Iused tohave this problem with throw pillows and I’m guessing I’m not alone.Iʼdbe strolling throughTarget andbeforeI realizedit,therewould bea couple of throw pillows thatapparently leaped into my cart.
Okay,sothatʼsnot really the whole problem–the real issue startedwhen Iwouldget the pillow home and for one reason or another,thenew pillowwasjust not fitting in with the crowd. Like, I thought it would look way better sitting on my sofa than it does.WherewasIgoingwrong?
I am happy to announce that Ihavesolved this problemand now I am super excited to share the solution with you! The formula that I am going to sharereally works! And thebest part is,all that pillow hoardingyouʼvebeen doing over the past few years is going to come in handy becauseyouʼrenot going to have to head out to buy new pillows.You’ll justuse the ones you already have on hand.
1.Mix sizesThis one is important. You want big pillows and little pillows, not just for looks but also for comfort.
2.Mix shapesThis is probably one of the mistakesI see my clients make the most. Oftentimes,peoplewillpick all square pillows and thenthevignette just falls flat. For visual interest,youʼvegot to have,at the very least,a square and a rectangle, toss in a round one and you’re golden!
3.Mix patternsThescaleof the pattern on the pillowsshould vary. If youhavea pattern with a large scale,you want to make sure to pair it with a pillow that has a small or medium pattern. This ensures that the patterns will complement each otherinstead of competing.
4.Choose a color palletPick a color pallet and then stay in that pallet when choosing your throw pillows.
5.Add textureTexturecan make or break a vignette.Toss in some chunky texture next to something smooth like velvet–it makes the design come alive!
6.Shoot for an odd numberOdd numbers are going to be more visually stimulating than even,so the optimal number of pillows for your sofa willbethree,five,seven,ornine.
Now that you’ve got some guidelines to work with, I encourage you to gather upall ofyour throw pillows and style your sofa like a pro. For moreinspo,check out the pillows we have listed in our online store, or come see us in person at our Occidental or Sebastopol locations.
If you’re curious about my journey and how I went from waiting tables to an established small business owner then keep reading because I am gonna take you way back to where it all began.
oh crap, that crazy dream I had actually worked.
It’s been over 7 years since I got the keys to my first-ever brick and mortar shop. 7 years! The journey has been truely one of the most transformative things I have ever done in my life. It’s pretty freakin awesome to look at something that I created and be like oh crap, that crazy dream I had actually worked. Jaw drop moment.
Boho Bungalow way back in the beginning when we sold vintage furniture and went by the name, Vintage By Design
Jeff and I were living in Costa Rica when we correctly prophesied that if we didn’t get back to California and buy a house quickly we would be priced out of the market.
So I guess the story really begins in 2010. My husband Jeff and I were living in Costa Rica when we correctly prophesied that if we didn’t get back to California and buy a house quickly we would be priced out of the market. So we packed up our dog and all of our most precious belongings and headed back to California. I had been living out of the state and country since I had moved to Hawaii 14 years earlier when I was 17 years old. Though California has always felt like home, it had been a minute since I was an official resident.
Our first year in business when we sold vintage furniture
I did what I had to do until I could do what I wanted to do.
We purchased a 1990’s ranch house on 7 acres of land in the nowhere town of Cazadero in Sonoma County. It was all very lovely, save for the fact that we were kinda in the middle of nowhere, and there was very few employment opportunities. I really wanted a job in architectural 3D drafting. I applied to every architectural company in the area but the timing was terrible, and me resumé wasn’t that exciting. So I followed Oprah’s words of wisdom and I did what I had to do until I could do what I wanted to do. I got a job waiting tables at a restaurant, it payed the bills. After almost 2 years of that, I was starting to feel desperate to make a change.
More before photos from our vintage furniture days
I had become pretty skilled at buying furniture on the cheap and fixing it up.
I ended up giving notice with absolutely no plan and no safety net. I kinda had a vague idea about wanting to flip furniture. We had just moved into a big house and with virtually no budget for furnishings, I had become pretty skilled at buying furniture on the cheap and fixing it up. I really enjoyed it and I wanted to see if I could turn my furniture side hustle into my full-time income source. I didn’t have a super clear vision of what that would look like, but I was determined to make a go of it.
Looking back there was probably a little bit of kismet or fate at play because I didn’t go around looking for store fronts. I was just driving through Occidental one day when I saw a for-rent sign. I signed a lease and bam, I had a storefront. Now the story is far from over because the store that I opened 7 years ago is dramatically different than the Boho Bungalow you know today.
Back when we were Vintage By Design and had like 5 things in the store, lol
Everything about the shop has changed, even our name.
Everything about the shop has changed, even our name. We opened as, Vintage By Design, because I sold vintage furniture, so yeah that made sense. Now people naturally assume that since I completely changed my name and my inventory that selling vintage furniture was probably a bust, and they wouldn’t be completely wrong, but I have to say depending on the yard stick you’re using, in some ways it was wildly successful. Not to get too far into the ends and outs of retail, but essentially one of the ways to measure the health of a retail business is by how many times a year they turn their inventory. The standard turn rates is about 4 turns per year. The more turns the more successful the store is. Currently we do between 4 to 5 turns per year, which is healthy. But you guys my vintage furniture store did 10 to 12 turns a year which is bonkers. But you know why it wasn’t a sustainable business even at that turn rate, it’s because I was super limited in the amount of inventory that I was able to source. I was combing through craigslist adds, showing up at every flea markets and estate sales and I could never amass enough inventory to reach my goals. Another kicker was just how labor intensive moving that amount furniture is. It was just me and my little black pick-up. I would travel all over the Bay Area wheeling and dealing for vintage coffee tables and teak rockers, it wasn’t the worst and it felt truly amazing that I was able to carve out a demand for this business I created, but after a few years the hours upon hours of driving and the volume of stuff that I was moving just got to be too much. So I made some major changes to the inventory I offered and that’s essentially how we became the Boho Bungalow. It’s not the store I set out to create, but I believe it was always meant to be this way, and I couldn’t be more in love with the end result.
Hey! It’s me Faith, just working at my shop
7 years later, with 6 employees, 2 brick and mortars, over 7,000 Instagram followers and an online shop I feel like I am an established business owner
Now this is just some quick snippets that doesn’t begin to tell of all the failures, life lessons and learning that happened between here and there. But now, 7 years later, with 6 employees, 2 brick and mortars, over 7,000 Instagram followers and an online shop I feel like I am an established business owner and gosh darn it I am proud of that! I have so many plans to grow and so many goals that I am striving for, but I am terrible at taking a step back and saying look at this phenomenal progress, you did this!
Even more to the point is that there’s nothing that uniquely qualified me for this position. There are dozens of more reason why this shouldn’t have worked. And yet somehow, I was just scrappy enough to pull this one off.
What about you? Are you scared that you’re not qualified to be the person you dream of being? I wasn’t about to use that as an excuse for going after what I wanted and you shouldn’t either.
Join your hosts, Julia Cipollone and Faith Parker, for a fun evening of creating!
In
this class you will design your own friendship bracelet, with the
assistance and instruction of Julia from Topaz and Pearl Jewelry. You
will leave with a finished product to keep for yourself or give as a
gift.
This class is free to our valued customers. Registration is required and space is limited. No purchase is necessary, but we recommend bringing cash for material upgrades and add-ons.
We want to make your shopping experience a breeze this holiday season. For that reason we’ve created this holiday gift guide that features Sonoma County’s most talented makers.
Beer Candles
Due to the fact that guys love beer, we think they’ll love Jackie’s soy wax beer candles. Her candles are always in high demand at the Boho Bungalow, because she uses an edible grade of 100% soy wax and scents them with heavenly aromas.
Handmade Earrings
Sonoma County native, Georgia Dwyer, designs and crafts stunning original jewelry from her Sebastopol studio. For that reason she tops our list of must-have gifts this 2018 Holiday Season.
Soy wax Candles
My dear friend and neighbor, Kristie Sheets, is the founder of the rapidly growing candle company, Local Yokel. She crafts her candles in small batches with meticulous care using the finest ingredients, consequently her product is a crowd favorite. For that reason we think her candles make the perfect gift for anyone on your list!
Carefully Crafted Jewelry
Julia of Topaz and Pearl creates unique handcrafted jewelry pieces for the modern bohemian. As a result her jewelry makes it easy for even the fashion novice among us to exuded effortless style and pull off that layered look with confidence.
Modern Brass Jewelry
Probably because Amano Studio delivers style, quality and innovation at a price we love, they have become a consistent favorite among our staff and customers.
CBD Salve
Give the gift of health this season with Bonnie’s cannabis salves, bath salts, and drops. Our customers love these products because they treat a long list of ailments which include; sore mussels, arthritis, anxiety and sleeplessness.