My style is “Suburban”

So I’ve noticed something lately when watching my favorite design shows. There is one word that seems to strike fear in the heart of many a “real” decorator…

Their mouth puckers up like they just drank lemon juice.

They look like they just swallowed a bug.

They look as if they may just spit out the word…cause it’s just so completely hideous.

That word that makes them quiver…

 

SUBURBAN

 

(Runs screaming from the computer. Arms flailing. Trembling. Hives.)

But I don’t get it. Never have. I don’t understand what’s so bad about “suburban.”

I know, I know. It means normal…average…just like the next one.

To them anyway. To me it means warm…cozy…it can even be classic.

And, YES, normal.

What’s wrong with normal? Normal can most certainly be pretty. Warm can definitely be different. Cozy can be innovative once and a while.

But to me, more than anything…”suburban” means

A FAMILY LIVES HERE

Why is that so horrible? 

For years I’ve tried to figure out my own decorating style, and I’ve never really nailed it down. I’m really traditional, a little bit transitional.

But then I heard that “suburban” word one more time a couple of weeks ago, and I realized…that’s ME! My style is Suburban.

And I’m proud of it.

BoooooYAH.

Really. I’ll scream it from the roof of my suburban home. My suburban home in a neighborhood.

In Suburbia.

I love Suburban. It’s home.

To me, it’s family and friends plopping down on your couch, getting something out of your fridge, sitting around your kitchen table playing yuker.

Yeah, I said it. Yuker. I’m a Hoosier. Darn tootin’.

Although I usually just sit and watch…I won’t take the time to really learn how to play it. Which is probably a good thing because I am NOT a good loser.

It’s not pretty. :)

And yes, I know it’s spelled euchre. I’m being a Hoosier. Funny. Get it? :)

I found the definition of Suburban online, just because I was curious:

sub·ur·ban (sə-bûrˈbən)

adjective

1. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a suburb. (Check.)
   2. Located or residing in a suburb. (Check.)
   3. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the culture, customs, and manners typical of life in the suburbs. (Check. Check. Check.)

We dream of having a weekend apartment in New York City someday.

And a mountain cabin…someday.

And one day…maybe moving to a house that’s not in a neighborhood, one that’s older than ten years old, on some land with a creek in the back. (Or crick, if you’re a Hoosier.)

You know – the kind of house that’s more than 30 feet from the road? Yeah. One of those.  :)

But any one of those would still be decorated in my Suburban style. Warm and cozy, cozy and warm…and normal. In my way, normal.

My normal is not your normal, which is why Suburban could never be average. Just in the same way one person’s contemporary isn’t another person’s contemporary. Styles are translated differently by all of us.

And every style can be comfortable and welcoming. Contemporary can most definitely scream A FAMILY LIVES HERE…but that doesn’t make it boring. 

My style is Suburban and I am not ashamed.

What’s yours?  :)

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