea is their cafeteria, because I always find some neat thing that I've never seen or tried before.  Case in point, this sparkling pear soda.  I saw the can from across the room and thought, "Wow, what a great package design!".  I love the white can with the acid green pear and the stuff inside, is well, it's like crack.  Possibly the yummiest fruit beverage I've ever had.  It's a good thing you can't find it anywhere else, because at 50grams of sugar per serving, it's uh, not low in calories, but the perfect thing to fuel you up for hiking around the store (that counts as cardio, right?).

~ESM