Decòr me gorgeous, said the room

I am pretty sure we can all agree on one thing: by now we have fully established that I don't like household chores.

But boy, do I love trying my hand (and hubby's patience) at interior decòr. Nothing is more fun than picking the right pillows, paintings and accessories to create an entirely new look in your living room. Or picking all new bedding, shams, curtains and prints to give a fresh look to your master bedroom. It's just so fun!

I play it cool, but I secretly harbor a wish to decorate my house like the rooms you see on the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog. Sure, sometimes they look a little too perfect, and I prefer a more "lived in" style - something that won't make your guests stand around because they are afraid of smushing the sofa pillows. And sometimes it's a little too Town and Country, which is so not me.

But other times there will be this room, or just a shot of a corner of a room, and it conveys such casual comfort with a few beautiful pieces, I wish I could just jump into the page and sit on that armchair, and look out that window.

Of course I could always run out and buy a whole bunch of new furniture and duplicate the room in the picture, kind of like what Rachel did in that episode of Friends. But I would obviously regret it and be ashamed of it - plus I was lying, I can't really just go out and buy a whole bunch of furniture, my husband would have a cow.

Which leaves two options as far as I'm concerned: creating virtual rooms and creating real rooms with mix-and-match pieces.

Creating virtual rooms is great because you feel like you are actually shopping for your favorite pieces but you don't accumulate stuff, don't spend a dime and you reserve the right to change your mind as many times as you like; and all while getting some great ideas for the time when you can actually redecorate. My favorite places to do this is Shopstyle Living, where you can save pieces you like and then compose virtual rooms to save in your stylebook - and even join groups and share your creations with others.

But when you are ready to actually redecorate, don't just buy a bunch of stuff you like - I mean you can do that, but what you had in mind might not actually translate well into your space.

If you already specific piece of furniture in mind, make sure you get the right shapes and sizes by using the HGTV Room Planner.

Once you have your furniture, accessorize with things from a bunch of different places, and don't be afraid to explore stores that you normally don't look into. An unexpected detail can give them room more personality. For instance, West Elm furniture feels a little cold and too minimal for me, but I think they have some really cute pillows and vases.

Also, don't think you will need a huge budget to redecorate a room: you can give a new look to a room by just getting new accessories. I just fell in love with this Target commercial for that reason (and for the cool music and dancing, of course):


Don't forget to scour the web for interesting details to add to your room, to change it from run-of-the mill to one of a kind! Here are some:
- Kanibal Home features redesigned and reupholstered salvaged furniture, limited edition pillows, wall art and restored found objects, among others. Their selection is really random, so if you don't find anything you like the first time you visit, keep checking every now and then because they post new items often, and they feature a wide variety of styles.
- Mothology features some great vintage-inspired decorative objects and furnishings.
- UncommonGoods also features some interesting items in their Home Decor section (and on the rest of their site!)

and then there's Etsy, of course. Just look up whatever it is you need and you'll find a large selection in different styles, colors, materials and prices. Here are a few cool stores I found by searching for "pillows":
- Greenroom
- Eliza Leigh (I love her Dressmaker and Runway pillows!)
- Paris Buildings on Helena Carrington's shop
- Flowers and Dots on Couch Design (I love how this pattern looks mode and art deco at once)
- the Bella Pillow on JKHill Designs

These of course are things I like, but there's really something for everybody and every taste on Etsy.

Ah, yes - I love interior decorating.

So imagine my joy when I went to vote for some friends' blogs on Divine Caroline's Blog Awards and found some amazing decorating blogs in the Home & Food category! There are some real pearls there.

Do you like decorating? Do you have a favorite site, store or inspiration? Feel free to share your decorating secrets.


P.S. If you are trying to figure out what your decorating style is, take the "What's your design style?" quiz at MyDeco.