That teenage bedroom is fun and the girl who calls it her own very lucky! Ok some dumba** wasn't nice about your kitchen? Obviously they don't follow your blog and don't understand you. You're an artist, you create and a lot of creative people don't like a lot in their home influencing their work. Also what's wrong with being clutter free? My whole house is clutter free I can't think with a mess of stuff laying around. Whoever can go suck eggs if they can't be nice! Just my opinion mine you.

What a beautiful bedroom!

I still say your kitchen is beautiful and you shouldn't let rude, mean spirited people get to you. Having said that, it would bother me too! :)
I would be reading the comments,too..I guess its human nature! I don't handle criticism well. I try to remind myself not everyone is going to like me or my taste, just as I'm not going to like everyone I meet or perhaps their taste.....it's what makes the world go 'round! However there is no excuse to be so rude! You have nothing to be apologetic for. I love your style and your blog...keep up the good work!!
JoAnn

I have always taken very seriously is our right to free speech. I also know that when you expose yourself in any fashion to others you are leaving open the door for critique. Usually I get ticked at myself for opening myself up to be "commented on". Then I get angry that people don't "get" me. Then some kind of peace sets in where I remember that people don't really know me and I distance myself enough to know there is a lot of jealousy and opinion out there. Unfortunately women tend to be rather mean to each other especially when we don't know the other person. That is how I deal with it.

I found your blog last weekend and read from beginning to end. I have enjoyed it totally and am looking forward to each post. I think your kitchen is groovy baby...don't let the bastards get you down!

Michele
(I have one L too!)

Michele, I am not ignoring you - only staying away from the computer and being a summer Mom!

Brilliant room! The Union Jack chest is fabulous!

Michele, there are people who don't like my home either! (And who did not care for my Rue Magazine feature). Design is so personal. But then there are also a lot of people who do! And it is the same for you! Who cares anyway. UNHAPPY people like to be negative. Hardly the kind of people you/we want to surround ourselves with anyway.

So, keep on showing your beautiful home, girlie (and you will see that your blog will just grown and grow). But hang a little painting just for me - pretty please! (:

Happy weekend - we are off to Portland!

Love

Mon

What ever happened to "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I don't understand why some people feel they have the right to spew venom whenever and wherever they want. I read the post about your kitchen but I don't remember you asking for criticism. Maybe I missed that part.

wow...some people are really rude! you explained that your kitchen is a work in progress and that you don't like clutter, etc. ...come on people!! Geez. Your kitchen is Lovely for sure. I totally love color as you know, but I completely get and respect your style. Plus, you show on your blog a wide range of different styles you love, so clearly you are multi-faceted and definitely NON-Stepford like!!

ummm...i NEED that Union Jack dresser. Miss Mustard Seed did one like that too, it's awesome!

have a lovely weekend!!

Dearest Michele,

Don't let them get you down, friend!

I had the same thing happen to me and my kitchen. A sweet gal found pics of my kitchen in the first days that I started my blog and she posted them bc she loved the
on a public forum discussion website where people could freely discuss the space.

Well. let me tell you, they had a FIELD DAY with my kitchen. They ripped it to shreds! I too "could not look away from the train wreck" comments, and each time I did take a look -- I felt like I was being kicked in the stomach! Physically -- over and over again!!! It was horrid!

I wanted so badly to defend myself, but couldn't and quickly I came to the conclusion that there are just nasty people out there who have nothing better to do than say mean and hurtful things. They most likely don't have the nerve to post pics of their own spaces out there so they feel like they can cast stones and rocks at ours!!!

Forget it. Your home is LoVeLy and for those who don't or can't appreciate it? Poo poo to them.

You are amazing and loved and appreciated. That's what you need to carry with you in your heart today! Keep that gorgeous chin up.

One of your biggest fans,
xoxoxox
Alison :)

That is one cool teen room, lucky girl!

You know, I grew up among the sort of unhappy people who could never find joy or satisfaction in anything. They only ever dished out negativity; they could turn the loveliest atmosphere into ugliness.

While I am relieved to have finally got away from them and discover love, happiness and positivity, the sad reality is that such people are going to exist everywhere, even in blogland. Given the demons from my past, I don't deal well with negativity so I remain private. But you are brave, generous and wonderful to open yourself up and let us peek into your life and share in your delights. Negative people have no place in our lives and although easier said than done, our best recourse is to simply ignore the joyless fools and leave them to their sorry lives.

You have lots of fans who find you hugely inspiring, amazing and delightful. I hope you are having a lovely weekend, sweet lady.

Hugs hugs!
Meera xx

Michele,
This is such a fun teen room! We love the Union Jack chest, very creative. Hope you have a beautiful weekend! XO Angela and Renee

Well said. As I read some of the mean and untrue in my opinion comments I could only think of one thing- Didn't their mama's teach them when they were younger "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Love your spaces, your blog and that you went to the University of Missouri. So did I many years ago. :)

Oh see what I miss when I dip out of blogland for a week! I raced over to see what the nastiness was about - no one talks sh*t about my homie, Michele!! No one puts baby in the corner!! GRRRR!!!

Ok, so once my anger at the rude comments abated ("how DARE you be rude to my bloggie mate!!" was almost written and then deleted), I remembered something. As bloggers we DO put ourselves out there. And do you know what? That's pretty damn brave. These anonymous commenters probably don't do that so perhaps they can talk the talk but do they actually CONTRIBUTE anything except their negativity? Probably not. So how is their opinion worth anything at all?

Not everyone is going to GET you - your readers here do - they understand your love of simple, uncluttered styling - they see the beauty in it like you do. They see your gorgeous spirit and your humour which lights up everything you write. We know you and love you for it.

These other people? Stuff 'em. You don't know them either and would you really want to? Probably not. They probably all smell too. (Ok, perhaps not but that made you feel better thinking about them sat at home in their own stinkiness didn't it? Mmhmm. Thought so.)

We'll never ever all agree about what looks best - design, like any art, is completely subjective. But if it works for you and your family and you love it, that's all that matters. And when your readers go, 'oooh pretty!' and 'ooooh I want that too!' then you can sit back and smile to yourself at that little affirmation. But ya know, at the end of the day, it's just STUFF. And the important thing is WHO we are, not WHAT we have.

Chin up, chick, you will always be fabulous in my eyes.

Mwah xxxxx

PS. Oh and yes that room is utter fabulousness. I totally envy the teen that gets to live in it cuz I want it for myself!

NO ONE PUTS BABY IN THE CORNER!

omg. i have the coolest blogmates EVAH.

i let myself obsess for 48 hrs so i'm over it. if only blog readers everywhere could take my advice and read with a bottle of wine and tenderness.

p.s.
need to watch dirty dancing for the 300th time.

This is your home, your sanctuary, the place you feel safe. Who cares what others have to say about it? Its quite possible they are in fact jealous of your beautiful home. A cluttered room fills me with stess, and I found your kitchen simply beautiful.

Souless? Please, it takes one to know one.

I've been enjoying your blog since jumping over here from somewhere. So glad I did since I'm now your latest follower. This is a beautiful bedroom and I love all the colorful, quirky touches. I've especially enjoyed your interviews.

About criticism. It is easier said than done but I agree with others that you should ignore, as best you can, all the nasty comments. I'm a writer, too, and could never improve if I didn't accept constructive criticism, but the key word is constructive. Nasty and mean-spirited is not constructive. As bloggers, we do put ourselves out there but that doesn't mean that readers should have free license to say mean and hurtful things. When I see a room on a blog that doesn't quite suit my taste, I just don't say anything UNLESS the writer has specifically asked for suggestions and then I try to do so in a kind manner. Anyway, write on and don't worry about the naysayers. For each negative person out there, there are at least 20 more who are fans of your work and style. And I'm one of them!