Designing From Afar

If you've been keeping up with this blog, you may have come to wonder how it is that I've been home shopping with accuracy, when most of my belongings have been in storage for a year now. And, how on earth I've managed to be designing for a piece of real estate in which I don't yet have the keys?!

Two words: Pinterest and Fotor.

If you're not familiar with the website, Pinterest, get off your lazy keister and check it out. (Actually, you'd be perfectly safe attempting this while staying on your lazy keister. As a matter of fact, some might argue that your keister will become even lazier once discovering the site... but, I digress.)

Pinterest is a photo-sharing site in which you can develop virtual inspiration boards about anything your little heart desires. It's usually used for sharing hilarious memes, inspirational quotes, pop culture references, fashion ideas, recipes and the like.

But, I've also found it handy for piecing together home decor ideas as I was leading up to my home purchase. 

I created a private board to save every piece of artwork, furniture and DIY idea I thought I might be interested in purchasing or using because---let's face it---if I don't pin it now, I'm never going to remember where I saw it later!

Then, comes in my favorite photo app, Fotor. (You can use any app of your choosing that has a collage feature.)

I had already uploaded pictures of my existing furniture, artwork and recently acquired goods. I then grouped these pictures into a separate collage for each room that I'm working on.

I've always designed any room that I'm decorating around the artwork. If you have art pieces that you love and you place them into a room you want to spend time in, you already have a built-in color palette! This simplifies matters significantly and this method has never done me wrong.

I'm moving into a mid-century building. So, I was excited at the chance to mix some modern and pop art into my existing collection of vintage advertising, Norman Rockwell and Edward Hopper pieces.

Next, I made a collage of the existing prints that I already own and slid in images of pieces that I might want to add to my collection. Seeing them grouped together in one place gave me the opportunity to slide them back out if it turned out a piece clashed with my working color story. (Which means, sorry to Banksy's "Yankee Stadium Tiger". You just didn't fit!) Planning ahead in this way is priceless in the form of not having to make returns on regretted purchases.

From there, I ordered what I needed and had a completed collage for that room. (Above, is the collection of what will be my living room art.)

Now that I have my color story, I can start adding in pictures of furniture pieces, before purchasing, to make sure the picture in my head makes sense in real life.

This is also handy in having one place to hold up carpet and paint samples to before making huge and regretful purchases.

Well, that's how I'm pulling things off! I'm not the type to want to sit around with an empty floor plan and bare walls on move-in day, so I think I'm off to a healthy start.

I'm sure I have boxes of extra artwork in my storage unit that I've forgotten to include, but I haven't even started on the bedroom or kitchen yet, so they'll find their place.

The countdown now stands at 3 weeks and 6 days. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again soon!