Pin It Forward!

Today I am so happy to participate in the Pin It Forward project that's taking the design Blogosphere by storm this month! The brain-child of SFGirlByBay and Pinterest - a new online service that lets you share collections of things you love - Pin It Forward a virtual game of tag for bloggers. Working under the theme of "What Home Means to Me", bloggers are putting together blog posts supported by an amazing array of pin boards hosted by Pinterest. Now it's my turn!

In my mind, there are two homes: the home I live in now and the home I will have one day. I am happy living the life of a Bachelor Girl in a one-bedroom apartment, but someday I will have something more. So, with this duality in mind I'd like to present the home I have in real life and my hopes for home of my future life. Obviously, the future home will be just an expansion of what this is, but with more...space.

Place

First and foremost, my home is the city of San Francisco. I love living where the sun shines but the fog keeps things cool. I love that I can walk to the Bay from my apartment, and at the same time enjoy neighborhood bars, eateries, and groceries - all on foot. Living on foot (I don't have a car anymore) is an amazing thing in San Francisco - it's kind of like Paris that way. At one time my home was in Paris (long, long ago) and I hope to get back there some day. My love of Paris lends itself to my decor right now, I can't help it - it keeps popping up!

Color

I created these mini collages from my collection of papers & postcards. I framed them all in Ikea Clips Frames and arranged them in a 4 x 6 rectangle on the wall. They add color and show off some of my favorite images!

I am drawn to the color red - it's the first thing I notice and I find I'm so much more likely to love something if it's red. While most of my pieces are classic and neutral, I've added red throughout my home to punch up the palette. Since it's the perfect coordinating shade, I bring in touches of ice blue and teal for a little counterpoint. But I'm also pretty practical; I love basic white linens, white ceramics, and clear glass. These are always a solid foundation.

Comfort

Pillows are so fun, no? I love making my own from great fabrics, but I'm always on the hunt too. They're the easiest way to change the mood of a room, bringing color and pattern to any place. They're also squishy and soft, and perfect for making one feel like a luxurious queen, even on one's own couch. My couch is full of them! My mother is a great needlepointer - I have only one of her pillows, a dragon that is just fabulous. I'm trying to get her to do more bargello pillows because I think it would be much cooler to have some homemade bargellos than the ones from Jonathan Adler. (Not that those should be over looked - they're amazing!)

My bedroom is blissfully white with touches of red. Pillows from PB and Sourdough.

I'm also a sucker for really great sheets. A long time ago I invested in some high thread-count sheets from Williams-Sonoma Home and they always make me sleep like a baby. I think it makes all the difference in the world! I firmly believe that the bedroom should be cozy and restful. I just love the quiet breeziness of my bedroom. It also gets a lot of southern light, so it's a great room for reading a good book. 

Books & Films

I don't trust a house that doesn't have books in it. There's something odd about a space without books. (Do you hear me Kindle?) I have always had to moderate my book intake and output pretty closely due to space constraints, but I've still built an amazing collection of fashion, art, and literature books. People sometimes forget that these are also great objects too - stacking books is such a quick and easy way to incorporate some style!

The same thing goes for films. If I ever get to peruse someone's film collection, believe me I draw conclusions. For my future home I'd love to have vintage cinema posters throughout - they're so big and always make such a chic statement.

Vintage

In the bath I take a break from red and go for pastel pink. (I have a retro bathtub so this works.) I use vintage pink ceramics to hold my makeup supplies, and a pair of vintage flamingoes grace the top shelf.

I moved into my first apartment just when my Grandma Ida passed away, so I ended up inheriting a lot of her housewares and objects. I try to incorporate them wherever I can! I'm also always on the lookout for the next fabulous piece of vintage furniture that will come my way. I have an amazingly huge Art Deco armoire that dominates my living room (and does double-duty as sewing storage on one side and a TV cabinet on the other) and it is clearly the focal point of the space.

My grandma's vintage typewriter and a vintage trunk.

Inherited or otherwise, I think it's so interesting to incorporate pieces of vintage or recycled items in your decor. I love the trend of industrial pieces being repurposed for interiors, and my future home will definitely have a number of them.

My beloved Art Deco cabinet is topped with some vintage Vuitton suitcases, some West Elm hatboxes, and artwork from SFGirlbyBay, Roll and Tumble Press, and a vintage Broadway poster for "Annie".

More importantly, I think it's always best to mix old and new pieces together to keep everything looking fresh.

Collections

The fabulous jewelry tree is something I made to display my collection of jewelry. It's on my dresser with a vintage glove mold, and a mirrored jewelry box from Anthropologie. My collection of vintage mirrors graces the wall too.

With the vintage idea (as well as the books & films) comes the idea of collections being an integral part of your space. I display my collections of vintage postcards, art pieces, books, jewelry, and pottery. You'd probably never know it though because I don't make them precious. They're a livable style element that just works. I suppose it comes from not having a lot of storage space, or simply because I love them and want to share...either way, it's a part of the space and I think it's a great way to live. Why collect things that you never get to see?

Friends & Family

Even in a small apartment like mine I love to host gatherings. For my future home my idée fixée involves a large farmhouse table that will hold a whole flock of people for dinner parties. Hosting is such a great way to be creative - you can impress people with just a few simple elements and make magic happen. Plus, people are always so grateful that you've taken the time to do something clever and unexpected just for them. It's the perfect welcome!

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do too. You'd be amazed at how many crazy hungry people can get fed out of my little kitchen. Someday a big beautiful kitchen will produce lots of food to grace the giant farmhouse table.

Creativity & Art

I use some of my white ceramics as desk organizers, and a giant apothecary jar from Pottery Barn as a holder for buttons and ribbons.

For someone in design or art, your home needs to reflect your aesthetic or at least be a space where you can stretch your ideas. This is easy for me since I live in such a small place; my apartment does triple duty as a studio, office, and living space. I am so jealous of those that have separate rooms for all of these things! My future home will definitely include a studio/office space of some sort where I can play, make messes, and goof off. But, it will still be an integral part of the home. You are your creativity, so why not show it off?

Art is so important for any space and it's so easy to do! It really is as simple as what you like. I like to mix new prints from emerging artists (you can find hundreds up on Etsy or at craft fairs) with vintage prints, art I've made myself, or even vintage postcards. There is no wrong answer here, so there's no excuse not to have art!

To see my pinboard showing more images of what home means to me (present and future), please visit this link on Pinterest. You'll love it! Also, be sure to visit The Other Tiffany tomorrow (June 11th) for her sure-to-be-amazing Pin It Forward post! The full schedule of Pin It Forward bloggers (all 300 of them) can be found via this link back to SFGirlbyBay.

Comments

[victoria]

this is just beautiful, annie, and so inspiring! i love it (i'm with you on the books, and good sheets!). thanks so much for contributing!

[Ludmila {CreamyLife.com}]

Annie, it's so impressive that we have so many things in common such as colors, comfort and of course friends & family! Very sweet post! xoxo

[jodi]

wonderful post!

[Meghan @ Out of Order]

these are lovely photos of your home! Thank you for sharing, they are so inspiring!

[cvanlang]

Very sweet. Love the vintage stuff and the collage wall you have. Your comment about "no excuse not to have art" is right on.

[Ms. P&C]

Thank you everyone for all of the wonderful comments! This was such a fun post to put together... It's amazing how many of the Pin-It-Forwards have common themes, but they're each interpreted in unique, beautiful ways. I love it!

[brittany]

i absolutely love the picture of your bedroom!
and love your pinboard! xoxo

fortheloveofgold.blogspot.com

[Jen | Modern Paper Goods]

Just joined Pin Interest yesterday in fact and couldn't quite figure out what I was supposed to do. Does that make me a fogey? Anyhow, I love this post! It reminds me of all the feelings I had in apartments in my past. The warmth you feel towards things you've collected along the way. And I am so with you on the books thing! Anyhow, I don't get by very often but when I do, I'm glad! Keep up the lovely blogging!