I love interior design blogs, and I'm turning 30 later this year, so when this Domino post caught my eye, I had to check it out:
Things every girl should have at home by 30
As with many must-have lists, you have to take online life advice with a grain of salt. I happen to have most of the items, but I don't necessarily agree with all of the ones on the list, such as...
- "a spot for your books" - There was a time when I thought I wanted a big ol' library in my dream home. I still might want one, someday, but that 'dream home' is not exactly coming true any time soon. But in all my apartments I've still had bookshelves to collect whatever I'd been reading. At one point I even had a non-working fireplace filled with books. All this was before I moved from NY to DC, and then DC all the way to SF... and carrying around all those books that I wasn't going to read again anytime soon just wasn't worth it. So I started over in SF, and now I probably have more e-books than physical ones.
- "a bar cart" - I remember watching daytime soap operas and seeing the characters pour drinks from decanter sets kept in their sitting rooms. That is not how I envisioned my own adult life to be. I know there are arguments for displaying your alcohol vs keeping it hidden - I just happen to keep mine in cabinets, but I'm happy to pour a drink for anyone who comes over. Honestly, city living dictates that my friends and I always gather outside the home for drinks, anyway. (Side note: My mom had a brass & glass (!) bar cart when we were younger, but she doesn't even drink, so it held 2-liter bottles of sodas when we threw family parties. And I didn't know any other families that had bar carts, so props to her for being so ahead of a trend.)
- "decor you desire" - this, I agree wholeheartedly with. When I travel and think of buying a souvenir, I consider how I'd use it back home, and seeing these items around my apartment makes me smile. My husband's decor contributions to our home include a framed photo of his grandfather in his military uniform and a vintage map of San Francisco for which we found a frame and matting at Goodwill. Clearly we mostly like items that have personal meaning, but we also bought a surfboard-shaped clock because, fun. There's so many options at all different price levels out there, so if there's any particular style you want, you can probably find a way to get it in your home. But I do think it's important to have at least a couple items around that you cherish, even if no one appreciates them but you. Domino's most important advice is to "create a space you can't wait to come home to."
