5 ways i hope to help you

I don’t know how you wound up here in this tiny corner of the internet, but welcome. I’m glad you’re here. My purpose in creating this space is to tell you about what I’ve learned over the years in creating a warm and comfortable home. It’s so nice to have a space that friends and strangers can enter and (almost) immediately feel at ease. Too that end, what is notably missing in our home is any piece of furniture or lamp or piece of china that is monetarily very valuable or “precious”, as my mom would say. If something gets broken or damaged, that’s OK. Homes are made to serve people, not the other way around.

If you are like me, being inspired by home decor images on TV shows or social media or even print magazines is your happy place. And then you think about the groceries you need to buy or the bills you need to pay and think, how can I ever afford to make my home look beautiful when I’m barely keeping my head above water financially?

Look, I hear you. So here’s 5 ways I hope to help you:

1. Doable DIYs. DIY equals do it yourself, and whether we like it or not, doing things ourselves is going to save us money. Even when we screw up and have to pay someone to fix our mistake, starting with DIY is the best way to go. If nothing else, we learn valuable life lessons of what we’re not very good at and hopefully have a good laugh about it once we’ve recovered. I will say up front that I am not a licensed electrician, plumber, carpenter or contractor, so anything I tell you is just one friend to another. You’re not going to want to hire me to run wiring or ductwork in your home anytime soon. But having said that, you will find that there is a lot of work you can do on your own, or with the help of a friend. Research! Ask a knowledgeable friend! Watch all the YouTube videos. That is what I do. I will be sharing some DIY projects that I’ve done in the past, and I’ll also bring you along with me as I embark on new DIY adventures. My goal is that what I share will encourage you to try some projects for yourself!
2. How to Shop Your House. Have you ever been cleaning out a room or a closet and picked something up and thought, “Wow! I totally forgot I even had this!” Whether it’s a beautiful sweater or a picture frame, we all have items in our home collecting dust that could be used in new and inspiring ways. My second goal on this blog is to help you look at what you already own with fresh perspective. I routinely ransack other rooms or our basement storage on a treasure hunt. I know that I have a space that needs a little love, and often I can find something that’s been neglected or overlooked. Just give whatever it is a good cleaning or a fresh coat of paint and voila! It has a brand new life.
3. If it’s not in your house, shop secondhand. I love a good thrift store. I also love a yard sale. And you never know what you will find at an estate sale or on Facebook Marketplace. There are so many places to shop for furniture and decor that are no longer used by their current owners. When you shop secondhand, you are being kind to Planet Earth and you are being a good steward of your money. And personally, I love that collected look that can only come from adding items to your home that have history and patina. I honestly think that even if I had an unlimited home renovation budget, I would still shop secondhand for most of my design needs. It just makes so much sense, and the old adage is true: They don’t make ’em like they used to.
4. Perspective on Hospitality. Whenever I watch home decor or home improvement shows, it seems like the prospective home buyers are always saying, “Oh, we love to entertain.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone say, “Actually, we prefer to keep people out of our homes. We never have anyone over; the very idea makes me shudder.” And that’s because we were made for community. Made for it! Even the most withdrawn introvert in the world needs to engage with other people. And our homes are such a sweet space to invite people into. I’ll tell you a little story: for years, I was so embarrassed by how shabby and dirty our home was that I dreaded having people over. And I would be angry with my kids and my husband as we all frantically swept and picked up clutter and dusted. Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not the best housekeeper. I have chosen reading books or watching TV over sweeping and dusting, and those choices can sometimes be very apparent! But here’s the BIG TRUTH I want you to walk away with: it just doesn’t matter how clean or beautiful your home is. It really doesn’t. And even though we’re here on this blog to talk about how to make your home a warm and welcoming space, it’s not so much about what’s on your walls as what’s in your heart. “Entertaining” is a terrible word for inviting people over. We are not a show or an act: we are friends who love to listen to and laugh and eat with anyone who walks through our door. It’s so important when we think about home decor that we remember that it really isn’t the main thing. Loving and listening to people, that’s the main thing. It took me a long time to learn that lesson.
5. Inspiration and Resources. I have found that the best way to get a look that I know I will love is to find pictures of rooms that really speak to me. I squirrel them away like little nuggets of gold in my Pinterest account or save them on Instagram or I even have a notebook of magazine clippings that I still add to, even in this digital age! The more you save inspirational ideas, the more you come to understand what your personal style is. And as we break down what makes a space beautiful, the wheels start turning in our brains: Hmmm, do I have a table about that size? Could I paint it or refinish it to get the look I’m going for? Could I add some decor to this wall that is similar to the beautiful art in this photo? Instagram and Pinterest can either inspire us or cause us to envy and be discontented with our own home. Friend, resist the urge to compare. Be thankful for what you have. AND get excited about using what you have, using your skills to DIY and using secondhand finds to squeeze every cent out of a tiny budget to create a home you love and love to share.