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gingerjenny

Do you have a theme in your house?

gingerjenny
9 years ago

Maybe its a color or just a feeling. Can you describe a theme in your home? I just moved into a new house and we don't really have a theme. one room I have browns and teals and in another room its teal and orange. I want to start buying artwork for the walls and I have no clue where to start.

Comments (62)

  • stolenidentity
    9 years ago

    Our theme is comfortable!

  • rgps
    9 years ago

    Istanbul whorehouse meets little house on the prairie with Rocky Mountain views

  • selcier
    9 years ago

    I would say that there is a goal for what the house should look like. I'm not sure if we are there yet...

    That being said: The overall feel of the house is Chinoiserie and/or British Empire.

    Art is something you can't rush. Buy the piece when you find it. But don't buy pieces just because they 'go.'

  • Acadiafun
    9 years ago

    My new house is more masculine than my previous house. Reddish brown hardwood floors, tile floors and accent rugs that have more geometric patterns. There are feminine touches, but the theme is very clean and uncluttered.

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    I think our theme would be "outdoorsy". Our bathroom has a tree/leaf theme; my sons' bathroom is done in camo/hunting. I have antlers on the wall in the family room, and landscape and wildlife prints in the living/dining rooms. Even my kitchen is outdoorsy, with falling leaves stencils on the walls in lieu of a backsplash.

  • Bunny
    9 years ago

    My theme is casual, comfortable and welcoming. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is willing to have a laugh at its own expense.

  • martinca_gw sunset zone 24
    9 years ago

    Rgps... :>D

  • blfenton
    9 years ago

    Post and Beam simplicity with blue and copper carried throughout each room - and that was happenstance, not planned. The simplicity was planned, not the colour plan. All of our artwork has blues in it and again happenstance, not planned. The copper is found in our backsplash, a large hammered copper bowl, a lamp, flecks in a large vase, the colours of the patina of copper (blue-greens, rust-oranges) bands in a curtain valance, etc.

  • vall3fam
    9 years ago

    Early American yard sale

  • Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
    9 years ago

    Soothing coastal / nature inspired with a touch of vintage things I find and love .
    Our walls are a blue -grey , lots of white trim and white built ins . White endtables , brown leather sofa , a few house plants and orchids , blue mason jars ( that I have been collecting before they became popular again !) vintage clock and chest . I love it !

  • ttodd
    9 years ago

    Lots of white and varying wood tones in core furniture. In rooms where my art has color the art is old lithograph landscapes in gold frames. In those rooms that typically serves as the only color and then all of the other rooms adjoining those rooms have the black and white photos but soft textiles, flowers and accent furniture colors are pulled from the lithographs in the other rooms to create continuity throughout. My whole house is painted white but w/ dark wood trim which ties in w/ my mix of wood furnishings. Most of my ceilings are grey picking up on all of the black and white photos. I used to have black ceilings and white walls but painted the black ceilings white for resale.

  • kswl2
    9 years ago

    Green! Every shade and hue, inside and out. I have four green sofas!

  • schicksal
    9 years ago

    Nope, unless modern is considered a theme rather than an architectural style. It's MCM in the older parts of the place, now modern in the newer.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    Lol rgps!

    My mother used to say her style was "Late Goodwill!"

  • rubyclaire
    9 years ago

    Not a theme really but perhaps a cohesive color palette. Many years ago I read that a piece of furniture, rug, artwork, etc. should be able to be moved into any room and "work". For the most part, this has worked our really well in our home.

    On the flip side, we recently built a second home (one day to become retirement home) and I tweaked the color scheme (from warmer neutrals to cooler) and I'm finding that so much of our current home doesn't seem to work in the new scheme. Or is presenting challenges. So my little plan worked as long as I didn't stray too far afield.

    As for artwork, I do believe you should buy what you love. My art is mostly moody landscapes, botanicals, framed agates, etc. Good luck - I believe your home should be your comfy nest and reflect all that you love.

  • arcy_gw
    9 years ago

    Made by owner? There is at least one if not more furniture pieces in each room someone in the family made. The entertainment center circa 1985 is relegated to the basement, used as a book case as no modern TV fits in that hole..but dad made it so I will have it until I die. I can't agree more on the art work statements above. Our home reflects US so the art work reflects things we enjoy, participate in, collect. I will NEVER understand the "staged" home where every knick-knack was chosen for that space. I want our home to be comfortable yet nice. I avoid the "don't touch" magazine look.

  • tinam61
    9 years ago

    I don't do "themes". I would say our decorating "style" is traditional/cottage/vintage and somewhat eclectic. There are things repeated throughout the house. Because our home is a somewhat open floor plan, we have used pretty much one paint color on walls. Walls and main pieces of furniture are fairly neutral with color pulled in through accessories, accent furniture, drapes, etc. We like blues and turquoise is one of my favorite colors, and I finally have used those throughout the house. Wood floors and many antiques. Like Arcy - our home reflects us and our lives.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    IMO, your home should reflect who you are, not what some magazine says you should be.

    I have to have some "theme" in my house because I rent it and have to appeal to people looking for a theme (fortunately, that them also happens to reflect me, i.e.: farm/nature/rustic). It's your home. When you come home, you want to feel like you are home, and the way to achieve that is to make the home reflect who you are. Are you a more formal person or a casual? Cozy, soft edges, or harder, more angular edges? Austere or filled to the rafters with knickknacks? and so on.

  • roarah
    9 years ago

    My overall feel is something like afternoon tea at grandma's. I use a mix of antiques and newer pieces aquired over sometime and I have tried to maintain alot of my home's orginal 20's features. I think I have a more formal style than what is common today but it is still a very welcoming and comfortable way to live.

  • Cathyat40
    9 years ago

    I like every room to have a sense of humor.

  • gingerjenny
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    We have a lot of mission type furniture. We also have a mixture of other random pieces. We also have a lot of nature artwork from a local artist. It was working in a smaller home but now in this house I feel like the walls are bare and nothing goes together with what I have.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    Great question. I love afternoon tea at grandma's, and Istanbul whorehouse ... too funny.

    I have used "themes" in that it helps guide my choices and narrow things a bit. Usually it is a take on the home's genre.

    Our first home was a 1904 brick Georgian and our choices there tended to be quite formal. I wanted my first house to seem "grown up".

    Our second and current home is a farmhouse and we chose to go very casual, a white and cream palette, and emphasize texture and patina. IIRC someone here dubbed it "Farmhouse, after a particularly good crop".

    Our beachhouse is a 1904 house on the rocky oceanfront, so typical beachhouse themes seemed a bit off. Again, GW tagged it. The theme is "Sea Captain's house" ... a little formal, but with small nods to the ocean, and reflective of the Sea Cap'ns world travels.

    It's all a little silly, but I think it can help amateurs make a more cohesive room.

  • lynninnewmexico
    9 years ago

    I live in a New Mexico mountain community. Ours is an all adobe home, where even most of the interior walls between the rooms are painted exposed adobe. All of the interior walls are painted a warm cream color, which looks beautiful on adobe bricks. So, what works best in this house is, for the most part, Western and Southwestern décor. We love and collect a lot of that kind of art, which is very easy to do out here in this artists' mecca. Because of that, I steer away from patterned furniture so that the focus is more on the art. Traditional leather and cream colored linen upholstered furniture pieces. I tend to use green, black and red in small amounts for accent colors throughout.
    Lynn

    Just snapped this pic of the archway in our MBR to show what real exposed adobe looks like to anyone who might not be familiar with it:

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    OT: how does rgps know what an Istanbul whorehouse looks like?

    Hmmmmmâ¦.

    And no picking on whorehouses, please. Family home on Cape Cod was a whorehouse back in the day, turn of the century (last century!). Sailors would get off the ships, get their thang on, get back on the ships and sail off, happy as clamsâ¦presumably.

    And that ex-whorehouse is now owned by a clergyman with four daughters. Lol.

  • Gooster
    9 years ago

    Tibbrix: lol, too funny, regarding the evolution of your family home. I can imagine an Istanbul whorehouse might not look that different than a Turkish bath, but with more bedding and more veils.

    For me, during the kitchen reno I realized that my home, a 1930s traditional with Art Deco details, was well suited towards Hollywood Regency. Thus, I've been gradually evolving to Traditional with a dose of Hollywood Regency.

  • rgps
    9 years ago

    Re Istanbul whorehouse. I was lucky as a child to travel all over the world. No scenic overlook was missed, every open door entered. One of my jobs this summer is to read the hundreds of letters written in the 40s thru 70s from gaza, and Calcutta and Kenya and Russia and and and.......dad worked for USAID as a professor, not a spook.

  • lynninnewmexico
    9 years ago

    What a fascinating life you've led, Rgps! Perhaps someday you'll post pics of some of your rooms for us.
    Lynn

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    RGPS, how cool is that! Lucky you.

  • lakeaffect
    9 years ago

    I'm not sure, is a rarely well cleaned, NNY camp/Addams Family TV show/1970's Vermont ski lodge a theme? If so, we've got one going on.

    Now I have to incorporate a little Istanbul whorehouse too, cuz that sounds like a vibe that would work well in our eclectic, ahh - who am I kidding - *eccentric* home.

    sandyponder

  • arcy_gw
    9 years ago

    This thread really begs: PICTURES PLEASE!

  • edie_thiel
    9 years ago

    rgps - after your first response, I almost choked on the Diet Coke I was drinking; LOL! I SOOOO badly wanted to see pictures to see what THAT would look like.

    After your following posts, I really want to see pictures because I bet you have a fascinating mix of cultures and a very rich history. Lucky you. :-)

  • TxMarti
    9 years ago

    If clutter is a theme, then yes, I have one.

    Istanbul whorehouse sounds like an improvement. A friend of mine was an exchange student in Turkey and goes back every year. She has never mentioned the whorehouses. Pictures would be great Rgps.

  • rgps
    9 years ago

    Oh I do wish I could post pictures because that would mean I was done with the reconstruction of this mountain house. The floors are covered with butcher paper until sanding and finishing can be done and my august project is to destroy this fireplace now home to the Rare Octagonal Polyestered Panted Squirrel of the Rockies. It's habitat is shown here as I constructed it in 1972.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    rgps, squirrels have to wear polyester pants because cotton shrinks in the rain, see?

    That is such a cool pic, but I don't think that is you. You sound more like "The Most Interesting Man in the World", of the Dox Equis beer commercials, aka Papa Hemingway. And since you seem to know what the inside of an Istanbul Whorehouse looks like, Hemingway makes more sense, so I think I'm on your trail. Oh, you thought you could pull a fast one. I think not!

  • LucyStar1
    9 years ago

    English Country. However, I'm doing my den/TV room in French Country (Pierre Deux look).

  • beekeeperswife
    9 years ago

    Never thought about a "theme". Had three new people to the house within the last week (all different times). Each one said the house is "happy". So I'm going with that.

    Happy.

  • luckygal
    9 years ago

    I had a rooster theme in my kitchen/breakfast for a few years but have edited that. I live in a rural area on a large acreage so decorate in a 'rustic & refined' casual style with some antique and vintage things and a nod to English country cottage. Color scheme throughout the house is greens, blues, brown, cream with accents of various red tones in different rooms.

    I think my house looks like me " unique, a bit refined, a bit country, and a bit worn but well-maintained!

  • rgps
    9 years ago

    Tibbrix. Ohno I've been busted

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Yes, but you're still the Most Interesting Man in the World. Not bad!

  • tomatofreak
    9 years ago

    I pretty much have to go with the yard sale/Goodwill/craigslist theme - if such exists. Otoh, you could call it Cat House as the only repetitive theme seems to be cat fur and hairballs, lol!

  • carsonheim
    9 years ago

    I went with red and black, with a few chains and stuff thrown in for bling....

  • louislinus
    9 years ago

    Fifty Shades of Gray movie set?

  • musicteacher
    9 years ago

    This thread is hilarious!

  • anele_gw
    9 years ago

    Ha, ha! I want this thread to keep going and going!

    I let The House tell me what it wants, but it's a little confused, I think. In some parts, it looks a little bit like a castle . . .as in, the dungeon portion of it (with some wall-to-wall carpeting that needs desperately to be ripped up, but at least it keeps the prisoners happy for now, ugly as it is). The kitchen is a traditional, remodeled-within-the-last-10-years look. Some parts of the house look a little Arts and Craftsish. One of the bathrooms is a nod to Art Deco, via the 80s.

    Since the dungeon (living room) is the area I most want to fix, I thought for a long time what to do with it. Nothing airy will do. I visited the Milwaukee Museum, where they have "model cottages" from Europe. (I keep meaning to take pics and show them here-- I will the next time I go.) A light went on . . .yes! Folk! I have dark wood trim (check), dark wood floors (in most of the house, but hiding under the ugly carpeting in the LR), so it would work. But, I am broadening the idea a bit, to folk-on-the-elegant-side, trying to bring in whatever works (not just European) I like, but connected via the color red.

    Here are my key words as I think: cozy (#1, always), Art Nouveau (because I love that style), Chinoiserie, brass/bronze, folk, handmade, handcrafted, embroidered, RED, collected, etc.

    When it comes down to it, though, it is really a collection of things I can afford from Ikea, Craigslist, Etsy, and Ebay. (And I still have a long way to go to make my vision come to life.)

  • rgps
    9 years ago

    Anele- sounds like you've been dancing around in the attics and basements of my mind.

  • joyce_6333
    9 years ago

    Our builder classified our house as "craftsman/cottage". Probably pretty accurate. We have lots and lots of wood ... way more than most on GW would like. A lot of neutral colors (tan/brown) with some greenish blue here and there. I'm not a decorator, don't really try to be because I seem to always screw it up, but I do like craftsman and arts & crafts details. So I guess maybe that's a "theme"? The house is quite masculine, very cozy and warm. And I'll throw in practical.

  • zippity1
    9 years ago

    ours is early 1900 farmhouse, it sure helped with purchases (lighting, fans, plumbing fixtures, flooring, etc
    we already have a lot of furniture pieces and decorative pieces
    inherited from grandparents, so that helped and the plan lent itself to that time period.....it's been fun

  • patty_cakes
    9 years ago

    Anele, I'm with ya. A house can definitely dictate what works and what doesn't 't. I had florals/cottage-y/pastels in my Ca condo, but when I built the house in Tx, I couldn't 't visualize anything remotely close to that! With it's arched doorways, high ceilings, iron railings, etc., it would be like comparing a cashmere sweater to a cotton blouse. I like to think of it as a little black dress, sophisticated.

  • LE
    9 years ago

    When our architect originally saw my collection of images that appealed to me, he paused very diplomatically and said, "well, there's nothing wrong with eclectic, but it is always in danger of veering into hodgepodge." So my goal is "Eclectic, short of hodgepodge."

    On other days, I describe our new house as Industrial Modern Vintage Farmhouse Loft. (Uh-oh.)

  • Mags438
    9 years ago

    No theme. Style has been a mixed bag. House is older victorian style with tons of unpainted patinaed wood trim. All original stained glass door and windows. Box beamed ceiling, some curved ceiling corners. Wood floors in every room except one. First floor public rooms on dark side regarding sunlight. Rooms furnished for comfort not design, per se. Put in what I liked or needed rather than what goes/works. Ooops. Lots of previous decorating 'crash & burns' as we were heavy DIY'ers or thought we were. LOL.

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