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Toile is gorgeous. Gingham is devine. I love, love, LOVE lace and damask, but an old worn quilt and a buffalo plaid blanket makes a bed feel especially cuddly.

What’s an undecided decorating girl to do when essentially everything appeals? Well, for years I forced myself to stick to one style or another. I denied myself some lovely, lovely things simply because I had convinced myself that these objects d art just don’t fit. And, you know what? My home was BORING!

These days — if I love it, it comes home with me. Whether it be rustic, Victorian, cottage, American German or French — it will find a place, some place, in my home. Fortunately, there’s a name for this mish-mash style. It’s called ECLECTIC.

My, ah — well, let’s call it a desk set. It’s a great example of eclectic style.

An old rustic cream cheese box holds note pads, a crystal rose bowl keeps writing utensils handy and a tarnished silver trophy contains scissors and letter opener. All of these sit on a very worn and very tarnished silver tray. I can easily move all of it when I need more room on my desk top.

And if you think that’s fancy, just take a gander at my paper clip holder.

Yes, that is a 70′s era pink Gooseberry Pyrex refrigerator dish — and it works perfectly as a paper clip holder.

Eclectic has always been in style, really.

My grandmother’s farmhouse was a classic example. Old wooden bowls filled with leavening dough often sat on the massive oak kitchen table, and the finest German lace hung in the parlor window. Her nightgowns featured hand-stitched Hardanger lace necklines, yet she slept under an ancient quilt that her mother made from salvaged pieces of settler clothing.

So, don’t be afraid to mix styles. And don’t let anyone tell you that it “doesn’t go”. Trust me, if you love it, it goes!