What's Your Style?

Valerie and I are constantly looking for new inspirations for our homes and the store. We LOVE magazines and books. In fact, if you look in just about any crook or corner in either of our homes you'd find a pile of magazines with corners turned down for future reference or if we really like it, we tear it out and bring it in to share! I was recently looking back through a book entitled, Found Style by Mark and Amy Bulter. You might recognize that name, because at the Flea, we covet Amy's fabric designs and patterns. Anyways, I actually read my design book's text and was reading this one's when I got an idea. In this introduction it talks about finding your style. He says that true "style" should come from years of assembling your home with the things you love. The latest color trends, bedding and furniture can come and go, but if you truly want a home to feel warm and comfortable, you have to be patient and you have to be selective about your purchases. He says it is definitely easier to hire a decorator or to go into a new furniture showroom and buy an entire set, no doubt. But, where is the true fun in that? Valerie and I love to scavenger everywhere from the Goodwill to an Antique Mall. While we say we are looking for the store, we are also keeping hawk eyes out for our own homes. You just never know when that perfect chair, needlepoint or sofa (my weakness) is going to be there. So why am I carrying on at this point you ask? Because I was telling Valerie about this whole story the other night and we both agreed that the Flea was a nice combination of her style and mine. Which brought about an interesting idea. We are often asked by customers, "Is your house just filled with all this same stuff?" The answer to that questions is no. Some of it for sure, but usually it all sells out before we get it! We each have our own individual style that creates a great look for the Flea, and hopefully inspires you to make your home tell its' own story. I can describe my home as a mix of eclectic, modern country. Valerie I would describe as a bit more formal french country (just drool over her exterior and you know there is some french inspiration!), but she also has a flair for finding the most fabulous unique items. My favorite in her house is a metal sign hanging in her kitchen that says ____ number of days without injury from some sort of factory. How cool! Back to my point, we have decided to let you into our homes via a series of blogs. Don't plan on it coming out tomorrow, but soon. We hope you enjoy taking a peek into our little lives at home and what inspires us as we continually "assemble" our homes for our families.