P.F.F FEELS : Intentional style & Trying

Recently, I read an article on Man Repeller Called " Is trying finally back in style? " which used Celion Dion's new found lease on life as its inspiration and it made me put this question into the context of homes. There's a certain pressure on viewers when they see settings that are 'too' assembled. We all love stunning flat lays but who ACTUALLY has three stems of roses falling nonchalantly out of their bag?

If anybody knows the artist of these photographs, please ID them in the comments! Would love to find out more of their work

Style when enforced comes across as pushy. Do you recallthe feeling of going into somebody's home and feeling almost uncomfortable at how much chintz they owned? Or maybe they were really into porcelain figurines? Perhaps it wasn't about objects or patterns but just that everything felt a bit too contemplated upon. Why do we get a bit " Hey back off with your style " when things are assembled too far?

I love the intentional style in this photo series though, those green shades are killer 

Everyone is trying to make a point about their style but in an indirect way. There's an expectation out there where we have to make our point indirectly and those who know how to do this are, in my eyes, totally exceptional. It's the key mark of communication when you do a little and get a lot and this translates into anything visually inclined.

Trying can look good but that's just the thing - it needs to look good. 
If you try and it works, then you never really tried in the first place. But if you tried and it didn't look good, then you tried AND you failed. Two things nobody wants to admit.

Here's one thing I can say about trying that's good for the whole world. When you try and you succeed, you can pass knowledge on. And if you've failed and then succeeded, we can benefit from your experience. Being effortless and succeeding makes us look awesome but it doesn't contribute anything to the tapestry of visual learning that we all do on a daily basis. This is why we hate 'effortless' people. They get everything and give nothing but what's that really contributing? What's that really doing to help other people play the game in a better way?

The thing about trying is that at the end of the day, it shows bravery and courage in small ways and large. You've had a vision about yourself and you want to put it out there. That's so much more powerful than just rolling out of bed looking amazing. That shows self awareness, direction and being able to make oneself vulnerable. You're making a claim to life and that scores 100 points from me.

P.F.F Feels : ARE YOU A STYLE SNOB?

 

How open minded are you about other peoples tastes? 

Maybe you're not that open minded or maybe you're willing to see it with a pair of un-judging eyes ( good move ). For me, I've tried to accept different tastes, ones that I didn't like and it kind of doesn't work. It's like forcing yourself to do something you don't want to do. I do believe however, in being able to see things on other people and appreciating it on them. Something that I would never wear or put into my home, looks perfectly sensible in someone else's home. That being said, my tastes and choices for basically everything that can be seen and touched is narrowing down more and more as time goes on. I know what I like more and what I don't like more and it's making shopping to be a whole lot easier. Whereas I used to throw out things all the time, now, things are being savoured and kept because they align to my values which are clearer than they would've been years back.

This set up right here is obviously five out of five if you're into this style. It sums up the moon goddess gypset vibe perfectly and I can appreciate that on someone else. I've met people who have defied my thoughts about styling. On the right person ( aka context ) things look good and this is an example of that. I've found that all style no matter what kind, has items which underpin it. They're like symbols which convey that particular style and you can tell right away what that person likes even if you're not a design or decorating nut like I am. If you can tick all the boxes by having that landmark item, then you're subscribing to that style in full force. Although I'm not a gypset moon goddess, I appreciate the fact that the person who made this set up has their values intact and blasting at full force. There's respect to be had in knowing what one likes, even if it's not traditional.

So maybe I can't put a positive spin on this particular look. I have to go so far as to say I really dislike this style. It's completely soulless. I know warmth and colour isn't the objective for this kind of architecture and vibe. It's a very 'million dollar home' look, which to be frank yet again, I'm not a fan of. If I were to ever walk into a property like this, I'll admit the first kinds of feelings i'd have would be peace and restfulness. It has a calming effect and you can tell the location here is really quite amazing. But too much grey stone and concrete, especially in the outdoors setting has a new housing development chic vibe which I can't get on board. But what I want to also add is this. Even though this particular style isn't my thing, the owners are obviously super successful in their chosen fields. They're enjoying their life by the beach with the breeze ruffling their hair and who am I to denounce whoever they are just because they like what they do?

I feel like the Scandinavian trend has sort of had its time and is on its way out. I enjoyed it because it proved that maximum impact doesn't necessarily equate to maximum effort. However, because it got so out of control in its popularity, it left its mark in the furniture and homewares industry for good. This isn't really a negative thing but what its created is a 'generic' blue print for people to rely on. Again, this isn't bad per se, but it starts to all look very bland and the same. Grey rugs, Beige couches, Birchwood shelves, Minimal Art, White ceramics, etc, etc. This living room above has all the staple items of a Scandinavian living room that it literally looks like something out of catalogue ( I think it is... ) I think the challenge for everybody who enjoys styling things is to be able to convey a look without relying heavily on the prescribed items of things because then it starts to look ' obvious '.

I like this room and think that its done up in great style. But that doesn't mean it actually is. The thing I want to point out is that everybody thinks that they have good taste and is justified in their vision. I do and so does the person who bought that million dollar home above and the gypset moon goddess maker. It doesn't mean I, nor anybody else should get precious about it. If somebody defies my idea of what I think is good, I shouldn't get defensive. Even more importantly, I shouldn't show distaste in their preferences in any form. I think being a good decorator or just enjoyer of the visual means having an open mind. No, we don't have to love everything but we do have to see everything.

Is there some styles, motifs, colours or vibes you just can't stand? Tell me about it below! 

PAINTINGS, FLOWERS FURNITURE FEELS : UNITY V ECLECTICISM

One of my biggest let downs in all matters aesthetics ( Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest..etc ) is the fact that my taste is extremely eclectic. To me, there are way too many good things out there to restrict oneself to one look. But what I'm noticing about being eclectic is that it can look 'messy'. There lacks a general flow of things and people can get confused about what your claim is. When one has a unified look that flows, people think, " OK, so that's their claim to life and living. These colours and items underpin their taste and I as a viewer know immediately what they are about". Usually after this thought, you get followed on instagram pretty quickly.

The reason why the most successful accounts on IG are so is because they are UNIFIED in their aesthetic. Every post is related to the next to make up the tiled tapestry of their feed. And this is what I've noticed as I continue to slowly build my look for P.F.F everyday. P.F.F is eclectic. It's harder to build a sense of unity and flow when one has an eclectic palette. Of course, there are lots of accounts on instagram ( and also brands in general  ) that are eclectic. These are the brands that I love because I feel like they understand that there's just too much gold out there to stick to one 'look'. Take for example the instagram account of ' The World of Interiors ' :

All photos belong to account of The World Of Interiors which you can follow HERE

They are one of my favourite accounts on all of instagram because they are eclectic but they aren't messy nor jarring. Their look compiles a whole range of different settings, colours and items and yet, they all seem to gel together amicably. How the hell do you do this? I guess eclecticism can be done in a way where things flow into each other just as well as a unified look does. But this is harder to do because you need to be detecting things which are not seen on the surface. A theme that strings all the images together that isn't visually detected. Another account which does eclectic very, very well is Commune Design :

All photos belong to the account of Commune design which you can follow HERE

I feel it more with the second set of pictures, but Commune has more of a thematic thing going on. The second set is all about deserts, terracotta tones and a middle eastern rusticness. I guess the best thing about eclecticism for me is the drama. I love drama. Dramatic colours, shapes, movement, plot lines... 😆  A good room to me doesn't necessarily have to hold drama but it's better if it does. It leaves an impression. It's funny how closely the philosophy of decorating relates so closely to society in general. Isn't this true for dramatic people in real life? Don't they leave a more lasting impression on us than say, someone meek, mild and polite? Let's look at some unified aesthetics :

Petra Tungarden's apartment in Kungsholmen ( featured in Inside Out magazine June 2016 issue ) leaves no room for surprises. The neutral overall gives enough breathing space for the metallic accents of her furniture, homewares and lighting to pop and provide the stitching for the whole picture 

This bedroom in Nicole & Tim Lucas's 3 bedroom home ( Featured in Inside Out magazine June 2016 Issue ) in Brisbane demonstrates unity of style through the harmony that plays out between the textures of the bedding coupled with the illusion of texture from the wallpaper 

This living room from the same owners above shows the use of colour to create balance and unity 

Owners of this French Chateau ( Hubert & Isabelle Dubois-Bettanin ) have made their kitchen super livable, breathable and lofty by making White their centrepiece colour and incorporating green accents to liven things up as well as to create harmony ( Featured in Inside Out magazine January 2016 Issue )

The red is the balancing act in this small study in Tim and Nicole's home 

I purposely chose rooms which had colour as part of its foundation to prove a point that unified style actually has little to do with white or neutral tones. Maybe I was the only person that was thinking that, but to me when I think of a 'unified' aesthetic I automatically just think of beige tones. 

Just by looking at these pictures, you feel a whole-ness to it. Everything blends into each other to create a 'whole'. The energy of the rooms move in a circular motion unlike in eclectic rooms where the energy spikes from one area to the next. I love unified aesthetics because I think everybody has an innate, inborn love for symmetry and balance. This is what a unified aesthetic offers... balance and steadiness. Something we are constantly searching for as a coveted addition to our lives but also to our need for aesthetic order. 

Unified rooms also instill calm in us which make them a good idea for bedrooms and dining areas where they serve one particular purpose. But eclectic rooms make good living areas as they provide a conversation starter. Statement pieces I've noticed, also tend to go in living areas. Some eclectic spaces :

Credit goes to : Article by, Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson , Originally posted on ELLE decor  HERE

Designer, Christian Siriano's living room could be dubbed as having unity OF eclecticism. But to save you all from a long spiel about the technicalities of this, let's dub this as eclectic because it really is that too. Notice how you don't know where and how long to look at something compared to the rooms featured above. And this isn't a bad thing by any means. As I said before and I'll say it again,💖DRAMA💖 💫MOVEMENT💫💚 COLOUR💜. Three things which give life and vibrancy to any space. Too much drama and colour can result in spaces looking jarring and hoarder like, which is a concern on the other hand. I think the key to avoiding this is to select items carefully and to also consider how much space an item takes not just physically but spatially. Instead of two patterned lamps, have one. Buy different items in one colour but in different shades to create a semblance of unity.

Credit goes to : One kind design, image re-posted by One kind design via unknown Pinterest source. Originally posted HERE

Credit goes to : Homelife.com.au, Image of Anna Spiro's Brisbane Home. Originally posted HERE

Credit goes to : Curatedinterior.com, originally posted HERE

Found on Tumblr with unknown credit 

Which style do you drift more towards? The collage that is eclecticism or the unified style that is ONE? See you in the next post!