New Blog Look: Lavender

This was something I had been wanting to do for a really long time: updating my blog theme/layout.

Before (August 27th 2015 – October 13th 2019):

After (October 13th 2019 – ):

*The white background behind the title may need to be less opaque,

but I'm not in a rush to change it now.

I initiated the design in July. My original plan was to reuse my actual blog layout at the time (now my old layout) because I liked its look and I thought I could easily change it by simply replacing and adding elements (border, header, background, etc.) without having to dig into the HTML in depth.
Apart from the aesthetic stuff, there were elements more related to the interface/navigation I also wanted to change. For example, I wished to add tabs on top of the page and change widgets (notably add my popular posts and remove my blogroll). I also wanted to have only one column instead of two columns surrounding the content. Thinking about how I could apply these changes to my current layout while also changing it as little as possible made me realize I should probably change plans.

I finally decided to use a premade layout and make minor changes to it. In all honesty, I felt a tad meh for not being able to add more custom stuff to it, but if I had chosen that path, I still wouldn't be done and keeping the same layout for another while definitely wasn't an option.

I chose the Picture Window theme. Even though I used a premade layout, the reason why it took so long to deliver the final product was solely because of the background. I began to draw it in July (the lavenders) and finished it yesterday on October 13th lmao (I didn't work on it every day since July though, thank God.) The border with the hearts in it was the final thing left to draw.
Although the background looks simple, I had a lot of difficulties designing it. This is like the 16th version without counting other ones deleted. Coming up with ideas wasn't easy, and then trying to draw what I had in mind was frustrating at times. Drawing one single leaf was in itself a big task for me. 💀

I was inspired to have a lavender theme blog because of a coord Fi.n.t posted this summer:

source

(It was actually another picture of the same coord,

but I could no longer find the source so I chose this pic instead.)

I loved the purple x beige pairing. On the picture I had seen, a lighter filter had been applied which made the blouse look paler and the coord look even prettier.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to buy the blouse (I waited too long), but it did give me inspiration for my background. It may look awkward right now since we're approaching winter (and it isn't the blooming season for lavender fields) but I don't think it's highly problematic.

I tried to not only use purples in my background and experiment with different colours such as deep blue and wine red, but I wasn't able to create something harmonious. I should probably work on varying colours better.
Apart from that, I miss my cookie border from my old layout a little bit and I wish I was able to add a cuter header with scalloped lace on both sides. However, I'm quite satisfied with the appearance overall. It looks soft and relaxing. I was so tired of seeing my tacky desserts on top of the page. The colours really didn't fit my taste anymore. Also, the navigation (tabs) and the organization of the widgets are so much better, everything looks cleaner now. And because applying the new layout involved transforming one blog post into a page, I actually managed to make this post my 100th blog post ✨ (which was my goal initially).