Cut out the velvet, the chintz and the fancy gilded dinnerware and give me industrial furniture, mid-century modern antiques, funky global accents and young-person-friendly affordable art? If pinterest has taught me anything, it's that my design sensibilities aren't exactly unique...much as I often wish they were.
So here's my challenge. (Deep breath) It's almost definitely insane, but here goes:
Every morning (Mon-Fri only) for the next 30 days, I'm going to pin my One Kings Lane picks to my pinterest board, "My 'One Kings Lane' Picks"
I want to keep the guidelines fairly fast and loose to start out-- at least until I can figure out what sticks. But here's what I have in mind:
- Why One Kings Lane? Yeah, I know-- there's Joss & Main, Fab, and others. But for whatever reason, my preference is for OKL. I'd love to do a sweep of the big three, but I do have a day job.
- Selection Criteria: I'm going from the gut. If it grabs my attention, I'll pin it. Maybe I'll regret it seconds later, but hey, life is full of regrets. You can safely expect the following:
- Vintage mid-century modern (or MCM-inspired)
- Wood and lots of it. Anything with a live edge or exposed dovetail joinery drives me crazy (in a good way...)
- Blues, greys and aqua
- An industrial edge: reclaimed wood, steel, concrete
- Ikat-mania. And other stuff that's you or I would probably call Ikat, causing our design snob friends to shudder in horror and say through gritted teeth, "Um, that's Batik..."
- Affordable artwork, especially of the colorful variety
- I'll probably skim over household items like cookware, books, soaps, etc. But I may include them if the design is particularly compelling.
- Precise Timing: Unpredictable. I'll try to aim for morning. But I do, alas, have that aforementioned day job that needs doing.
- Price: I will always include the price in my pin. (OKL doesn't do this automatically.) Unless I forget. In which case you have my permission to yell at me via Pinterest comments. An important note: if there is a price range for item, I will include the range in the comments. Pinterest adds the higher of the two prices to the banner, it seems.
- Value: I'm a big proponent of value. One thing that bugs me a little bit about these spot sale sites is the big-ticket items. Who is dropping $10,000 on a sofa they a) are buying on impluse; b) have not seen, touched, tested in person; b) can't return? I'm pretty sure the answer is high-end decorators who know they can pawn it off on one client or another. Or else let it languish in their storage facility until they find the perfect spot for it. Perhaps I'm just too cheap, risk-averse and prone to second guessing to play this high-stakes game. That's why I will err on the side of relatively-budget friendly items in my selection. That's not to say I won't include a pricey piece if I love it. But I've got to REALLY love it if it's going to make the cut. Whereas an $8 item might make the cut if I take a mild liking to it. In general, I think I'll stay away from pronouncements on value. It's a controversial and personal term. Initially, I'd wanted to put my two cents in if I thought, say, $800 was a good deal for a particular piece. But the truth is, if I'm not familiar with the vendor, I'm missing the most important factor in determining value-- quality.
- Sold Out Items: I won't pin items that are sold out. That said, don't be mad if they sell out after I pin them. I won't be updating during the day to monitor what's still available.
- Comments: I may comment if I have something to say. In most cases, I'll let the photo do the talking. (Also, that pesky day job calls...)
- Mood Boards: If I have the time and feel so inclined, I'll try to style a few of my picks in a mood board, posted to the blog. (If you follow me on Pinterest, you can view them on the board "Favorites from the Blog." Stay tuned!
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