Saturday, February 18, 2012

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia...Which One Should I Choose?

When it comes to styling my home, I don't really worry that much about the latest trends. For one thing, I've lived long enough to realize that all fashion works in cycles; at any point in time, what was once considered backwards is now cutting edge, and what seems all the rage today will soon come off as ridiculous.

I remember how chic I felt, even as a child, when we got our dark brown fridge during the reign of harvest colors. That color story quickly fell from favor and became about as genuine and tasteful as an episode of the Brady Bunch...but now harvest tones are dangerously close to being back in vogue. (For that matter, so is the Brady Bunch. Be careful what you wish for, people.) 

And I laugh to see how my grandmother's "mid-century" Pyrex dishes, which for many years seemed awfully homely and out of date, are now popping up all over as cute vintage styling. The reality is that style is a state of mind and I don't worry that much about fitting in.

On the other hand, I love the process of continually updating and switching things around in my house. Like most people, I don't have the money or the time to get everything exactly perfect all at once, so making small changes on an ongoing basis is my only option. I definitely focus my room design on timeless treasures, personal touches and good, solid comfort. But to the extent that I enjoy what's new and popular, it's super fun to slip a few of the latest whimsies into my decor.

Enter printable art. This is such a fun and clever trend. Up-and-coming artists create whatever beautiful images strike their fancy, and then graciously load them up online as pdfs and make them available to the masses for little or no cost. So all that's left for us to do is print them off, snap up a few cute frames (preferably thrifted...that's how the hipsters roll) and put them on display. What a great way to weave some 2012 aesthetic into an established room. 

The only difficulty in this simple process is choosing which images to frame. I spent an hour browsing the options  and narrowed my selection down to my favorite...um, fifteen. Here they are:

Children Inspire Design
House Stuff Works


Ilaria Benedetti at Feed Your Soul



Efi Tolia at Urban Outfitters Print Shop

Ashley DeVrieze at Feed Your Soul
 Matthew Korbel-Bowers at  Urban Outfitters Print Shop
Susannah Tucker at Urban Outfitters Print Shop
Jil Brown Louie at Feed Your Soul

Asja Boro at Feed Your Soul
Cassia Beck at Urban Outfitters Print Shop

Marla Girling at Feed Your Soul

Angela Vandenbogaand at Feed Your Soul
Anna Ruby King at Feed Your Soul 
Cori Dantini at Feed Your Soul

Stephanie Nance at Feed Your Soul

Which ones do you like best?

P.S. Just in case you don't remember why the Brady Bunch is wrong, watch this. Don't say I didn't warn you.




2 comments:

  1. My favorites are the last one, the dandelion gone to seed and the bright blue zig zags.

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    Replies
    1. The zig zags (or as the kids like to call them nowadays, the chevrons) have definitely made it to the short list. Thanks for the input!

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