So I have a little bit of a confession to make today. I have to air it out. But you have to promise you’ll read all the way through before showing up at my front door with angry mob torches (dip painted with stripes in neon colors, of course). Are you ready?
::takes deep breath, shuffles feet::
I hate have an immensely strong distain for cheetah print.
And macrame.
My eyes may bleed if I see it one more time.
Like, oh my gosh if I walk into one more box store with ombre macrame flanking the walls, or see one more planter on pinterest, I just may die. And not the good kind of “I DIE” proclamation. I may die because my eyes will bleed. And that would be awkward. And messy.
I have no idea what it is. Maybe I can’t trust the macrame. I feel like it’s going to drop whatever it’s holding, or strangle me when I’m not looking. And it sways whenever you try to water the plant that’s sitting in it. And doesn’t it get dusty? Can you dust it? I have no idea why this concerns me so. I’ve tried to like it, but then the internets became saturated and I had to fling a vampire cross while hissing so I could make an escape from it’s macrame tentacles. Yes, it was that narrow of an escape. You will not get me, macrame.
All I can see is stuff like this:
You have no idea how badly this stresses me out. Were the people in the hot tub electrocuted when their three year old decided to swing across a-la Tarzan and drop the speaker into the whirlpool? Were the speakers splashed and ruined when they had a crazy party goer do a cannonball? Was there a mold problem inside the speakers? The world may never know.
Jamin says I over think things. I’m starting to see his point.
And the cheetah print. Or maybe it’s leopard print? I don’t care. I think it’s both. All I know, is that I tried really hard in college when it made its first comeback. I think I even donned a shirt per my friend’s request, once. But I felt like it should also have feather cuffs and matching ears in a leotard because I was going to some Halloween shindig. It just wasn’t a good fit for me. My friends were sporting their leather pants and their matching cheetah tops to “go out”, and they would do the sorority girl pose in front of the camera {You know the pose. Half squat, hands on knees, butt out. We all did it, even Jamin bless him.}
I just couldn’t bring myself to wear it. Art students don’t do cheetah print. DUH.
I feel so much better now. Are you de-friending me? You’re all, SHEESH, tell us how you REALLY feel. Did you take a deep breath and grit your teeth and throw your coffee mug at the screen? I’m going to push the pause button here before I go any further. If you love these things, that does not mean I think I am right and you are wrong. I’ve seen both design elements in really pretty, cool, unique ways. And we applaud those spaces.
I just know it’s not for me. Not for my home. We all have associations with various elements, for some reason or another. These are mine.
We never mention things we don’t like here, because I think you should go all out and do what you love. No matter what other people say. Your home is your home. Feeds and posts where people diss the things they’re tired of, really annoy me to the point of no return because someone always offends someone else. See: A Facebook page where they started talking about all the things that annoy them, and before you know it, every design trend in the history of ever has been mentioned, and everyone is offended. OMGAH I LOVE midcentury modern farmhouse kitchen sinks brass mod podge! Stop dissing it, yo.
I’m sure someone is hate reading this post right now with their macrame pajamas and matching cheetah ears, scowling at the computer. My taste is not everyone’s taste. You may have a strong distain for white kitchen cabinets and barn wood or chandeliers. Or colorful rugs from Turkey because they bring up a traumatic childhood experience of eating too much pecan pie at thanksgiving, and upchucking said pecan pie all over your wealthy, well-traveled uncle’s 1985 version after a rousing go of hide and seek with your bullying, larger-than-you cousins. You were punished severely because your Aunt Bertha (the one with the toe cheese problem) screamed a few expletives you’d never heard before. But she always lets her five shitzus (with way too many eye boogers) pee on it, so she had a total double standard that day and now you’re left with a forever open, festering childhood scar you’ve seen your therapist about one too many times. Every time you see the one in our studio photo, it makes you throw up a little in your mouth, and you can swear you smell pecan pie. You have a secret hate for me and my rug from Turkey.
I know I just totally nailed one of you. I should have been a psychologist.
So what’s my point? We all have our associations with things for whatever reasons. They’re an opinion for a reason. I said all that, to say this:
Knowing what you don’t like, is just as important as knowing what you absolutely love. It’s like your secret superpower.
Your home depends on it.
I wish I’d known that. I wish I’d had a clear list of what I didn’t love in our first home. I should have started there. But I was overeager and restless, and mindlessly made a few trips to the store in an effort to ‘fill the gaps’. I had no plan. I just thought it would all come together and I thought I knew what I liked. The result was a cluttered hodgepodge of an ill planned series of rooms… with a lot of buyer’s remorse that ended up in a few garage sales.
Cheetah prints are back. Everyone is wearing them. Pillows are everywhere. Pants. Washi tape. Children’s clothes. I have never owned a cheetah print anything in my life, and never will. For some reason, it rubs me the wrong way. That doesn’t mean I won’t do other animal prints. And I can’t say what the future me will like. {Future you may come back to this post after seeing my living room ceiling lined in cheetah print carpet a-la Elvis four years from now, just to gawk at me.}
Use it to your advantage. Don’t give into peer pressure.
It’s important to know what you don’t like, because it helps with editing in your home. Editing is a fine art that is cultivated over time. It’s something that will help when it comes to taking your time, without regretting it three short months later when you start to see it everywhere else, as well.
Trends become trends because websites and magazines are influenced by one another. We’re all drawn to trends, and everyone has them, to some degree, in their home. It’s a good thing if you really love them. There’s nothing wrong with it.
They become saturated though, quicker than they ever did in a social media world. Then, big box stores buy into them. They decide this is a golden ticket, their seasonal money maker and push an idea they’ve seen. And who can blame them, right? There’s plenty of people out there willing to buy it just because the store they love carries it. That’s smart marketing 101. Before long, though, everyone is trying it, even if they don’t like it. And suddenly, you’re tired of it, because it’s everywhere. How many times have your friends someone you know said they “Saw this at Target” even though they aren’t sure what it is? Or its design origins? And you’re all, duh. It’s been in my house for ten years. The original version. Getwiththeprogram.
Just kidding, friends who are reading this. Not you. Other friends. And I heart Target.
Here’s where the saturation becomes dangerous:
It’s good to garner inspiration from others, and grow and learn. It’s awesome to support this community. Please do. Read to be inspired, and encouraged and to get excited about your home. Peruse magazines to think through what you love. Go to stores and soak it all in to think about how it can function as a part of the grand scheme of things and a wise addition to your home. But stand by what you don’t like. And know that it’s just not a good fit for you or your home. Don’t get pulled into the comparison game. It’s a gross trap. And it becomes one when we start feeling a little pressured. Don’t let the lie of not being enough, {or your home isn’t enough} into your life. Because it is. You are.
End of story.
We all have trends in our home. Know what you’ll bring into it, and what you won’t. It helps with clutter, and buyer’s remorse.
I know I have a distain for cheetah print macrame. I’m not saying I won’t go weave a hammock tomorrow, and I’m not saying that because you have macrame in your home it looks like those 70’s fantabulous photos above. And if you have the original macrame, you rock my face off because it’s the real deal and you are amazing. Everything comes back around, and chevron was in the Taj Mahal. Take your time in being influenced by trends when you don’t know what you love.
It’s a saturated world, and it’s easy to get lost in it.
Our homes can easily become a hodgepodge of various ideas and tiny trendy pieces, without an overall vision, or plan. Allow yourself to grow and make mistakes. But be wary of those impulse buys. To thine own self be true. Let your home grow and evolve with you.
Knowing what you don’t like, is more than just a great starting point. It’s your discerning super power.
Make sure you really love it before you dive in, arms wide open. Because that would be more of an awkward belly flop. And belly flops sting. Just like buyer’s remorse.
Metaphor world, over and out.
Ashley @ Our Temporary Home says
This is hilarious. I just love your writing and I have to say a big AMEN to the hate of both Macramé and Cheetah print. Preach it sister. My dad loves it and I swear his bathroom looks like it belongs on an African safari. Cheetah print towels and some rugs paired with pictures of African animals. I just don’t get the love for it no matter how hard I try.
ashley @ the handmade home says
HAHA! I don’t think my dad even knows what cheetah print is. That is hilarious.
Beth M. says
I’m dying! The thanksgiving reference has definitely happened to someone! I agree, macrame and cheetah print can take their trendy party and go back to the 70s.
ashley @ the handmade home says
RIGHT?! I’m waiting for someone to come forward and admit it. ;}
Liz R. says
I LOVE this post. #1 Holy story-about-a-colorful-rug-from-Turkey, Batman! I love the detail of your wild imagination. #2 I agree with you about macrame and cheetah print, but then I looked down and realized I’m wearing pink cheetah print socks that my hubby so sweetly bought for me. It will sneak into your home, just you wait. And I was very disappointed that you didn’t have a picture of YOU in the cheetah print. #3 My beef with big box store trends lately is when they MAKE products to LOOK like they are DIY. There was a shelf that was BUILT to look like it was made from pallet wood for $$. That’s just silly. Anywho, very helpful post. Sometimes I like to go through my Pinterest boards to see things that I pinned a while ago and see if I still love it or if I was just being influenced by a fad. It helps me see what things I truly like.
ashley @ the handmade home says
That is such a smart way to use Pinterest, Liz! Go back and check yourself. Before you wreck yourself. I’m sorry. The cheetah print did it to me. ;}
Elisabeth says
OMG I HATE THE MACRAME TOO!!! And those awful yarn bit hanging things that are also everywhere. I can’t help it. I mean, I rocked the hemp bracelets and necklaces back in high school and college but that does NOT belong hanging from the ceiling!!
Phew…I feel better now. And I think you are so right about knowing what to keep out…How else do you know what to edit? I am seriously in an omg my bedroom is just a design blackhole right now and it’s time to get stuff out…
ashley @ the handmade home says
Ha! You’re in good company, Elisabeth. You saw our before pics for the bedroom, yes? What is it about our bedrooms and dumping grounds? ;}
Elisabeth says
Totally! I have all this vintage furniture which is lovely but frankly I”m a bit over it…Too much dark wood! And I think as a single woman I’m just like oh, no one but me ever sees it anyway…Though it seems like it is too common. Enough of that! My craft/sewing room is out of control, too. Lol, though that is clutter AND style distaster. And your new bedroom/bathroom are so pretty!
Krystal H says
Bwahaha! Love this!
Amber S says
Scary, but I was thinking the EXACT same thing about my son swinging on the macramé speaker-holders over the hot tub before I scrolled down and read your comments. LOVE THIS – I guess I overthink too!!
ashley @ the handmade home says
OR… we both have an appreciation for rational design choices. Yep. I’ll go with the or. ;} And forever be in denial about overthinking.
Heather says
I am SO with you on the macrame’. Despise it. And I love vintage-y things. But that is taking it too far. Cheetah print I can handle in small doses. Like a cute shoe. Ok, well, only if it is a cute shoe. I also dislike anything bronze. Like, the yellow, mirrored, ugly grandmas-old-light-fixture bronze. Not the oil-rubbed bronze, which I love. Those old ugly yellow-bronze chandeliers? Spray paint it, baby. Preferably a bright color. 🙂
ashley @ the handmade home says
That is so funny, Heather. When I was writing this post, I almost made an excuse for cheetah shoes, Because I saw a few cute ones the other day, and shoes are my forever exception to the rule. ;} But then I thought I would be over explaining myself. ;}
Yellow chandys can definitely toe the line. I have no prob with antiques. I almost purchased a huge brass planter the other day. It was also borderline ;} I’m still waiting for all of it to come full circle, because we never replaced our doorknobs which are also unabashedly yellow brass – I’ve turned a blind eye all these years. HA!
Cecilia says
Yay for you! I’ll jump in and admit I do not like Chevron. Not now, not later, not ever! Not for me! Or gold shiny stuff. Been there, done that. Whew! I feel better.
😀
Cara @theprojectaddict says
My college bedroom was decorated in leopard print. I loved it at the time but must have burnt myself out because I have had zero leopard anywhere since. I’m not a fan of macramé either. Of course, I can’t keep plants alive so a planter is useless and the wall hangings are just creepy looking to me. I don’t hate all white cabinets and white subway tile but I am getting VERY bored of seeing it everywhere. One thing in fashion I don’t like is neon and wearing workout clothes in public. It just isn’t my thing. I absolutely love your Turkish rug by the way!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Why would you NOT like wearing workout clothes in public? We can get away with SO MUCH! Did I roll out of bed, or am I going to the gym? Just kidding. Not really. ;} When we were in college, the style was jeans, flip-flops and a tshirt. Now it’s super short shorts like you would run in, and huge baggy tshirts. So now everyone is confused. Are you even wearing anything under there? ;} Is this everywhere?
Rose L. says
I must admit I did macrame in the 60’s. It was all the rage then!! I now look at macrame and say WHY???
ashley @ the handmade home says
Oh Rose. I know you really have those macrame pi’s I was talking about ;}
Skye says
Haha, this is such a funny read! I’m slowly discovering my own style and have definitely realised that following trends is not the way to go, even when it comes to your clothes and personal style. There are so many styles out there that I like, but don’t necessarily want in my own home either. I did like a bit of the old horizontal striped wall, until I saw it on every home blog out there!
Ellen says
Something’s wrong with the blog layout… All of a sudden everything’s all mixed up, chaotic, on the front page. I don’t know if this is partly because I zoom the text (my eyesight is terrible) but I didn’t have this problem yesterday.
Just thought you should know!
ashley @ the handmade home says
We’re in the middle of an overhaul, Ellen. Thank you!