Note to Self: Must get more Cloches and Lovely Pedestals to go underneath them! *Winks*
Yes, I have Serious Cloche Love and everything always looks more Important under Glass and draws the Eye to it for closer Examination...
And as Myko was Styling around the Cloches in her Area I was Photographing my Favs... Loved this one with the tiny Child's Ballet Slippers and Gilded Ornate small Clock.
Coupled with some Springtime Blossoms and Sheet Music it was such a Lovely Sweet little Vignette under Glass. Makes you want to buy the whole thing doesn't it? *Smiles*
And yet another Cloche Display undergoing a Transformation as I was Photographing it was this one... from this... to...
This... and that's the Fun of playing with Cloche Vignettes, small changes can make such a big difference and Impact with minimal effort and you can change things up in Minutes.
And I don't know about you, but anything I can tweak in just a few Minutes to Style a Room and draw added Interest is a Perfect addition to any Vignette! *Smiles* So yes, more Cloches and interesting Pedestals for them are in order at Bohemian Valhalla. Couldn't spring for any at this Month's Event, but drew Inspiration from those I Admired and Photographed.
You can mount a Cloche on just about any flat surface that you might already have if you don't actually have a Pedestal for it... Serving Trays, Cake Stands, stacks of Books with Lovely Covers and Bindings... the Possibilities are practically endless and limited only by the Boundaries of your Imagination. If you're like me, your Imagination has no Boundaries or limits and so your Cloche Displays can constantly Evolve.
I Enjoy Rooms to be in a constant state of Evolution actually... they never need be 'Finished' and can continually be a Work In Progress and Styled differently as the Mood suits you and Seasons Change. And I'm not just talking about actual Weather Seasons, but also Seasons of Life. If Styling and Decor at my Home remained static and unchanged Year after Year... Decade after Decade... I would wonder if I was also becoming stagnant and not Experiencing and being Exposed to enough?
Granted certain Styles, Hues and Aesthetic may be a Lifelong Love and a draw to you because you Connect to them in a Special and Mysterious way... and I do find that often you come Full Circle... but Experimentation with different Styles and Colors can be Refreshing and Fun... even if temporary and for a short Season.
Before I Exerienced and Admired the Shabby Chic Styling Pioneered by the Talented Rachel Ashwell I rarely ever Decorated with and Collected anything in Pastels and Whites. But a brief Season of Styling that way made me Appreciate that Genre enough that I didn't banish it all when I moved on to something more my Personal Style and Aesthetic. I still have some Beautiful Pastel and White Anchor pieces that I Cherish and will likely hold onto and incorporate into my usual Eclectic Boho Style that I'm most Comfortable with and around. Had this Lovely Pastel Old Door not Sold I might have been Tempted to add something like this to my Collection for example.
Because I Believe there are many Sides, Layers and Facets to all of us... we're multi-dimensional Beings and we don't have to limit ourselves to just a narrow option of Styles and Colors if we don't choose to. Perhaps some days and Seasons of Life Monochromatic is Ideal... and other days and Seasons more Colors draw you to them... or different Hues than you were Attracted to before, maybe even a new Color Combination that Inspired you enough to give it a go. Your Romantic Side might just Desire the Girly Touches here and there... or perhaps a Saturation of them if that's the Vision you want to come to Life and Live Out a Romantic Fantasyscape in some of your Living or Working Spaces?!
Though I can't remember ever being Bored a day in my Life, I must say that if my surroundings never Changed and remained too Constant and Static they might just lose their initial Lustre and Appeal to me and become Boring. I doubt that I'd receive as much Inspiration if I looked at the exact same things day after day and not in a Fresh way... Creativity might stagnate or I'd feel stuck in a Time Warp and not in a good way. *Smiles*
Vintage, Antique and Retro can be really Cool and Fresh when Re-Done and given a Fresh Spin during a New Era. But have you ever walked into an Environment that seemed stuck in a Bad Time Warp where it just felt and looked Old, Worn Out and Tired? Or looked at a Decorating Book from an Era that wasn't all bad... but because it was 'Dated' it just wasn't as Appealing as say it might be if you Re-Invented and Re-Created that Styling Today and gave it a breath of New Life and injected some Modern Personality to a Period that just Appealed to you in some way?
I firmly Believe that any Era of Styling and the Found Treasures from that Period can be Renewed and Upcycled in Exciting Fresh ways to make them Fun and Appealing again. And New Styles can Evolve from them. Or be the catalyst for Futuristic Styling and Trends that have never been seen or done before, or at least not exactly that way, and be Fashion Forward and cutting edge for what will be Trending and highly sought after once folks are Exposed to it and totally dig it.
I remember when my Bohemian Styling Parents first saw the 'Futuristic' George Jetson Style of Mod Decorating that emerged during a particuar Era. Because they were always Boho Eclectics they boldly incorporated some of it with their Exotic Styling and Tastes using only the Futuristic Trendy pieces they Loved, but not really going over the edge to just be Trendy and re-do an entire Space. It made an impact on me that you don't have to throw out everything you Love and Enjoy just because something New or On-Trend Appeals to you too. It can co-exist in Harmony and you don't have to follow Decorating or Styling 'Rules' set by others... whoever they may be... I always Wonder WHO is it that makes these Rules anyway and how do they Qualify? *LOL*
You should always look Inward and just Please yourself, because after all, you're the one living or working in these Spaces you're Decorating and spending most of your Precious time in. The rest of us may only be visiting now and again... or maybe never... so who cares what we or anyone else thinks or says about it?! If you're Comfortable and Love your Environment and possessions, that is the ONLY thing that counts. Be as Traditional, Retro, Minimalist, Maximalist, Quaint, Country, Exotic, Contemporary, Futuristic, Bold, Creative or Quirky as you wanna be... or an exciting mixture of any or all of the above. Do YOUR Thing, whatever that may be... in the Moment... and it can Evolve and Change over Time as many or as few times as you want or need for it to.
My Hope is that you'll be Perpetually Inspired by something or someone so that you can keep your Personal Spaces Alive and Attractive to YOU!!!
And if your Critics don't 'Get It' or Approve, so what... everyone is entitled to their Opinion... it doesn't make it right, wrong or indifferent... Opinions are so Subjective that I usually take them with a grain of Salt because I too have my own and they don't always line up with everyone else's either, nor would I want them to, I Celebrate that we're all Unique and different, how Boring would it be if we weren't?!? Can you only Imagine if you walked into everyone's Home, Shop or Work Space and they were IDENTICAL... that would creep me out actually and be way Scarier than anyone's particular Style even if I'm not particularly Attracted to it!!! *LOL*
Imagine if you will that every Retailer only had the Identical Inventory to offer to you?! And only in one Color and that was your only Option!!! Even if you liked the Color and Products, after a while I Imagine that you'd want something Different eventually over your Lifetime... unless Change is really, really, really difficult for you to Embrace.
And then Imagine if you will if once a Style, Color or Era were 'over' you could NEVER get it again or re-visit it because it would be banished Forever. No Nostalgia, no going back to something you Loved and still wanted, no Future Generations being able to Experience it for the first time or Appreciating it in a New Way... everything had to be the 'next best thing' whether you liked or wanted for it to be or not!!! Scary, huh? I know that would never do for me... there's something from the Past, the Present and I'm sure the Future that I'll Enjoy, Love and Embrace... or Hate... whichever the case may be... but I like having the Choices and Options. I like for things to still be Available and perhaps that is why I've been an avid Keeper Of The Past so that some things from the Past Survive and are Saved for the Present and Future. Because once Lost, Forever is a mighty long time.
There are some things I've Let Go of and never wanted to revisit again in my Styling... and others I've come back around to incorporating to some degree... and having that Option is what I Enjoy most. There are things I've never departed from and Love and Use as much as I ever did... and it makes me Happy when someone Experiences those things for the first time and feels that same Connection... I always Hope they can find something like it, somewhere, that someone else 'Saved' and continued to use. I have been known to even Gift such items to someone if I feel led to select them as the one who will now Inherit it and Cherish it into the Future, maybe long after I'm gone.
In our Extended Family we've probably Passed More Down to others while we're still Living than merely leaving an Inheritance once we're Dead. If I Love something, I mean REALLY Love it, then Letting Go of it to who I want to have it during my Lifetime is much more Satisfying than putting it in a Will or just leaving it up to Chance who will be the Recipient. Though Thankfully our Family has never had to Endure such a thing because we just Amicably mutually agreed to equally divide the balance of an Estate after a Loved One passes, I've seen some Families literally torn apart when it comes to dividing the Spoils of an Inheritance! Stuff can really come between some People at the expense of Relationship, which to me is much more Priceless than a mere object, so I don't pretend to even understand that particular logic and skewed priority base.
My Dear departed Dad always said that is why he was never Materialistic and Attached to 'things'. He kept it Simple and Invested in his Relationships, which he Valued above all else... the stuff of Life could come and go, it never seemed to bother or phase him if he had a little or a lot Materialistically, his Contentment level and deep Commitment to Friends and Family remained constant... and I strive to have that same Attitude and Priority base. He would have been the one to Decorate with a Tumbleweed rather than an expensive Bouquet so that he could Indulge someone he Cared about all the more. BTW: Ever notice that if you lived somewhere that never had a Tumbleweed they always looked so Romantic tumbling across the Desert or in an Old Western? *Smiles* And then you move to a place like Arizona... and the tumbling Tumbleweed has some, if not all, of the Romance rubbed off when you're actually dealing with them?!? *LOL*
Yep, Life can be like that sometimes... something seems or looks like a good Idea... but perhaps it is... and perhaps it isn't... only in the Actual Experiencing can you really tell or be sure... so may you Experience as much as you can my Friends... and come back tomorrow for the Finale Post and the balance of the Images that Inspired me from the Event this Month at SWEET SALVAGE.
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian