Wednesday

How I Found My Style Sundays

Have you ever visited Pamela at the blog From My Front Porch To Yours?  Pamela is quite the popular gal, probably because she has quite the popular style sense, so if you have never stopped in to see what she is decorating in the Southern way, you should.

A couple of years ago when she asked me if I would like to share my style on her feature 'How I Found My Style Sundays', my first thought was "me... style"?. 

Then I thought about how it takes all sorts of tastes to make the decorating world go round and that somewhere there is probably someone who thinks this mismatched collage of stuff I've put together in my home, is stylish, and maybe I could inspire them. 

So I agreed to do a post about my style and today for Throw Back Thursday, while the grass is green and the trees start to bloom for Spring, I'm re-posting it here on my own blog.

Brick House in the woods, Bliss-Ranch.com

For me, I'd need to own about a dozen homes, decorated in a dozen different styles to capture all the different looks I like. 

But I only have one place I call home, and as I write this I'm still pondering what my decorating style really is. 

Sometimes I think I will haul anything home from a garage sale or thrift store that I like even a little, and try to make it work. 

My shed full of junk proves that to be true.


Hammered Aluminum Collection Bliss-Ranch.com
Hammered Aluminum Collection
So in that sense my style is probably called "collected", if that's a style.

 Often times I like to use old wood with a history.......

Barn Wood Cabinet Bliss-Ranch.com
Barn Wood Window Bathroom Cabinet
To me decorating is like music. 

I don't have to enjoy listening to every genre there is to still appreciate that making music requires a certain talent.

The same is true for decorating a home.  What works for some might not work for me, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate or see the beauty in other design styles.

It's a matter of taste and preference.  And many times of budget.

Decorating at my house takes compromise, and being realistic usually trumps what I would pick if no one ever actually touched the furniture.

Old Barn Door Turned Coffee Table Bliss-Ranch.com
Barn Door Coffee Table
The truth about my style is that it has to be easy. 

This is a very lived in home, where not only my style has to fit in, but that of the other people who call this place home.

Sometimes my decorating means making lemonade out of lemons.
 

Vintage Scale Bliss-Ranch.com

There are not any priceless artifacts here.

Just the art work of the six kids who have helped carve out the lifestyle that works for our house as well as our yard.

And yes.... to me that kids art is a priceless artifact, but I haven't had any appraisals or museums come calling for their elementary school scribbles.

Kids Art Work Gallery Collage Bliss-Ranch.com
Kids Wall Art Collage and dog moon
My style has to handle wet feet and soggy swimsuits, whether I like it or not.

So my decorating can be a little bit country.....

3 Season Porch Bliss-Ranch.com
The Cedar Porch Furniture Redo
Or a little bit rock & roll, depending on who I'm doing the decorating for.

Teen Boy Rock and Roll Dresser Bliss-Ranch.com
Rock & Roll Boys Dresser

I've never felt that I'm very good at melding the many things I like into cohesive design, so I'm the last one to give any decorating advice.

But every once in a while something I dream up in my head turns out just like I imagined.....

Drop Cloth Designed Dining Room Chairs, Bliss-Ranch.com
Faux Grain Sack Drop Cloth Chairs

Fortunately for me, someone else who lives in this house can build things that often pull the style I'm after all together......

Master Bedroom Custom Bed, Bliss-Ranch.com
Scene's From the Master Bedroom
And it evolves and changes as my mood or the season does........

Master Bedroom Handpainted Flynn & Malone Blanket Chest, Bliss-Ranch.com
Flynn & Malone Blanket Chest Project
Natural elements, rock & stone, barn wood, vintage finds, passed down treasures, industrial metals, and things that are relaxed and comfortable.  I like it all.

100 year old barn wood shelves, Bliss-Ranch.com
100 Year Old Barn Wood Bathroom Shelves
Sometimes rustic, sometimes clean and white.

Master Bed Room Built-in, Bliss-Ranch.com
Master Bedroom
Decorating that looks good but can handle anything from a mug of spilled coffee, and tiny sticky fingers, to teenagers big dirty feet.

And of course decorating that can handle the darn dog!


I like the old with the new..... scissors inherited from an early 1900's building we own have a home in a vintage barbers accessory in the master bathroom.

Vintage Barber Shop Scissors, Bliss-Ranch.com

Or a blissful little spot where sometimes I can't even here the word "mom" in the distance.

Reading Spot, Bliss-Ranch.com

Often I pass over a decorative item or beautiful piece of furniture that I really like because it just isn't going to work in a sometimes very messy household.

OK, fine.... often messy household!  Usually messy household?  Always?

Every decorating choice I have ever made had to be family friendly, and I don't always get it right while I'm busy focusing on the bigger picture.....

Baby Boy Gift Sign, Bliss-Ranch.com

I do what I can, with what I have, so that it works for me and who I live with.

Dresser Converted to Patio Bar, Bliss-Ranch.com
Dresser turned portable patio bar
The way we live - with many minds and busy hands - means we extend our living space outdoors as often as we can.

Potting Shed, Bliss-Ranch.com
Outdoors at Bliss Ranch
From playhouses and garden sheds, to 4-wheelers, fire pits, and pools that all have to survive over a cold winter, my decorating has usually been intentional so it's family friendly.... and yet lots of times accidental.

We intentionally and accidentally have created a home where not just our adult friends are welcome, but our kids' friends, the grand kids small fry friends, and the friends of our adult children as well.

Wall Words, Bliss-Ranch.com

But really, there is only one thing that makes a home beautiful, and that's the people inside it.





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21 comments :

  1. i just love how personal everything feels... and i love your dog. ;) beautiful photos!

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  2. I love every aspect of your home. It look cozy and lived in. The dog is precious. I also love how you use your children's art work. I know it makes them so proud to see their work out where everyone can see it.

    Judy

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  3. I love your decorating style and really enjoy your home tour pages.Any chance that when your girls go back to school you’ll feature your bathrooms? Rather forward of me but we’re redoing ours and I’d be thrilled to see your ideas! survey4on.com

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  4. Your creations over the years have been inspiring. Sometimes they even lead me off on the wrong tangent, but fun none the less. I love everything you do.

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  5. Like a walk down memory lane... love revisiting so many of your brilliant projects.
    Beautiful tour Miss Bliss.
    xo

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  6. I love it all, but my favorite is the Biggest Dog Bed ever :) You crack me up! Plus that kids artwork gallery wall is AWESOME! .
    You have a Beautiful home with Beautiful BLISS Style!

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  7. Oh gosh! Personality at every corner! Love it all Bliss!

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  8. Well, Bliss, you know I like just about everything you(two)do, so no surprise here when I say "VERY NICE". Glad you reposted because I don't remember this. Had to laugh at the picture of the kid's art wall ... nice shot of the dog's butt :P

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  9. Absolutely perfectly, beautifully, wonderfully, YOU! I love it all....including your sweet, smart, sassy self. Your home is amazing! xo

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  10. WOW this is WONDERFUL! Your home is so personal and welcoming...and everyone's creativity and style is there! I loved seeing it all together...and the world's biggest dog bed cracked me up!

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  11. Mo! I love Mo. And I loved seeing more of the "ranch". All the fun and personality makes it very inviting and a warm family home.

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  12. LOVE this so much and seeing it all together and I love your style!! Your home is a reflection of you and it's beautiful!

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  13. Loved seeing all your creative talents over again! You are like me in wanting in original style and "pricless" pieces of art all over your home. Thank you for sharing your Million dollar home and style!

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  14. So fun to read this! I missed it the first time around so thanks for reposting!
    xo Heidi

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  15. Great post...I'm with you on needing multiple houses to fit in everything I love. I hate that I'll only have the one kitchen in our house. I LOVE our kitchen, but I hate I'll never have the chance to have a different one because I love so many different styles. There will be no ripping out or painting of our kitchen after everything we've done in there. Love your style, love your dog, I'm pretty sure I'm even a bit in love with you. =D
    -andi

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  16. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  17. I think you've done a great job on your home. I like all of the things you've made for it since they're one-of-a-kind.

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  18. I love your style Bliss. I still wish I could see a house tour! I think I have waited patiently:)

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  19. This is a beautiful post Bliss. I do have one question though . . . do you make your bed like that every day? Pillows and everything?

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  20. If I haven't said it before, I love your style!

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