Crude Style

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I posted a blog post years ago about this great shop I discovered called Bailey's Home and Garden outside London in Bridstow, England. The Bailey's have published a few books and they have become my new favorites for simple, unfussy living. Buy them here.

How easy to collect little chairs and hang them on the wall as sculpture (or a shelf).

This chair above is a perfect example: Great lines, fabulous style but made functional with throw pillows. Forget the new upholstery!

After styling my home and shop for various magazines this year, I have a new desire to make things less perfect. I am calling this new look Crude Style. I love to see interiors when things don't match, objects are used as-found, tables and chairs less than perfect and an overall ease and simplicity to everything- but somehow a great style still appears. Some may look at it and think it is not finished enough, but that is what I love about it because I believe every object has been carefully picked to appear unstyled.

I love the mix of sizes and stripes for these pillows. They match, but they don't.

A few raw boards screwed together for a make-shift desk. Perfect!

As a shop owner I am forever concerned how things look: What is hung on the front door, the furniture placement in the store, the objects on the tables, how pictures are hung, how bottles are faced... it's never ending. With so much product there has to be an order to things to look good to the customer and be easier to shop. But when it comes to my home, I am forever trying to find that balance of style and simplicity while being undecorated but still fabulous! It is in the eyes of the beholder as many may think it's just a pile of junk!

Who doesn't want to plop down here for a couple hours? The apple crates as shelves and the shoes!!! on the bottom shelf- in the living room! Why not?

Perfect crude style: a slab of distressed wood for a quick headboard and no-fuss bedding. Who needs more?

As I antique for the shop, I buy what is appropriate for the majority of our customers but for myself I am looking for objects that have been left out in the rain for years, the chair with simple rust or a box that has been wired shut to make the perfect little table.

Why bother replastering that wall? It works so well with the ease of the kitchen.

This idea stopped me! Patches of old tapestry rugs used as a runner up the stairs. Tack away.

The September issue of Romantic Homes magazine will feature my home and the store. For the first time a national magazine is showing my store the way I have always wanted: a complete spread of both interiors with great images. Lucky for me I was able to style each and every picture. This has been six months in the making as I have been waiting and waiting on what issue it would appear and finally got the word two weeks ago. Since then, I have been answering the email interview so I hope all of it ends up a great read for you.

Again, the mix of found wood creates so much texture and interest and I love the old palette hung on the wall for display.

Throwing a variety of textiles over the sofa is easier than a new slipcover and I love how they hung the light on the spare outlet on the wall rather than ignore the strange placement.

As a store owner (especially in this economy) I am forever preparing for store press. Whether it is my home or the store being featured, I have to keep the buzz going so customers can see what we are doing and keep business flowing. Yes, it is a lot of work but it is all part of shop-owning. Now that Romantic Homes is in the can I need to move on to the next thing so Crude Style is my new direction for my home! Maybe not completed this year, but stay tuned for the next.
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