Farmhouse or Traditional, Home Is Where Your Heart Is

By Cheryl Ryan

For me, home design is an ongoing project.  When it works it’s so fun and when it doesn’t it’s frustrating. I’ve been working on my upstairs landing since we moved here. All of the pieces that I couldn’t part with are there, waiting for me to find their perfect spot but I don’t think there is one for all of them.

I know I’m going to have to part with something but before I do I’m waiting on the arrival of a new sofa. Before the shutdown, I had my eye on a small couch but found that furniture shipments from overseas were postponed or canceled entirely.  So I pivoted and found Cre8 a Couch which allows you to design a custom sofa fairly reasonably. They build and ship from LA.  Mine should be here any day.  Hopefully. I’m optimistic that once it arrives things will fall into place.  

But I also know that nothing simply falls into place.  It will still take creativity and patience to design a nuanced space that is exciting to walk into.

Wall Decor

Besides needing a sofa, there is a large wall space that is proving especially challenging. I’ve considered doing a wall collage but haven’t found a combination of art that I like. Increasingly, I think it needs to be a large piece.  

But large art is expensive and choices are limited. I like minted.com for larger art pieces that aren’t necessarily custom but still trendy and less expensive.  I’m also really interested in Saatchiart for a more custom art option but, full disclosure, I’ve never ordered anything from them.

I’ve been noticing large photography pieces showing up in high-end design media. This makes sense to me, knowing that the technology of printing both fine art and photography onto canvas has really advanced. So I decided to select a photo I’d taken while on safari 10 years ago. Before the trip I rented camera lenses for my 35-millimeter camera. Those lenses, coupled with the subject matter, produced some truly amazing shots. I settled on my favorite giraffe photo and printed it onto a 30 by 40 inch canvas.

I found several websites that are printing onto canvas that are reasonable and include framing options. My first try wasn’t perfect because the images on the computer can appear different than the printed version. I wanted less saturation for the room that it was going into. Fortunately, my son and daughter-in-law love it and it looks beautiful in their dining room, which is so cool to me.

I’m going to try another but this time I’ll start with a small print and no frame to make sure that it’s the hue and saturation I want before going for the larger framed version.  Fingers crossed it works. I’m excited to hang something that reminds me of an amazing personal experience every time I see it.

Please share your favorite decor finds.