Décor

Hello friends!

So, I had an interesting experience recently. I had a tradesperson in my home, who unfortunately made himself a rather unpleasant guest very quickly. Most of what he said is a story for another time (and not a pleasant story, let’s just say I watch just enough true crime), but one of the things he said was “you can tell you are one of those crazy horse people, but only if you pay attention”. He was referring to my decor. He was meaning, at least I hope, that the decor I contributed to the home was tasteful, and while some of it was a nod to my chosen passion/hobby/lifestyle/vice, it wasn’t super in your face.
I think with the rise of Joanna Gaines we saw a huge influx in “farm” decor, and it became a huge trend to have farm animals, and implements, play super heavily in your aesthetic. Which is totally great, if that’s your thing, and it’s also a little funny, because “Chip and Jo” never really went the full “farm” vibe, it always stayed in the more classic “traditional farmhouse” realm.

I have seen a lot of horse people go full tilt in their home furnishings, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I have two questions. How do you find this stuff, and was it intentional? Or, like me, did it just happen to you too?
Don’t get me wrong, I love farm themed decor, I personally think I fall mainly in the “industrial farmhouse” aesthetic, but I don’t think I ever made the conscious choice to decorate with horse decor. In fact, I don’t think I ever really made the conscious choice to decorate “farmy” at all. It’s just a funny sort of thing that happens the minute you start on your horse journey.

I have some horse paintings in the guest area, there’s some western themed decor in the living room, little statues of horses in my room, and a coat rack made out of horseshoes. It’s funny, because I love the pieces, but I don’t think I’ve bought a single one. It’s always been a gift. I’m grateful, because like I said, I like having the little nods to my favorite thing all throughout the house, and although I don’t go nearly as hard as some people, I like that others can see that love and are being so thoughtful in their gift giving that I get decor that truly means something to me. I think, like any style, “equestrian” or “western” can be done really tastefully, and I am excited to keep adding sweet little sentimental touches to my home.

But, that leads me to my next point, does anyone around here decorate their house with tack? I will admit I have a couple bits up on the wall, mostly just because I pick up interesting looking bits for fun at garage sales (it’s dual purpose, I learn a thing or two about them and their uses and I get a potentially scary bit off the market). But I’ve had friends and neighbors who use saddles as seating and bridles as wall art. I think it’s for sure a style, but to me it sorta takes away the magic of the tack room, and it can look cluttered. That’s just me, and that’s probably rooted in my impatience with lots of random clutter, I love having little sentimental things around, but I don’t love lots of clutter, it majorly stresses me out, and the “western” or “equestrian” decors are often quite cluttered up.

I’ve seen it with not just those styles either, I have a cousin whose living room looks like a mechanics shop, and I have a friend whose entire place is devoted to her video game setup. I think it’s super cool when people devote their living space to their hobbies, and I am always super impressed when they can find all the pieces to pull a look together. I can appreciate the time, effort and skill, to make a space like that.
I am firmly of the mindset that if your space works for you, if it makes you happy, brings you joy, and is a peaceful place to lay your head? Then it’s perfect however you have it. I have spent a long time working to get my room to a place of peace, since it’s my little getaway in my shared living situation. It’s a constantly evolving process but I think it’s a good mix of the dorky computer nerd side, the overly enthusiastic horse girl side, the academic bookworm side, and the sentimental adult who-also-just-really-needs-whatever-this-is-to-be-functional side. It’s forever evolving, in fact, as we speak I am mentally planning to save for a different desktop, because while I love my antique teacher’s desk, it’s’ not long enough, so I am going to protect it and make it more functional with a floating top and some kind of desk legs. Wouldn’t have even thought about that a year ago, but currently my keyboard is in my lap because I am truly out of space. Not great ergonomics.

So, let me turn it on you, what is your style? Do you decorate according to your hobbies or more of a curated aesthetic? Are you more Joanna Gaines or David Bromstead? Saddle pads in the living room, yay or nay (neigh)? Moreover, do you set up a space and leave it, or is your space constantly evolving? Have you ever outgrown a space and had to get creative?
And finally, have you ever thought this hard about decor before? Because I seriously don’t think I would have written a whole blog post about it if I wasn’t really really annoyed at the cable guy and trying to be productive with that frustration.

Anyways, all for now!