Does Your Home Tell a Story? The Rise of the Collected Home

Sep 24

4 min read

There’s a shift happening in home design that I am completely on board with.

After years of perfectly coordinated rooms, matching furniture sets and homes that sometimes felt like a museum, we’re seeing a return to something I’ve always loved:

the collected home.

A collected home doesn’t look like everything was purchased at the same time. It evolves over time, blending old with new. A vintage painting might hang above a newer console. An old stack of books sits beside a beautiful lamp. Beautifully mismatched vintage china out on the table ready to be used. A brass candlestick found at a thrift store that looks completely at home next to something from Pottery Barn. A collected home is cozy and should feel like you.

Collected Doesn't Mean Cluttered

This is where the difference between decorating and curating becomes important. More isn't necessarily better. A collected home is intentional. It's about choosing pieces that add interest, texture, history or personality. This is exactly what I do when I'm styling homes. Sometimes the best piece in a room is already there and just isn't being used in the right place. I may move artwork to another wall, pull something beautiful out of a cabinet, restyle a bookshelf or pair several unrelated pieces together. Suddenly, things you've owned for years feel completely different. That's also why I love shopping your own home first.

What If You're Selling?

This is where things get interesting.

When I'm staging an occupied home, my goal isn't to strip away every bit of personality and make the house look empty. We're still selling a lifestyle. The difference is that we're editing your story. Too many personal items can distract a buyer, (especially for my pet loving sellers), but a carefully styled room can help that same buyer imagine sitting there, entertaining friends or waking up in that bedroom every morning. Occupied staging is about finding that balance between lived-in and beautifully presented. It's also why I don't believe every seller needs to rent a house full of furniture to prepare a home for market. Often, we can work with what you already have, edit what isn't helping and add just a few carefully chosen pieces when they're needed. It may be for sale, but it is still your home.

My Latest Addiction, I Mean Obsession: Curated Collections

If you've been following me lately, you may have noticed I've been doing a little more treasure hunting. Okay...maybe a lot more. 😉

I've always loved vintage pieces, thrift stores and finding something wonderful that someone else has overlooked. Something that has history or a story of its own. Instead of seeing a brass candlestick, an old book, a piece of vintage art or a lone plate, I see how those pieces could live together.

And that is how the idea for my curated collections started.

I'm sourcing small groups of vintage, thrifted and found pieces and putting them together the same way I would create a vignette in someone's home. Some lean more towards cottage, some feel a little more Ralph Lauren. Some are feminine and romantic, like a Nancy Meyers inspired collection, perhaps some feel more mid-century while others might start with an interesting piece of artwork and build from there. They're not matching sets, they are collected stories. And because I source many of the pieces secondhand, it's also a more sustainable and affordable way to decorate and offers a chance to bring things with a little history into our homes instead of always buying something new.

You Don't Need a Whole New Room

As we spend more time in our homes, this may be my favorite part. Changing your home doesn't always require a new sofa, new dining table and a trip to five furniture stores. Sometimes it starts with one little corner. A piece of art. A stack of old books. A beautiful bowl. Some mismatched brass candlesticks. A few objects grouped together in a way you hadn't thought about before. That's the power of styling. It's not always about having more, it's about seeing what you have with a different eye.

Whether I'm preparing a lived-in home for sale, refreshing a home for someone who plans to stay, or putting together one of my curated collections, the idea behind it is really the same:

Your home should tell a story and that story should be yours!

If yours isn't quite telling the story you want it to, maybe it doesn't need a complete makeover. Maybe it just needs a little styling, a few interesting finds...and a fresh set of eyes.

Suncoast Spaces offers occupied home staging, home refresh and styling services, and locally curated vintage and thrifted collections throughout the Sarasota and Manatee County area.