lately warren has been on my case about adding some personal touches to the house....and by personal touches he means family pictures. he thinks the house feels too much like a 'show house'...believe me, my house is far from a show house but it does have tablescapes in the main areas and to a 33 yr old man, that means a show house. we do have family pictures scattered around the house, but they are mostly in our bedroom. i have a gallery wall of black and white pictures of taylor that were taken when she was one. i guess, i have kind of moved away from tons of pictures on every table...am i at fault? my personal touches are items that have meaning like an antique bowl that was my great grandmother's or a great find that i discovered while out thrifting one day (men don't get these things, especially warren). last night taylor asked if this antique fan worked and warren replied "no, your mother likes to put old things around the house that don't work for some odd reason". am i a victim to wanting an over-decorated house? does this mean i lack personal touches? please advise....i want the house to have pretty tablescapes but i also need to please my husband b/c after all, it's his house too!*images courtesy of jean randazzo, domicileid, unknown, verdigris vie, david jimenez, belle masion, domino, vogue living, shelter
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I'm not sure what he means... show us some photos of your rooms or vignettes and I'll let you know :)
I'm not sure if our hubby's will ever "get us" when it comes to our decorating styles. I am sure your home is a great balance of both but pictures would be fun to see : )
I'm having a giveaway stop over and see!
I totally get you. I have hardly any pictures around, and recently framed an old copy of my grandfather's birth announcement -- I guess normal people might frame a photo of their granddad instead! We have no photos out of our honeymoon, instead we have a framed set of prints of architecture of Charleston. Also, having a bunch of framed pics of myself around feels a little vain to me? Maybe when we have kids I'll want to have photos of them ...
It is really striking a balance that is important - strive to display items that have meaning to you both if possible. I am lucky though bc my hubby lets me decorate and do my thing.
xo,
cristin
You could always tell him that he's right, then ask him to sit for a painting or hire a photographer to do a sitting and print the photos in sepia. The words "hire" and "sitting" would be enough to dissuade my husband...but if not, think of the great end-result!
LOVE the cabinet with the green inside! fun and unexpected! better bold than boring they say!
I love these images. Great ideas.
I've never been a big fan of decorating with family photos. It gets kind of cluttered looking to me...unless something really unusual is done with the photos. I love my family and do have photos out, but I usually have a little cluster somewhere that isn't a focal point. I will put one on our nitestand. I know that there are alot of opinions on this subject, but that's how I've done it. Have a nice day.
marcie
Love those miniature lamps in the first pic, so pretty. And no, you're not at fault...but I know what yah mean. We are lacking lot's of photos and that is something I am working on infusing into the house. Let me know if you have any ideas! :-)
Totally agree with you!!! Too many family pictures is not a good thing :) My personal touches are in the same vein as yours!
Our gallery wall will be filled with pics of the fam and we have some in the family room, but of course we do photography and this is where we meet clients. too many random picture frames laying around does drive me nuts though. I agree certain items make things personal. All these images feel personal to me. I think I was just no help... sorry.
Oh I just had a similar conversation with my husband this week! He admitted to me that he thinks our apartment looks like "a grandma house" because I have decorated with vintage items like an old telephone and wicker chest. Haha! Luckily, he also told me that he knows I care way more about what the apartment looks like than he does, so I can feel free to do whatever I want. Still, I feel bad about making him live at his grandma's house. I try to "have an editing eye" and not overwhelm his spaces with vintage and flowery items. And when we buy a house in the future, he'll get free rein to decorate one room however he wants.
Hmmm, sounds like you have been to my house and listening to my Husband. He is always wanting more pictures and to change the pictures out we have, I just can't seem to get around to it. I also think it is hard for some people (like him) to understand why an old fan is great! I get it though!
At least hes not trying to full blown decorate! hhaha I say make the man happy and add a few beautiful family photos you could always put them in a "vintage" frame :)
I think if you all created some of your own memories, i.e. photo booth images from a carnival or frame marriage certificate (in addition to family photos) he'll start to catch on...
I have a somewhat similar issue with my husband wanting me to display more of his sports memorabilia. We women know, most of that stuff is just not cute.
Just followed the link here from little green notebook...pink wallpaper intrigued me! Looking forward to more reading.
For my parents house, I did a collection of photos on top of their baby grand piano. I just got two box sets of matching black frames from Target and used color family photos. They are all slightly turned at angles and it looks like a gorgeous, personal collection...not messy at all. You have to keep color in mind of course so it doesn't look too crazy. I loved how some of the older pics had touches of red--my sister's tricycle, mom's head scarf...etc. Bottom line...pics can fit right in to a decorated space as long as you give them as much thought as you would any other piece in your home. I agree with the other poster who said occasional random photos looks bad. It usually works best as a grouping...although sometimes one perfectly selected frame can work perfectly on a nightstand.
Oh, p.s.: I think what makes us cringe at photos is their posed cheesiness. The ones I picked were usually spontaneous action shots. They read much more honest and sweet, I think.
love these, thanks for the inspiration. I tend to look at the big picture and forget about all the fun details.
I don't have any family photos out on tabletop or even on the walls. Sometimes I do think I'm terrible for it but then I get over it. I do have a refrigerator messily covered with kid accomplishments and family photos (which I always swore I'd never do). Maybe you could simply put the family photo album in a convenient place like the coffee table. Then it could be opened and enjoyed any time.
Adore! Adore!
I am in the am in the same situation too! My partner arrived home one day and called my nicely decorated drink stand "A Shrine"! and yes its slightly over decorated.But I left it like that and he got used to it. Now its just a running joke when we need to get something from there. I think you should stay true to yourself, what ever you are doing you will be attracted to, after all its your own personal style. But I must admit I do try and accommodate my partner and if he really hates something I will change it. As for the family photos, Im the same too. I dont have many and the ones I really like are either black or white, or artistic in someway. (or in the bedroom ha ha)
Well you obviously have a great eye, and in my 2 years of marriage, 6 years of living together, I've definitely noticed that a woman makes a house a home--- I say take his thoughts with a grain of salt, and remember, you Obviously have a good eye!
1 black and white pic of my parents and sis. in a silver frame by my key dish has brought a smile more than once! But more to dust!! :)
First of all, love all the images in this post! Secondly, I'm with you on not having too many photos around - a few is ok but they can ruin the look of a good tablescape! Tracey xx
love that second image best - it is sometimes hard to get things just right! trust your eye and go for it! KG
If you get a few books on feng shui it is my understanding that they prescribe the bedroom as the appropriate place for family photos. You might do a gallery wall somewhere as a compromise.
i have a stack of fam/friend pics i've been meaning to hang somewhere for oh about 6 years or so.
i think what's personal to us all is so different- like the bowl you mentioned. it's special to you but not in the traditional fam photo way. it doesn't mean it's not personal or special.
if your personality comes across in your home i dont think it's necessary to have photos everywhere. afterall, you're there looking at your in-the-flesh-family every day. i see a house as more a backdrop for life...
if someone loves the photos so much that they should be on the wall, then all the more power to them. but if you have other ways of expression, i think that's beautiful too.
xoxo
we have a few friends that have gallery walls filled with pictures from their wedding. I shudder when I see them. I don't have the patience to switch out pictures as time passes so that it looks like a collection of our lives rather than a snapshot into one event. And, while I loved my wedding, and I'm sure that I will cherish our children, I don't need to dedicate a whole shrine in my home to these things.
I'd much rather stare at a ceramic pineapple that reminds me of our honeymoon than a picture of myself in a bathing suit :)
I get this 110 percent... do not feel alone. I think after a while, the personal photos get somewhat overwhelming if they are everywhere, and you begin to move away from it... I did with my most recent move. And tablescapes, men just dont get it. So what I did is, where I have books as part of my tablescapes, I used some of his "luxury" Ferrari books, or If I use little boxes, I put his stuff in them, or I keep the "bar tablescape" stocked with his favorite liquors... little touches that make him think his stuff is really important in the design. Good luck!
I don't have a lot of photos up either, maybe 3 wedding pics on the main level and that is it. You don't want a shrine of yourself!! LOL!! I love to place antiques around the house, but I also love books. So I try to use tons of books with beautiful pics, that way if a guest wants to thumb through it, they can. I do not want my entire house to feel off limits.
oh please! guys drive me nuts....they just don't get it! i don't know how i'm ever going to be married!
I am ALWAYS dealing with this problem! My husband is very practical and I am very decorative; the 2 do not always meet up! I usually get my way, but he has "veto power" on stuff he just can't deal with. I've also done away with lots of random photos. Would he be happy with a digital frame playing a slideshow? I got my husband 1 for his office. LOVE your blog! http://lizzytishblog.blogspot.com
great post, thanks so much for including the snippet of my dining room. I hope you are hanging in there.
Best,
Julie
I'm with you... in fact a little too much because I get a little cluttery. I hate that about myself. And I'm not the greatest at displaying. But I just get so happy when I look at something that means something to me.
x trina
I love that pair of lamps in the very last picture. Very HOLLYWOOD GLAM...so glad I found your blog!
Bre @redBungalow
Okay, I know this is an older post and you probably won't even see this but I had to comment. I too have only a select number of family photos that have great meaning. They are NOT everywhere - just where they make sense in the decor (does that even make sense?)and because I'm single, I get away with doing it my way. But, like your husband, my parents disagree about this. My dad wants family photos...well, littered throughout their house and it drives my mom batty. Maybe it's a guy thing. But isn't it interesting that women are considered the "sentimental" sex and yet men are the ones that want to be surrounded with photos of their loved ones. Hmmm...just found this post interesting.
Ha! I was totally laughing while I read your note about 'personal touches' and how also to me, a thrifted find or meaningful trinket are my personal touches, my man would love to see some family photos. I'm not big into how they display... so we don't have family photos up. I also have a non working antique fan. Haha, too funny. GREAT to know I am not alone in my decor battle!
xx
-julie
This post gives me some comfort knowing I am not on my own when it comes to men 'getting' our love for those quirky and thrift finds. My boyfriend must have asked me 100 times if I was sure about the bull head towel ring that is now insatlled in my bathroom - oh well I like it. Love the images in this post : )
I agree. I like it that you have things that are meaningful but aren't actually pictures. That's great. I think if you could get some items he would think are cool....like the bar idea.....or a vintage old football or basketball would be fun too. Good Luck.
xoxo Blair
www.steelestreetstudios.blogspot.com
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