Sometimes I think about my grandparents and the inspiration sources they most likely would have had available to them when it came to decorating their home. There were newspaper stories, possibly a few classic magazines, decorating books, local stores and the visits to friends homes. Today, it's a whole new animal...
Because we're inundated with television, newspapers, blogs, internet musings and retail store after retail store aimed at getting your business, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. On any given day, it's easy to see 100 or possibly 1,000 or more home decor images. That's crazy ridiculous!
Quite often many of the looks we see are created with a big budget, lots of time and often contractors. Many folk (myself included), don't have those things available to them. Are we creating a generation of people potentially unsatisfied with their homes because they feel their best isn't good enough? Are we no longer ok or satisfied with normal homes that don't lack pops of color, personality or hip trendy retail purchases around every corner? Or are we just getting more savvy about design and therefore are able to do more on a budget and learn to love what makes our homes unique, even if they aren't "showroom ready"?
Share your thoughts in the comments below...
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For me, all of the oh-so-perfect designed or designer rooms I see make me really appreciate the homes I see that actually have a sense of humor, a sense of place, a sense of reflection. A home should be an extension of who *you* are.
At times it's overwhelming because I get frustrated that I can't do more on my limited budget, but at the same time my ideas would be so limited without combing through photos of others' designs. Nor would I have found so many ideas to stretch my decorating budget as far as I have. It's a balancing act, I suppose.
Colossally bad taste usually costs a lot of money. Creativity is often free.
A good, old fashioned cook knew how to make a feast, from whatever was at home. How to make do, to replace ingredients and to improvise. A home designer with a flexible mind and good taste, can do the same.
Ditto @themoderngal. There's good+there's bad. I get overwhelmed by stuff online+links that lead to links that lead to links+I just gotta back away+remember that all I want is a comfy home for me+my kid. I sometimes literally think: what will slow us down+let us enjoy our space. It's like a mantra when I feel overwhelmed with projects+'net/TV/magazine/etc. resources.
why be so judgemental..to each his own...does evryone have to live in beige homes with overstuffed sofas and disproportionate mc mansion furniture??? home is what you want it to be...i have strong feeling against people who use "hate" for any decor, let them remember unless one is a hoarder or has a dust and junk filled home no decor is bad decor..to each his own....isn;t it!!
In a way it's great to see so many options if you are going to be able to get inspired and apply what you wish to in your own house. The information overload somehow makes me discover my own style and what I really like and what I don't!
I do think it feeds people's discontent with what they have. And it propels more shopping, which is what it's meant to do, in the end. Sell more magazines, more furniture, knick knacks, decoration services, paint, design icons, you know how it goes.I have stopped reading any fashion or decoration magazines because I realize I'm not immune to their message.
The information overload can be overwhelming, but like Dhanishta I think it helped me discover my true style. I've collected for over a year now images from around the web of home decor that I liked. I save it in my "inspiration" folder. I'm now decorating my new home and when I had to decide on paint colors for the walls I just scanned through this folder and looked at the walls. I was actually surprised to discover a few interesting things I didn't know about myself. I thought I liked color but it turned out most of the walls in the pictures I saved were white or off-white. So, it did help me realize what I really like.
I've been into interior design ever since I was a little kid. But I was also an adult before the internet existed in a usable form. So when I see college students who love sites like AT trying to decorate their one-year dorm rooms as if it were their first house, I find it a little depressing. When I was a student, I was happy with having a nice duvet cover (that I made myself from sheets because duvet covers seemed outrageously expensive to me.) Wanting to have nice surroundings is one thing, but sometimes our design "needs" are a little out of control.
I have to remind myself of what you are saying home body. To be content with what we have is more important that having a perfect for me space.
"Relative deprivation"--the concept that you only feel deprived when you have something to compare it to. To me, one of the issues with all the stuff now available is that, no matter what you have, you can always find something more...perfect, ideal, what you want, whatever. I am now "old" so it is not much of an issue (I (and my husband) love our old house in all its old house glory--for good and bad), but I can see how if I were young I would want the perfection of...whatever hgtv or architectural digest or AT or whatever has to offer. When we see so much, it is easy to always be unsatisfied with what we have.
I fail to see why there's a downside. I research and view lots because its something I enjoy. I probably do it a lot more than the average homeowner, so I get bored with certain motifs a lot sooner than the casual browser. I just accept that I'm going to be moving at a faster speed than many.
As an oldie, I think AT for providing a spectrum of good design that really is within reach. I for one get more satisfaction from what I already have nowadays than with the older picture-perfect, envy-inducing media.
i mean "I thank," not "I think"