On the Flip Side

I was catching up on the blogs I follow today and I came across an interesting idea from In My Own Style.  She used a mirror to look around at her home with a new perspective.   Our brains are used to seeing things they way they always are… so this will allow you to see things in a new light!  I figured I could employ the same concept with a photo manipulation program, so I used Gimp to flip the photos of my house. And here is what I saw:

The kitchen:  I think it looks really cool.  I actually see the table and chairs in the corner of the frame which I normally would just look right past.  And I like them this way. :) Go figure!

The living room:  Again I notice the thing in the corner, the stair railing.  It makes it obvious that you just came up the steps into this room.  I also think this angle looks like the lamp is the focal point of the room.  Hmmm… that corner is kinda bland…  Also I think it looks bright and inviting!

The master bedroom:  This room basically looks the same to me.  Maybe it’s the symmetry of the nightstand and art on the walls.  But it also makes me feel that the corner is pretty dark…. Maybe Michael’s side needs a big lamp with a white shade to balance with the front one?

The guest bedroom:  This angle makes me realize that our bedrooms are set up exactly the same with the bed on the wall opposite the door.  Am I stuck in a rut? :)  I also notice the view out of the right window more in this view.  You can see the neighbor’s yard…

The den:  Here is where my love of symmetry pays off.  This room feels almost the same to me flipped.  Except perhaps I need something tall (like a leaning mirror or art piece) on the turquoise dresser to mirror the height of the mantle?  Or what about one of those tall ficus trees in that empty corner?  That would be lovely!  (Except Bandit’s cat tower lives there normally.. haha!)

The exterior:  I like this one the best.  There are lots of houses like ours in the neighborhood, some of them are flipped versions of ours, so I can imagine this one easy!  This view makes me realize that our crepe myrtle in the front yard is pretty pathetic looking.  Nothing to do about that but wait for it to grow!  I also see that the side of our house is pretty visible.  Maybe I should get a pretty potted plant to brighten up the space between the doors?  Or plant something colorful along the house foundation next to the grass?  It also reminds me that I still need to paint the shutters black!! :)

I can’t believe what a difference it makes looking at your home from a new perspective.  Of course unless you know my house as well as me, you might not appreciate the differences here.  But you can try it with your own house and see if it helps!