It’s in the Details

What makes a house a home?

I live in an area of Southern California known for it’s cookie cutter boxes, otherwise known as houses. (Think first season of Weeds.) We are neighborhood after neighborhood of homes that all look the same on the outside. But what makes a house a real home? It’s what is on the inside that counts. As a designer, I have seen my share of homes that looked like they walked out of Architectural Digest magazine. Pretty? Yes. Homey? No way. When you walk into a house and don’t see any family photos, no knick-knacks and no shoes lying by the front door, you know you are in Stepford territory.

While I am not condoning cluttered homes, I do believe it’s the details that make a house into a home. Your home. When you walk in the front door, you should immediately get a feeling of who the people are who live inside. I wanted to show you some of the things in my home that mean a lot to me… and that show you the kind of people who live here.

My husband and I bought this wine rack at the Los Angeles Gift Show several years ago. We both fell in love with it. We aren’t huge drinkers but we do occasionally like a bottle of wine and we were drawn to the ironwork and the fact that this piece was a work of art… not just your average wine rack.

I saw a similar wire picture/card holder in the Pottery Barn catalog years ago and absolutely loved it. Didn’t love paying the $39 price it costs (plus tax and shipping). Lucky for me, Pier One had almost the same thing for only $10. Best $10 I ever spent. We use this prominently to display birthday and holiday cards. And for the times when we don’t have much to display… we still have a pretty iron piece hanging in our hallway.

Who says that things have to cost a lot? I just love chalkboards of any kind. I first saw this particular one in our cousins house in San Diego. I just thought it was a fabulous idea to have in my kitchen so I bought one for myself. Ikea. Cheap and easy. This was also the same chalkboard that caused me to have one of my most controversial blog posts ever.

You all should know by now how much I love to read. Funny thing is, we never had a bookcase in the house. I don’t know why, but we have a really small house and there isn’t a lot of room. I used to stack my books up on my bedside table or even under my bed. My husband and I walked into a local furniture store one day when they were having a big sale and this piece caught my eye immediately. It is made from reclaimed windows and I so loved it. It was on sale for a great price so we bought it and I love how the glass doors showcase all my favorite books.

I love having family pictures around but I didn’t want to have my limited wall space completely covered with picture frames. We put up these picture shelves where we could change the pictures often without nailing them to the wall. I love the casual look of them.

I totally believe in surrounding yourself with things you love. Whether it be specific colors or warm, fuzzy blankets, or fruit trees… find the things that make you happy and display them. My husband loves trains. We found these reproductions at the Los Angeles Gift Show as well and decided we wanted to display several of them.

So what are the things in your house that tell people who you are and show off your personality?