Other than 'Fishy', my childhood goldfish whose short lifespan gave me happiness for a week and trauma for a lifetime, I've never had a pet. But I have plenty of pet home projects. And so just as some people look like their pets, I look like my home. There's something to be said about a person's home being an extension of her physical aesthetic— the difference between people coming over and saying 'of course' to thinking 'huh?!'.
As more and more “lifestyle brands” emerge, outfitting homes and people with a single design perspective, the idea of a having a shared look between one's home and oneself seems pervasive. Recently, for example, Tory Burch and Diane Von Furstenberg have expanded their clothing lines to home accessories. In the other direction, interior designers like Kelly Wearstler now have clothing lines.
It's an interesting idea to put to our readers: Do you look like your home? What does it mean to have (or want) your home looking like you do? Is it more interesting to have your home be a reiteration of the face you put forward to the world or to have it unveil your otherwise unseen side?
(Image: DVF)
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"Ahh she's a brick ... ... house."
Well, if you put it that way: yes. I do look like my house.
I think my home better reflects me than my wardrobe. It seems like it's usually the other way around, but I wish I looked more like my furnishings
I wear a lot of black and listen to a lot of heavy music, and I think at first glance people expect my place to look a lot more like me, or imagine that I live in some kind of rock'n'roll heavy metal theme park, which I don't. While they may be initially surprised, once they look past the pale walls and the midmod furniture and see the skulls, gig posters and strange collections, it starts to make sense.
I think my house is a lot cooler than I am... although I will admit that I'm a mother of two small kids, so that means that I'm not as put together as I would like to be. But I guess that yes, this is sort of true. For example, our kitchen has walnut base cabinets, flat front white top cabinets and a marble subway tile backsplash, with caesarstone gray counters and a butcher block island. I think our kitchen is pretty much "us". Warm (wood), a little fancy (marble backsplash), traditional (subway tile), casual (butcher block) and young (counters).
I like your black and white wrap dress. Where did you get it?
I like to play around with color, pattern, and texture in my apartment and my appearance, and both are usually a little messier than I'd like them to be, so there's a pretty consistent overall aesthetic.
Do I look like my house? God, I hope not.
My home and wardrobe tend to go towards earthy colors, natural materials and clean lines. Both have a good mix of high and low end pieces. Both lean a bit more toward practicality and comfort than trying to impress. So i guess they kind of make sense together.
I get a lot more compliments on my condo than my wardrobe. I think because i dress more for comfort I dont always look very put together and people are sometimes surprised my place looks more put together than I do. I guess I just pull it off better with my decor.
I know a lot of people who are the opposite, they dress great and look so put together but their home is a disaster.
I LOVE the DVF bedding collection...wish it was more affordable. I like dressing in bright colors and love a brightly colored home, so for me...yes.
Thanks for this entertainingly thought-provoking post.To answer those questions: I have no idea!
My home usually surprises people because the colors I love (deep red, old gold, chocolate brown, burnt orange...) don't suit my coloring at all, so I live in blue oxfords and grey flannel trousers or black t-shirts and jeans. They probably imagine me in a Calvin Klein, MCM, minimal space, but I like rich eclecticism.
That's actually a pretty good point about the "lifestyle brands" that make housewares and clothes in the same style. (LOL with Home Body by the way).
I'm actually pretty similar to ANGELI.CA. I'm a metal head, I'm pretty much always in boots, jeans, black tank top. My office/lounge and our kitchen are the only rooms I decorated, and they're colorful, kinda retro/futuristic. There's no "of course"moment when people see this. I'm sure anyone I know socially would be quite surprised if they heard how much time I spent reading decorating blogs, lol.
My husband, on the other hand, is in an Egyptian themed metal band, and his decor TOTALLY fits what one would expect. Browns, leathers, ancient artifact lookin' stuff, guitars everywhere. Definitely fits his perceived style and personality.
While my style is eclectic and vintage-modern across the board, I think I do a much better job of mixing style and comfort with my living space than with my clothes. My home is energetic and feminine with comfortable sophistication, but my outfits tend to be awesome to look at and torturous to wear! Perhaps I'm just more confident about my visual skills than my other skills? You've got me wanting to call a therapist!
Great question a la Domino (tear).
My home and I wear neutral basics highlighted by natural fiber exotic imports in saturated yet clear colors, a bit boho. I emphasize simplicity, casual comfort, wash & wear, and practicality in both areas. There's little in either sphere I'd willingly take to the cleaners. In both areas, staying in the black matters to me. Fads, furs, sexiness, and impressing people by showing off expensive purchases aren't my cup of tea. Having my home look like I do means I'm a WYSIWYG person with established priorities and strong style preferences. Home decor interests me more than ladies' fashions do. I put more time, money, and effort into my home since that's more fun, easy, and satisfying. Even so, it's all consistent and clearly is from the same source.
Hey MichelleEllyn, if your husband is in Nile, I'm gonna give you a virtual high five right through my computer screen. Oh, and ditto on the whole "how much time I spend reading decorating blogs" thing.
wow Angelica, good call! *high fives back at'cha*
I like my home. Somedays I feel like my home is deficient, esp. with all the awesomeness floating around the web. I remind myself how lucky I am to HAVE a home. I'm trying to keep things in perspective (even though I blog about home decor and DIY projects). I created a post about my thoughts on this and was happy to learn others felt the same way:
http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-love-you-i-love-you-not.html
I love my home. I think people are more surprised how sophisticated it is, since I am pretty casual most of the time. I do wear a lot of labels and love fashion (I actually do layer my bed with a DVF coverlet) and it shows here and there with Tiffany home accessories and LV coffee table books. One of my favorite places to shop for home goods is Bloomingdale's. I shop for home accessories there more than I do clothing!
I wear a lot of black, grey and white and I think that translated pretty directly onto our loft's walls. My MIL expressed concern that our loft was going to look scary with grey and black walls (we have white accessories and accent furniture), but loved the result and expressed how much it looks like "us."
My home is clean and organized and it smells nice. Basically nothing like me. Oh except there's dog hair everywhere.
I like having people over when I'm first getting to know them, because I feel like my apartment will pull a lot of weight in letting people know what I'm like. (And I am a homebody who is generally more comfortable there than anywhere else.) It's full of books and art and thrift store finds--all very colorful--and they are excellent personality signifiers. I try to live up to how my apartment looks, but it's harder to choose a cute outfit every day than it is to make a few decisions now and then about home decor.
Several commenters agree that their homes are more polished than their persons. A big reason that's true for me is that my home's dimensions are unchanging, unlike my body's dimensions. I once spent $2,000 on new clothes to celebrate a fresh start after my pacemaker implant. A few months later, a gain of over 20 pounds had made my fitted clothes useless, so forget that!
I would say that the style (if I have one) of my home is similar to my wardrobe and also reflects who I am. I'm casual yet put together using earth tones both in clothing and my home, technology is a big part of my life (so there are black anchors both in my home and my clothing) and I obviously am a bit rigid because things have to be "just so" both in my space and in my head but I think my home is comfortable.
I think it's important that your home reflect who you are rather than the latest in decor trends. Some are bold and daring while others are nesters and need a sanctuary.
My home and my person are both dressed modestly, in neutrals with pops of color and fun accessories.
Forgot to add: My person is WAY more polished than my home, and that makes me sad.
Eclectic and a little schizo? Yeah, that's pretty well how I dress and decorate.
My home is always put together (except the bedroom which is a perpetual mess) but I'm a jeans and black tee kind of guy.
No, I don't think I look like my home. I have ecletic tastes and my home is a work in progress that reflects elements of my tastes, but since I live with someone there is compromise. I always see the work that needs to be done or what I would like to see done. I dress casually and with comfort in mind and the emphasis in my home is also on comfort. I desire a soothing space--my home is my sanctuary. I have a friend who commented that my style is romantic, but I'm really uncertain what that means.
Pretty much. Both my home and wardrobe are replete with second-hand treasures, a blend of pragmatic neutral choices and pops of eclecticism and ethnic charm. I collect costume jewelry and the decor equivalent, although my home displays tend to be more cluttery than my personal adornment choices. (I wear earrings daily and often a brooch or necklace, but no more -- plus a name tag that is required at work. But I have glass fronted (IKEA) cabinets full of small wonderful treasures -- and I do mean FULL!)