The Starburst Mirror - OH NO!

...he's here, he's there
He's everywhere.
Is he in Heaven?
Is he in Hell?
That demned, elusive Pimpernel...

Geez, worse than the Scarlet Pimpernel, darlings!  They're not only here, there and everywhere - those Family Dollar Stores are in my Sunday newspaper and online too!  I couldn't believe it.  Tonight when I did a google search "budget decorating" guess what popped up!

AFFORDABLE HOME DECORATING FAMILY DOLLAR

EEK!

I have to say, I'm all for saving money when decorating my home.  Am I as budget-conscious as some of the ladies on the internet who have popular budget (and many that purport to be "budget" but really aren't) decorating blogs?  Hell no. 

I draw the line, for instance, on the MUST HAVE thingy for bedroom (more often than not, hanging above the head of the bed) decor, the Sunburst (or Starburst) mirror.  Guess what popped up on the home page of Family Dollar this evening:

It's big and it's only $10.  Gee, what a bargain.

And do you really want this in your home???  I don't.  Not because it's ugly, because it is not ugly.  I don't know what it looks like in person but I assume it's mostly spray-painted plastic.  That would be okay with me.  I have nothing against plastic.  I own many things made out of plastic, including my much-loved 1977 or 1978 bedroom suite that is partly made of "plastic" wood! 

My objection to this popular item is that tens of millions of people, all eager to be "fashionable," will have this or a similar looking mirror, at all price points, somewhere in their home.  Not because they like it, mind you, but simply because it is an "IT" thing to have in order to be "in," to be "cool," to be "fashionable" -- for the moment...

But - the point of decorating one's private, personal space is to BE YOURSELF! It is to reflect YOUR taste, YOUR vision, YOUR wishes, YOUR desires. Why, then, try to do an imitation of what the rich bitches do in the pages of Architectural Digest, and the geared-toward-the peon-middle-class-with aspirations-version, Traditional Home, and etc. etc.bring to the check-out stands at the local supermarket every month? I mean, really? 

I'm myself, and perfectly unique.  So anything I invite into my home, anything that I spend my hard-earned money on, is not because some rich person owns it or it showed up in some fancy-pants decorating magazine populated by the homes of gazillionaires.  Or even at Ikea. Or Anthropologie (they spell it wrong, of course.  How utterly de trope, darlings). 

You don't have to follow the "trends" just because everyone seems to be oooohing and aaaaahing over the latest thing.  You won't ever ever be truly satisfied with such things if you do that instead of being, pardon the cliche, true to yourself.

Learn how to decorate to satisfy your own personal heart and soul, and not because you're trying to stage a blog photo to compete with Architectural Digest or whatever. 

By the way, I do not believe that true to yourself changes every six weeks or so...  But hey, what do I know?