A Lamp for your Floor

I feel sorry for the Floor Lamp. It seems to have gone the way of the coffee table (are people not
reading, drinking coffee and putting their feet up anymore?). To me, the floor lamp seems like one of the easiest ways to add height and interest to a room, never mind the fact that it also helps us to read at night and is a handy guide for the teen who wants to navigate quietly through the dark, wishfully thinking that their mom has become tired of waiting and fallen fast asleep.

By the way, we haven't really gone to sleep; we are lying in bed waiting for you to come home, wondering whether we should call the police or change the shade on the tattered old floor lamp.

As a person who has a nostalgic love for umbrellas, I am now seeking out a lamp shade just like the one in the photograph. I love the eccentric mix of vintage and modern in this room, and while I am not quite sure if I would have that green, droopy plant on my mantel, this beautiful home (designed by Caleb Anderson) reminded of the three most important reasons why we really all should own a floor lamp...

CLUTTER REDUCER
They stand alone, and don't take up any space at all on our nearest and dearest side table.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ACCESSORY
Every room needs some height, and floor lamps are naturally quite tall.

PERSONAL SHOPPER
With so many choices of stands and shades, they might just be the most perfect design dose of retail therapy; we can mix and match for hours until we find exactly what we need (or the shop closes, whichever comes first....).

A Comfortable Place

If I had to choose between comfort and good looks (in any part of my life) I would choose comfort every time. I think that every home should be filled with as many comfortable places as possible...

• A favorite reading spot, surrounded by books old and new. 
• A napping place, all soft and cozy.
• A thinking spot by the window, perfect for daydreaming.
• A chair at the dining room table, comfortable even when dining alone.
• A sofa, wanting us to curl up our feet, grab a blanket, and stay until morning.
• An office desk, almost organized, inspiring and personal.
• A family kitchen, warm and welcoming.
• An outdoor path, sunny and tickly on our toes.

Wherever you are in your home, try to do as much as you can to make it comfortable, because really, when you think about it, why would you want any space in your home to be uncomfortable? 

Cabinet Conundrum

Did you know that the average kitchen has 20 - 40 cabinet knobs and drawer pulls?
More than you thought, right? Have you been shopping for them lately? I am not quite sure whether it is terrifying or fun, but I do know it can be confusing. A bit like when we are choosing a paint color; we are dazzled by the endless array, told to choose wisely, surprised by the cost, advised not to scrimp on quality, then wander back home with an exhausted face and an empty shopping basket.

We are told that they are the jewelry of the kitchen, and the finishing touch that we need to pull the entire home together. We start to believe that without these coveted little gems our dreams will surely be squashed, and our kitchen will never, ever be featured on the cover of a beautiful magazine.

But I don't really agree. I think they are both less and more important than we realize, and I find that when we rush to buy them we can easily add a lot of unwanted clutter to our homes. I wouldn't pile on twenty five versions of the same, pretty necklace, or dot thirty three lamps around my living room, so why would I place dozens of tiny, repetitive objects all around my kitchen without more than a moment's thought.

I know I always tell people to buy what they love, and it will all magically work together, but this is totally different; of course you must like them, but if you are buying multiples of something permanent, that all look the same, they automatically become part of your design instead of just a random decoration. I think I actually just confused myself with that sentence, but hopefully you know what I mean.
Forget the usefulness of them for a minute (we know they work) and just think of cabinet knobs and drawer pulls as being lots and lots of small (sometimes shiny) accessories on display in your kitchen.

It sounds frightening (and a bit weird) but really all I am suggesting is that you plan before you buy. Try to decide ahead of time whether you want them to blend in and be part of the design, or a deliberate style statement. If it's a deliberate style that you want, then go ahead, but if you want them to seamlessly fit into your kitchen, do your research, and see what will really suit your home.

And, don't forget to count. It doesn't matter whether you want to have an entire zoo attached to your cabinets, or the simplest of brass pulls, no-one ever has just one ...