TMI

Another day, another fun activity on our visit to my mom in the Twin Cities. This morning we headed over to the Bachman's Spring Idea House, a self-guided designer showcase home all gussied up in the latest decorator trends. Visiting the place as it is completely transformed three times a year is a local tradition, but to us out-of-towners it was a novel experience.

And it could have been a little overwhelming, but fortunately for me, they handed out brochures as we entered which gave an overview of the history of the house as well as a spotlight list of the notable features in each room, which turned the whole experience into a Where's Waldo of home decoration. Mantle covered in faux ceiling tin? Right there! Galvanized wall bucket as toilet paper holder? I see it! Salvaged wood used as valance? There it is!

In every room I searched for the items they mentioned on the list, and as I found them I not only noticed other things, but I also began to make thematic connections between materials, colors, and other choices the designers had made.

Having a tool to help me organize and make sense of all that information made a huge difference. As a teacher, I design such resources all the time, but today I got to see how valuable they really are!