Designing Vicariously

I love anything to do with design. In college, I took courses in both Fashion and Interior Design and loved them. I considered both both as potential careers but settled on Hair Design because I felt it would give me more flexibility. And because I'd already been doing all my friends and family's hair since high school. And because I absolutely love it. But I've continued to play with other kinds of design on my own.

Living in a borrowed house right now that is 100% furnished doesn't give me a lot of opportunities to decorate. And I miss that. So I am totally enjoying living vicariously right now since Ben and Josephine are letting me help them come up with a design plan for their new house.

Today's Favorite Things are...

1. White walls. Let me clarify - white walls in a brand new house. There's something so refreshing and optimistic about the possibilities of clean, white walls. It opens up the imagination to what could be.

2. Paint. Yep, once you appreciate those pristine white walls, it's time to paint! I love color and am not afraid of it. Deciding on the color scheme for anything - a room, a piece of jewelry or someone's hair - is very exciting. We picked out the paint colors for the whole house today and it's going to be gorgeous.

3. Shopping. Oh, I do love to shop. (I AM a complete bargain shopper, so that helps, right?) Josephine and I had a fun trip and got bedding, towels, decorations, all kinds of fun stuff! I really enjoy helping someone else shop as much as shopping for myself. (It's a cheap thrill!)

4. Accessorizing. This is the most fun part for me - of a room, an outfit, whatever. My mom still teases me that when I was younger and lived at home, when she sent me to clean my room I didn't clean it - I decorated it.

5. Dreaming of the future. I'm always collecting ideas for future rooms in future houses we may have. Right now it mostly consists of pages ripped out of magazines and stuffed into a green hanging file. But I just read this post by Liz at Mabel's House and am inspired. A design binder like hers is so my next project for January. By the time I have my own house again in 20 months, I'll be ready to decorate my space again to my heart's content!