Hello! We had thought of painting the original dark mirror, but it is a plastic frame and dh said that it wouldn't take paint very well. We have now found another home for it where it looks great! ttodd - I don't really have another place to put the chaise where it would get any use. I'm not opposed to covering it sometime in the future, but really it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers everyone here! LOL!!! kdArlene - I like the mirror that you posted. I may not replace this mirror for now, but I do see your point about the whiteness on the bedside of the room. I think I need some more whiteness on the dresser/chaise side. I'll replace the floor lamp as it was cheap. I'll also move my glass candlesticks into my master bath and replace them with white. I'm still torn on black vs white table! You guys seem to be 50/50 as well! LOL!! I'm buying it by Friday so WE need to make up OUR minds!! LOL!! Elaine

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been back to this thread. I’m posting this on my lunch break, and I only have a certain amount of internet time I purchase each month, so I have to be careful not to blow it all too fast. Also, Saturday my new couch was delivered so I have been in a whirl; vacillating between guilt and utter satisfaction. I LOVE my couch…. Monablair, thank you for welcoming me back! I’m glad you enjoyed my table settings, I do it as much for my self as my guests. There is the old saying “you eat with your eyes”, and I try to elevate the experience not only for the food presentation, but for the surroundings that are present around the meal. Not that my look is for everyone, but I enjoy it…(but that’s probably a whole other conversation) Lanaroma, thank you too for your complement for my table designs, and for healing good wishes! Nosoccermom., I enjoyed your photos; I really like all white rooms, and canopies! I don’t mind a bit of black either, it adds drama. I enjoy using it in bits and pieces, in art frames, lamp shades, mirror frame, little accessories. Although, I have seen the blackest of black ceilings which to me, enlarged the space, and provided some interesting drama. Funkyart, I enjoyed your description as to what makes you happy “ bold, tactile, sleek wood, simple clean design” , I could see it all in my head even without the lovely table you posted. Patty_cakes, so true, it’s an equation of the chosen décor and well as the occupants, and since everyone is different, the look will evoke different terminology and description. Rosie, yes, the sound is an important factor to me too. Soft, silent, feet moving along a floor of wood, marble, carpet, it’s all a part of the tactile experience. Music in the background, rain hitting the roof… Trailrunner, yep, I certainly learn from different opinions and appreciations of what is part of our everyday lives. Everyone’s cocoons mean different things, I enjoy seeing and hearing what other people love in their life. I’m glad you enjoyed my blog, I will try to keep on top of it better now. I love the aspect of the slow revel too (life itself reflects that too… in so many interesting ways), I also like the dramatic “in your face”- here’s the room, of course, for me, it all depends on how it’s presented.

I was allowed to decorate with posters, and as a kid and young teen hung animal posters on my walls I'd get from Troll Book orders. I always wanted to paint my walls and longed for more color and patterns in my bedroom, but our house (walls, floors, ceilings, doors, etc.) was stained fir paneling. My parents painted the ceilings white and the rest remained natural wood. I remembering begging my mom to let me paint the walls, and as a compromise she let me wall-paper one wall when I was in high school. I chose a tree print sort of like this, only with navy blue and brown trees to tie in with all the brown wood of the walls, floor, and trim. It wouldn't have been my first choice, but it was a compromise and I was happy with it. My bedroom furniture was white-painted stuff my parents got second hand. I knew a "bedroom set" wasn't an option, though I would have loved one at the time. Though I still wouldn't choose the darkness of natural wood walls for a bedroom, I came to love a healthy dose of wood and eclectic furniture. The bed that was in my childhood bedroom is now in my daughter's room, with a wood dresser that used to be in my brother's childhood bedroom. My kids aren't teenagers yet and haven't expressed a lot of interest in decorating their rooms, but it will be interesting to see how their rooms evolve over the years.

I am slow too : ) . In both senses from the blog post you linked to, Holly, the speed and the prioritising, and also in terms of saving up to spend -- really what the term ‘slow decorating’ is talking about isn’t the speed at which something gets done, but the intention and purpose behind your choices and decisions. It’s about prioritising the long term rather than the short term. Buying pieces of furniture that will last, instead of following a fashion led impulse buy, that you might go off in 6 months. Picking quality over quantity, and knowing confidently that the choices you are making will work for your family in the foreseeable future. And I come by it honestly and easily because my parents were like that too, in all three senses. Of course, it helps here in the back of beyond in a very rural area six hours north of the US border, having to wait for just the right piece to present itself. For years I'd been looking for a large Chinese blue and white fish bowl planter; my parents had one at their vacation home, but there was no way to get it back here from there, at least not in one piece. I couldn't find anything with reasonable shipping. Then I went to a neighbor's garage sale, and lo and behold she had a pair. Not only am I a slow decorator, but we're also slow builders, since it took us four years to complete our new house, which we built ourselves. There were times, though, where I had to be fast in sourcing and getting things, which I often found nerve-wracking. There were a few misfires, especially with light fixtures, where I thought I found something but then ended up finding something better later on. We moved into the house in June, and most of the rooms are "mostly" finished. I'm still waiting for a number of things -- for blinds dot ca to bring in a nice blue and white printed fabric for reasonably priced Roman shades (I bought them in June for my bedroom and bathroom, and they day after they arrived and we installed them, I went online to order more for the dining room and the fabric was gone. Argh.). I have pictures to hang, and others that need framing. I just found a small rattan coffee table I needed for an area of the living room, and now I'm going to keep my eyes open for a round tray to go on top. There are some more lamp shades I'd like switch out -- I found someone on Etsy who made some lovely William Morris shades for the sconces in the unpowder room on the main floor, and think I'd like to get her to make some more for the sconces in the foyer. And there is a plain beige shade on the living room floor lamp I'd like to replace with a pleated block print shade. I still have to decide on, and order, blue and white backsplash tiles for the kitchen. I will say that for me an important element is that I have always loved the hunt : ) , even when it means just window shopping instead of actually shopping. The best thing about this approach is that a slowly decorated room is never dated because everything comes from different time periods. Of course the room may never look good either but that's a different issue. I think for those of us who are interested in design, who are interested in a particular style, whether it's English country or Ben Pentreath's eclectic English or MCM, we do tend to stick to furnishings that fit that style, so that rooms do end up looking good. And I think the oddball items that don't fit are often what gives a room personality, that sense that everything wasn't bought in one feel swoop from HomeSense or Ethan Allen. One of the things I love best about English country/eclectic English is that rooms in that style often look comfortable and well-used. Which I know is anathema to the North America highly styled look that blogs, Instagram, and HGTV push. april, I like unfinishedness in my home but not at all in books or movies. I've never liked an unclear ending. All that said, if one of my dream designers (Ben Pentreath, Schuyler Samperton, Robert Kime, Tom Scheerer) turned up at the front door and offered to do the house, I'd be willing to risk the "all at once" look. Though at this point, I'd have to ask them to use some of my existing furnishings lol. Fun topic, Holly, thank you!