Home Design: What's Your Story?
Inspired by the sets on 'Parenthood,' 13 ways to express your household's personal style
At my house, we are totally enjoying the new season of Parenthood on NBC. Watching all the interactions of parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins reminds us of our own family and all the joy and angst that families bring.
But I have to admit, once again, that one of the aspects of the show I really like is the set design. It's the way each home tells us about who these people are. There's Zeek's and Camille's hippie-chic style; Adam's and Kristina's updated traditionalism; Julia's and Joel's jettisoning of the past for the new, and Crosby's bachelorhood.
The designers have done a remarkable job portraying the cast — even without seeing actors in these settings we know a whole lot about the characters they'll portray.
So how do we get our houses to tell our story? How can people learn about us even without having met us? Let's take a look.
More: 'Pan-Am' Inspires Flight Back to the '60s
But I have to admit, once again, that one of the aspects of the show I really like is the set design. It's the way each home tells us about who these people are. There's Zeek's and Camille's hippie-chic style; Adam's and Kristina's updated traditionalism; Julia's and Joel's jettisoning of the past for the new, and Crosby's bachelorhood.
The designers have done a remarkable job portraying the cast — even without seeing actors in these settings we know a whole lot about the characters they'll portray.
So how do we get our houses to tell our story? How can people learn about us even without having met us? Let's take a look.
More: 'Pan-Am' Inspires Flight Back to the '60s
Zeek and Camille's home isn't quite as "high style" as this but it does have the same sense of a life well lived with its collection of meaningful objects.
Nor is Zeek's and Camille's home as rustic as this (though it does seem that it could have been in an earlier time). In fact, we get the sense that Zeek and Camille were no strangers to Haight Ashbury.
Zeek and Camille would be comfortable in this kitchen. Cheerful, colorful, bright and eclectic, this kitchen doesn't take itself too seriously.
Zeek's and Camille's oldest daughter, Sarah, has moved back in with her parents after a stormy marriage. Proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Sarah is certainly comfortable in the familiar surroundings of her childhood home.
Adam's and Kristina's updated Craftsman home tells us this is a couple as grounded in the past as they are forward-looking. A thick, solid wood entry door with substantial hardware tells us these folks want things that are grounded, while the abundance of wide and handsome white trim tells us they are definitely living in the 21st century.
Though Adam's and Kristina's house is older. it certainly has the updated kitchen with the big island that's now the center of family life. In this home the past and future blend together like the stainless steel blends with the traditionally styled wood cabinetry.
As befits their relationship (Julia is the earner, and Joel the stay-at-home parent), Julia's and Joel's home is all about being new and at the cutting edge. No traditional structure for these two, there's nothing holding them to the past, and their eyes are firmly looking forward.
It doesn't mean Julia and Joel are cool and aloof just because everything in their house is new, shiny and modern. Like the generous amount of wood here, these two are, at their core, warm and interesting people.
Cosby the bachelor is that one child who never seems to grow up. He lives on a houseboat when we first meet him.
The antithesis of his older brother Adam, Crosby is a dreamer content, for the most part, to gaze at the stars.
Next: 13 ways to express your style
Next: 13 ways to express your style
Look at the front of your home, the face that you see from the street. If that warm and inviting look you want isn't there, you can change the roof pitch, swap the aluminum for cedar and add a new canopy over the door.
Perhaps you want to communicate a more formal and elegant persona, as the white color, symmetry and Chinese Chippendale does here.
Use a color palette that identifies and celebrates each part of your home to communicate your love of craft and detail.
Collections also help communicate who we are. Consider displaying a set of vintage maps of places we have traveled to.
Perhaps it's a collection of artifacts, like pottery. All the better if they're things you've made.
So ask yourself about your cherished stuff. Where do you keep it? How could you better display it? What does it communicate about you?
So ask yourself about your cherished stuff. Where do you keep it? How could you better display it? What does it communicate about you?
Even items in your bathroom can tell your story. Where is the engraving from? Was the plant stand an inheritance or flea market find? Is the clock in your bathroom an attempt to overcome chronic tardiness?
You can tell your story with photography. I can be large and in a position of prominence and of a cherished family member or two. The visitor has to ask, "Who are these people, and what is your relationship to them?"
A wall size reproduction of a favorite photo that tells us a bit of the story of you and your family.
Smaller framed photos reminds us of the people who have lived here.
Look around your home. Whose photos are on display? How could you better display them to communicate something about yourself and your loved ones?
Look around your home. Whose photos are on display? How could you better display them to communicate something about yourself and your loved ones?
You can personalize a space with a bright, bold and favorite color. Remember that an all-beige world wouldn't be as compelling.
Do you have a room painted your favorite color? Don't worry about resale. A paint color can always be changed. So do what you want.
Do you have a room painted your favorite color? Don't worry about resale. A paint color can always be changed. So do what you want.
Don't hesitate to use bright, bold colors and appliance styles that communicate your fun side.
Provide a wall that today is a shopping list and tomorrow some scribbles. Don't hesitate to just throw stuff up there to express who you are and what's on your mind.
A chalkboard, bright colors and personalized objects infuse a space with the story of the people who inhabit it.
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'Pan-Am' Inspires Flight Back to the '60s
True-Blood: What if Sookie Just Moved Away?
Browse 200,000+ home photos by style, room and metro area