Today’s ditto * is a look at an inspiring Narrow Living Room.

I love this space for so many reasons. The furnishing balance, the soothing colors, the fantastic lines on the elegant furniture pieces… but what I would ditto the most is the amazing room layout that makes the most out of a long and narrow space. Read on for great ways that you can ditto the tricks of interior designers and make the most out of any narrow space.

*{What exactly is a ditto? :: The list below will break down for you many of the decorating concepts that are employed in this great space. As with all of our dittos, let’s study the DETAILS of what makes this space SO AMAZING, so that we can learn how to add more beauty to our own homes!!! And, as always, I look forward to hearing from you and finding out what you would ditto, too. So, be thinking!}

{ via La Dolce Vita, design by Carrera and Fauquié }

DITTO :: {WHAT I WOULD STEAL FROM THIS SPACE}:

Today’s post is a repost taken from the “Overcoming Decorating Paralysis” Design Series. Can’t wait to hear all of your thoughts on “Normal” decorating:

For those of you who are new to Fieldstone Hill Design, this series has been filled with ideas on how we can:

And, like most journeys-worth-traveling, this process never gets old. We have to revisit it, again and again.

One of the posts that really resonated with all of you was my post “Decide you won’t decorate for the Jones’s.” One of my readers had an comment that struck a chord with me, and I wanted to chit chat about it with all of you. So, I asked her if I could share. I wonder if you have had similar thoughts:

“I keep coming back to this post.  I’m totally drawn to what *other* people like, and the more I identify with the person, the more I decorate for him/her.  My favorite bloggers love chevrons, sunbursts, navy blue, and big wide stripes.  I hate all those things.  But last week when I was at a “house clutter” sort of store I found myself drawn to those exact things!

I kept hearing a voice in my head that said, “Everybody likes these.  You’ll be like normal people if you get them.”  I can’t decide what I want because of that voice always saying what I’m SUPPOSED to want.  How do you get that voice to sit down and shut up?” – Gyen

I have three answers for getting that “be normal” voice to sit down and hush up:

1. “Normal” is not only a lie, but it causes us to make BAD choices.

2. The better you know YOURSELF, the less susceptible you will be to other people’s personal style influence.

3. Find a talented designer who decorates the way YOU LOVE, and learn from them.

Let’s chat about these, shall we??

1. “Normal” is not only a lie, but it causes us to make BAD choices.

Normal. I actually have a great friend, who is a spiritual mentor of mine, share recently how she has felt called to go on “alert” when she finds herself striving to be, or comparing herself or her family to, “normal.” I so appreciated her thoughts on this, and now, I too have been dwelling on the thought. I have been noticing how I get myself into trouble in so many ways when that devil-on-my-shoulder says: Be Normal!

You see, what in the world IS normal? I guess it means, “blending in. fitting in. being part of group thinking.” If you were to go by that definition, it becomes obvious that being normal is not always good. But this “Be Normal”-Thing gets us every time.

Now, let’s apply the same notion to “normal home decorating.” Blending in? Fitting in? Be part of the Group? We can be sure that Coco Chanel would not be on board with that. Now, it is true that if you decide on chevron {be normal!!} while everybody likes chevron, then…. your decor will be “in” for a little while {btw. I happen to like chevron, but if you don’t… then don’t start now!}. But, truly:

Our decor being “in” is not the goal. Our decor “reflecting US” is the goal! {<- tweet this}

So put yourself on alert for that pesky voice that cries out, “Be Normal.”

*Normal is a lie that leads to mediocrity, complete decorating disasters, or worse: your home looks like it belongs to someone else.*

2. The better you know YOURSELF, the less susceptible you will be to other people’s personal style influences.

Knowing your own personal style is a journey {one you can start today, goody gumdrops! This post will help you get started}.  And the better you know your own personal style, the more confident you will become in your choices. Although this takes time… you must invest time into seperating your ‘likes’ from your ‘LOVES!’…. it is worth it. Knowing yourself, and your own personal style, is the fastest way to avoid what Gyen described as:

“I can’t decide what I want because of that voice always saying what I’m SUPPOSED to want.”

As you put in the work to identify your own personal style {have I mentioned, it takes time and work?}, you may slowly find that your very own Signature Style is emerging. Glory be!

3. Find a talented designer who decorates the way YOU LOVE, and learn from them.

It is so helpful to follow the work of several different designers, and to be inspired by a wide variety of talents. But, I also want to encourage you to seek out a few designers {even if it is one} who actually decorate the way you love. Find rooms that make you swoon, and look into the designer and his/her work.

Now, this is not to say that you would make every single design choice that designer would make. That is the beauty of interior design; It is personal. But, if you find a designer or two or three who create rooms that habitually fill you with delight…well, I say, take note! Watch, study and learn! And by all means, ditto!

So, arm yourself:

1. Say No to Normal.

2. Know Thyself.

3. And ditto your faves.

And tell that pesky voice to sit down and keep his opinions to himself.

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I had a fantastic time at the Blissdom conference this past weekend.

I am always surprised, again and again, at the friendships that I solidify and begin at blogging conferences. Maybe it has something to do with our shared love for blogland, in combination with the fact that the entire place is filled with creative souls.

Blissdom was no exception to this friendship-of-bloggers rule. This was my first year, and it was such warm, friendly, fun, and inspiring event. I will definitely look forward to future years of Bliss.

The sessions were amazing and I especially loved the keynotes by Jon Acuff and Scott Stratten. Both of them had me laughing in stitches. But this pregnant lady nearly peed when Jon Acuff shared about how he was wearing “man spanx” around his torso that evening, and he compared the process of removing said-Spanx to “opening up a can of biscuits.” Such a sad, true, true tale.

But enough about business.

The fact of the matter is, I go to these conferences to foster friendships {some call it this boring word: networking}, and I always leave with even more. And I made some truly special friendships this weekend.

My Roomies: Edie, Ruth, and Heather {and my pregnant self in 4 inch heels, sequin leggings, and a 5 lb. necklace}:

{image snagged from Edie}

My roomies were amazing. AMAZING. Not only did they take in a gal they had never met before {me}, but they were so much fun. We all instantly clicked. I felt like I had hit the Roommate Jackpot.

And Edie. Can you even believe that this was the first time I met Miss Edie? The first time I hugged her neck? And when we first saw each other, there was the biggest-little-screach in all of Texas. She is simply the warmest, most genuine spirit. I have loved her for years, especially with all the time we spent on her designs and the following BHG coverage, but to see that she is EXACTLY what she seems to be online … well, I love her all the more!

Ruth and I were meant to meet! She is so much fun, and full of life and laughter; my kinda gal. I am so glad we are friends – there will be NO shortage of silliness when we hang. More to come on this, but Ruth and I have a BRILLIANT series idea up our sleeves. If you believe I could collaborate with a frugal blogger….

Heather has the kind of awesome down-to-earth-ed-ness that instantly makes you feel at ease. And it is a good thing we had her there to organize our flaky butts. If not for Heather, I would still be wondering around the Gaylord Texan Hotel trying to find my room. And she is SO going to be helping me with some bloggy blog changes around here, as she is a talented coder and designer with a gift for being all around awesome.

My new friend Karin:

{thank goodness for those instagram pics}

Have you ever met someone, and after your first conversation, you knew you should really be friends with that person? And after your second conversation, you knew you were MEANT to be friends with that person? That is Karin.

She has an amazing blog with fantastic tips about family life, homeschool, and supporting your hubby. Even more significant, this girl has an AMAZING soul, an amazing spirit, and a richly deep testimony. We bonded over everything from chickens to childhood, from shopping to decorating, and from pregnancies to homeschooling to chocolate. Karin, I am so so glad to know you!

My forever-friend Logan:

???

{imagine me and Logan. mouths open. heads back. laughing. looking ridiculous.}

Logan is the kind of friend where you leave a conference and you NEVER have a pic of the two of you…. you are too busy laughing and running around and laughing and commiserating. I don’t get to see Logan enough! I just love that girl! Anyone who can share about the hospitality of Christ as displayed by the armless-legless knight from Monty Python. Well, now. That’s my kinda gal.

I will get to see Logan again at the Allume Conference {are you going?}, but that is not soon enough for me!

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I spent the most Blissdom time with those gals, but I also got to hang with {not NEARLY enough} some friends who I still never get enough chatting-time with. Like these fantastic peeps: Jen {my fun roomie at Allume last year}, Lindsey, Stephanie, and Shaun.

And I am telling you. I met SO MANY awesome NEW friends. I immediately adored Holly, Jana, Emily, Lisa, Rachel, Melissa, and Lauren. These are FUN ladies, with genuine spirits!

Here are a few more pics for your perusal pleasure:

Me and Chris Mann:

{thanks Leigh! check out my belly, folks}

Those of you who follow me on Facebook {which you totally should, by the way} know that Chris Mann {the talented singer who has risen to fame after his amazing appearance on the Voice} is engaged to my cousin. Granted, my second-cousin-once-removed, or something like that. But my cuz never the less.

I welcomed Chris to the family and harassed him heavily for not accepting my friend request on Facebook. The nerve.

But y’all. This fella can SING. And he can sing LIVE. No computer generation needed for this talented singer. SO glad I got to hear him sing in person.

Finally. The ever-important urinal transformation:

When there are that many women in a conference, something must be done to multiply the bathroom spaces. {I am officially damaging my “classy” factor. I have now featured urinals AND bidets on my blog}.

This vignette made me smile big. Now THAT is some GOOD decorating. You can ditto that one, and take it to the bank.

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I almost did not go to Blissdom.

I am SO SO glad that I did. The biz motivation was great, but it was really all about the friendships. Because Friendships are Bliss, and they are worth the effort.

{Miss you all already!}

Do you put effort into fostering friendships in your life? When was the lasts time you opened yourself up to a new friend?

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Fieldstone Hill Design is offering a new design service. Transform your home in 2 hours.

Find out more about this consultation here: The Skype “In-Home” Consultation

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Hey dear sweet readers! I am warning you, this is going to be the ramblin’-est post you ever did see. I think I will have to put it in numbered format so your eyes don’t go crossed.

1. First things first

How in the world can I thank you for your LOVING, encouraging and sweet congratulatory comments that you left for me after announcing baby-bean #3? Each and every joyous word was a treasure. Thank you!!

2. Blissdom

  I am headed off this morning on a jet plane to go to the Blissdom conference in Dallas, Texas. I am feeling a little weepy because I am going to REALLY miss my 3 favorite people in the entire world {love you hubby and boys!}. But I am consoled by a suitcase full of cute, impractical clothing, a ton of chocolate, and bunch of brand new makeup.

Oh, and by the fact that I am getting to bunk-in with the WONDERFUL Edie, of Life in Grace.

Now, I am not sure if you all know this or not, but can you believe: Edie and I have NEVER met face to face. We have known each other for 3 years, laughed until our sides split on the telephone, collaborated on decorating 5 rooms in her home, and we were even in a national magazine together – for Pete’s sake!

So, as you can imagine: All of the girls in Texas cannot shrill as loudly as I am going to shrill when I get to hug that girl. Fair warning to everyone in the Dallas area.

3. Babies Change Things

As anyone who has embarked on motherhood knows, babies change things.

I will need to share more with you about my struggle over baby #3 vs. no baby #3, but I will at least share that, as you can imagine, I have very little margin in my life. I homeschool. I run a design business. I run a blog business. All the while, with God’s help and leading, I try to make sure those 3 things do not infringe on the things in life that matter most.

When I finally felt a sure calling to “get out of the way” and allow God to choose whether or not our family would grow, I knew that something would “have to give” – at least for a little while. So, for the time being, I will need to back off on my Vision Design Board Services. They will NOT be going away, but they will become even more exclusive. My dear friends, these boards take A LOT of my time. I resource each and every item on each board to make sure it meets the space, the vision, my client’s needs and loves, as well as my loves. So no lamp or pillow or rug comes without MUCH time spent on the hunt.

And time spent on the hunt means A LOT of time with my face in the computer.

I LOVE my design work, but my family does and will always come first. That is certainly a blessing afforded by owning your own business. I have had to have a little pep talk with myself that has gone something like this:

“Darlene, this is YOUR company. It is here to work for YOU, not the other way around. You need to find a way to add quality and beauty to your clients’ homes that won’t keep you on the computer for hours on end. At least while you nurture this littlest one…”

4. My New Design Service

One of my favorite design services is actually a local design service that I offer. It is a 2 hour consultation where I go into my client’s home, and I help them brainstorm and create ideas and solve problems and come up with a design plan. For several rooms in their home! All in 2 hours.

And they walk away feeling confident and inspired, and ready to tackle their home with a designer’s vision.

Recently, I Skyped with a friend of mine and she brought me around her house via computer, and we chatted about solutions for her decorating dilemmas. I realized that this would be a wonderful service for my clients all around the country!

So, I am now offering the Skype In-Home Consultation! There is less wait list time and I can give you instant answers to your home design challenges. You can immediately move forward with your home beautification and improvement.

Check out the new Skype In-Home Consultation Here. It may be the perfect way for you to tackle YOUR design dilemmas!

Finally,

have I told all of you recently how very VERY appreciative I am of you?

Well. I am.

You, my friend, my reader, my client…. you bless me every day!

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