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Thank you all so much for the amazing comments on yesterday’s post. I realize that I’m not alone, and no matter what big life events we’re looking forward to, we’ve all struggled with contentment issues.
Today’s post is a little lighter.
For years, I had a huge 5 inch binder that we filled with wedding inspiration. Things that I liked from Martha Stewart Weddings and InStyle Weddings starting in 1999 and going until 2008. I tore out my favorite ideas, gowns, shoes, flowers, cakes, stationery, put each page in a page protector and filed it in my binder. I still have the binder, but I don’t take it out and look at it nearly as often.
These days, I keep a home inspiration binder. I print off and tear things out of Elle Decor, Domino (still missing Domino), and Southern Living and file it away by room categories in a 5 inch notebook. I’ve posted some of my favorite dream rooms and ideas before, here’s the house I’m currently coveting.
It is the Southern Living 2009 Idea House in Hemlock Springs, Georgia. To me, it is just the right mix of bold and understated. Formal and livable. Beautiful and comfortable. Relaxing and show-stopping.
Hopefully, our next house will have a formal living room where I will not have a television, but I will have my mother’s baby grand piano. (Thanks, mom!) I’ve always shied away from bold prints, but this room gives me courage. Love it and it’s at the top of the list of room inspiration. I have furniture that I would just recover to achieve this look.
This next room was actually used as the master bedroom in Hemlock Springs, but I would take one of my guest beds and recover the headboard and go for this look. I love having a white, calming, hotel-like guest bedroom, but with two guest bedrooms (until another wee one comes along) we can do this. It’s so beautiful, happy, and serene.
And last, but not least, I want our master bathroom and our dining room to be done in a big, bold, graphic wallpaper. I’ve never been a huge wallpaper fan, but this changes my mind.
There are my current beautiful home obsessions. Any tips on other sources of beautiful homes?
Oh girl- my internet is being difficult, but I did a post on how much I love the interior design of that dream house some time this summer. I love pattern and texture, and this house is just full of it! Is it still open? We ought to make a trip!
We actually visited this home last year, and it was absolutely worth the drive! The childrens’ rooms alone were enough to make me swoon!
Have you ever been on Zillow.com? I love “Dueling Digs” you get to compare different rooms (organized by type) and you pick the $$$ range of the houses and vote! Its heaven.
I pretty much adore everything Southern Living is doing these days. All of their idea homes have been absolutely beautiful, but more importantly, livable, not crazy fancy. I particularly like the wallpaper in the hall – gold is my new favorite accent.
I think I tore out the same pages that you did. I especially love the trim along the bottom of the sofa upholstery.
Just beautiful!!!!!!! 🙂
Love Southern Living…still so sad over the demise of Cottage Living (there modular shotgun home of the year in New Orleans was my fave -ever!).
Some of the people from Domino did start a new online mag called Lonny (www.lonnymag.com) it’s yummy!
Of course there are others…dwell, metropolitan home, and house beautiful! Enjoy!
Oh man I miss Domino and Cottage Living so much!
Love the master bedroom. It is beautiful, thanks for sharing! I just created a file for all of the room inspiration I tear out of my Southern Living each month. I tend to love almost all of the homes they show.
I need to start doing this…I have a small wedding file, but how do you keep your pages together? Do you just get the laminated pages with punched out holes, then stick the magazine pages in there like an album? Or do you hole punch the actual magazine pages?
I have a home decor inspiration book too! I decided it was necessary when I realized how many catalogs full of folded pages I had, just waiting for me to go back through. Now I can just tear them out and keep them safe and accessible when it comes time to make home decor decisions and changes.
Love the Idea House photos. Great balance between formal & cozy!
Wow, I really love those bedrooms. I have a messy folder filled with pictures from magazines and catalogs. Maybe it’s time to upgrade to a binder, although I have the same question as Margaret- how do you put your torn out pages into your binder and keep it neat? Do you organize your binder into rooms or style of decor, or is it a free for all?
yummmmm…lots of mint-green. my favorite color in. the. world.
oh my goodness I LOVE the chairs in that first set!!!!
Southern Living is always my first stop for design inspiration for my house in the north! The guest bedroom is to die for!
Google little green notebook–her blog is awesome and always has gorgeous house pics.
PS-I miss y’all!!! We need to catch up soon!
Love all of these photos! My Google Reader overflows with so many great home inspiration blogs, and Young House Love is one of my favorites, if you’re not reading it already. I also love A Life’s Design, Blueprint Bliss, Centsational Girl, Little Green Notebook, All Bower Power…the list goes on and on!
I need to organize all of my catalog tearouts into a binder. For all of my digital inspiration favorite, I use Evernote.
Looooove that house. I adore the living room. I attempted (key word) to re-do our living room to kind of feel like it–we got a new painting to hang above the fireplace, and I put three little bud vases under the painting and we got a bright fun chair…. Of course, it’s not the same, but, I struggle with home decorating so I was so excited that I was kind of sort of able to follow a plan!
Isn’t Southern Living the best?!! I love every issue and save them all and place them on the bookshelf so I can refer to them when I need a quick design pick me up!! LOL!
What a beautiful house! I love the colors and the brightness!
I LOVE those floral chairs, in the second photo! Southern Living always has the most beautiful things.