What is your interior design philosophy?

[mjt]

We don't treat our house as a museum nor a time capsule. We've collected things over time; some of which pre-date the house and others which don't. Some of which are "Colonial" and some of which are not. I think that's similar to what the original owners would have done. I'm certain they would have brought some furniture pieces with them when they moved in rather than doing the equivalent of going to the local furniture store and buying a "set".

The well-to-do also would have collected things in their travels, especially if they traveled internationally. So it wouldn't be unusual to find a Georgian Colonial with a Spanish etagere or pair of "oriental" end tables.

[1918ColonialRevival]

...I think that's similar to what the original owners would have done. I'm certain they would have brought some furniture pieces with them when they moved in rather than doing the equivalent of going to the local furniture store and buying a "set".

That was exactly the decorating philosophy around the turn of the 20th Century.

[Gothichome]

We've moved to several antiques houses over the years 1809,1840 and 1903. The craftsman bungalow we are in now is my new passion, so to speak. We drag the same furniture and associated artifacts with us to each new house. We do decorated the rooms paint wise to match the time frame, but have only added a few mission era pieces to this house. Our furniture pieces range from a late 17th century Essex County MA blanket chest to a 1910 quartersawn white oak buffet. One of my old antique collector friends said old houses had furniture from all timeframes, so never worry about mixing.

Your friend is correct. In a non disposable society items were often purchased for thier durability. What was once front parlour furniture got relegated to lesser rooms after a decade or two to serve out the rest of their life. Non of this change it out every five years malarkey we have now.

[nhguy]

We've moved to several antiques houses over the years 1809,1840 and 1903. The craftsman bungalow we are in now is my new passion, so to speak. We drag the same furniture and associated artifacts with us to each new house. We do decorated the rooms paint wise to match the time frame, but have only added a few mission era pieces to this house. Our furniture pieces range from a late 17th century Essex County MA blanket chest to a 1910 quartersawn white oak buffet. One of my old antique collector friends said old houses had furniture from all timeframes, so never worry about mixing.

Your friend is correct. In a non disposable society items were often purchased for thier durability. What was once front parlour furniture got relegated to lesser rooms after a decade or two to serve out the rest of their life. Non of this change it out every five years malarkey we have now.

My friend was truly an old house mentor to me. He passed in December, but his lessons live on in me. He made me think about how I restore or remake an old buildings interior or exterior.

[1918ColonialRevival]

Your friend is correct. In a non disposable society items were often purchased for thier durability. What was once front parlour furniture got relegated to lesser rooms after a decade or two to serve out the rest of their life. Non of this change it out every five years malarkey we have now.

Even in our house, we have an "Eastlake room" with 1870s and 1880s furniture, though by 1918 it would have been seen as out of style. We have it in one of the smaller bedrooms, which would have likely been a child's bedroom. A perfect place for hand-me-down furniture.

[Gothichome]

Eastlake and in general the aesthetic movement is out of style? Humfffff, I didn’t get official notified.

[chocolatepot]

I've been pondering this for weeks, and finally realized what's been muddling me. My philosophy is "get what you like to live with, there's no need to match the period of your house," but what I like happens to be Arts & Crafts (both British medievalism and American Craftsman styles) and Neoclassicism, which just happen to go very well with a ca. 1907 house.

[phil]

after thinking it over more.. I think for me , it is as often about what I part with as opposed to what I buy. I usually only buy necessary things new but as I get crowded in I find I need to make decisions about what to part with. Usually the antiques get my preference over the "new stuff" Occasionally I will spend on something of old. If it's made of particleboard or plastic I really dont have a lot of problem getting rid of it but I hate seeing antiques destroyed or thrown out. I probably collect a lot of things just because I think they are neat, even if half broken, so I have a lot of eclectic clutter. i love old tools and things that extend my abilities. some things I just like because they are old, for example I probably have 20 handsaws. I love free materials because then I can do stuff with them without any outlay. I dont really make too much attempt to collect all of a certain era but I like things of the 20's and 30's art deco, and real wood stuff. I probably spend more time considering what I should part with than what I should accumulate. Variety is the spice of life, so if it's from Ikea ( china) I am happy to see it go sit in the alley waiting for a new owner. I couldn't care less if everyone's teacups match. I had a beautiful brand new set of china from my first marriage and I recently set that out in the alley, all unused. I hope it made someone happy. I didn't care to remember where it was from despite it's quality. It fealt good to do that.
As time wears on I think I tend to have more antiques as I am subconsciously filtering out the boring items and keeping things I like or things that I feel are unusual or perhaps semi-collectable or difficult to replace. some things remind me of good times in my past. Furniture my father made.. I have boxes of trinkets and decorative items and Ill unpack them , have a look and scoot them right back in the closet for a few more years. I have a lot of radios that dont work but are worthy of restoration or can be used for parts. It's just a fun hobby. I could probably do with parting with some just to keep the best and move forward. I hate to sell a lot of them because they halved in value. maybe in time they will be appreciated but the prices sure don't reflect that now. i collect a lot of things like bits of wood or metal, different shapes, old wire, switches and other neat things of little value but unique. but that's because I will often use them as a source of stuff to use for various projects. Is that a philosophy ? im not from the 30's but I think I inherited the idealism of reuse and keeping that thing that could be useful one day. I dont have any desire to make my house a museum, If I do add to the house I try to think of the style and do things that reflect its age. I like to show the wood and a lot was painted. the scraping gets tiring and I go at it in bits and pieces. Ultimately I'd really love to see the last of my painted wood get unpainted but these things take time to materialize.
my bathroom needs an update which will be a gut job. and Im wondering if I want to go old style or just to try to reflect the style but with more modern fittings. so far as resale is comcerned I dont think there is any financial reason to go authentic. I can have a 1920's tub. I can probably get a wall hung sink with separate taps, 1920's toilets are hard to find but I keep looking. I never had a fan but I got ahold of a weird vent that is probably 50's or so. I'm thinking of fitting that with an external fan and dealing with the ceiling cracks and then working downwards. the old tub is neat, im not sure I want to risk someone falling as they step in and I always shower anyway. the problem with the old tubs is access to the walls for cleaning creates a bit of an issue. It might be les of an issue for those with a bedroom that was converted to a bath but mine was a bath from the date of build and no bigger than necessary.


Phil

[Manalto]

I probably spend more time considering what I should part with than what I should accumulate.

I had a beautiful brand new set of china from my first marriage and I recently set that out in the alley, all unused. I hope it made someone happy. I didn't care to remember where it was from despite its quality.

I like your response a lot. I probably didn't word my initial comment on this thread very well (using the term "philosophy" - it was my best effort at the moment) but you understood just what I was going for. I probably should have said something more along the lines of, "How do you think about the decisions you make for your house?" but that seems vague, to say the least. I think it's a good exercise to reflect on how we decide what objects (or environment) we want in our lives and the rules we make on how that should be accomplished. Then when something doesn't fit the criteria, it doesn't belong. I feel like the past year has been mostly a string of endless minor (in the sense that they don't change anyone's life) decisions. However, added up they do have an effect. So, that got me thinking about what I'm basing my decisions on.

Then there's the temporary stuff - those items that might be an interesting project, furnishing or profit-making sale (rare) in the future. They can really stack up. Right now I'm dealing with a house that I have to sell, but it's full of vintage sewing machines (pre-1965) and typewriters that I'm sure would be cherished by the right buyer but that takes time and effort. Preparing a house and yard for sale while teaching two courses (mercifully, online) gobbles up most of the day for this naturally-lazy guy.

One "philosophy" I've been following is that sentimental value is not enough. It must have aesthetic, monetary or practical worth too. That's been useful in the agonizingly slow downsizing process.

[phil]

Recently the news focused in on Tom Hanks who is an avid typewriter collector. Your collection may have already hit rock bottom and be on the way up in value.
I came to the realization that my old radios really are not appreciating much and actually even if I were to rent a empty room out as storage, the return would be greater. its hard to compare the simple pleasure of collecting with monetary value. In some cases people make money by predicting trends and accumulating.
I have a close friend that collected beetles memorabilia. he absolutely filled his house with it. It was a sizable investment, maybe a million or so.. and he recently got married and sold most of it. We will meet soon in person and I'll get his take on the experience.
I always saved pennies, now they are out of use. they would be worth more as copper than the face value but it's illegal to melt them. The more recent ones are magnetic so they can be separated easily. I have more faith in them than bitcoin