I Am Earthy Casual

How many of you also follow Mandi over at Vintage Revivals? She is crazy, and so funny! I love that she is not afraid to try new things, despite when others might tell her she's nuts. She has a herringbone-painted ceiling for pete's sake! How many people have you ever seen do that? I don't always agree with her choices or her style (in fact I rarely do), but I ALWAYS admire her perseverance and spirit!

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A few weeks ago, she decided to start a club. Sort of an online design club for anyone who wants to join. She's calling it the Fearlessly Finding Awesome club, or the FFA (not to be confused with the Future Farmers of America club lol).

I didn't participate in the first challenge because I didn't feel I could write a whole post on it. The challenge was to define what you want your home to be, to feel like. And I want mine to feel much the same as Mandy's (even if we do have very different ways of going about it). This is how she put it: "I want my home to feel like me.  Happy, energetic, a little strange, positive, and really really unique." The only thing I would change about it is that I want mine to feel like me and Jess both. She perfectly balances me. So basically, I'd like our home to reflect both of us. I want all of our closest friends and family to be represented, whether its through pictures or something they love. I want bright colors and fun pieces. Aaaand... that's all I've got! Told you I didn't think I could write a whole post on it!

Yesterday's challenge was to take a quiz on HomeGoods' website to see what your decorating style is. I LOVE quizzes, and Mandi said her results were spot-on, so I was very curious to see what my results would be. This is what I got:

Courtney, you are an Earthy Casual

You're interested in creating a welcoming home where people feel comfortable and happiness flourishes. You appreciate the warmth and individuality of natural materials and handcrafted things and are inspired by colors and forms from nature. You love mixing up different textures and are sensitive to the tactile qualities of objects. Your style is grounded and solid, not flighty or frilly. And you are never taken in by the trend of the moment.
You value creativity. You are stylish and fun loving, and can be an inspiration to others. You have a natural sense of drama, and you know you have to be willing to take risks—whether with colors, finishes, furniture choices, or ideas—for your home to stand out. Your home can be happy and lively and the place all of your friends want to be.

Most of that is very true. I find it interesting that I am earthy, because I've never really considered myself earthy. Maybe because when I think earthy, I think lots of brown and tan and green, neutral colors with a few pops of color here and there like blooming flowers. I do want a place where people are happy and comfortable, and I love all things nature and handmade. I am a hugely tactile person. I'm not sure about the grounded and solid part, you'd have to ask someone who knows me well. Personally I am very flighty, but I'm not sure how much my style reflects that. I do know that I am not big on frilly things. I do like to watch the trends, but I know what I like and don't like. I definitely value creativity and do have a natural sense of drama. I love taking risks, I think its something akin to being an adrenaline junkie and getting that rush when you jump out of the airplane.

It identified my biggest design challenge as being organization, which is dead on. I even chose the word ORGANIZATION as my word of the new year, which you can read about here!

There was a collection of 6 colors which are supposed to be my 'happy colors'. They were all oranges and yellows. While I do love orange and yellow, it would have been more accurate if it had included a bigger variety of colors such as green and blue.

The last segment I want to discuss is this one:

Putting Color to Use!

You are probably not one to go in for crazy color, and you may want to keep things fairly neutral and sophisticated overall. But try selecting a duo or trio of colors that work well together, and introduce one or more of them into your curtains, wall color or rugs. This will tie the overall palette together in a coherent way. You could even incorporate your color palette in smaller doses, like in your tablecloths, cushions, throws, or bedspreads, for example. 

This one I do not agree with. While I generally stick with neutral pieces for large pieces like sofas, and bring in color through the accessories, it is purely for practical reasons. My tastes change with the wind, and sofas get expensive to change out often enough to fit my whimsies. Had I the monetary means though, I would be all too happy to buy brightly colored sofas and other pieces and change them out as my heart desired.

Oh and by the way, anyone else who wants to take the quiz can do so here! I'd love to hear about your results if you do!