Apartment Therapy's Style Cure: Assignment #1

As a previous Apartment Therapy Style Cure quitter (I tried last year, crashed, then burned), I am adamant about curing a room in my apartment by following the home design bigwig's daily assignments. True to my nature, I've fallen a bit, but am only a day or so off on the actual assignments (there are built in catch-up days, and I'll be catching up on posts!).

Photo: Apartment34

The first assignment, "The Style Cure Interview", is fun to go through, not incredibly stress-inducing (design decisions can be so tough sometimes!), and actually very insightful. I'll be answering the interview questions below, and evaluating what those answers mean if you're interested in reading. I've also included the link to Apartment Therapy's original assignment post here if you're interested in checking out the questions and/or starting The Cure yourself!

The Style Cure Interview
(You may choose up to 3 answers in each category)

1. List your favorites in each category:

Actor: Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Hugh Laurie

Actress: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet

Artist: Caravaggio, Georgia, O'Keefe, the third spot switches every week!

Writer: Audrey Niffenegger, C.S. Lewis, Dr. Seuss

Music: Soulful genres with great instrumentals...in other words, I can't quite decide! Think John Legend meets Regina Spektor, who also brings along secret album Beyonce'.

Restaurant: Little India in Charleston, WV, Cousin's on the Island of St. Thomas, Lola's Pizza in Charleston, WV

Automobile: Volvos for sure

Movie or TV Show: Show: Scandal! Movie: Pride and Prejudice or Dan In Real Life

Clothing (pieces, designers, or stores): Everything made by Madewell

Furniture (pieces, designers, or stores): Loaf furniture, natural wooden tables and pieces

2. Choose three words to describe your personal style
Relaxed, pretty, quirky

3. Think back over all the homes you've lived in, both as a child and an adult. Which rooms would you choose as your favorites and how would you describe them?

Favorite room from a childhood home and description:
My childhood bedroom- spacious with a place for everything, comfy, lots of texture and visual interest, lots of light, and a tree right outside my window.

Favorite room from an adult home and description:
My living room, which feels put-together with plant life, furniture that flows, somewhat feminine design but with quirky pieces.

4. Whom do you consider a role model?
I love this question! There are many, but I'd say my mother, my sister-in-law, and my old boss and mentor, Professor Cathy Pleska.

What three adjectives describe the qualities that you admire in this person?
Mom - calming, wise, poised
SIL - self-aware, determined, loving
Cat - brilliant, curious, an amazing storyteller

5. Every home has areas that are "just right" . Which three spots or things in your home do you feel are beautiful and feel proud of, right now, as is:

My living room set up, the artwork on the living room walls, the top of my bedroom bookshelves with its layering of elements (art, photography, candles).

6. A month from now, at the end of the Style Cure, how would you like your friends to describe your home? 
I would love for them to say that it feels like me, is cozy and peaceful, yet interesting and has an element of beauty.

Photo: Joanna Hawley's Apartment on Jojotastic

Now, to analyze! We're trying to make connections here, see where the outliers are (not necessarily a bad thing),

Questions 1&2 - Creating a picture of your style: The drama in some of these answers could be an outlier to the more laid back aspects of my style, but I think just a touch of drama is something that I enjoy in a room. The quirky choices (like in music, for instance) make sense for me as they create visual interest and could start a conversation in a room. In the end, I'm also all about the comfort factor and the space feeling like home.

3&5 - What do you find pleasing, comforting, beautiful: As for what I find pleasing, comforting, and beautiful, I think a cheery space with lots of light and life, while still mixing eclectic, beautiful pieces...BUT also having REALLY comfortable and soft pieces that I can lounge on makes the space for me.

4&6 - Addressing aspirations and goals: These questions address aspirations, and this helped me realize several things that I'd like to work on in design decisions and in my life, overall. These include working on maintaining peacefulness within my space, bringing in love and cheeriness to my home and my life, embracing my decisions by making them with conviction and pride along the way.

That last answer is a mantra if I've ever seen one. Any who, have you participated in The Style Cure, or are you working your way through it this year? Did you find anything new about your style or yourself?