Fill a room with memories rather than souvenirs
Breezeway tour of our adventures without the knick-knacks.
The backstory
Friends who come over to the house often use words like “minimal,” “clean,” and “tidy” in reference to how Aaron and I keep things. We enjoy keeping the house “put together,” but one of the elements that lends well to spaces being branded with these words is how you choose to furnish the spaces you have.
The breezeway
Take the breezeway as an example. This room is filled to the brim with memories for Aaron and I, but our guests might not immediately pick up on that and instead, see a Scandinavian meets Midwest farmhouse look. Our two home states of Hawai’i and Minnesota, as well as a city we called home for a time, New York, make appearances in this room. It’s a beautiful way to remind us where we came from and where we’ve been. We’ve also got a good number of local Twin Cities furniture pieces in the space, which means a lot to us.
It’s important to note that while all of these memories exist in this room, they cohesively work together rather than against each other. The notes of black, white and gray. Light-grain wood throughout with subtle pops of color and when it’s time to show off a single lei-wearing Obama bobblehead playing an ʻukulele, it simply works in its playfulness.
We’ve all been there, wanting to introduce places we’ve been in our decor and at a loss for what trinket or tchotchke we’re going to bring home from vacation without ending up on a TLC show for what our living room looks like.
Click into the gallery below for a more in-depth look.
5 questions
Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to achieve creative cohesion in your decor:
Where was it made?
There’s a lot of pride in decorating a space with locally made items. In conjunction, it’s fun to have pieces within the space that were made somewhere other than the city you live in, but that somewhere is a place that means something to you.
Is it functional?
Watch out for having multiples of one type of thing or too many pieces of decor that are simply that - something to look at.
Does it compliment your color scheme?
Big one here. No, this does not mean you have to stick to black, white and gray, but it does mean staying conscientious of whether the colors of your decor blend well together. In particular, major pieces (rugs, sofas, art) should work together.
Is it made to last?
Invest in pieces that can travel with you, from one home to the next. Think quality and your budget will thank you later.
Is there a story behind it?
Having guests who compliment the look of a space is great, even better is being able to still tell a story with the pieces in it.
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