If You Gotta Nest, Get Inspiration for FREE
I have a secret obsession.
Some people collect boxes and boxes of vintage G.I.Joe figurines. Others watch sexy Nigella cook her food on TV religiously. And some people walk around in Yankees Flannel PJs everyday during post season (my landlord).
My obsession may seem fairly benign, even mundane '“ at first. But it is something I have hidden away for years from roommates, friends, boyfriends' In fact it goes against everything I try to project upon first meetings. I like people to see me as a carefree, go with the flow, independently minded, world traveler type. Someone who’d be fun at any hour of the day. Someone who you’d want to take with you up and decided to go to Thailand or Budapest tomorrow. I even lie to myself. I used to boast that I could fit everything I loved and needed in one backpack, and travel through the world making a home wherever I happened to lay my head. WRONG. And I’m finally facing it: I am a 'œnester.'
My discovery of the full range of my home-making obsession came as a bit of a shock to me as I’m not the Suzy-Housewife-Nurturing-Cooking-and-Cleaning-Type. I’ve also realized, however, that after living in 7 different apartments in my 8 years in New York – each with their own different feel, architecture, and neighborhood '“ and all on an artist’s budget – I’ve also discovered some interesting online resources for home decorating and design inspiration. And so for Broke-Ass Nesters everywhere '“ this is for you!
My favorite design/decorating blog is:
Design Sponge with amazing examples of DIY befores and afters of rooms, furniture, etc.
I also can get completely lost in these fantastic blogs:
Swiss-Miss
Paper n Stitch
Innumerable Goods
Little Green Notebook
Abbey Goes Design Scouting
All Over Print
An Indian Summer
Automatism
Grijs
Mme Herve
Oh Joy!
Style Court
Urban Sardines
We Love You So
Today I Saw
(p.s. I’m going to assume that by now, most of the guys have decided to look at some other Broke-Ass Writer’s post, given the estrogen dripping nuances of this article. But if you are a fellow and still sticking with me, I just want you to know that I find you very, VERY SEXY.)
My obsession was discovered about a year and a half ago by my roommate, Nadia. She walked into my room while I was organizing pages upon pages of magazine clippings, computer print outs, drawings, color swatches, feathers, ribbons, photos, and lists. I had an opened Domino (before it was discontinued *sob*) in one hand and was ripping out all the parts I had marked upon my first perusal. 'œDo you always do this?' she asked, more with a tone of awe and wonderment, than judgment. 'œYes,' I sheepishly grinned. And my secret was out! But not out in a big way. Just in a '“ oh, that’s cool, she likes decorating '“ type of way.
Well, when my boyfriend Carlo and I moved in together last winter, he was in for a bit of a shock. Every couple has their 'œthing' that they might always have to deal with. For Carlo and I, it’s IKEA. Let’s just stay that aside from the $1.99 dish of pasta with red sauce, the trip was a total and utter disaster. We left not speaking to each other, without the bookshelves we had set out to get in the first place, and with a lot of other (inexpensive, but totally unnecessary) tchotchkes that he resented having to lug around. (And I couldn’t understand why he didn’t have the BEST TIME EVER!) That IKEA trip made me realize that I have a lot more than just a 'œlittle thing for decorating.' I am obsessed with discussing, planning, painting, rearranging, adding, and subtracting to our home. Carlo’s a good sport, and I’ve learned that sometimes 'œNo means No.' (We don’t have the full size vintage cow’s hide rug and matching stools I found on Ebay, yet.)
My favorite thing about 'œnesting' is that no two places are the same, and the feel of the place pretty much dictates what I start to fill it with. It’s like uncovering a secret, or unlocking a language, when you figure out how the room wants to be decorated. I hope you get as much pleasure and thrills (YES, thrills!) scrolling through the above list of online mines of color, structure, and creativity as I do! And I promise, boys, next week I’ll be writing something a little more gender-neutral in flavor.
You Might Also Like
