Sorry this post was a bit late—I meant to do it on Tuesday morning, as usual, but life has been a whirlwind lately! I’ve been in Paris, then Reykjavik, with a girlfriend on a very-needed vacation. I love traveling—it feeds my soul in so many ways. My last big trip (Palm Springs and Joshua Tree NP, CA) was right before the pandemic, so this is long overdue! We planned some really cool activities: tour of the Champagne region, Northern Lights tour, Icelandic hot springs, and day at the Louvre.

Museums are always one of my favorite places to go, to inspire my own creativity, to marvel at great works, or to learn something new about history. One of my friends recently asked me what type of museum and art I love best, and the truth is that I love it all! Whether it’s a classical museum like the Met in NY, a sculpture garden, or something more unique like The Sixth Floor (formerly the book depository in Dallas, where JFK was shot), I always relish the experiences.

From so many of my travels, I have art and photos that are displayed in my home, which inspire my eclectic decor. I have photos from the Taj Mahal, Pompeii ruins, and Napa Valley adorning the walls in my home. In my living room, I have a Van Gogh print of Sunflowers, purchased after going to the museum in Amsterdam, where I stared at that painting for over an hour. It was the closest I’ve ever been to a Van Gogh, to be able to really see the layers of textured-thick paint (called impasto), and marvel at how it’s just as sculptural as it is paint, adding to how much the sunflowers are “alive.” Whenever I look at my print in my living room, I’m also picturing the original, and it’s always soothing.

In fact, the Sunflowers painting inspired my living room decor: cool gray with gold accents. My sofa is custom from Ethan Allen, ordered before I had gone on that trip to Amsterdam. I wanted to have the gold accents on it, to coordinate with the print that I knew i’d display over it. The walls are lavender-toned gray, not the trendy beige-y grays, but the shade works well to make the print stand out. Also, I must confess that I probably have a gold pillow fetish (6 or 7), because when I shop at Target, pillows become part of the “essentials” that make it into my shopping cart!

Other decor items in my home include an elephant tapestry from India, multicolored wine glasses from Italy, and a purple wool blanket from magical Icelandic sheep that lives on my bed. I love being surrounded by these reminders of where I’ve traveled. It’s part of my life, the places I’ve been, the relics and art that I’ve seen, the people who I’ve spent time with, and I cherish these memories. They lower my blood pressure and make me happy on a daily basis.

So, the secret of my house’s interior design is this: there’s no master plan for this house’s decor. It’s eclectic and I do things on a whim, though I do now have a LOT of swatches organized in a notebook. I’m inspired by art and my travels, but not necessarily by Pinterest (the repository for so much of home design and decor). I’ve spent way more time on there than is healthy, but I actually haven’t found much of what I’ve envisioned for my decor. Pinterest has been invaluable for learning how (and whether) to DIY something, though I didn’t have any guidance when I’ve done things like paint my dishwasher (I promise this will be explained in a future post!).

In Paris, the plan is to do a bit of our shopping in some home or antique stores in Paris, to see what I desperately need for the house and can fit into my luggage. I have a small suitcase, so I might consider ditching clothes if I absolutely need to fit something special in it. We’ll be going to a department store that has a hardware department in the basement (which might seem boring) but they apparently have all those enamel house signs and numbers (like you see all over buildings in Paris) for CHEAP. And, I found a few shops that have tableware, including one that also sells antique tableware. This could either be cool or so dangerous for me—I still need to be able to pay the mortgage after I return from my vacation!

But, dear reader, if I didn’t return, it would only be because I’m lost in the romantic magic (or traffic) that is Paris, or grounded in Reykjavik by volcanoes and the start of winter weather!

Next week, stop by for the drama around an unwanted visitor, a mouse in my house! Also, the week after, I’ll recap my Paris shopping for the house!