A Style to Call My Own: Love of Learning

One thing I am very passionate about is learning. I love to learn. Anything and everything, I love “collecting” information. I am interested in all kinds of studies besides design, art, and fashion, some of which are anatomy and physiology, theology, psychology, geography, history, physics, biology, cardiology, astronomy, astrology…basically, if it’s an –ology, I want to know about it. So as you can imagine, my home does and will continue to reflect my on-going quest for knowledge. You see, I am actually equally right-brain and left-brain, so I have a very creative, imaginative side, but I also have a very logical, analytical thinking side, so its fun to learn how to mix the two in my decor.  

• Must have for the home of knowledge seekers? Books, baby. And the more the merrier. You can find them in almost every room of my house (along with a basquillion design mags and my cherished collection of Domino, of course). 

This is from America Ferrera’s home (not sure which one). Love that these books are wrapped. The black and white contrast is so chic and clean… 

 (habituallychic)

Diane von Furstenburg’s library at her Connecticut estate. Beauty meets brains…

 

(Domino)

 

(Elle Decor)

 

(not sure where this came from, sorry)

Doesn’t everybody want a rolling library ladder? God knows I do…

(not sure where this came from, sorry)

So simple…so sexy…

(apartmenttherapy)

Omg, a gigantic wall of books in a loft space- yes, please…

  (apartmentherapy)

Love the few shocks of orange, Caribbean blue, and book colors against all that white. Don’t those big fluffy pillows just beg for you to sink into them with a great book? 

 

(patriciagrayinc)

I like how the bookcases are used partially as room dividers and not just pushed up against a wall, I like that they sort of create a little passageway. I can’t tell if he’s done this or not, but it would be neat if he put two back-to-back so there were books on both sides…

(signaturejordan.wordpress)

This is a great idea, especially for people who are a bit “o.c.d.” about their decorating. These books are wrapped with linen paper to make them look a little more cohesive as a whole…

• An obsession of mine- educational book plates, scientific and mathematical notes, diagrams and dissections- science in the form of art. 

I just picked these up at an antique shop for $5 for the pair. Obviously I’ll be painting the frames and having the mat changed, but they were just too beautiful to pass up. They’re seashell studies, dissections, and cross-sections written in Latin…

  (vintageprintable.com)

An avocado study…

 

Da Vinci- one  of my all-time faves. This is a study of the arm and its movements…

 

(world-mysteries.com)

Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man- a truly fascinating pen and ink with notes on human proportion and the golden ratio… 

 

(47thStreetSupplyCo at etsy)

 (headchange at etsy)

Musical instruments…

(headchange at etsy)

Optics and sound…

(thecandyshoppe at etsy)

From a 1921 architecture book…

  (vintageprintable)

Basically a dissection of the English language…

(headchange at etsy)

Pages from an old French English dictionary…

• Chemistry chic- for all my fellow nerdy decorators out there.

Test tubes- handy dandy, let me tell you. You can fill the tubes with spices in your kitchen or you could pull double duty in the bathroom like me and use it to hold a flower and a couple of toothbrushes… 

(all 3 above- ethan ollie at etsy)

Beakers for barware- great idea and it already has measurements on it!…

(vintageonthemake at etsy)

These are actually called Pyrex Mad Scientist bottles. I’d almost buy them just for the name, but then some poor scientist would be walking around all bottle-less…

 

(mylittleclippings)

They use to sell these at Anthropologie. The three of them filled with a bunch of peonies or different wild flowers would be oh so pretty…

• The school desk- full of charm and character (and possibly wads of petrified bubblegum). The best way to get these (unless you’re teeny tiny) is unattached so they’re not uncomfortable to sit at.

(lorimusil.com)

This would be perfect in a mudroom or entry- a little catch-all table and a spot to sit and take your shoes off.

(mission2modern)

Great little writing desk, bill-pay station, or entry catch-all. Keys and sunglasses on top, mail inside, vice versa, or whatever suits you…