Thanks to my friends at Truvia (pronounced, tru-vee-uh) I had the extreme privilege of attending Oprah's Live Your Best Life Weekend for O Magazine's 10th Anniversary celebration with life experts, like Martha Beck, Suze Orman, Elizabeth Gilbert and the grand dame of inspiration, Oprah herself.
I posted my recap of the Oprah event, here.
My favorite part? Listening to design expert Nate Berkus -- his website is still under construction, but you can find Nate's designs on HSN -- besides the fact that he IS absolutely adorable (seriously, Dude, I want your hair) Nate's simple design philosophy really resonated with me:
"Design is not about the money or keeping up with anyone else. It's about the story behind [your choices]." — Nate Berkus
6 people, living in a 7 room house, you'll hear NO argument from me. In fact, I even took some notes, with my Oprah pen -- here are Nate's 10 Simple Design Tips:
This awesome book-filled study belongs to Nate Berkus!
1. Decorating with Art: Displaying your favorite artwork does NOT have to be pricey. Nate suggested visiting student art shows, where you can pick up original artwork, that is relatively inexpensive, saying, "There's a reason why their called starving artists." Another suggestion was hanging framed book pages that are interesting on your wall.
2. Sleeping Late in Goodish Sheets: Guess what? According to Nate, "Thread count does NOT matter." Holy Hannah Montana, all this time, I'm thinking, the higher the thread count the better the sheet, right? Wrong. So, what are goodish sheets? According to Nate, a thread count of 300-400 is perfectly fine, but look for good cotton sheets and be sure that the weave is even and tight.
3. Don't be Afraid to Use the Good Stuff: Like, why am I hiding my grandmother's "good dishes," right? Well, first off, I break things (a lot) and more importantly, I have kids. Still. I told my mother-in-law that Nate said to go ahead and put out that crystal butter dish and her Spanish lace china and mos.especially, if it makes her happy! Just, you know, not when I'm around.
4. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: According to Nate, displaying family photos, or, hanging our favorite vacation pictures and even the my 8 year-old's drawing of the Doofus-Dog are what turn a house into a home.
5. Edit, Edit, Edit: Nate believes that change is good -- like, he takes down the stuff in his house and enjoys reassembling it, in a new way -- aaaand, maybe now my husband Garth [not his real name] will FINALLY believe me when I tell him, "Yes, I absolutely HAVE to move the furniture, once a month!"
6. What's on T.V. (literally): Take the focus off your television - if it's mounted on the wall, then surround it with paintings, or if it's in an entertainment cabinet (like our t.v.) then, close the doors when not in use and watch each other, instead.
7: Collections: Collect your favorite things and group in an artistic way -- collections tell a story and helps define your individual style.
8: It IS All About the Details: Decorate with things that have special meaning, to you -- touch and use your special something, everyday.
9: Fresh Flowers: When you decorate with fresh flowers, something that is living, it reminds you to take a minute for yourself, everyday.
10: Live Bold, But Start Small: Don't be afraid to use bold colors -- experiment in small spaces, by adding a couple of bold pillows, or animal print throws and play with splashes of color in small areas of your house.
My best takeaway from Nate? His simple design tips can work to help make any house a home, even smallish ones, like mine -- 6 people, living in a 7 room house, making the most of our living space is a real challenge!
So, what's your biggest design challenge?
© 2010 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.
DISCLOSURE: TRUVIA PAID FOR MY (AND MY GUEST'S) ADMISSION FEE INTO THE OPRAH EVENT, ONLY. NO PAYMENTS WERE RECEIVED FOR THIS BLOG POST.
