Living with what you love

I'm sure you've heard the buzz in blogland about Monica Rich Kosann's new book Living With What You Love, but if you haven't, here's my take.  The book's underlying philosophy (Living with what you love) goes hand in hand to me with creating a home.  We see so many beautiful images of homes every day, but how many of them seem personal and special to the homeowners?  The ones that speak to me the most are the ones that feel real and loved like a "real" home.  (vs a showhouse)  The book addresses  such a simple but core issue in a hands-on way that makes you want to get to work on your own home right away.

{How adorable is this?  I might have to stuff my parrot and keep him there.. haha totally kidding!}

Ove the years, Monica, a portrait photographer found that her clients were also looking to her to help them find special ways to display the beautiful photos she'd taken.  Her "job" expanded and not only does she help families take photographs but she helps them fit them into their homes in ways that are personal & beautiful. 

It's the final layer, the accessorizing, where we can very easily inject ourselves in our homes.  I have so many photos I've saved over the years "to be framed" or "to be hung" or whatever.  Monica's book inspired me to finally get around to doing something with them.  Her book's full of creative ways to display family photos and special items.  I love the little pages of a photo album casually piled on the table below:

Living With What You Love was so great to sit down with and inspired a few projects in our own home that I can't wait to get started with...  One of them being a hallway full of kids' art projects and family photos.  The hallway leading to our bedrooms is & has been totally blah since we moved in.  We addressed most of the main areas in our house& now it's time for the hallways, and smaller spaces, which can make all of the difference.  I'm going to take my time with this one and I want it to grown over the years almost like a huge inspiration board.  

What about you?  Do you live with the things you love?

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

You can click here to buy the book :)