What Cute Home Things Are You Loving?
Because we can have discourse and still like shopping.
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On Tuesday, I wrote about the intersections of thinness and whiteness in home influencing—as well as my own complicated relationship with home influencers, as a person who feels anxious about consumerism but also loves pretty house shit.
So today we’re going to talk about all the cute house shit I’m into right now!! Yes, I see the inherent conflict between criticism and consumerism! My relationship to shopping is evolving, but it’s still a work in progress. For more on how I think about shopping and linking to things you might buy, read this piece. TL/DR: Don’t buy things you don’t need or want. Do feel free to judge what I want. But keep in mind that life is hard, and feeling at home in your house is important too.
Cute House Shit I’m Loving RN
1. Vintage/Turkish/Otherwise Awesome Rugs on Etsy
I’ve found so many great rugs on Etsy over the years — search by color and size to narrow down the avalanche of options. I’m thinking hard about this one, this one, this one (OMG) or this one for a rug-less space in my house. And I will die on the hill of, busy Turkish rugs are a lot more kid and pet friendly than you think!
2. A perfect flower painting
I own two other paintings by Amy Stone, and absolutely adore how she uses the color and texture of paint. Have been thinking hard about adding this one to my collection! Her Etsy shop has the cutest mini paintings, too.
3. East Fork Soup Bowls in the prettiest blue.
I’m a recent soup convert, and I’ve realized that part of my resistance was that I didn’t have the right bowl? I’ve owned small cereal bowls (not enough soup for it to be a meal) and large wide pasta bowls (enough soup but so messy!) but never deep, large soup bowls. These are dreamy.
4. Radical feminist plant art
I also own a Favianna Rodriguez collage, so I can tell you: Digital images don’t do her work justice! This one is stunning and an investment, but she also has a great $200 and under series.
5. A happy throw pillow
This doesn’t really go anywhere in my house, so someone else adopt it please? Also so cute.
6. A puzzle/game/project table.
I’ve been wanting a round (or square?) table in a corner of my house where we can spread out with big puzzles, board games, or craft projects and not have to clear them all up in order to eat dinner later. This one looks solid and is a great price. (Now I just have to find the room in my house where it would fit!)
7. A very fancy lamp.
Frankly, an absurd splurge and I’ll never buy it, but I guess I just like knowing it exists?
After getting divorced and letting my ex keep the house so that the kids could have a familiar, cozy space when they were with their dad, I moved into a town house and gleefully went about decorating it just the way I wanted. I went deep into my adolescence for inspiration.
I set up eBay searches for Finnish fabric (Marimekko and Tampella) and then had them stretched on frames to hang throughout the house. Now I have dozens of very bright, vibrant stretched fabrics hanging and I love it so much.
I indulge in beautiful bedding. I love the Rifle paper collaboration (especially the Strawberry Fields print) at The Company Store. And J Crew sold Liberty Print sheets for a while and I bought a set of each!
I also love old die cut paper decorations so I hunt for those at thrift stores and antique malls. I put those up for the holidays and feel so deeply comforted because they remind me of a 3rd grade classroom from the 80s. I say that I do it for the kids but honestly it's as much for me as it is for them.
I’m a beginning watercolor painter and I’ve dedicated a wall in my dining room to paintings that shockingly (🤣) turn out well. I just finished a beach scene with tiny cabins in bright colors. I drew everything myself and I’m just so dang happy with it.