Unless we are literally looking at each other in the face, my mother and I do not see eye to eye on most things. Our differences include where we live (she is in Florida, I reside in New York), the ways we travel [1], and our stances on gluten and sugar, respectfully (bring on the pizza and ice cream). Needless to say, I am a millennial, and she is not. Spoiler alert: our feelings about clothing style and home decor are similar to the sensation of drinking orange juice after using mint toothpaste. They just don't vibe.
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This is me, eating ice cream in New York City. Like my decor preferences, my style is approachable and functional (and sweet).
I've lived in Manhattan for eight years, and I hate moving. It's one of those things that give me an intense amount of anxiety. It inspires sleepless nights, cold sweats and mild panic attacks months before my lease ends . . . but I digress. In early March, I found a new apartment, and my mom offered to help me pack and unpack my belongings — and decorate [2].
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My empty living space, before undergoing my mother's makeover.
At first, I was overwhelmed with joy — what an amazing and kind offering! And then, the realization of our dissimilarities set in. My style is very functional, approachable, and minimalist [3]; my mom's is a bit more, um, classic. I told myself this could be a terrible idea, and then thought: maybe this could be fun, or at least funny. And so it began: my mother started browsing the internet for couches, rugs, consoles, and decor. I said the living room was hers for the taking. My bedroom, however, I was keeping for myself.
In the beginning, I received daily images and links to items that were not a fit — both in aesthetic style and actual measurements (after all, I do live in a small space [4]). After my text messaged vetoes were acknowledged, my mother thankfully recruited my best friend, Melissa, to help with my new place. The duo mostly ordered things online, from Walmart.com [5]'s home section, which made things supereasy (instead of schlepping items through Manhattan), and it, to be honest, turned out pretty cool: trendy and functional, and most importantly, on-brand for yours truly.
Read on to see how my mom styled my space (for the first time since middle school) and the final result.