It all started when I was going back through old posts looking for a link to something when I came across this old forgot-about-it mood board of yore. It was made about a month before we moved into our second house (back in 2010) and featured this board with the words “we have no idea what our future living room will actually look like, but today this is what I’m loving.”
I thought it was pretty funny that 20 months later, after completely forgetting about making it, we have lots of gray and green going on, and even specifically have a big gray sectional, a green rug, and the exact same zebra pillows (scored about a year later on clearance from West Elm after I completely forgot about them from the mood board).
Of course some things are different, like the fact that we have yet to update our old media cabinet (we’re dreaming of finding an old thrift store dresser to tweak these days) and we ended up with a padded ottoman instead of two wicker tables for the coffee table area.
Our curtains also have a subtle white and gray print instead of being green (which is probably a good thing since a big green rug + green curtains might be a smidge too Kermit much green for our liking).
Then someone pointed out what’s possibly the craziest foreshadowing coincidence of all. Here is a post about some homemade art that we shared back in 2008 (four whole years ago!) which featured “blown up color copies from a decorating magazine of two graphic green wool rugs which I then snipped into strips so both patterns could appear in both frames.”
How crazy is it that I ripped out pages from a rug ad in a magazine, blew them up 300% at Kinkos, and framed them back in 2008 – only to buy a rug that was crazy-similar to that forgotten rug-turned-art four years later?! I never would have made the connection, so thanks to the reader who reminded me of that old art project!
Then of course we have the deer head from the mood board, who looks surprisingly like Ramsey (who used to live in our bedroom, until he met an untimely end during the last day of book photoshoots). Rest in pieces dear Ramsey.
And we can’t forget the other faux horned creaturethat I adopted from Hobby Lobby and hung in our kitchen during our little renovation (hence the scratched up paint).
He also makes a great fascinator in a pinch.
And in another planning post, written just four days after we moved into our current house back in 2010, we shared a few inspiration images, which included this page from House Beautiful:
Which featured an oddly similar quatrefoil mirror to the one we found at the home improvement store and hung above our sink in the main bedroom. Once again, we only realized the similarity after a reader said something like “so funny that the inspiration image you shared a while back had a similar mirror on the wall!”
As soon as we were reminded of that image it all came back to us! Haha. It was subliminal mirror messaging. And if you scroll back up to that page from House Beautiful you’ll also see a dark teal tone on that accent wall, which ended up being very close to the color that we chose for the back of our dining room built-ins (Benjamin Moore’s Dragonfly)…
… and our guest room (Martha Stewart’s Plumage).
Another sort of hilarious similarity was when we realized that those two oak trees that were growing in the left front quadrant of our first house…
… actually existed in almost the exact same location of our current house. It wasn’t as easy to see when we moved in since everything was bushy and overgrown…
But once we cleared stuff up it became a lot more apparent (although we do have that big magnolia out there too).
So what do you think? Do you believe that inspirational images that you rip out, art that you frame, and mood boards that you make before you even move somewhere can somehow end up subliminally influencing your decor choices years later? I guess you could argue that “ya just like what you like” (so the same thing that makes you tear something out might make you buy something that looks like that later) but it was just so funny to see that old forgotten mood board, homemade art, and tear sheet and realize that although they weren’t something I revisited regularly, they all seemed to contain some key things that weaseled their way into our house.
Oh and have you noticed any similarities between your first house and your second house that only later became apparent to you? We have a theory that some people buy the same house over and over again (with slight tweaks of course, like more bathrooms or bedrooms as your family grows). A perfect example of this is my best friend and her hubby, who had a three story townhouse (with a big media room in the basement, the kitchen/dining room/living room on the main floor, and all the bedrooms upstairs). They later looked at about a million houses before buying nearly the same three story set-up (right down to the large media room in the basement). Although they have two small kids, they don’t mind living on three floors, so they made that choice again – meanwhile we seem to be crushing on mid-century ranchers, so we’ve found ourselves in another one that even has similar oak tree placement. Haha. Maybe we’re all just creatures of habit? On the other hand, I’m sure there are folks who look for polar opposites when it comes to moving, so we’d love to hear about that too!
Christine says
What is happening to you is called manifesting! you are putting out to the universe what you love and are passionate about and it is delivering! You have a great connection going, think big!
Lynne Carothers says
I agree Christine. There is a great connection established here.
Kristen says
I was thinking the same thing! I love that philosophy!
Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says
Our first and second apartments’ layouts are completely different (I like where we are now more) but I have noticed that we stick to a very similar color scheme and that I love bolder colors on the walls.
Ashley says
Yes! Our first house that we built, the floorplan was a lot like the house I grew up in and our second house we built, the floorplan was a lot like the house my husband grew up in! We didn’t realize it until later though. Guess it’s in our comfort zone to have rooms in certain areas and certain layouts ;)
Mona O | Renters In Love says
I think it’s definitely a case of just knowing what you like.
Kristin says
I tore out a photo from southern living of a home plan I loved many, many, years ago. 3 years ago my husband and I were looking for home plans and he found one on southern living home plans on line, it was the same one I chose years before I even met him. We built that house!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so cool!
xo,
s
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
I think it just shows that we’re creatures of habit (or like you put it, “you like what you like”). Once something makes an impression on us, it’s not likely to go away (even if we forget about it later).
We’ve not moved on to our second home yet, but we both grew up in 1940s/1950s houses that were small, cozy, and always a little crooked– and that’s exactly what the Little House is!
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication says
This is our first house, so I haven’t quite noticed anything from house to house. BUT I’ve been changing mood boards left and right because my taste has changed so much since the planning stages before we moved in.
Alex F. says
My boyfriend and I have that TV stand from the first mood board in our apartment now. He picked out since he was the one dishing out the beans for it and at first I didn’t like it, but seeing it in our apartment with everything else, I love it and it has great storage.
Elizabeth says
Fun fact – legend has it that Kermit was actually originally made out of curtains! I thought it was funny you mentioned your curtains would have been too Kermit. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha – no way! That’s so funny.
xo,
s
Kelly {the Centsible Life} says
It’s like ‘The Secret’. Whatever you focus your intention on comes into your life-or some voodoo like that.
It’s funny because while our houses have been very different, our current house is very similar to the house I grew up in, in so many ways.
Amber says
I recently found your blog from a link on pinterest. I love it! My husband and I are about to settle on our first house two weeks from today! My pinterest boards are full of pins for things that I hope to do with the new house. Your blog is such an inspiration. I can’t wait to move in and start some projects. Thanks so much for sharing all of your wonderful experiences!
Rachel says
We’re still living in our first house (and I plan on never leaving… ever), but I think its cool the similarities. You love what you love.
Amy L says
You know what you like. I started a design notebook from magazine clippings & catalog pictures a few years back (pre-Pinterest) & flipped through it after reading your post. It’s fun to see the consistency, foreshadowing, & evolution of design styles & preferences. I’m glad you stumbled onto your old mood board & for your observant readers who pointed out other similarities!
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
Ha, so crazy how things have incorporated into your house. Though, our first house (http://ourhumbleabowedblog.com/the-grand-tour/) and our current house (http://ourhumbleabowedblog.com/the-grand-tour-2/) are pretty different. But, some things are kind of similar. People definitely are creatures of habit and we’re drawn to the things we like. :)
Jackie says
Speaking of inspiration, domino magazine has two special “keepsake” editions coming out. The first is out now. A second issue will be released in early September. And the former editors have started Lonnymag.com which just got picked up so it will be a larger online issue than ever before.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I love Lonny and Domino lots!
xo,
s
The Mrs @ Success Along the Weigh says
That’s a pretty convincing argument for “putting it out there!” We’re still in our “first” house after 16 years so I’ll have to get back to ya on that one! ;)
jen says
The new house we bought, we intend to paint over it. But every single color in this house, existed in our old house. It’s actually annoyingly weird. We had a pea-soup green dining room, well so does this house. We did light/dark khaki all over our other house? well guess what. haha. Even the yellow in the bathrooms is the same as our master bath was. Our red bedroom? Got that covered in the kitchen. It looked better in our old house… and I’m ready for change :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny!
xo,
s
Dee says
This just reinforces the ideas I heard about in a documentary I recently watched called The Secret.
It talks about the law of attraction and how you attract to yourself what you think about. There is an example of a guy who made a life goals board with a photo of a beautiful house on it. He had packed away this board and forgotten about it until years later he pulled it out of a box and turns out he was currently living in the exact house of his dreams. Weird but true!
lana says
it’s true – i keep finding myself leaning towards the same thing as in the last home….
by the way, where did you buy your rug?
Great job! Keep it up!
YoungHouseLove says
The living room one is from joss and main. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
I think it’s ok to be creatures of habit. It’s comforting and it leaves more room for perfecting what you like as you progress, move, or design. On the other hand sometimes I wish I could be super spontaneous and mke 180 degree changes in style. You know… Experience then all.
Erin says
Our two houses have definitely been opposites! But when you start out in a townhouse, it’s probably more common to move to something different. The townhouse was 3 stories, similar to your friend’s, and our current house is a 2 story cape cod, 2 beds upstairs and 2 beds downstairs. We love this one, though, because of the character that comes with older homes, and the small footprint of a cape cod with a surprising amount of room on the inside!
Kate says
I think that, when you know what your style is, you just tend to gravitate towards it whether you realize it or not! We’ve found that, as we’ve acquired items for both our last home and our current home, we have picked things that go with other items that we’d forgotten we had or didn’t realize would go… case-in-point: We scored a major deal on a slipcovered chair in the as-is section at Ikea. We brought it home, then decided we didn’t like the smaller rug we had in our living room. Out went the small rug, in came the big rug (that I had bought before my husband and I had even started dating), and the color of the slipcover perfectly matched the tan in the rug! Okay, so that’s tan… maybe not the most thrilling of choices, but we’ve also found matching blue shades throughout our house from old rugs, paint, a yard sale mirror, etc….
We brought home a red dresser to use in our entryway and immediately noticed how it picked up on the first-anniversary artwork I bought for my husband (hanging on an opposite wall…). Sometimes things just work out that way! :)
Jill says
Our second and third houses are pretty similiar. Both built in the 70s and needing some work. But they both had character and immediately felt like home when we walked into them the first time. Both times we looked at maybe three houses with the ones we bought being the first ones! We did actually paint the master bedroom in both houses pretty much the same color (Winter Mood by Behr). We like what we like and keep the same general feel. Every time I try to “change it up” I end up doing the same time of things cause that’s what I like!
Michelle | Letters from Boston says
I definitely think some people buy the same house again and again! My parents are totally guilty of that (scaling up or down depending on needs). I look for variety in my apartments so far, but we’ll see what happens when we start buying!
Aly says
Totally agree! Last summer I Bought 5 yards of this beautiful fabric on clearance. This March we bought our house and after many months of heavy renovation I found that fabric I totally forgot about. I carried it through the house trying to decide what to do with it. It matches EVERY SINGLE room but the bathroom!
Giulia says
we actually bought polar opposite. Our first house was a new build town home on three levels. Our next home was a 1950s split level. I love the split compared to the narrow 3 level! I also looked at my pinterest boards the other day and looked wayyyyyy back 1.5 + years and I was surprised that I still liked/loved most of my pins of home interiors.
Heather says
My husband and I just moved into the same townhouse plan that I grew up in as a teenager. We were looking for a 3BR townhouse for the time being until we were ready for something larger and more permanent and found ourselves drawn to the one I grew up in.
kate C. says
We’ve switched house styles a bit, though maybe you could say we’ve come back to what we decided we liked.
First house: small two bedroom ranch with large eat-in kitchen. Old, but updated to maybe the 60s-70s when we bought, carpet everywhere.
Second house: 100-yr-old two story with hardwood floors. Small kitchen. 3 Bedrooms upstairs, 1 in the walk-out basement.
Third house: late 60s walk-out ranch. 3 bedrooms on main floor, 1 in finished basement. Carpet everywhere. Large eat-in kitchen.
We decided we’re more ‘live on the floor’ sort of carpet people, and we also really need a large, eat-in kitchen. (though these reasons aren’t why we moved to house #3 – we wanted to be in a better school area for our oldest who starts kindergarten in a few weeks!)
kate C. says
Oh, and I should add that we’ve gotten progressively more bold with color on the walls with each house! Our tastes have been evolving as we’ve aged a bit, I think! :)
JebberA says
Not so surprising, really. You collect images of things you like. You buy things you like. :o) I like the things you collect and buy.
spiffi says
I have identical twin aunts who live in different states. One year, when I was about 10 years old, our family made a month long trip across 3 states to visit *all* our relatives.
We first visited Aunt June, and stayed at her house for a few days. Then we piled back into the car and drove 1200 miles to the next stop – my Aunt Jane, her sister.
We walked in the front door, and my 10 year old self was amazed – Jane had bought the *same* house as June – 1200 miles away – and when we pointed it out, she said that she actually had bought her house before she saw her sister’s (she also made sure to point out *all* the things that were nicer in *her* house but that’s a different story).
So maybe there’s something deep within us that makes us gravitate toward certain things in houses?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! I love all the stories you guys are sharing today!
xo,
s
Jen says
I’m still on my first house but we’re prepping for house #2 (paying off student loan debt so we can start some massive saving). We absolutely love our ranch from the exterior and many interior features… bay window, beautiful stone fireplace, family room with tons of windows, among many other things so we are looking for many similar things. The main changes we’re hoping for are a fourth bedroom, bigger master bedroom/bath and location closer to family.
Jane says
It’s funny how things happen like that!
If you don’t mind me asking- where did you get the mirror that’s above the little desk in the living room? I have been searching for a mirror like that for sometime now!!
YoungHouseLove says
That was from joss and main about a year ago. Maybe try overstock too?
xo,
s
Melissa says
Ever heard of ‘The Secret’? … what you think about most, you attract about most into your life ! Guess that goes for house decorating as well :)
J says
Yes! I was thinking of this last week as I looked in my pinterest. I realized a lot of what I have pinned I have going on in my home right now in one way or another. And about the buying the same house over and over my dad has boughten 4 houses and they ALL have the exact same layout besides one had an extra room and one had the front door in a different area AND ALL of them had the exact same color kitchen and living room and even when he repaints they’re just slightly different shades. LOL
Robin Reed says
Our two houses are different by layout and size (900sqft 1 car to 2400sqft 2 car) Funny similarity was color all the main living area in the first house was a light pale green/tan and our new house is Sherwin Williams relaxed beige which looks tan or pale green haha We definetly upgraded with the new house and couldn’t be happier
Trela says
Other than both being ranch-style homes, there is nothing similar between the house we lived in for the first 10 years of our marriage (rather style-less 1959er meant to only ever be a rental property on a farm), and the one we moved into this winter (3 years old, in a neighborhood, nothing is broken!!!)– and that is completely by design!!! We did, however, use our first house to experiment with color and tile and fabric, and that’s been hugely helpful moving forward and finishing the current place! Both of your houses, however, are lovely, and there are definitely echoes between them! I think it’s one of those you find a style you like, and it always works for you — like Sherry always looks good in black! :)
Bethany says
for some reason, thinking of the untimely demise of ramsey makes me giggle.
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
I love it…you just know what you like and you go for it! Obviously your current casa…was meant to be!!
Cheers
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
Katie says
Great post. I just realized last week that our second much larger home has a very similar floor plan to our first home!
In other random foreshadowing, I was contacted by a friend from grade school when we were about 28 years old who found a note I’d written to her in 5th grade where I made up a fictitious address for her that was mysteriously close to her address at 28 years old.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome!!
xo,
s
Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says
Oh I definately believe that your mind stores certain images away and you may not even realize that you are recrating them until after the fact. My brother and his wife came over this weekend and as she toured our house kept saying “see this is the paint I wanted….see this is the vanity I was looking at…..” It will be interesting to see the similarities between our places when they are done renovating. :-) Have a great weekend!!! :-D
Marleena says
About two and a half years ago my husband and I were renting a home that we didn’t really like the layout of. Two months ago we bought a home with nearly the same exact layout of the rental and we love it!
Sarah says
Pre-ordered the book last night, November will be here before we know it! Love that it’s “243 Ways to Paint, Craft…” Got a good chuckle off that.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sarah! This book is like a baby that takes two years to cook. Haha.
xo,
s
Jen says
We moved from Phoenix to Denver this past December. In Phoenix we had a one story house that we loved when we had no kids. Once our daughter arrived (one month before Clara!), we noticed noise carried so easily through the one story house, which was full of tile floors. So in Denver we intentionally bought a 2 story house with an unfinished basement. We love the bedroom separation and the potential for lots of play space in the basement for the kids (second child due in November)! Outside we were thrilled to no longer have a pool – both for maintenance and kid safety!
BTW – love the blog. I grew up in Virginia and went to VT. I cringe occasionally when John shows up with a UVA hat, though I’ve noticed some extended family wearing VT gear. I love a good college rivalry! Must be fun in your family ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oh yes. John’s siblings keep the rivalry alive.
xo,
s
Sam G says
When we built our second (current) home. We loved the layout of our first house, we just wanted it to be bigger. When we met our builder he had a model that’s layout was about 85% the same as our old house only bigger so that’s what made us bite the bullet and make the move. It made the transition easier for our son as well since his room was basically in the same place as the last house. I guess we know what we like.
Eve says
I definitely think there can be foreshadowing, whether it’s just a matter of subliminally picking out things that really struck you in the past or some sort of synchronicity. Like too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence, you know? Like that craigslist/ebay/etsy mojo, where you bemoan missing out on something you thought was perfect to find score better deal that’s actually a zillion times more perfect? Like when I happened to find a Kramfors sofa for a steal on Craigslist almost a year ago after lusting after it for *years* and it being discontinued, and never being able to buy it (because we live 3 hrs from Ikea or didn’t have the fundage or whatever). It’s fun too to look through old house pics and see what ideas carried over/are consistent parts of your style.
On a random note, I *love* the mirrors in both Clara’s room and over the desk in the living room – where did you happen to snag them? I’m toying with the idea of a mirror over our bedroom dresser – which I haven’t quite purchased yet… stalking Craigslist as we speak… waiting on the mojo to strike. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
The mirror in Clara’s room was from Marshall’s (it was black but I painted it green) and the mirror in the living room is from joss and main a while back. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Suzy says
Love the white mirror in your living room. Where did you get it? Looks like z gallerie or west elm? We have owned 3 homes and each different than the other. Pinterest has opened my eyes to so many amazing decorating ideas & color combos. Starting to work on my 13 yr old daughters room armed with loads of Pinterest ideas. Need to find bedding first….
YoungHouseLove says
That mirror is from joss and main about a year ago. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Abby says
At the end of college (in the pre-pinterest era), one night I was dreaming of my first real apartment and I started a folder of images on my computer called “Home Decor”. Naturally, I forgot about it when it was time to decorate my apartment, and I didn’t find it until over a year later when I found an awesome end table I wanted in my next apartment. So I went to save the picture and started a new folder, calling it “Home Decor”. When my computer told me I already had a folder named that, I went through it. Not only was I trying make a new folder with the same name, I was saving an end table picture I had already saved, AND in looking around my apartment – my bedspread was the same color/texture as the shower curtain I had saved and my shower curtain was the same design as the bedspread picture I had saved. I totally get your creepy but cool feeling of foreshadowing/knowing what you like!!
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
You forgot to mention the heart design on your blog and the rug. haha jk :) Still on the first house but I come full circle all the time on design ideas where I like something then think I like something else but I usually always go back to what I liked originally. And as many times as I may have tried to love something besides green – I just love it. It is my favorite color of all time.
Hubby asked if I’d ever want to build a house the other day and I my immediate response was No – not only do I love character from older homes but I love that they’ve got a hidden history. Some things you just know…haha.
Christina Bailey says
I guess when you know what you like, you KNOW what you like. haha….neat to see things come full circle.
Anja says
Well, that’s probably called personal style, right? Love both of your mirrors, by the way!
A similar thing happens to my sis and me. We sometimes go shopping (separately, that is) and we come home with the exact same thing. Some weeks ago I bought a pair of nice black pumps with a purple sole, flaunted them at some dinner we had, and she was like: “Yep, have them, too.”