All White Decor Inspiration

August 21, 2011

Wondering today why white
scares so many people.

I have lived with color, and
I have found it easy
to live with white.

So many folks
have walked through our door
announcing some version of
"dude, this would NEVVVVVER fly
at our place with our family."


Gardener & Marks (three images above)

But white has served us well.
Mostly.

There WAS that regrettable
MAGIC 8-BALL
DAY OF TERROR
back in '01.

You don't wanna hear bout that.

Tracery Interiors

You do?


via Homebunch

Oh lordy.
It was the worst of times.

New creamy white carpet
was installed downstairs.
A few days later the husband and I contracted
a parasite and were semi-bedridden.
It wasn't Mexico.
It was bad restaurant chicken.

Our 9-year old felt "bored"
and while unsupervised, mindlessly
pinched a mini suction cup
all about his lovely face leaving it
a terrifyingly mottled, hickey hot mess
(the bloody spots remained for 7 days).

Out of frustration for the suction sin,



that son whipped with fury
one
MAGIC 8-BALL
down one flight of stairs.

Did I mention he was a gifted pitcher?

Gardener & Marks

Magic 8-Balls are
chock full of turquoise ink.
So with the pitch, it ricocheted
off the wall and exploded,
causing 8-ball blue blood
to spurt wildly east and west...
on spankin new far-out white carpet.

First Option

Perhaps it was our parasitic natures
which prevented us from
noting the irony and humor then
of our son's internally bleeding face
and that of the evil unhinged 8-ball.

It took only a few years of scrubbing,
bleaching, and oxidizing to erase
most of the blue sin.

?

What we learned today:

White. is. magic.

Restoration Hardware

Except when it's not.
:)

linking with these lovelies
Your turn:
White nightmares to share?
Any white phobics lurking?
Do you love bleach like I do?
Have an imperfect child?



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29 comments

  1. You're killin' me with this story! I am laughing so hard.

    A long time ago we bought a beautiful white chair from Crate & Barrell. We did not have that chair 24 hours when our 2 year old, with water color paint all over her hands, decided to rub that paint all over the seat. (I know--2 year old, white chair--what were we thinking?) Who knew water color paint does not come out? We flipped the cushion and kept on going.

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  2. ahhhhh! i love the last line of your comment, shelly. just flip the flippin cushion. just keep going. i'm going to chant that this week.

    :)

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  3. Ahh Michele those are beautiful images. Your story had me laughing so hard I was snorting like Erkel.

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  4. too funny! who new that a magic 8 ball was filled with turquoise ink?? i thought they were filled with magic. i happily live with white + mr. clean's magic eraser....which truely is magical.
    erin

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  5. Too funny. We adore white and have lots of white in our house. It works well for us most of the time. We too love bleach! White just seems so clean and fresh.
    Angela and Renee

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  6. omg, erin! mr. clean erasers are like my favoritest! seriously. think i could get a contract with them and be their spokeswoman?

    (yes i am that nuts with my big ideas sometimes!)

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  7. I love looking at white rooms and love white as a backdrop - so easy to add or remove colour as per the current whim. These rooms are beyond lovely! Could very happily make any of them mine.

    Gosh, what a story! No kids here yet, but naughty nephews have taught me that everything is fair game for destruction so when my time comes, I'll have to make sure there's nothing precious in the house. Turquoise ink in 8-balls... I'd never have thought!

    Happy new week, gorgeous gal!

    Meera xx

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  8. Sh*t Michele...I think I would have gone ballistic over that 8 ball....but I do agree with you..at least with white you can bleach stains to death...coloureds are not always so easy to clean. Thanks for those lovely images on a Monday morning (I'm sitt'n in bed with the laptop)...have a good week! Robx

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  9. Too funny...live with white, but no little children in the house. Loving these images to start my Monday morning!!

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  10. another lesson learned:

    live with white
    but not with
    ink filled
    8-balls.

    OY.

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  11. Love this story!
    A white interior is one of my favorite things. I think whenever anyone pulls it off it looks incredible!

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  12. M,

    Your posts are always so inspiring and beautiful! I love the kitchen (2nd picture).

    Thank you for mentioning HomeBunch, Michele. I appreciate it!

    Have a great week, sweetie.

    xo

    Luciane at HomeBunch.com

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  13. I absolutely love white and have it on all my upholstery. I do have people with white phobia who refuse to enter a white room or sit in a white chair for some fear that they will ruin it. All the fabrics are Sunbrella or Perenials and clean easily. All the bedding is washable white linens. No reason to fear it. I loved all the photos you posted. Can't get enough of this look. No kids or pets but I would use it if I did.

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  14. Oh my gosh that is too funny! Almost like a scene out of "Carrie" :) Although I am sure that it was not funny at the time. :)
    I love white and I am slowly changing things over to white, adding white textures to layer. I don't have a fun story but I used to get white for my kids when they were babies cause bleach was my friend too. :)
    xxoxoo

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  15. Love white but I live with my husband and our golden and I’m tired of cleaning for one lifetime. Now I like brown the darker the better….lol. Funny about the Magic 8-ball and hickeys all over your son’s face, ahhh, childhood memories!

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  16. You have no
    idea how much
    I needed these
    laughs, tonight.
    Yes, I have some
    wild stories with
    shades of this that
    I hope to share
    over a glass of wine
    someday....either
    in my neck of the
    woods or yours : )
    I read all the posts
    that I missed while
    away and now I am
    cheering "Simplify"
    and needing diamond seed rings and generally
    just feeling better
    about life. You
    are the best!
    xx Suzanne

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  17. Ha! Embrace the horror! Wonderful story in it's awfulness ... That my friend is real life, it almost doesn't even sound right when you tell it, its so Garpish...
    (the world according to garp)

    Cindy

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  18. oooooh i like 'garpish' cindy and i totally agree.

    and suzanne, we will share that wine. hugs.

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  19. Love, love, LOVE it all!! Great white inspiration :O)

    Hope you're having a great week.

    Hugs,
    Marie

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  20. i'm sure there will be some nightmares to share once maggie gets older and into even MORE trouble. right now she's pretty content with just throwing her sippy cup on the floor. constantly.
    love these beautiful white rooms photos!

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  21. Thanks for all the beautiful white eye candy. Funny story. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. LoVe you WHITE POST!*!*! Such inspiring pics... Sooo glad I hopped on over from Faded Charm's White Wednesday...
    Jeanine, ChiPPy!-SHaBBY!

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  23. Cute story! Love all white...am slowly but surely turning my cottage into all white. Thanks for the laugh!
    Jeanni

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  24. Oh Michele you are too funny, LMAO... I have many a horror story and imperfect child testimonies of what the lil darlings have done that caused near strokes in Grandpa & I. Luckily, since this is the 2nd Generation of wee ones we're raising we're a lot more laid back than we used ta be. Well, except for the time I USED TO HAVE a White Silk Sofa *NOTE: Used To Have* that the G-Son used every color of a 52 box set of Crayons to create a Masterpiece on the back of! *Gasp* Did you know that the amazing Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can erase almost anything?! God Bless the dear Soul who invented it, it's a Lifesaver!!! *Winks* I gave said Sofa to my Mom since the Great-Grandkids weren't over there as much to play out their Artistic Fantasies! *LOL*

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  25. I laughed so hard at your story! I love white, but my white is with blue. Found you via Miss Mustard Seed. Pop on over for a visit when you get a moment. Tootles, Kathryn
    http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-do-you-see.html

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  26. First- Love white
    Second -Don't have any white
    Third- Have five grandchildren
    Fourt- They have a magic 8 ball
    Fifth- your blog is fabulous and your button will be placed on my blog love page
    Sixth- love your sense of humor
    Seventh- I hopped over from the feathered nest hop and so happy I did. Hugs!

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  27. Oh my gosh!!!! So funny and So NOT funny at the same time!! I love your inspiring photos- they are just beautiful~ I just got my new book in the mail the other day~ Essential Elegance! :) Thanks again for the recommendation!! Sharing this on FB today! :)

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  28. Love the visual story, great ending. That will be an image we will carry for awhile. I have come over from Stuff and Nonsense, Drop by to see me. Kathy

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  29. Oh my! I am the same with white. I really love it but, with 3 boys! Nadda. We painted everything white when Shabby was first hot and then came the boys. We have since covered it all with cream because there wasn't a single bit of white painted that wasn't chipped and ratty and it just didn't look pretty. Teeth marks, hot wheel gouges, and always someone pushed pins, pens, and pencils into the trim somewhere.
    Great story! Thanks for joining me for the HSH Fall Open House!
    Sherry

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Your comments add to the beauty...thanks in advance for your kindness.

blogher

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