Thursday, February 12, 2009

I heart houses!

One of my passions in life is Interior Design. Duh, that's why I went to school got my degree and became a designer. What you may not know is that I don't feel like my expertise is in the "decorating" portion of design. I feel way more gifted in the space-planning and functional layout portion of the process. This is why I work in commercial design instead of residential. But even with this love of design, I don't have a budget to match my love. Thankfully, design has evolved and changed and you don't have to be a multi-millionaire to have a nice home and sometimes the simple, small home is actually more welcoming than the huge one!

This post is an excellent one about just that. I love how she shows what her family chose to do and the result is beautiful and warm and cozy.

Our house doesn't have a 2-story living room, but it does have a 2-story entry and it is a bit overwhelming. I know when the time to paint comes, we will have to hire professionals. So, lesson learned...if we ever buy another home, we'll think carefully before having 2-story rooms. And, I truly believe you could build a new house every year and still not get it "right". There are always things you love about a home and always things you would change. And some of the things you love right now, you might not be able to stand in 10 years. It's a process and the most welcoming homes are those that slowly morph and transform over time. Not those that are instantly "decorated" the moment they are moved into.

My love of houses has been a life-long one. My parents took me with them to look at model homes and that is when I fell in love. I began drawing floorplans in 4th grade and looking back I can tell they were not good design at all. It was a straight hallway from the front door to the back door. But, as time went by, my skills improved. The childhood love turned into a career and a passion.

Makes me wonder....will N's passion for volcanos, trains, and earthquakes and his skill at building and design lead him into becoming an amusement park ride designer? You never know!!!

Will L's passion for cooking and animals lead her into developing gourmet canned food for animals? Or leadchef at a pet spa? Or maybe if you add in her daredevil skills she could be part-time stunt woman/part-time chef to the animals in movies.

I can't wait to see where God leads their passions. And it may be that they have a "desk job" during the week and follow their passion on the weekend and that's okay too!

3 comments:

Jenn said...

Its amazing how what we love as children come out in us once we are adults. I loved rearranging my room when I was a kid. Constantly changing what was on the walls, how my bed was positioned. I remember painting my room purple and getting so very excited. One of the most exciting things for me when we bought our homes was choosing the paint colors for each room. I wouldn't be surprised that you will see some sort of what N & L loved as children become a major part of what they do when they are adults. Its how God made us and we are only better at it when we are encouraged to grow it.

QuiteContrary said...

I remember your floorplans! You are truly blessed to have found a passion and to have the means to follow it. I fear that so many parents forcing their children to be so "well-rounded" by involving them in so many different activities often time snuff a childs passion before the child realizes just how much they love it. It's great to expose them to lots of thing but encouraging them to do what they are naturally good at and love is just as important.
By the way, I thought your old floorplans were pretty darn good!

Anonymous said...

I remember your floorplans! No, sorry I don't quite remember them. I remember you drawing them. Sitting in bed, drawing them in your lap. For years. You did it for years. I think you're onto something about N & L.

As a kid, I loved spreadsheets (long before Excel was ever created). I loved how numbers related to each other. Isn't that odd? But I spend my day now and make my grandkid spending money by loving how numbers relate to each other.

I loved history too as a kid and that is now a fundamental part of my entertainment each day. So easy, keeping up with the ongoing story of the histories I am familiar with. So relaxing.

Dad