Not Everyone Is Going to Love Your Design Choices, and That's OKAY

When my husband and I moved into our 2-bedroom apartment here in Williamsburg I couldn’t wait to put my stamp on our new home. Having never lived anywhere else other than my parent’s house or a dorm room, I was over the moon about making this space ours. My head was filled with endless possibilities of what we could do (i.e. paint the living room a dramatic color, create an artsy gallery wall, wall paper a room, etc.)… While I cringe when I look back and see where we started off, I also smile at my enthusiasm for not being afraid to try new things. This fervor has continued over the years resulting in spontaneous gallery walls and painting of furniture (as well as many holes in the wall much to my husbands dismay); all the while teaching me many valuable lessons, one of them being that not every one is going to be as enthusiastic about the design choices that you make, and that’s okay.

The perfect example of this? The linen piece hanging over our sofa in the living room. This has hands-down become the most contentious part of our living room (see the comment section in our feature of Apartment Therapy). To be honest, it was a bit of a last minute decision as we were coming up upon a photo-shoot and didn’t have anything to go above the sofa (this was what was there before). While I had a vision of hanging a large-scale piece of art above the sofa (something coastal, with a Byron Bay vibe) I had yet to find the right piece; so we were forced to move onto option b which was to have something more fluid.

Not every one is going to be as enthusiastic about the design choices that you make, and that’s okay.

As I tried to nail down what exactly it was that I wanted to do, I recalled seeing a unique wall hanging in Emily Henderson’s home a few years back. I wasn’t sure if it was a flag or simply a dyed piece of fabric but either way I loved it! It provided the perfect “pop” to the room without being overbearing - exactly what I was going for. I began to round-up what I could use to create a similar look, coming up with a beautiful, embroidered table cloth that I had found at a local thrift store; a hand-dyed tablecloth; or a simple but beautiful piece of linen. I debated for several days, even calling over my girlfriends for their perspective. While we loved the color in the first two choices, they just felt like a bit much. The look and feel that I was going for for this space was cheerful and yet very peaceful. The simple linen fit the bill.

Instead of hanging the piece of fabric from a dowel-rod I decided to do something a bit more organic and Anna Beth, by simply nailing the piece to the wall. I love the soft, relaxed feel that this method of hanging provides. Looking back, would I have done something different? No. I think so often we can purchase things for our home that we don’t really love just because we “need” something to fill the space. Leading up to this photo shoot, I had to be so mindful when purchasing things; making sure that I was getting only the stuff that I loved and could see myself using. Was this linen wall hanging my first choice? Not really. I would have liked to see some more color and texture (I think that’s what makes the wall hanging in Emily’s home work). I’m still on the hunt for a large piece of art to replace this wall hanging but for now I’m content. Not everyone is going to be a fan of it, but that’s okay.

I would love to hear from YOU about some of the design decisions that you’ve made over the years that not everyone “got”?

Photography: Luke & Ashley Photography | Styling: Making Room for Peace