Creating Cozy - Choosing With Your Heart

I've always loved vintage.
Ironically, I grew up in a home where modern was revered and vintage was just old garbage. (Unless it was ugly and had a number on the bottom - then it was "worth something" and we couldn't get rid of it no matter how butt-ugly it was.)

I wonder if my desire for vintage was because of an abundance of cold, sterile, plasticy furniture - a lack of warm, soft, comfy and cuddly. Nothing wrong with retro, or plastic... But, no snuggly was to be seen.

Or maybe it was just rebellion. And, I wanted what my mom hated.

Years later I have a home and family of my own. And, I have vintage china from Goodwill and garage sales. Fun atomic patterned silverware and retro glassware - thanks to ebay and Etsy.

And, our remote controls and wii nunchuks sit in vintage cheese boxes as handy storage.

I'm decluttering - using a Minus 365 technique. But more importantly, I'm changing my priorities. So, I'm selling some of my former treasures on Etsy. It's wonderful to pass them on to someone new to love them.

  Our walls have loads of family photos - and wonderful photographs from local artists and friends. (I even have some of my own *very-unprofessional*  very sentimental pictures matted and framed. Flowers that my husband gave me while we were dating, all together now - "Awww!")

As a new family, a blended one, we are working together to make a home. I want it to be snuggly - so a thrown blanket was on my Christmas list. And, I want it to be fun and safe - which means keeping glass things far away from the couch. (It's our wii area...and, I'm dangerous enough with the controller strapped to my wrist. *Smack* Sweetheart, you ok?!)

Our old, donated couch looked bad no matter how much we cleaned it. So, when choosing a slipcover, we went with denim. It didn't match a thing - but it fit the casual and snuggly concept - so it's perfect. And, I have one giant patchwork pillow we can grab when we need it.

There's only so much room in a house. And, there's even less room for stuff in a home. You need room for the people - and heaping helpings of love.

So, I'll keep decluttering and making wise choices. It's getting cozy and homey - filled with lots of laughter. That makes me happy.

This post was inspired by some lovely thoughts over at Simple Mom.

What style did you grow up with?

What style did you end up choosing for your own home?

What do you want the feel of your home to be?

Share with us below in comments!