If you’re like me, you love seeing how other people decorate their homes. Just like with my outfits, I often get a lot of home-decor inspiration from the internet and from visiting friends for the first (or millionth) time. Nick and I have done a lot to our house in the 5+ years we’ve lived here, and it almost always consists of some kind of compromise. He really likes the mid-century modern look whereas I’m a mix of modern and traditional. I think we’ve done a really good job of meshing our styles in a way that doesn’t completely clash, even if it means Nick getting his way most of the time 😉
Because I know I like it so much, I figured I would start a little series where I gradually share little pieces of my home with you. I’m starting with my bedside table even though there really isn’t anything special about it; I just like the way it turned out. The table is the Terrance Side Table in Antique Brass from West Elm. It’s perfect for the bedroom, but could really be used anywhere like the living room or even an office.
Of course it’s really clean in these photos. It usually stays pretty clean with the exception of a small collection of ponytail holders, bobby pins, and jewelry that often get taken off right before bed. I keep the standard items handy: lamp, tissues, pepper spray and flash light (for safety, as you can see on the second shelf) and tons of journals and books that I’m either currently reading.
I made the storage box on the second shelf using an old shoe box, fabric, and glue. It comes in handy for catching all the random things that I’m not sure what to do with, and it’s a really pretty addition to the table. I keep tissues, old journals, and random nicknacks in this one. The two notebooks on top are journals. (More on that below.) They’re mostly full so it’s probably time to replace them with new ones. Also, I keep this little sleep mask for when I get sensitive to the streetlamp outside our house. Side note: there are only two lamps on our entire street, one in our yard and the other at the very opposite end. The middle can get really dark at night so we often have to walk Mia with a flashlight.
I’m really into journaling and tend to have the best reflections in the evening before bed, so I keep them here for easy access. I like the prompts from the Q&A a Day and This Time Next Year journals (both available on Amazon) when I’m not particularly in the journaling mood. I love the Q&A journal because I’ve been doing it for three years now (out of five) and it’s really interesting to see where my head space was the following year when being asked to answer the same question. For example, the question for October 9 is “You want a new ____” and my answers were: 2014: Career; 2016: Opportunity; and 2016: Car. I mean, who doesn’t want a new car?! Also, I need to hurry and finish the bottom one or it’ll end up being “this time two years from now!”
Confession: these are actually a bunch of books I’ve started to read but haven’t finished for one reason or another. It’s a really bad habit of mine. I keep them here so that I can grab them whenever I’m ready to pick up where I left off. Right now I’m reading Bossy Pants, but it’s slow going.
So, that’s it. My glamorous bedside table. I hope you enjoyed this little peak into my house. What does your bedside table look like?
