In My Room

When I moved into my new house in April, it was the perfect opportunity to move on from my apartment’s loud orange bedroom walls, which I had so confidently painted but grown to question, and instead choose tones that were a bit more subdued and peaceful for my new room. Much more feng shui. But choosing a new color proved to be no easy task, and I swear it turned into a more difficult decision than picking a college, or a name for my firstborn child. Although I knew I wanted blue, I contemplated for weeks and carried swatches with me everywhere I went. I must have changed my mind twenty times, much to the chagrin of my roommate. I eventually settled on rainwater blue, but still worried that it wasn’t the one. When I came home one afternoon after the painters had completed their work in my room, I ran upstairs excitedly to check it out. My jaw dropped as I looked around the room in horror. Baby blue. My worst nightmare. I took a deep breath, and told myself that I would just have to get used to it.

Since then, I’ve grown to love the color. And it’s totally not baby blue. Or at least not ugly baby blue. Above, I've posted a few pictures of my newly decorated, but not quite finished, room (but only a few pics—a girl’s gotta leave a little to the imagination). It was mostly inspired by a few vintage pieces I’ve collected, as well as one of my favorite album covers and an illustration that my brother designed in college. And of course the beautiful custom quilt with vintage reproducation fabrics that my mom made for me a few years ago, which took home a fourth place ribbon at last year's Wisconsin State Fair!

The album cover is indie artist Sufjan Steven’s Michigan (above), designed by Laura Normandin. The illustration that my brother did can be viewed at his online portfolio. It's a picture of a father holding his young child above his head. The young child is releasing a shiny, red balloon, which symbolizes innocence and naivety. Or at least that’s what I see. Recently, I’ve also gotten really into collecting vintage prints from La Mode Illustrée, a weekly fashion magazine that was one of the most important French magazines of the late 19th century. I also adore the intricate glass door knobs in my room, and have carried the look to my bedside table lamp and also to the glass balls that adorn my iron bed.