Jacquie Severs

I don't know what it is about home decorating that makes me think about moving. Maybe it is some sort of sense-memory association with moving - if I'm moving furniture, I must also be packing boxes, right? In any case, when I redecorate, I also think of selling the place. MLS.ca is my friend. It's not that I'm not happy where I am, it's just that I never thought of it as a permanent decision. It was a stepping stone....to something. A way to stop paying rent.

 I spend a lot of time on rainy sundays at flea markets with coffee in hand. Since I really shouldn't buy any more glassware, vintage playboy magazines or record albums, lately I usually leave empty handed, or just with a bag of cheese curds.  Afterwards I like to drive around and look at neighbourhoods and houses for sale. Some days this involves old houses with big lots in small towns outside of where I live. I think about gardening and a shed and the possibitity for me to work from home, and if not, how long it will take me to drive to work.

However, lately it's involved considering 650sq ft condos downtown.

The problem is I'm not sure which step I really want to take. I miss the city, I always have, especially my friends. I'd love to walk to work, and I love the arts, so sometimes when I think about it, it is a no-brainer. On the other hand, sometimes I find the city suffocating, loud and phony. I also miss gardening and having a basement and seeing stars and sunsets when I live in a really urban area. Clearly the correct option is a condo in the city and a small place in the country - but this isn't realistic, so I must choose.

I have to say this home tour of a place in Brooklyn NY, really has me inspired to think I can move into a small space, so I can be close to the people/things I love, give up commuting and finally accept, that deep down, I am a city girl after all. I can still have stuff from the farmers market and the flea market. I can still visit the country. But maybe all these country-girl ideas are things I just make up in my head and romantisize. Maybe the isolation would make me mad in the end, like Nicholson in the Shining.















I'm not usually a fan of mixed up 'international' looks. But this does a moroccan/south american look in a really warm, modern way that I enjoy. Also, exposed brick makes me jealous.

Further, I really dislike that colour of green most of the time. But mixed with these lovely spice tones, a deep rich brown and lots of natural light and wood tones, and suddenly it appeals to me. It is a challenge at best to make a red-and-green palette work, but this does, because the red is never too red, and the green is never quite deep in tone. The pattern mixing is perfectly done which helps scatter the eye and prevents the realization that this actually is a red-and-green look. I might just go and do a polyvore outfit inspired by it.

Decisions, decisions.