Clearing my head

Do you ever wish you could gut your house and start over? I have been entertaining those thoughts lately - it is not a good thing.

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I grew up in a mid-century modern home. My father was an architect and everything was clean and modern. There were no antiques in our home ... no ornate millwork or moldings.

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Our walls were always painted white and surfaces were kept free of clutter.

Thomas O'Brien via

After I got married and had my own home I went the opposite direction. I spent months years adding traditional architectural details to our house. We added base and crown moldings, window casings and raised panel doors. We removed all the carpeting and had the original wood floors stained and pegged and grooved, put in white hexagon tiles on the bathroom floor and put wallpaper everywhere. We even added a fireplace with a lovely white mantle.

apartment therapy

Our first furniture was very traditional and we bought some antique-looking pieces (we could not afford anything too old). And it was nice. But honestly I never loved it.

Windsor Smith - Gwen curved arm sofa

It wasn't long until I starting changing things. I sold our mauve (eesh - think 1980's) camelback velvet sofas and replaced them with a modern sectional covered in white cotton duck. I traded our oak butler table that I was using for a coffee table for a more simple glass-topped wicker cube. I loved it.

And then we moved. I loved our new house and our furniture worked well in it. It was a single story ranch with contemporary windows and doors. Over the years we did some remodeling, and again I added more traditional moldings and furniture. And just like before, it wasn't long before I yearned for something different.



It seems like the busier I get and the more I have on my mind, the more I have a desire for clean and white and modern. Not that I don't like a little antiquity - just not too much.

So Saturday I made a few changes. It is still a work in progress. (Just like me, haha).

 I took out the large tufted ottoman and replaced it with a simple Ikea table. And moved a few things around.

It was a quick and inexpensive change and I feel like a weight has been lifted.  But the ottoman is not going far for now. Who knows, it might just come back. 

Happy Monday everyone!