Leave the Light On

Sometimes* at night, when I'm feeling a little homesick, I'll leave my bedside lamp on and fall asleep to the yellow glow behind my eyelids.  This helps me feel like I'm back at my home in Las Vegas where I almost always fall asleep while reading in my cozy bed, but always wake up in the morning to a bulb that has been turned off by one of my parents. If it was my dad who turned my light off for me, he will usually ask me the next day if I dreamed I was a deer in the headlights, to which I'll laugh because nearly everything he says makes me so unbelievably happy that laughing is the only way to get rid of the giddy feeling.


Obviously I'm homesick as I am writing this.

Thanks County Living and Flickr.  For those of you with small spaces, especially studio apartments, create a nook for your bedroom with curtains, headboard, footboard, dresser, bookshelf...some sort of barrier from the rest of the room like in the second picture.  The sheer curtain pictured provides the sense of privacy while still allowing light to travel into the rest of the space and taking up less visual weight.  

Thanks, Wary Meyers. Textures, pillows, books and artwork - all items that conjure up the image of coziness.  Book lovers, what is your favorite way to display your collection? Alphabetical? Lying flat? By color? In piles?

Thanks, Roman & Williams. They do everything right, notably their use of rich colors and soothing patterns.

*Only sometimes, because other times I think of the bills that must be paid or my incredibly "green" professor whom I would have a hard time facing if I was using up energy so lavishly.

Not Too Big, Not Too Small

I've been thinking a lot lately about the beauty in having less, specifically in the thought of having a smaller home.  This thought came to me when I moved into my new house in Salt Lake.  My current room is miniscule. In fact, I can lie on my floor and touch two walls at one time, and I am a human of smaller height proportions.  I enjoyed the process of making this box my home and using every inch to my advantage, especially while "building" my own closet.

We focus a lot on smaller spaces in my schooling and one book specifically has been mentioned in many of my classes - Not So Big House. The simplicity in having only that which you need/really, really want and making use of every corner is appealing, not to mention the peace of mind in getting a mortgage paid off quickly.

I came across a tiny, Victorian cottage that does just that. It is small, lovely, and practical for the shorter amounts of time that it is being used.  The owners, Todd & Sandra Foster, maintained their smaller budget by doing the carpentry themselves (obviously they have the skills in order to do that), salvaging preowned items and refinishing them to fit the shabby chic style, and scouring flea markets for many gems under $20.

{thanks, New York Times}

Why does this work?

• White-on-white-on-white can get dull and tiresome, but The Foster's used texture to avoid the feeling of a sterile hospital. 
• Texture creates more life, so when you want to create contrast with a monochromatic color scheme, mix it up with some lace, velvet, matelasse and moire fabrics, and sanded, striped, or glossy and patterned paints. Even the antique floors and windows have texture.
• They were lucky to have a space with high ceilings and a lot of windows. Light, either natural or artificial, will help open up a space because everything is made visible.
• Using a monochromatic color scheme with pops of color ties each piece into the next for a more uniform space. Imagine if a space this small had varying colors. It would seem a bit too messy for my tastes.

Allow me to introduce myself

Oh, hello there.  My name is Emily Tingey - Emily for the Simon and Garfunkel song, Tingey for my father's family line.  My older sister suggested I start a blog to share the thoughts that a constantly buzzing around in my prominently right brained self. Seriously, very little left-brain action going on up there.  I dwelled on the idea for a few months, gathered some ideas, and now I'm here to share them with you.

For much of my life I have found joy in creating, imagining and designing.  I started as a young girl exploring my grandmother's exquisite home - a home that carried collections from her and my grandfather's well-lived life - and my mother's closet, then donned with fashionable clothing from the early 1990's (she is going to be so embarrassed that I said that).  Years later I was able to act on the talents my grandmother and mother saw in me at such an early age, and I sought out the skills to become an Interior Designer through the rigorous program offered at LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

There comes great pleasure and tranquility in the creation of something that sprouted from a simple idea.  The passion in, dedication to, and understanding of design is instilled in me through the teachings of the women before me, my thorough education, and through my own discovery. 

Design is so much more than a pretty color matched with an overpriced piece of furniture.  To me, design is another language.  It must be practiced and studied in order to be maintain fluency.  Styles are constantly on the move, adapting (hopefully) to the needs of the people around them.  This blog won't be a journal of all things pretty that *oh my gosh I want so much!* (again, my mother would be very embarrassed if I did that), instead will be a study of those styles and the practical and realistic application that they can have in your life.  Design is within reach of everyone, no matter the income or place of residence.  Hopefully I can help inspire you to find your specific style and then surround yourself with that.  So cheers to the beginning of this blog and happy reading!