So you may or may not be aware of all of the fun photography challenges that are popular in the world of blogging; they usually involve some type of challenge, or prompt, to inspire you to stop and take a photo each day. I love the way that photo challenges require bloggers to search for inspiring moments and capture the little details of everyday life. My friend Ali, at His Birdie's Nest is currently hosting an Interior Design Bingo challenge for the month of November. When she announced it, I thought it sounded super fun, but once again, I was too intimidated to make the commitment to sign up. Since the theme of the challenge is to observe interior design elements in everyday life, I figured the timing was off. When Brandon and I first got married and were preparing to decorate our first home together, I totally discovered my love for interior design and became temporarily obsessed with home stuff. But over the past year and half we have encountered our fair share of interior design challenges, involving an unexpected move and multiple disasters, some natural and some not so natural. To sum it up, we've found ourselves living in a condo we never would have chosen for ourselves, and I've gone from excitement about decorating to just being thankful to have electricity, hot water, and a roof over our heads.
Of course this photo challenge does not require me to only take photos in my own home, and I can find details that inspire me in other homes and establishments. But my current life also limits this, considering that we're living in a state with no family and few friends... AKA not many people who would let me take photos insider their houses, or even let me insider their houses period. But rather than sulking, I have decided to embrace this challenge and view it as an excuse to capture some of the little details of our home life on this blog before we move back to California at the end of the year. I also have so much interior design inspiration saved up that I'm not only going to post my photo-a-day but also post some beautiful inspiration related to each theme!
The rules of Interior Design Bingo are not very limited. Rather than having an assigned theme for each day, I get to choose any random square I feel like to focus on. The object of the game is to photograph as many of the elements as possible by the end of November! I'm already behind in the game, but my choice for Day One is "A Vignette."
For Day One, I chose to photograph the little grouping of items on the coffee table in our living room. The antique silver tray is from our wedding decor. On it, we have a mercury glass candle, coasters with the first initial we both share, and a little ceramic urn holding a fake Maidenhair Fern plant from Pottery Barn. Whenever I'm in the mood for a little change, I like to switch up the items on the tray. I am a big fan of trays and their ability to make items feel less random and more like they belong together.
Hope you enjoy my journey and these little glimpses of our home away from home as I embark on this Interior Design photo challenge! I promise I won't ramble so much in future posts! :)
If you're enjoying following my attempt at Interior Design Bingo, here is a list of other bloggers who are participating: ABC: Life from the start of the Alphabet / Bien Living Interior Design / Forty Twenty Four / Heart the Day / His Birdie's Nest / Letters from the Heart / Love and Renovations / The So-Called Wife / Sugar and Spice / Talking and Sleeping