overcoming decorating paralysis :: find your confidence
Friday, May 18, 2012 by {darlene}

Thank you for joining me and chiming in on this series: Overcoming Decorating Paralysis. You all have had such great thoughts throughout this series.

I can’t wait to hear what you have to say today!

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We have been discussing the three steps we need to take in order to identify what we truly love.

1. We need to start by accepting that our opinions can and will change. {check out this post}

2. We need to put in the work to narrow down what we love, and discover we CAN have a few definite things that define our style, {check out this post} and

3. We need to have confidence. If we have confidence in the things we truly love, we can even begin to move toward having a “signature look.”

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Well, today, we will deal with step number three: Confidence! I will be splitting this up into two posts, one will address finding confidence in your decorating, and the next will address finding your “signature look.”

Whew. I need to take a deep breath. This is a heavy topic.

Because finding confidence in your decorating is a PROCESS, and a JOURNEY. So, we are not going to arrive today. And this one post is not going to be like a Confidence-Pill for decorating.

Let’s all start off on the same foot, shall we?

1. Confidence can be built. There IS hope!

2. It REALLY helps to build your confidence if you can accurately identify what you love. So don’t skip the step of doing your Personal Style Bootcamp WORK!

3. Everyone. Everyone. struggles with Confidence. {Oh, I am fully convinced that those who appear as though they don’t struggle at all with confidence – well – they may just suffer the most from the lack of it}

4. Confident decorating is different from bold or loud decorating. Confident decorating simply means that you can identify what you love, and then, you go ahead and decorate with what you love. Confidence comes from knowing WHO WE ARE, and WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US, and then bravely making decisions based on those truths. Despite other voices.

Do you struggle from a lack of confidence when it comes to decorating?

Do you overthink all of your decorating decisions? beat them to death?

Does the notion of “just going for it” petrify you?

Do you think about what others will think when it comes to making decisions for your home?

Do you tell yourself you are terrible at decorating?

Do you allow your style to constantly be swayed by the things OTHER people like?

These are just a few symptoms of a lack-of-confidence in decorating. Typically, if you don’t have confidence in your decorating, you tend to at least know that you don’t have confidence.

Sooo…. what to DO about it?

Well, THIS is when I realize that I have attempted to write an impossible post.

The truth is, I cannot fix this one for you. I can barely even scratch the surface.

But, I can encourage you:

Find your Confidence by:

Knowing exactly who you are.

Believing in yourself.

Loving what you love, and DON’T apologize for it.

TRUSTING yourself a little bit, for goodness sake.

And taking a risk. Go for it. just TRY.

Giving yourself permission to make mistakes.

Stop judging your space before you have had a chance to pull it all together.

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Achieving these things is a process. One that takes time, and one that takes mental editing. We must tell some of the voices in our mind to “GO PACKING!” while replacing those negative thoughts with new ones.

Below are some quotes that I love. You may not have ever thought about them in the context of decorating your home, but the truth is, your home is just another extension of yourself. Your home DOES reflect part of your personality, your psyche. So chew on these thoughts in reference to the art of decorating your home:

Why not go out on a limb? That’s where the fruit is.” – Mark Twain

Don’t believe everything you think.” – unknown

You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.” – John Mason

If you wait for perfect conditions, you’ll never get anything done.” -unknown

She believed she could. So she did.” – unknown

Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” – unknown

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

A year from now, you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

Love some of these quotes? Write them down in your design notebook: Get yourself a gorgeous blank notebook that makes you smile and dream. {I like this journal which is refillable, and this one for its simplicity.}

And Remember:

Confidence was not built in a day.

 

 

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Beautiful basics with a twist. Shop all classic whites now at Serena & Lily.

Follow Fieldstone Hill on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! Can’t wait to see you there.

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Labeled: beautiful thoughts, defining your style, overcome decorating paralysis | 10 Comments
a room I love :: a simple bedroom nook with great geometrics
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 by {darlene}

Thank you SO much, sweet friends, for your kind birthday wishes! It was a wonderful day, chillin’ with my men! And thanks for your love and sweet words about my list of Favorite Things. Yep. They are still my favorite.

FHD’s  “ A Room I Love” series….just a simple hello, from me to you, featuring a Room that I Love, and a quick list of why I love it. Do you love it?:

{design by Erica Islas, photo via}

WHAT I LOVE:

1. that stunning burlap headboard. I know you amazing DIY-ers are dreaming up ideas as we speak…

2. the simplicity of a white mirror on a white background. I LOVE how the mirror adds visual texture this way.

3. a classy bedside stand that breathes with tall, thin legs

4. 3/4-tall horizontal-boarded paneling, topped with lovely gray walls.

5. pale gray linen drapes that echo the walls, and let the light filter in.

6. layered blue tones on the bed pillows.

7. great geometrics: circular mirror. crisp rectangular side table. Trapezoid lampshade. Lots of crisp lines. The cutout edges on the headboard.

8. Layered white bedding. Makes me want to climb in.

9. Fuchsia flowers. The crowning touch to a well designed space.

DO YOU LOVE IT?? WHAT DO YOU LOVE? DO TELL!!!!!!

 

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Labeled: A room I love | 4 Comments
a birthday post :: a few of my favorite things
Monday, May 14, 2012 by {darlene}

No ditto post today.

I am playing hookie.

Actually, today is my birthday, and I have always loved playing hookie on my birthday.

These are a few of my favorite things

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My boys

{no surprise there. My boys are hands-down my favorite things}

The land at Fieldstone Hill

{walnut trees. rich soil. blackberry creek.}

 

Favorite colors

{orange. fuchsia. chartreuse. gold.}

Lago Maggiore, Italy

{where to even begin? I am not sure I have ever been so alive.}

Snuggling

{If I had one hour to live, I would spend it snuggling my boys}

Laughing out loud with the people I love

{nothing better than a belly laugh with your head thrown back and your mouth wide}

Heady and fragrant flowers

{english rose, gardenia, lily of the valley, lilac, peony}

The smell of fresh grass in Spring

{pure and sweet, it makes me feel ready to take on the world}

An unhurried morning

{life happens here}

Fieldstone

{pure. from the earth. rough. useful. beautiful.}

Cannoli

{and my Grandma Nellie’s Pasta Sauce. My two most favorite foods}

{image via}

Knowing the Master Designer

 

Annual anniversary adventures with my honey

{every year, we get out of town, just the two of us. We have this tradition of taking a pic together in the mirror in our different hotel rooms. We have 12 years of these pics…and counting}

It’s a really fun little present to yourself to think about all the small things that are really your favorite things.

What are a few or your favorite things??

 

*Family photos were taken by our wonderful photographer, Amy of Allenaim Photography

Labeled: about me, beautiful thoughts, here at Fieldstone Hill | 33 Comments
client spaces :: The difference is in the details {resourcing consultations}
Friday, May 11, 2012 by {darlene}

Today’s client has hired me for several Resourcing Consultations, over the course of many months.

This is an amazing way to get “a la carte” interior decorating services, and to bit by bit, change the look of your home. I have several clients who are unable to {or don’t desire to} change their entire room at once, but still want the help of a professional eye. So, they choose to work with me on several, individual Resourcing Consultations.

The process is fun, and the results are so rewarding. And the cost is SO manageable.

The following pics are a result of two Resourcing Consultations that my client chose to do in her dining room: one for her dining room light fixture and one for curtains {selecting, plus advice on hanging}.

Before:

and after two Resourcing Consultations, for the light and the curtains:

After:

These two simple and classy changes have transformed my client’s dining room.

Not much changed in this space…. but EVERTHING is different;

– and the difference is in the details!

 


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Labeled: before and after, client spaces, design in progress | 14 Comments