I started writing one half world in the fall of 2010. I have always been interested in design and in making things. When I was a little kid I used to draw houseplans on long car rides, and I loved going to antique shops and accompanying my mom and grandma to the fabric store. In college I learned how to sew. Once I got married, I learned how to cook and began decorating our first apartment and then our first house. We built our current house about three years ago, and I loved the whole process of customizing the plan, fixtures, finishes, colors.
I am also a wife, mother, teacher, and editor. But as much as possible I like to make time for projects, particularly for sewing, refinishing furniture, and looking for fun vintage finds.
I started one half world as a way to share my projects with family and friends who don't live nearby, but I also enjoy chronicling the intersection of design with our family life and home.
The title of the blog comes from Jane Austen's novel Emma. Emma's father, the hypochondriac Mr. Woodhouse, remarks that he can't understand why his young grandsons like being tossed up into the air by their (in his mind, reckless) uncle. Emma responds gently, "That is the way with us all, papa. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." I chose this title for the blog because it reflects my belief that design should be personal. What you choose for your home and your wardrobe doesn't have to come from the pages of a magazine or a fashion shoot. Live with the designs and the pieces that you truly love, and if the other half of the world doesn't love it as much as you do, that's okay.
Thanks for stopping by!
~ Nicole