Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Out of the Closet

Like many artsy-types, I consider the realm of home decor as yet another medium to express my creativity. I'm a Design Sponge addict; I mourned the demise of Domino magazine (R.I.P) and I love to play pretend-furniture shopping while perusing the catalogs of DWR and Anthropologie. If it's modern, funky, quirky and colorful (and more often than not, ridiculously expensive) then chances are I want it as part of my interior design scheme.

But being of sound mind, tiny budget and even tinier apartment I must be realistic about how I approach home decor. Realistic and ΓΌber-innovative. Which is how I stumbled upon a genius decorating idea that I've yet to see gain widespread notoriety, even though I know that surely there are others out there who do it. The idea actually stemmed out of a weird little quirk I have, wherein I buy a really funky new article of clothing (e.g. pair of shoes, skirt, shirt, men's necktie, fingerless gloves - take your pick) and I get so excited about the purchase (which I've likely hemmed and hawed over buying due to a tight budget) that I end up not wearing it for anywhere between 6 months to a year. Yes, you heard me right - up to a year. No judgment, please.

Keep in mind it will eventually get worn - I avoid temporary fashion trends like the plague and what I buy typically has a timeless quality to it - but in the interim, the item inevitably sits in my closet. And quite frankly, that's no way to treat a lovely apparel acquisition. And herein comes the genius decorating idea: clothing and accessories as home decor. Don't envision laundry hanging on a clothesline strung across the living room - think more of a museum-style "curation" of lovely wearable items. Pictures would best demonstrate my point; throughout this post I've included a few examples from my humble dwelling.

Anyone else out there who does this, I would love to see your approach. Feel free to drop a comment with a link to pictures of your approach to "home couture."

4 comments:

  1. This is so interesting as I too have taken my husband's Indian slippers that he wore on out wedding day and have nailed it to the otherwise pale and boring wall of my art room. It's on my flickr page. I can send it to you if you like or you can just grab it off flickr. Btw. that dress on the hangar is just adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Preeti -
    I would love to see that pic - please send me the link to your flickr. What a lovely reminder of your wedding day that must be :).

    ~Lola

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sure, here you go: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayamarco/3621136732/
    It's all worn out though. :|

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are great, even better is the fact that they are unique, unusual and have a true sentimental value...thank you so much for sharing!

    ~Lola

    ReplyDelete