Oh yes, swoon at will. Fab.

After this discovery, clicking a link on their blogroll lead to other websites and other blogrolls and soon I had about 100 different blogs I was reading on a regular basis.

Now this leads to a hell of a problem when you are a bit of a magpie. When you find gorgeous inspiration at every turn, you start to lose track of what you really truly love. I can appreciate style and order in so many blogs out there; I love a little of everything – from contemporary to thrift chic, from shabby to glamorous, from minimalism to maximalism! So about 6 months ago, I started to get confused. I had always been very sure of my style but all these images and all these ideas were colliding in my brain and I had lost my way a bit.

So I started honing those blogs down. If I wasn’t finding true inspiration in many of the posts but merely admiring a blogger’s strong sense of style in their home, I dropped it from my daily reading. In doing so, and in being completely honest with myself, I have discovered things about myself and about my style. About the things that really makes my heart sing.

“And what are those things?” I hear you asking. (Ok, probably not, but humour me here).  Well, let me tell you… Here are some of the elements that make me momentarily speechless and when I write this list, it is as much for me to remind myself as it is for you to get to know me that bit better…

• An eclectic mix of modern, vintage and traditional
• Something that sparkles, whether that’s in a glass candelabra or a sequin cushion or a twinkling chandelier
• Something unexpected or something that shows a bit of a sense of humour
• Very traditional styles reinterpreted in a contemporary way
• Wallpaper
• A sense of symmetry
• An element of grandeur and glamour
• Tufted/Button-back furniture
• Natural colours like slate grey, olive green, mustard yellow mixed with pops of white and/or black
• Dark wood
• Dark real wood floors
• Soft textural fabrics like velvet and silk

And to keep things around here nice and balanced, these are the things that make me go, ‘meh.’  (Although, I will admit, there are always exceptions to every rule):

• Too much shabby-chic (every single item has peeling paint or a cutesy fabric heart hanging from it) or too much granny-chic (every item looks like stuff my grandma had in her house and not in a good way)
• Too minimal/stark
• Colours I am now tired of (from doing them in my own homes over and over) like Magnolia and Cream, too much tan/brown/neutrals
• Red feature walls (it’s been done over and over in every dining room for the last 10 years. I’m so over it)
• Light wood furniture (Beech and maple mdf-laminated furniture screams Argos)
• Laminate flooring (I’ve had it, I have it now and it’s a great cheap quick fix but I SO prefer real wood flooring)
• Too many chintzy florals
• Mahogany furniture
• Matchy matchy sets (bedroom furniture sets, matching suites, etc just says lack of imagination to me)

So once I had a better sense of what felt strongly about and what I really loved, I started looking for those blogs that provided true inspiration. I have two favourites now (although I still read Young House Love), one of which is {this is glamorous}:

Image courtesy of {this is glamorous}

Aside from incredibly devine interiors & dreamy fashion shots, Roseline’s posts are full of gorgeous descriptions that make you feel like you are there in the room, cocktail in one hand and those incredibly long cigarette filters ala Holly Golightly in the other.

Another is Greige:

Image courtesy of greige

Christina’s blog is a stunning mix of my very favourite sophisticated neutrals and post after post of the most beautiful images, providing inspiration on a daily basis.  A true slice of my sort of heaven.

So why start the blog? Now that we’ve bought our dream house, I feel like I need an outlet. To share my finds, to track our progress, to hash out ideas, to reveal our triumphs and our errors. So I am inviting you (when there’s actually anyone out there!!), my dear reader, to come with me on my journey.

Thank you for joining me and please stick around. I promise there’s loads more to come.