Blastmilky Insane

K, I have this problem... I am pattern blind.

I know there are few people out there that have known me since high school, and know exactly what I'm capable of when feeling "free."

We're preparing to move: which translates to Mr. K packing and me planning curtains and furniture arrangements. Our couch has disintegrated and we need a new one badly. I wanted something nice, an adult couch, but the more I think about it, the more I picture pets and my hair product destroying it. While I don't find them very luxurious, the Ikea couches are washable, and that has a huge draw for me right now. I don't want to destroy an expensive couch. Even the cheap ones are expensive :p... and Ikea has... SLIPCOVERS! In cheerful patterns.

The new house is like a fishbowl, lots of windows all around and no curtains or blinds. We have a few, but they'll need suplementing. Big time. So that is even more new stuff from Ikea.

So I started playing with "swatches" in Photoshop. And stabbing myself in the eye with the results. Gah!

I have light green bookcases and moss green old cotton velvet curtains (if I can find them) and I've been accenting my living room w/ red and green for awhile. And I just bought the red Ikea display cabinet for Mr. K as an anniversary prezzie for his kaiju. Off the bat I really like the b/w floral upholstery. And the red-striped curtains. And then I found these cherry blossom birdcage curtains and a black and white throw rug w/ cherise accents. So we'll throw in the red ottoman (I'd do a red couch but there would be too much cat/dog hair showing. I like to fool myself into not vacuuming every 15 minutes). And then there's this awesome mirrored sidetable at another store, and my big Victrola VV-44. And of course there will be dollies all over everything. And Blythes with their big eyes.

And that is the part where I stab myself in the eye.

I've learned that normally when I hate my designs it is because I make this mistake. Good design sense is buried amid 15,459 clashing prints/colors/stripes. I'm never, ever going to be a minimalist, but I think you can still be an insane collector and have something be pleasing to the eye. If a little frantic. I start to take away things and work towards a little more white space. This always disappears after the first year as the (white) space fills up with art deco chalk dolls and giant junko mizuno roly poly stuffies.

I may still get the mirrored sidetable though... it rocks!