House Tour-Liz

Name: Liz
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Square Footage: 900 sq. ft.
Years Lived in: 6 months
Rent or own: rent
Describe your style: mid-century comfortable

What's your favorite free/found item?
A chair that I found on a curb while house-hunting. It combines two of my favorite things in furniture: green (naugahyde), and tapered wooden legs.

What's your favorite purchased item?

At the moment, it's my dining room table. It's the exact style I want, it has this really exaggerated walnut grain, and it's small enough to fit where ever I live.

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?

Since I love old furniture, I can't buy it all at once. It's culled from a variety of antique stores, second-hand stores, and sites like Craigslist, which takes time and patience. And I'm not the most patient person... but I've got to remember that I'm cultivating my home, which if you think about it, really takes a lifetime.

Is your design style organic or planned?

Definitely organic. Each time I bring a new piece in, it changes the dynamic of an entire room. It might move me to rearrange furniture, or remove pieces to maintain whatever balance I had in there before.

What is your favorite spot in the house?
My bed, without a doubt. Since I live alone, I'm more likely to hang out in there than, say, the living room, especially if I'm reading, or using my laptop. It's probably laziness, but it works for me.

I've also been keeping my eyes open for a new bed for a while now- I currently have the full-sized HEIMDAL from IKEA, and it's one of the few IKEA remnants I have from my college days. Anyone have a full-sized Heywood Wakefield bed they need me to take off their hands?

How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
In the last five years I've graduated college, started my first full-time job, and moved. I shed a lot of really disposable IKEA-type furniture (nothing against IKEA, I"m just becoming more interested in pieces with history and substance).

What is your favorite resource or store?
Without a doubt, Craigslist. I love surfing it even when I'm not looking for anything specific. Although great finds are sometimes few and far between here in Oklahoma.

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
Well, just because I don't like something, doesn't mean that it doesn't work for whoever decorated it.

That being said, I get itchy when things are too matchy-matchy, or when rooms look so formal I'm afraid to even breathe on anything.

What has been your favorite design trend?
It seems that people are starting to value and prefer older or pre-owned pieces more than new or off-the-shelf stuff. That's promising.

What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
I'm not sure if this is an influence per se, but I strive to not stick to one style of decorating. So, I guess I'm influenced by people who can pull that off.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
My graphic design education, actually. As I learned and appreciated more about design in the 50s and 60s, I also started appreciating everything ELSE from those periods- especially the interiors. And clothes. And music.

What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
Rearranging. I love it, and do it throughout the house constantly. It is free!, and can change the feel and purpose of a house instantly.