Magnaverde, thanks for so generously sharing your wit and wisdom. In addition to your design talent, you write so beautifully. When does your book come out? You are a voice in the wilderness that needs to be heard, & not only about the world of decor, but about being truly present. Much of your philosophy, it seems to me, is about really taking in the beauty of things that others often come to dismiss as ordinary, and to recognize the "gold mine" that we may already own but often reject as "out of style." You ask it seems, for us to value the intrinsic, innate beauty around us and to consider renouncing the manufactured kind that exists merely to line the pockets of industry. Thank you for opening our eyes with your lovely, gracious approach to things. I know I have plenty of company when I say I am richer for receiving what you share.

Now, for risks in decor? How about an inherited camelback sofa reupholstered in pink fabric? I'm the only one I know of with a pink sofa. Could have done beige or buff or any color in the rainbow, but I did pink! Tacky, wacky, or tasteful, I don't know. An unorthodox choice it was; that I know for sure.

Here is a link that might be useful:

You made an excellent point. I don't think that I can say that I take risks in decorating except for moments of unsuredness on my end. I would chalk that up to learning to feel comfortable w/ and learning my own personal taste and style. It's taken me a very long time to feel sure of most of what I'm doing.

I honestly feel like I was risk taking when trying to achieve something that wasn't 'me'. When I would look through Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn etc.... I would start to doubt myself.

I find that when I actually close myself off from living and breathing decorating magazines is when I feel my most confident and I breeze through things.

I didn't think twice about painting my ceilings black while all of my family and friends stood back in horror and thought I'd lost my mind. I seriously couldn't figure out what they were talking about and what their apprehension was, I knew it would be fabulous. After all - they all had the same reaction when I painted my kitchen and DR black almost 10yrs ago (at different times and the black DR is long gone now). I had people traipsing through my house just to see it and they all loved it.

Now back to that black ceiling that I now have. For Christmas I finally got my cheesey, cheap and huge Sepia toned canvas that I'd wanted for yrs. to hang in my hallway (the one w/ that black ceiling). My family was here for the holiday and when I hung it they all said 'WOW! Now I see! I never would have thought to do that.'.

Magnaverde, I happen to be in a drug induced haze at the moment, but I'm coherent enough to know that what you say should be written in the Eternal Book of Home Decor. I've never been one to live according to trends. They mean nothing to me in the sense that if it's a thing of beauty then why shouldn't it always be a thing of beauty? I do hope I'm making sense. Basically, I love what I love whether it's in or not. Period. Therefore I don't feel I take risks. I do what "I" like and to hell with the rules. I "justgotabme".

I too always enjoy your posts. I would be a risk taker if dh wasn't horrified over the process. If it's piece of furniture I can whisk away to my studio and return with it "finished" that's not a problem. Nor is something that's quick and easy to assemble. But anything that involves a process he has to witness probably won't happen because he can't visualize the end result. I also like to mix contemporary with traditional to mix things up a bit and he definitely can't visualize that!

Even something as simple as an old desk w/hutch that while real wood, was ugly and I painted it white and lightly distressed it. It fits perfectly in the extra bedroom where I wanted it to go and is charming.
Dh was amazed that it, 1. it actually fit. He thought it would be way too big and 2. Looks great and is functional.
It took me three weeks to paint it with multiple coats of primer and oil enamel and he witnessed it all.

So, unless I can do the risk inexpensively and while he's at work, and be ready to change it if it doesn't work, I play it safe.
I won't have a really cool light fixture unless it's free, for instance.

Justgotabeme, you're so right: "if it's a thing of beauty then...shouldn't it always be a thing of beauty?" At my house, it is. When my neighbor opened his copy of O at Home and saw the same plaster frieze that he had tossed in the junkpile hanging on the wall in my dining room, he suddenly remembered why he had liked it in the first place. Oh, well. Too late. Of course, if no one ever changed his mind or got rid of perfectly good--amd sometimes, extremely valuable--things just because they worried they might be 'dated', people like me would have a hard time furnishing our homes. It's a beautiful thing, the circle of life.

And, Bumblebeez, you can always make your own light fixture. The shower rings for this puppy cost me $3 at the Dollar Store, but the plastic tray I used for the base came free with the Superbowl Super Shrimp Tray from the grocery store. Waste not, want not.

This is a fun read! Only bad thing is I was just about to settle on a turquoise for my breakfast room. Now, I'm not so sure. :(

Last house, I did blue and cherry cabinets, mixed. Pale blue. Everyone thought I was nuts, but I think it succeeded. It did not feel risky at the time. My vision was clear. It was all about the backsplash tile and tying in the traditional cherry furniture in the adjacent spaces and the pool and the semi-modern feeling of the house itself.

Of course, I never thought I'd be selling that house and I did it for me. When one plans to stay put for a while, it's easier to be a bit brave. I think that in our everything's-for-sale culture, where so many of us are on the move and thinking of the next buyer, it is harder to have at it in a bold and different way. I do wonder what I would have done to my last house if I knew then what do now...that I am outta there.

What I learned selling that house is that taking a few risks can set you apart from the rest of the crowd -- not just the friends who come to dinner, but also potential buyers. It was probably the strange things I did, like mounting swing arm mirrors onto a glass shower wall over the vanity in my bathroom, that made it different enough to attract some interest. Nobody thought I could pull that off either, come to think of it.

Hmmm...I wonder how much of my motivation comes from some contractor telling me I can't or shouldn't!

Magnaverde I owe you an email but I too am in a drug induced haze and don't want to try to wax poetic whilst under the influance of some really lovely tylenol cold pills.

I know when I was designing our townhouse many many many people thought I'd been hitting the nyquil pretty hard while shopping. I will never forget typing a kitchen description for someone and her response was so funny...I could visualize her backing away from the computer in absolute horror....heh heh And I adore the space in all of it's quirkyness.

I'm definately a quirky decorator...I would say I take risks far easier than following a code of decor or one particular style. It was a lot easier to design the monkey room than it is to work on a victorian parlor because monkey rooms have no rules...and victorian parlor's should resemble victorian parlors somewhat. I also had a blank slate, verses things like a ceiling medallion I have to work with. Blank is so much easier!

As far as I know I'm the only one with a chicken in their chandelier heh heh Taking risks is easy if you find the right rooster to inspire you :oP

So here I sit in thousands of sq ft that need to be "done" and I find that my biggest concern is not the risk taking issue but taking too many. I adore color and texture and do worry about getting carried away. Unlike my other house, I have to respect the previous owner (or original builder) which feels like a bit of a weight on my shoulders. No chickens in the dining room! A girl should not be held back when the chickens are talking to her...really it's just not fair LOL

Amysrq, teachers & other social-work types talk a lot about enhancing a kid's self-esteem by praise & validation. And, yeah, I got all that stuff from my parents--and especially from my grandmothers, who thought everything I did was just wonderful--but pretty soon, all that nicey-nice stuff can get old. No, what really used to motivate me to do something me was not encouragement & permission, but the lack of permission. Of course, I always played dumb after-the-fact & acted like I had 'misunderstood' anything other than a flat out "NO."

I don't ever remember seeing the actual show--only the ads for it when it was on reruns in the 196Os--but there was a 195Os TV show called "Make Room for Daddy" with Danny Thomas & Marjorie Lord as a married couple, and the ad they played every day after school showed Marjorie Lord up on a ladder, trying to hang an oversized picture above the fireplace all by herself, while an annoyed Danny Thomas looked on from below.

DT: "No, Kathy. No."

(ML continues to struggle with awkward painting.)

DT: "Kathy, I said NO..."

(ML holds picture firmly in both hands, now, ready to hang it)

DT: "Kathy, I...I...forbid you to hang that picture!"

ML "Forbid?...Forbid??...THAT's the word I've been waiting for!"

And with that she smacks it right on to the hook in triumph.

There's a saying: "Better to ask forgiveness afterward than to ask permission" It's even better to announce, afterward. "SEE? I told you it would work!"

Igloochic, have you forgotten the wooden chicken-&-eggs chandelier Sir Edwin Lutyens made for his kids' playroom? One doesn't usually think of the words "Lutyens" & "charming" together, but in that room, in that chandelier, they are. I'll see if I can find a picture of it. It's wonderful. Meanwhile, how about a picture of yours? It sounds cool.

Magnaverde - you have just described my childhood. Perhaps I should reveal I have not progressed much from the thrill of being told something I want to do or have is unattainable, can't or shouldn't be done. That's the fun -the challenge. Just had the strangest deja vu moment reading your description posted above.

I've taken severl risks that violate decorating protocol. #1) never hang art above eye level. How about 22' up.{{gwi:1895643}}

I was also thinking of the permission/forgiveness rubric while reading Magnaverde's post. And then, there it was.

I try not to let on too much around my teenage daughter, but it's pretty much how I've always lived.

Love your pink sofa SG!

I'm not sure I even have "cheese sensors" that could go off either before or after the fact so I'm completely on my own when taking risks with decorating. My long departed DF always appreciated my rebellion even tho my DM did not so of course I always thot it OK to rebel and still do decades later. So I'm definitely a risk taker and also know the risks won't always work, but what's to lose by trying? IMO the loss in not trying would be a unique decor that works for me. My tombstone would probably read "Non-Compliant" if I wanted one.

I think life and decorating are to be enjoyed and how does one enjoy something that is proscribed by unknown "experts" who seem to change their minds seasonally? I have no intention of changing anything in my house seasonally except tschotkes - never can spell that word without looking it up and didn't.

I won't claim to never follow trends. A few years ago I decided I'd love to have a metal wall hanging but don't like the cheap mass produced things and didn't want to pay for a rusty antique from Europe. Then my DH found a very old piece of wrought iron fence that was free at a yard sale, took it all apart, and joined two pieces together and painted it black. I really would have left it with the peeling white paint but he likes everything to be "nice". LOL Anyhow it's one of my fav things in our house. Cost: a bit of spray paint and a few hours work by my DH. Trendy - maybe, sorta, but not really. A treasure to me for sure.

I think decorating should be considered a "to each their own" enterprise. However trends will always be, can't avoid it I guess. I sincerely would like to see other risk-takers pics on forums but I know many feel the same as I do. Perhaps we should start a decorating forum only for those who don't follow trends or rules.

I was trying to find a good shot of the danged thing that shows the rooster well and don't have many on this computer but I did find one during the construction phase. The medallion was in mid design (they'd just gold leafed it and hadn't antiqued it so it's super shiny here) and the crown molding is gone, and you also get to see our electrician...we went from Mike, the god of electric beauty to this guy...I forget his name...lovely man, but I did miss Mike...he was so pretty :oP

I've got to search that other chicken out Mag...LOL I'm dying to see another heh heh

Here's another new project I'm embarking on for ya'll who like to break rules....I'm going to make a secret fort for DS :) He loves one of the nooks in the eves of the house and since it's a safe spot, I think I'm going to go ahead and make it his special secret (ok so I know where it is) spot :o) Why? Because there are no rules when it comes to forts for kids LOL so it will be my relief as I work on the rest of the house heh heh

I don't believe in themes...except for in over the top kids spaces...so now I must research what to base it on....woo hoo...I love fun projects!

Oh yes Magnaverde, what would we do if others didn't fall out of love with their stuff,which to us are pure treasure, and we were forced to purchase only that which is available at the local retail shops? ""Shiver>> If we were all zombies that were forced to follow the trends!!!!? Wear the same clothes, all in a drab gray!? The only thing of color would be our hair, skin tone and eyes? Yes, what would we do.....?
Maybe I should get off the computer until I'm off the cold meds, huh?

The issue of "risk" never enter my consciousness when I decorate. My only concerns are whether the item is beautiful, and whether it supports my vision / my concept for the room.

Personally, I don't see that fabric as compatible for your kitchen. Perhaps it's because your kitchen seems to have a vintage / farm house vibe and that fabric's fretwork & color just seem too glossy, too glamorous.

If you like the fretwork, I would choose something more simple & large scale like K. Wearstler Imperial Trellis, maybe grey on white or white on grey in a thick linen. That would look beautiful w/ your white cabinet & countertop.

If you are handy, a Roman shade is super easy to do. I always love trellis pattern in Roman shade!

Bella, I can't figure out what kitchen you're doing window coverings for, lol. ?

did I lose my mind--yike? I thought the original question was mahgold asking a/b the blue fretwork fabric for her kitchen's window. She was wondering if she should go w/ that or just use woven shade for her windows.

I could be wrong -- it's been a long Christmas :-D

What a fun thread! But I mixed my own aqua for the BR two years ago - now it will be "trendy?" Gah!

I guess I am lucky because DH is egging me on 99% of the time. We once went to a party in a TH that was totally "Decorated" in neutrals and expensive furniture. DH thought it looked like a hotel. He likes color and we both love crafts. So we mix whimsical with traditional and color. Works for us.

My riskiest purchases, I would say, are when I buy furniture from chain stores. I am much happier finding second hand stuff and painting/repurposing it. Would do that all the time if I could just quit my job, LOL!

You are right, the original thread asked about an aqua trellis fabric for a window shade.

I think sometimes I color outside of the lines, the results of which may or may not be considered successful decorating, but it is always fun.

Thanks, Luckygal!

Your dh did a great job; you have a unique sculpture that was made with love! The vine motif is so pretty. Yes, you have a treasure.

My dh does not care for the "distressed" look either...bring on the paint.

Mahlgold...where are you with that beautiful fabric and the even-more-beautiful kitchen? :-)

This is the original post.

Here is a link that might be useful: OP

Chicken light by Lutyen (I had to search I was so curious) heh heh

I have a picture somewhere of a chimney he designed that is twisted like a tornado got ahold of it in mid build...I will have to dig that up...I used it in a photoshop project in design school showing how different design perspectives can flow (I put it on a Mackintosh building).

I wish in real life we could yank a chimney off a building and pop it on our own houses heh heh Maybe that would be architectural risk verses decorating risk though...ya know, if they slipped off and landed on your head while you were admiring your cut and paste skills and all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chicken light

I didn't know anybody had reproduced that light, Igloochic. I guess you learn something everyday. At any rate, I learned something today. Thanks. And your chicken chndelier? Sweet. The bird in the gilded cage. And all kids need caves, but ours were never more than odd chairs & blankets. Yours sounds much cooler, especially with a concealed door.

"This is a fun read! Only bad thing is I was just about to settle on a turquoise for my breakfast room. Now, I'm not so sure. :( "

Feh, Pantomine's color of the year be damned, my kitchen is a lovely shade of aqua and I intend for it to stay that way until I get tired of it in maybe ten years. Or maybe never. IMH,UEO, (my humble, un-educated opinion), it's the perfect background for the Desert Rose dishes, circus posters, and the antique cast iron frying pans. It also looks great with the nude I have hanging in the (coming soon! - as soon as we can figure out where to move the hot water heater) breakfast nook. But most importantly, it sets off my Easy Bake Oven to a T.

Other than that, and maybe the Victorian Funeral Wreath form and the dollhouse in the dining room, the place is pretty normal. Not necessarily Pottery Barn, but not really anything you would describe as risky. Okay, maybe everyone *doesn't* have a dart board behind their front door, but that's just because they haven't realized how entertaining it is. (not to mention the looks you get when you greet the occasional door to door salesman with a big smile and a sharp pointy object in your hand.)

Personally, I like to keep in mind that Mark Twain quote: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do." I certainly don't want to disappoint myself with something as mundane as decorating my home. ;^)

magnaverde - thanks so much for starting this thread. this was actually the way I wanted the thread to go, but I think my post got a little too window treatment specific. To me I don't think I actually "take risks", I just decorate the way I want, which is a complete mix of styles. I just buy what I like and find a place for it. I definitely don't decorate "to the norm", evidenced by some of the hesitation I feel I've received when people see my new kitchen. I almost hate describing my kitchen to a salesperson when I'm out shopping because I just don't think they get it.

So back to the window treatment. I would have been happy to take a risk on the pattern and color if I actually thought it "worked". But I do think the color is too bright for the rest of the kitchen. I REALLY didn't realize the pattern was "passe", LOL!!! I thought it was a classic!!!

"I REALLY didn't realize the pattern was "passe", LOL!!! I thought it was a classic!!!"

It is classic. That's what magnaverde was trying (if I may) to impart and why it's such a great time for me to be picking up some patterns that are on their way out.

I love ikat, bee prints, fretwork and many others that either are or will be becoming more accessible to me. Many are among my possessions, now.

As long as my spaces aren't filled, exclusively, with one of them, I'll be able to have a wide range of buying options.

The fretwork print also looks like chainlink, which is an up and coming trend according to this blog.

I have a chainlink purse handle and also a belt, both acquired in the last 6 months, and of course, Magna's chandelier is totally ahead of the trend....

Here is a link that might be useful: chainlink trend

Mitch, Neiman Marcus has been showing lots of Michael Kors chain handled purses on their two hour email sales, but...as long as we're talking the color of the year...take a peek at this.

Here is a link that might be useful: MK

parma, that's a lovely shade of aqua; all colors of handbags are out there, I like that, since I don't wear much other than black for clothing.
I like this red one ( they call it rouge, lol) although I would never shell out that amount for a bag.

Here is a link that might be useful: $$ dior bag with piece of chainlink

Sometimes the biggest risk in decorating is to go the safe, neutral, 'in-style', paint-color-of-the-year route.
Now, there's nothing wrong in painting your living room the same beige as the model home you fell in love with when you bought your house. There's no harm in getting a microfiber couch that will stand up to the 4 kids and clean up well for company. There's no foul (yes, you know how I want to spell it...) in buying a beautiful painted rooster for your kitchen island because it ties in all the colors of the adjoining great room and you also have a set of chicken plates somewhere. There's not even a good reason to pull down your own mullioned, (as the case may or may not be!) ginormous mirror that just fills up that zooming wall in the entry and gives you that satisfied feeling that you found just the right piece for Your house, and looks very real since it's up way too high for your own visitors to suspect that it's anything but the real deal.

Why?
Because a risk for you may be entirely different than a risk for me. Painting a nerf football and using it as art would not be a risk for me. It would be an act of insanity. I can imagine visitors to the house of MV coming innocently close to the giclee-nerfe' and only thinking... "How cool is that sculpture?"--but in my own far more pedestrian/subdivision/cookie-cutter house setting saying...
"What the hey?? What were you smoking when you painted a sponge football, Red?"
And BTW, have you seen the football in question? Or the plastered table? Bet you could scroll through the photos fast in the link below and not spot it immediately. I've seen it before in the magazine and had a hard time picking out the makeshift art from the artist-painted. Fabulous.

No, taking a decorating risk is not the sensible thing to do for everyone. And my risk might make you snicker. Your risk might make me shudder. Beauty is most assuredly in the eye of the beholder. And sometimes beauty is found more plentifully in areas where the shopping is more limited. I know for sure that my house in a small town in New Mexico, at the edge of the desert, next to a Walmart, had more interesting, 'found' items, than any place since. I had few options for furniture or accessories. Now, with stores surrounding me, and a truck to haul things with, I find myself bringing home a lot more cheese than I ever thought possible. Thankfully, most of mine comes with a return receipt and rarely makes it past the first few hours in my house. And interestingly enough, the things I find in the corner of a barn at an estate sale out in the country, are usually not risky buys at all. I know that old piece of rusted iron will work somewhere. The aging needlepoint with spider webs on the edge will make a great pillow. The chipped cobalt and white clay vase will be wonderful on the dresser. No risks and no regrets. It's the stuff I get the register receipts for that always prove to be the the question marks.

Right now, I'm working on my own art project. I'm applying plaster and a coat of pink latex paint to a bottle of Nyquil. Then, when it's dry and perfect, I'm going to send it to a good home in Chicago. Watch for it next year in Expensive Home Magazine.

Red

Here is a link that might be useful: from Apartment Therapy

If you have to stop and think it's a risk, then it is. If you're doing it cause it 'feels right', it's cause you like it. Or another way of putting it, what one might assume a risk, another might not.

Using contemporary furnishings in a Victoria home might seem a risk, but done right, and the homeowner likes it, it's not a risk.

IMO, the risk, is *IN* the risk...capeche? ;o)

Red, you kill me. Have a great 2010!