Friday, August 20, 2010

Like Mother Like Daughter?

I was fortunate to spend the past two weeks vacationing down south with my family. We had a wonderful time at my parent’s house and beach house doing all our normal vacation activities – golfing, swimming, fishing, boating, hunting for shells, etc. I even got to see both my sisters and their families. So much fun!

Even though we have been visiting every summer for the past ten years, the thing which struck me on this trip was the number of similarities there are between my house and my mother’s house. It seemed everywhere I looked in my mom’s house I saw something I have in my house – from furniture to accessories to dishes and glasses. It got me thinking. Does everyone decorate like their mother?

We have the same faucet and back splash in our kitchens. I am in the process, though, of switching my handles to lever style because of my new kitchen countertops.

My Mom's Kitchen

My kitchen

The bedding in my parent’s guest bedroom is the same as what was in my daughter’s room before her bedroom makeover.

My Mom's Guest Bedroom

My Daughter's Old Bedroom

Our living rooms are remarkably alike – a tan couch, barrel back chair and a little bit of French influence - a cane back chair for her and a bergere chair for me. The pillows on her couch and chair were made by me and although I make a variety of pillows, these are the ones I choose to have in my house too.

My Mom's Living Room:

My Living Room
Women's Day Budget Decorating
Photographer – Michael Partenio
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications


My Mom's French Chair

My French Chair
Women's Day Budget Decorating
Photographer – Michael Partenio
Stylist - Donna Talley, Regional Editor and Producer for Meredith Publications



I even have the same Bob Timberlake coffee table (including the blue and white Royal Copenhagen plates) in another room in my house. Notice the marble top dresser behind my mom's sofa? I have a marble top night stand in my daughter’s bedroom.

My Mom's Dresser

My Daughter's Nightstand

We both use vintage finds – ceiling tins, old shelves, antiques, etc. – along with starfish.

My Mom's Bathroom

My Bathroom

Two urns in the front of the house – yes, we both have those too!

My Mom's Urns

My Urn's
I could go on and on but you get the point. My mom and I decorate our houses in very similar ways.

I have to say, however, it was not always this way. Our houses were always somewhat alike but never to the extent that they are now. The older I have gotten the more our styles have merged. Our “decorating relationship” has become more of a give and take. Where I used to be the one asking for her opinion, my mom now asks me for advice too.

Don’t get me wrong, we do have our differences. I use only live plants, while my mom will use faux greenery. My mom’s taste is very traditional while I appreciate the clean lines of a few more modern pieces. I also tend to like a mix of finishes and furniture while my mom prefers a much more matched approach. Small differences, but differences none the less.

So, how about you? Do you decorate like your mother? Or is your style completely different?

17 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish I could learn to decorate like my mother. She's got a definite eye that she didn't pass on to me.

I think it's only natural that we pick up some things though.

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

No, not my mother but now my sisters and I sure do! You both have great taste.

Lisa | Her Beautiful Mess said...

I'm not at all like my mom. She likes lots of accessories.... every space is filled but in a classy way....she has good taste. I'm very contemporary and a total minimalist.

Anonymous said...

My mom's long gone, but If I could pick a mother to have decorating in common with it would have to be Martha Stewart. Her homes are my ideal, with a place for everything and everything in it's place!

Ellen

Sissie's Shabby Cottage said...

My sister and I have the same decorating tastes which at times, is scary!

You and your Mom both have excellent tastes and your homes are lovely.

hugs
Sissie

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

There are some things that we are similar on, but others that we're not {i.e. she likes roosters, I like bunnies}. It is funny though to see your pictures and the similarities between you and your own Mom. I'm surprised you noticed it ~ somtimes we don't see that.

Grace @ Sense and Simplicity said...

That's too funny. No, I don't decorate like my mother because she doesn't care much about home decor and likes Danish modern much more than I do.

Sonya@Beyond the Screen Door said...

I would say there are a LOT of similarities between the way my Mom and I decorate! It's so funny that you've posted on this b/c I was recently thinking the same thing! Seems like there are similarities between all the women (including SIL's) in my family! I love it! I think it comes from always bouncing ideas off each other! And because we're all interested in design.
Thanks for the great post! Both your homes are beautiful!

Three Dancing Magpies said...

Love this post and what fun! I guess the apple never falls far from the tree!

Paula@SweetPea said...

I now see where you get your decorating talent and good taste!

My mom and I do decorate in a similar way. We both love antiques and like similar colors. When we visit each other, we both spend a bit of time looking around to see changes that have been made since the last visit. Neither of us leave things the same for too long!

Karen said...

My mom passed away this past May, I miss her so much! Her home was a mirror of my home about 10 years ago. I believe she liked my hunter green carpet and hunt scene accents of years ago she duplicated it in her home when she retired to Arizona. Some of what she used as accent pieces had been mine.

You and your mom appear to have similar taste and it works...both houses look lovely.

Karen

Leslie {Goodbye, house. Hello, home!} said...

I think it's awfully sweet that you two have almost the same tastes.
You can swap stuff, too!
My daughters have totally different tastes than mine--one likes Bohemian and the other all beiges.
Too funny.
Both yours and your mom's homes are gorgeous and cozy!
Hugs,
~me

Anonymous said...

Now when someone comments on your fabulous sense of style you can quote the song lyrics. "She get it from her MaMa" :)
Have a great week.
Pam

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

Wow! You both really do decorate in a similar manner. My daughter and I do gravitate to the same things. We also "feed off" each other for inspiration. I think I tend to be traditionally creative and she does the above with a modern kick of whimsey. We both like touches of Frenchiness! Linda

Pamela said...

This post is so funny! My mom and I share very similar taste. She is a little more over the top than me but at her age she has earned it. She would rather buy new where I buy used and transform. We have very similar decorating styles so we bounce things off of each other all the time. I posted abt purchasing a few french country decor books and she called saying she had just done the same as well. I was talking abt wanting to put a mini chandy in our toilet room and she said she was actually just received hers in the mail was putting it up the next day. I soo love my mom and hate we live half way across the country.

decor4poor@blogspot.com said...

Our decorating tastes are not even close. I took her to Goodwill for the first time and was like, "don't you love it?" and she was like, "yes I can't wait to bring all my crap here." She doesn't have one crafty bone in her body.

Holly Lefevre said...

What a cute post! I do not decorate like my mother...I have in the past few years gained the appreciation she and my father have always had for antiques but that is about it.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin