Boone with a View (and a Bone)

So we're not done painting, not even done assembling our Ikea spoils, but I really wanted to share our progress with you.

Yeah, I'm as tired of the iPhone pics as you are, but my birthday is just around the corner (hint, hint Pato).

As you can see from the unpainted area, pile of junk, and empty shelves, I still have a lot of work to do. I'll be sure to share full deats when it's all pulled back together in time for this weekend's Super Bowl XLVIII party. I just threw that in there because I love roman numerals.

But there's something that's stalling me.

Both Oxygen and E! are doing Sex and the City Marathons....let me remind you:

Yeah, I own the entire series.

Anyway, how has no one noticed that Charlotte York was Kate Middleton before Kate Middleton was Kate Middleton. Okay, maybe not, but definitely before she was Duchess Catherine.

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Seriously.

 

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Like really, for serious.

 

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How did the rest of the world miss this?

So this happened...

Yep, we pulled the trigger on a new entertainment center (we have the towers and bridge, too). Seems like as soon as we get comfortable enough to live with something for a while, we decide it's about time to reinvent. So, less than a month after we settled into an imperfectly perfect entertainment center, we ventured into the scary world of Ikea to find a new home for our new TV.

And here she is...the same color as our walls. It's all very beige.

As soon as I saw how close the colors were, I resigned myself to repainting the living room. Even so, it's been painful to wait until I can buy a couple gallons of paint. I even tried to make it to Lowe's tonight, but they closed early since it's a Sunday, so I'm writing a blog post instead.

One more day, friends. One more day.

Is Rustic-Classy-Warm-Eclectic a Style?

I guess it's confession time: I'm having a home-decorating-style identity crisis. I've always thought I loved really warm feeling with lots of neutrals. Cozy, comfy, and unpretentious. The decor equivalent to a Golden Retriever. So far, this is what I've been going for.

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I'm clearly not there yet. Turns out it's really hard to make neutral areas feel not-boring.

Luckily I have two other "preferred' styles I can try and incorporate. Both could be layered on top of the current progress in our home. Not-so-luckily, they don't mesh well together. At all. Those two styles are: kinda rustic arts and crafts (probably from growing up in the mountains) and slightly vintage, unique details, and colors on a neutral background (very Anthropologie meets Lauren Conrad). I feel like I need to pick one to run through the whole house or risk looking like a misguided yuppie city-girl gone camping. And we all know how well that always turns out.

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Come to think of it, the two Lindsay Lohans from Parent Trap kind of personify the two different styles I love.

Rustic (Cali LiLo):

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So cozy and warm, like living in a vacation home.  I love that this style adapts well to all seasons and seems relatively timeless. Our house is far from a cabin, so finding the right degree of rustic influence would be key. I don't want anything to feel out of place; the people who picked the traditional exterior right outside of the city are the same people who live inside it, so the experience needs to be seamless from inside to out.

Anthropologie (London LiLo):

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Classy, elegant, and some whimsy. I know it wouldn't feel like me if I went full blown, but I love incorporating a bit of it. I hate saying this style is described by a store. Don't get me wrong, I love Anthropologie, but it seems very cookie-cutter to say I admire it as a trend. Seems like every twenty-something girl is on-board this bandwagon right now. I could describe this style 1,000 other ways, and you'd be kind of like "what is she talking about?" But as soon as I say Anthropologie, I know we're all on the same page.

I'm taking my time and thinking this over. I keep trying to tell myself I don't need to pick a "style" and I should let our home evolve naturally. Likely our home will end up with elements of both, but with two very different inspirations I need to set some ground rules so it doesn't end up a hot mess like post-Parent Trap Lindsay Lohan. Here's hoping.