A New Passion For Pillows!

I have had the privilege of designing a room for my sister-in-law (my brother’s wife). The room is by no means for her, but my little niece who is ten months old.  They have been planning on making my niece’s room special for quite some time,  but the timing was just never right.  Is there ever a time in our lives when we have lots of time to decorate?  Depends who you ask.  I have a friend who has consulted with me over some of the choices she needs to make in her living room. On one end she is soaking  in all my passions and experience, but a the same time is cursing me a little bit!  What did I get her into? That’s what she says.

So back to my little niece.  I decided awhile back… say 7 months ago that I would like to surprise my brother and sister-in-law with  the means to final create the room that they have always wanted for their little girl.  They have put in some money themselves and the rest of the funds were graciously donated  by some of their close friends. A big thank you to those of you who donated if you are reading this!!

A bit of a bio on my brother and sister – in- laws style and personality.  They live in a beautiful townhouse which they have called home for about 4 years now I think?  They are extreme minimalists and  they desire to live with just what they need  and not all that extra goo and clutter. I highly love their style, and their passion for waiting for what they love when it comes to their home. They really value my opinion when it comes to putting a room together, so that’s why I’m here.  The first step in creating this room meant we needed a starting point  for the room.  I chose to start the room with finding a pillow that she loved and the rest of the design would fall into place. I could see it already.

This is what the first day of shopping looked like.

1. She picked me up and we went to Winners to search for a pillow. No luck..

2. The next stop is Pier One.  We look for about 20 minutes ooing and awing over all the beautiful pillows they sold. We definitely found some we liked, but she still had that ” let’s look around look on her face”.

3. Next on to Home Sense to look at the pillows. Not much luck as they really didn’t have their spring collection out yet. At that point we were looking for reds, pinks, corrals, etc.  No luck once again.

4. Back in the car, she decides that she would like to go BACK to Pier One to look again at the original choices that we liked. In the end we saw some amazing pillows and throws and she came home with ONE little itty bitty pillow. This is it, and I love it!

Well some of you may be saying… just one pillow?  What on earth are you going to do with one pillow?  Well lots actually. This is just the start of her finding what she really loved  and it took a few hours to do so.  You know, it was really lots of fun seeing her thinking… pacing… deciding if this was the one. I’m so glad that I was there to help her through it all. My sister-in-law has a great sense for color, but just needed  that little bit of guidance to put it all together. I can’t wait to show you the reveal!!

Don’t worry, we did buy some other pillows.  Oh… I should step back a little bit. One day I suggested that we go out to source some more pillows to go with the one we originally purchased, but this is what she says to me. ” Well, I have one pillow, isn’t that enough?”.  Remember this is my minimalist sister in law we are talking about.  Then one day she tells me that she found some pillows all on her own and she is planning on keeping them!  Wow!  A new day is here.  One day she tells me that she only needs one pillow and just the other day she asks me if we can go and look for some more!  Yippeee I say, the more the merrier!  That day we came home with this beautiful red velvet pillow as well.  I love it, it’s in my basement right now and I have been hugging it ever since we brought it home. Just like a new-born baby, so soft and squishy… but slightly different if you get my drift. Any ways…..

So the lesson today that my sister in law’s scenario teaches you and I?  Wait for what you love and when you see it, you will know that it is right and putting down the money on the counter will feel right. Purchase smart the first time, and in years to come,  your purchases will be an investment, not an after thought, or a pile in a box to go to the thrift store. Temporary purchases may feel right for right now, but could cost you double when you need to buy that product or piece of furniture again.

So that is the sneak peek into the room that I  have been working on.  I have to say I am pillow envious lately. The pillows on my couch are looking tired and BROWN. I am not a fan of brown really for my own home and I am seriously desiring new pillows with a punch of color! We plan on doing some  built-ins in our living room at one point , so till then the color scheme I have in mind will have to be put on the back burner.

Are you crazy about pillows too?  I know it’s not just me.