Spottie Dottie – Decorating

Do you remember Spottie Dottie? She was my favorite of the Sanrio characters. My sister always had Hello Kitty and I always had Spottie Dottie. It’s funny how when you’re young you have “claims” over things like that. We never mixed and matched characters – we each had our own. Just for the record, I always thought Spottie Dottie was cuter than Hello Kitty anyway...heck, she's a puppy who wears a pink bow...that trumps any old "cat" any day! And while at some point I would love to reminisce about my days with my younger sister and our “claiming” of fictional characters, instead today I wanted to talk about polka dots in clothes and how they translate into home decor.

To be completely honest, I’ve never really LOVED polka dots. Sure, they’re cute, but for some reason, even though I am always drawn to fun patterns on clothing, polka dots never really make me feel good when I wear them. Of course there are exceptions: The dark navy with tiny white polka dot satin pencil skirt that I my mom bought me at Benetton during my freshman year of high school…I loved that skirt, and dare I say it (since I was only a freshman in high school and probably 13 or 14 years old…), I felt sexy when I wore that skirt (ohh..I used Spottie Dottie and the word sexy in the same post...shame on me!). Maybe it was the satin fabric or maybe it was that I was a size 00, but when I slipped on a pair of kitten heels with that skirt (I went to private high school and we had to dress up) I just felt awesome…in fact, even now I wish I could wear that skirt.

I am also pretty fond of this black and white varying sizes polka dot skirt with its rick-rack trim and fun flirty cut (I wore it one day last week to work). I wouldn’t say that I feel “sexy” when I put this skirt on, but now that I’ve figured out how to wear it (belted with a simple black t-shirt tucked in and a great pair of heels…in this case, my Stella raffia heels) I love it even more. I felt fresh and cute when I put it on (and don’t you think my little black pup is the best accessory!?). And then there are one or two polka dot patterned tops that I like as well, BUT overall I am not a fan of “spotty dressing”.

Since I’ve been on a crazy “I-want-to-re-decorated-my-apartment” kick I have of course been noticing clothing trends translating into home trends…or I suppose, maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, it is sort of inevitable, right?! You want to dress yourself in beautiful clothing and you want to be surrounded by equally beautiful upholstered furniture or throw pillows, or home accessories that really pull everything together.

I don’t think that I will be incorporating many polka dot patterns into my upcoming design changes, but since I am a fan of the whole “mixing patterns” notion, I’ve been spying some polka dot accents in home inspiration photos that I think bring in a fun and playful pattern without really going overboard.

Let’s start small shall we?! And, while we’re at it, let’s start with inspiration in my favorite color…PINK! So how about just a simple, polka dot table cloth? This pink and white number is quite chic when paired with a fun table arrangement and beautiful benches filled with patterned pillows. Not to mention the amazing scenery! While I think this setting is adorable, I’m still getting too much of the cutesy vibe, and can’t really see myself incorporating, let’s say, a polka dot table runner into my decorating scheme.

Still a small accent, how about polka dot pillows? Can you spot them in the photo? What I love about this look is that it does take you a minute to realize that some of those accent pillows are actually made in a polka dot material. The tone on tone look is a nice way to bring in texture AND pattern without being too crazy and in your face. I would definitely consider adding something like this into my home space, but I would definitely keep it that tone on tone look.

Now I realize that these next two are nurseries, but a few more ways to incorporate the polka dot into your decorating could be through the curtains (probably a little too ‘WOW’ for my taste, especially in the very graphic black and white pattern). Our space has a lot of windows, but really only two “spots” where we can include curtains and as of now, polka dot material won't really work in the two spots we have available. I like the idea of the white and red polka dot baskets in this other nursery, but really, where am I going to have polka dot baskets in my apartment? Even while typing this I am already starting to get that feeling again…the feeling that polka dots just are too "baby-ish" for me.

Ahh…but here is ONE polka dot item that feels more New York apartment worthy rather than pacifier worthy. A polka dot, foot-of-the bed bench. Sure, it’s bold with the white spots really popping, but this to me feels more grown up, more doable. And those lucite legs....yes please! So chic!

So what are your thoughts on polka-dots? Fashion do and decorating must or fashion don’t and decorating bust?!