Maximize!

This year, we decided to keep our resolutions tough yet simple.

1. Get fitter--less lounging, more doing. We love those stories of 80 year olds climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately, right now, those 80 year olds will kick our butts. To be able to join them and be them years from now, we need to get fitter now.

2. Maximize ourselves--There are some people who have maximized what they have been given to the best of their ability. We are not them yet. This year, we are going to start thinking what we need to do to start maximizing ourselves and start doing what we need to do to become our best selves.

3. Do something to further our passions--There are things that we are good at, there are things that we love, but because we are so busy, we don't always make the time for them. If it doesn't have a deadline, if it doesn't have someone else needing it, we won't do it even if it is something that makes us happy. This year, we will carve out some time to spend on the things we love, for no other reason than the fact that we love to do it.

4. Give back more. Pay it forward. A single act of beauty or kindness or grace can make someone's day. Life is a journey, and at the end of the day, what really matters...who really matters....who do we want to be...

Image from here

                                                        

what's your style?

Have you ever wondered what your dream home decorating style is? If you asked us today, we would say eclectic, with a dash of global nomad, a helping of classic, a little bit of modern, a spinkling of French flea market, and a touch of Chinoserie. Ask us tomorrow and we may have a totally different style. (that's why we love eclectic since it is by definition anything we want it to be). We doubt that we would ever be stark minimalists (not that we don't sometimes love that look, it just wouldn't work with our love of many things) but otherwise our style loves can encompass many different styles and eras.
So where do you stand? Take this fun home decor quiz by sproost or this one by homegoods created by former Domino editor Deborah Needleman. Defining a style can be helpful when buying things for your home, because the closer it fits in your overall style, the more likely it will be something you love and the more likely it will help create a home you love. Things that don't fit in your overall style will end up as clutter, things that you don't really like, but which you make do with.

What makes a house a home

As our first step into the blogging world, we thought we would set out our design philosophy, our ethos, if you will. We have very different styles, and what we love can change depending on the day and our mood, and the year, and the seasons. What doesn't change is our love of the unique and the different, the little things that personalize a house into a home.

Let's make this an amazing year full of fabulous findings and great conversations!

What we love…

Design that looks like it has been layered over many years and many generations. A old English cottage. A New England farmhouse. A tea estate perched on a misty mountainside. The sea. The house of a world traveller. A fabulous French apartment with high ceilings and chandeliers. A cabin in the woods. Modern mixed with antiques, with everything carefully chosen and loved. Items from around the world and down the street.

What we hate...

Matchy matchy design that looks like everything was bought at the same store at the same time. A catalog house. A generic house. A too perfect house. Too stiff, too impersonal. It may be expensively done but it has no soul. While there is much to be said to be finished with decorating your place, true beauty comes with time, with personal touches, with the history of a family and a place. It is what makes a house a home.

Homes that inspire us

LouLou de la Falaise's bohemian Parisian apartment (from the Daily Mail)

Bill and Marie Olsson Nylander's Swedish home (from Abigail Ahern)

Micheal S. Smith (from House Beautiful)

Welcome!

Welcome to our new cabinet of curiosities, filled with treasures. Think antiques mixed with modern, art deco mixed with mid century, Chinese scrolls and vases with Victorian treasures, a camel's saddle mixed with a chandelier dripping with crystals. We love the glamour of jewel colors and gild, and the calmness and mystery of old black and white photographs and postcards. In our blog, we will talk about our finds, as well as talk about design, and the places and ideas that inspire us. We would love to hear from you as well, about what you love and what you find.