“He’s Just Not That Into You” Design Style »

Having seen the movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You” with my girlfriends last weekend, I haven’t stopped thinking about the interiors. While I absolutely LOVED the movie {for reference of my movie style, my favorite movies include Cold Mountain, Love Actually, and currently, Burn After Reading}, I was very distracted and enamored with the interior design style that was used in each of the revolving character’s respective homes. I’m still digging around for better pictures, but I’m going to show the ones I found and what I think there is to learn about these interiors.

KEEP IN MIND: Reflect on how you decorate your home as you look at these images. I have started a post on ‘Throw Away The Rules’ decorating for all of you matchy-matchys out there. Do you love the looks of these interiors? Are they in keeping with the ‘purse matches the bag’ rules? Likely not. If you choose to continue reading this post, you are making a silent vow to ditch the ‘rules’ of decorating.

What I take away from this bachelor pad, is the use of multiple textures; The leather couch, the exposed brick wall, and different surfaces lining the windows. I also noticed the use of colors that break the rules; brown sofa, grey chair, and black shelving. Didn’t we learn not to mix our blacks and browns? While many of these things ‘break the rules,’ they look great together.

Now, the bachelorette pad, with the overuse of pink, and vintage fifty’s-era touches. This room was too cute - and did a great job of mixing patterns. I wish I could find more images of this room because it really did a great job of breaking the rules. Yellow walls, pink shelving, an awesome-bizarre horse lamp {who doesn’t want one of those?}, red curtains, and pretty much anything you could pick up at a flea-market.

This renovated house made me fall back in love with mid-century modern. They had the greatest built-in shelving and beautiful neutral greys with honey colored wood. I guess you’ll have to see the movie to get a better glimpse of this one.

This home had a crazy eclectic style.  Everything was browns and neutrals, with patterns that don’t match, and rugs that don’t match the sofa, and I loved it. What stood out the most was the artwork that covered all the walls. There was no rule to the artwork - there was a print next to an oil painting next to a photograph, and it all looked amazing. It had this great lived-in masculine feel and I thought it did  a great job of breaking the rules.

SO, Lesson learned: You are now going to break the rules with your next decorating project, and you’ll be amazed at how much personality gets put into the room. Out with the stiff and boring, in with the eclectic and fun! Good luck!

Image source: media.movies.ign.com

Lessons Learned »

I am not afraid of color, pattern, or paint. Because of this, I am drawn toward elaborate paint treatments, bright colors and stylized rooms. I learned that as I moved all of my furniture out of my Sacramento house, and tried to sell it, the patterns and colors on the walls stood out. While they still looked beautiful, I believe it took away a percentage of the market that may have been interested in my home.

We were in a hurry to sell, and didn’t want to take the time to repaint all the walls before leaving. Next time I put a property on the market, that is exactly what I’m going to do. In fact, knowing that we aren’t planning on staying in our condo for too long, I have chosen to be more conservative on my paint and decorating so I can save time and money in the future. If I really want to have a chatreuse room, I’ll do it, but I’ll be sure to paint it back before inviting potential buyers into my home. Not everybody can visualize like we can, so keeping the home neutral can help interest more buyers.

My sister once said that she thought that her two-story home lost many potential buyers - ones with young children or older couples who didn’t want to bother going up and down the stairs. These are things we learn along the way, and change the way we look at our next potential home. Since you never know where you are going to end up, it’s important to remember how a potential buyer is going to look at your home in X years when you decide to sell. Will they like the fad wallpaper or the construction you did? If you are worried about getting top dollar when you sell your home someday, consider the potential buyer!

picture taken from Flickr