Chinese Green Teal Pottery via Giannetti Home (sold) |
Do you use a lot of accessories or do you have a few meaningful pieces? I'm one of the latter. Clutter drives me nuts so I like a few carefully chosen pieces at the right price. For me to really feel the need to spend money on an accessory it has to be one of four things:
- It's BEAUTIFUL and I just can't live without it,
- It accomplishes a purpose other than collecting dust,
- It's dirt cheap or an unbelievable find,
- I have a certain spot to put it. No spot, no buy!
Another part of my problem is that I studied marketing and advertising with a passion. I worked in the market place as well as the manufacturing side. I always assumed it was common sense and everyone knew that the only way you can afford to sell something is to make a profit on it, but have learned that isn't so. As a general rule, you're paying more than (fill in the blank) is really worth. That's not always the case...like when you're paying for a quality piece of furniture that has been lovingly hand painted (hint, hint) and a tremendous amount of time invested in it. But, most things out there are mass produced are insanely marked up in price. Being so acutely aware of this, I'm a hard sell. Plus, the pieces I do buy I want to serve a purpose...be it visual or practical.
That's why I love flea markets, auctions, thrift stores, yard/garage/tag sales, and free stuff. I know that a lot of times you can get awesome stuff for a fraction of what you'd pay retail (and most of the time people have no idea how much stuff is really "worth").
Let me show you some of my favorite designers who really are great at accessorizing (granted a stylist is usually involved for photo shoots, but you get the idea).
Brooke Giannetti Design Notice the limited use of "stuff" but what is there is well picked and placed for maximum impact. |
Another shot of the same room by Brooke Giannetti. |
Another one of Brooke's rooms. It's not bare, but it's got just the right amount of accessories to make it feel comfortable and lived in, yet not cluttered. |
Same room, different angle. See how they used the iron gate? Genius! It's now an architectural detail AND an accessory. |
Suzanne Kasler design There's not any "chotskies" sitting around. The accessories are art work, books, mirrors, pillows and flowers. Love it! |
Are you a Quality or a Quantity kind-of person?
Beautiful rooms! I must say that the older I get the more I go for quality rather than quantity. When I was younger and had kids-I would have gone for quantity..cuz you never knew what was going to outlast the onslaught of kids! xo Diana
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