THE HOME I GREW UP IN

I was at my Dad's house tonight and we were going through some old photos. "Do you want to see pictures of our house when you were a baby?" Um, yes!!

And that's when I saw these gems. My home looked almost exactly the same until I was 17 years old. That's right - we had a mirror wall, rock accent wall, and brass fireplace with the metal mesh on it until the year 2000. Way too long, and yet I love the antique vibe in my home and seeing these pictures reminded me why I have a thing for Asian pottery, brass, and grasscloth wallpaper.

The only interior photos he had were of our living/dining room. I wish he had more! But enjoy these retro beauties:)

I broke that lamp on the side table - my parents bought it in China. It's safe to say my Mom was pretty devastated about the loss of that lamp and I was grounded because of it. The pillows on the sofa were beautiful embroidered pillows also from China. (My parents went to China for 3 weeks when I was 6 months old - a trip for work that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.)

Call me crazy, but I kind of love the fireplace design even though it's really retro. And look at the lines on both of the sofas - so great! I wish I had the foresight to ask for those sofas when they were giving them away!

This picture must have been taken on a day they were having a party at the house. We only put chairs like that out on the patio when we were having family or friends over. Loving the wicker chairs on the patio and the bamboo chair in the corner.

I never liked that triangular window. But I'm guessing it was a cool design back then because I have torn quite a few of these windows out of homes we remodel - more than I wish ever existed. But the Asian screen could be very cool even today, right?! My sister gave it to someone and I'm kicking myself I didn't ask for it. It was hand painted and quite pretty.

I'm so grateful to have these pictures. Even though it seems a bit trivial, everyone should take pictures of their home. These pictures bring back more memories than other photos of specific events because they remind me of my everyday life in my home. They remind me of the details of my childhood. How I would sometimes sleep on the yellow sofa and how I told my sister on that sofa about my first kiss. Or how I hit the corner of the rock wall and got stitches. And how every Christmas morning we would come get our stockings that were hanging over this fireplace at 4 am because we were too excited to sleep. Looking at these photos has also helped me understand where my design influence has come from. As a designer, I really appreciate that.

If you don't have photos of your home for your kids, do it now. They will definitely appreciate it one day. There are so many details we forget!