Creating a Home You Love
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had my fair share of decorating mistakes through the years in my process of learning to love where I live. There have been paint colors that didn’t turn out exactly how I planned. Furniture I regretted purchasing. The country blue and red kitchen with goose wallpaper was a definite favorite in the 80’s, but looking back I wonder what in the world I was thinking!
The Bold and BeYoutiful
Truth be told, there have been hair colors that didn’t turn out exactly how I planned. I remember one time when I was 9 ½ months pregnant (Yes, you read that correctly! Can you relate?) and I wasn’t feeling very pretty. I was having a baby shower and I just wanted a new look. In a weak moment, I cut off all my hair and bleached it. To top it off, my outfit of choice was this beauty-hot pink with giant black polka dots. But you know what? In that moment? It was me! I loved it! I can laugh about it now, but I loved it then.
Common Home Design Roadblocks
What holds you back from decorating your home and making it your own?
- Fear
- Finances
- Comparison
- Decision Deficit
I get it! I have been there. With Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Hobby Lobby, magazines, and of course blogs flooding us with ideas on how to decorate and manage our homes, it’s no wonder that we sometimes don’t know where to begin. It’s understandable that we feel pressure to have perfectly decorated, organized, and clean homes all the time.
4 Tips to create a home you love:
I want to tell you something that will hopefully be good news. Be-YOUtiful! What in the world does that mean?
- Don’t be afraid to fill your home with things that YOU love! Don’t be afraid to try new colors, new designs, but always do it because YOU love it not just because it is trendy!
2. Be resourceful. Use what you have wisely. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to decorate your home. You can even shop your own home! How do you do that? Take an item and reinvent a use for it. For example, I have a vintage kitchen scale that I used on my front porch for my fall decorations. I put a pumpkin on the scale and it was so cute in my fall decor!
3. STOP comparing your decorating, your home, your anything with what anyone else has or what you see on social media platforms. Sure, use those ideas to boost your creativity, but do not allow what you see others do to make you feel less about yourself. Love YOUR life! It is a gift from God, it’s yours, and it is beautiful!
4. Utilize resources, tools, professionals, friends, etc., for inspiration/advice on decorating and managing your home and then MAKE those decisions. Take the leap! Enjoy your home and the journey of making it a place of blessing for your family and others and don’t let it cause you stress.
I want to hear your stories, too. You know the story about the china hutch that was your grandmother’s and you refinished it for your dining room. Or the story about the quilt that was made by your aunt and passed down through the family and now drapes over the arm of your rocking chair. As I write this, I have a side table that sits in my living room that I bought for about $50. It was canary yellow when I bought it and did not match anything in my house. With a little creativity and elbow grease, it is now an adorable chalk painted table that I love. Those types of pieces make your home special because they are a part of you. I want to encourage you today to love your home because you are Be-YOUtiful!
Loved reading your post! My home is also filled with ‘treasures’ that were lovingly passed down to me. Every time I look at them I feel a connection and the love that they represent. Everything from something as simple as my mother’s wooden spoons to my grandmother’s quilts. I even have an old butter churn that my parents had, and the story my dad told was that at 3 years of age, it was his job to churn the butter (to which he added a job he hated!! lol)! My dad died a few years ago at the ripe age of 96, so that little churn gives me a snapshot of what his early life was like! All these things make our home a “home”, not just a house. They add love and warmth and interest, are great conversation pieces and tiny ‘time capsules’ that allow us to connect with our memories!
Colleen, thank you so much for sharing your BeYOUtiful story! What a wonderful treasure you have to remember your dad by. I totally agree that it is these special “treasures” that help fill a home with love and memories. I would love for you to share a picture with us and I will post it to the blog. You can email it to [email protected]. Blessings to you!
Jana
I love these ideas Jana. I wanted a different dining room table and breakfast table. I already had both but really wanted more of the farmhouse look but I couldn’t afford those purchases. So I did what you suggested. I painted them with a mineral chalk paint. They both now compliment the spaces so much better and all I had to do was spend $21 for the paint and $10 for the bush, which I can reuse on other future projects.
Keep using your gifts and talents that the Lord gave you, and thank you are sharing them with us. Love your blog and your heart for the home.
Much love from Rosenberg, TX
Veronica Gonzalez
Hi my BeYOUtiful friend!! Thank you for sharing about your table! I would love to see a picture. I am sure they turned out beautiful! Veronica, if you will send me a picture I would love to share it on the blog! Love you!
Jana