#1. Your house doesn’t have to win an award to be a home.
Friends, life is practice, and according to Malcolm Gladwell, you need to practice something for 10,000 hours before you can be an expert in a certain field. So, can I say I’m a decorating expert? Probably not. But, I can definitely tell you that I love to decorate. I have been obsessed with making a house feel like a home since my first apartment in college 15 years ago. I moved in a week before my five other roommates, and by the time they got there, the house was already decorated.
Can I say that the apartment won the award for the best decorated apartment in the complex? No. But, I can say that the apartment felt more like mine after I had spent a few days sprucing it up. So, stop stressing about the “perfect” home and just make a few changes to help your house feel more like you.
#2: You don’t have to spend a lot of money!
I love this quote. It speaks to my soul and I believe every. single. word.
#3 It is ok to redecorate!
I promise it’s ok to redecorate. Heck, I have decorated this spot in my house five times in the last five years. It’s a constant process for me to decorate a room. The room evolves over time, and your likes and dislikes change. There is nothing wrong with that so don’t stress about it.
#4: Decorating can be sentimental.
In 2012 one of my New Years resolutions was to be more sentimental. I’m not naturally nostalgic and I am still working on this character trait. But, one thing that has helped me in my efforts is remembering that decorations can be a great way to walk down memory lane. These Child Craft Books were in my house when I was little. So, every time I see them, I think about my childhood.
#5: Decorating can spread messages.
Every few days, I ask my kids if they know how much I love them. They always laugh and say, “YES MOM, we know you love us because you always tell us!” It’s true, I do try and tell my kids that I love them a lot. But, I can also communicate to my kiddos through my decorations. It’s my way of building their confidence subtly…
and without saying a word, my kids can see that I’m proud to be an American.
#6: Decorating can be a Hobby.
I’m not saying decorating should be at the top of your priority list, but it can be a way to relax and get a little “me” time. I enjoy searching for home décor accessories. So, if you aren’t one of those that loves to decorate naturally, then try to make it a small hobby for a little while and see if you like it. Like I said before, “Life is Practice,” so tell your husband that you need to go to Target by yourself one of these days just to look at the home décor stuff. It is so fun! Practice makes perfect!
This small candle tin is from Target and it smells so good! I went shopping by myself for an hour and that’s the only thing that I bought that day. I had a relaxing time walking through the aisles. It was heaven.
Well, thanks for coming to see my 6 favorite things about decorating! Check out all 24 other bloggers who are also participating in this fun “How to Decorate” series from Home Stories A to Z.
Day 1:
1. Beth, Home Stories A to Z: How to Find Your Decorating Style
2. Courtney, A Thoughtful Place: 5 Gallery Wall Styles
3. Stacy, Not Just A Housewife: How to Decorate with Plants
4. Myquillyn, Nesting Place: Turning a House into a Home on a Thrift Store Budget
5. Donna, Funky Junk Interiors: How to Turn Worthless Junk into Home Decorating Must Haves
Day 2:
1. Melissa, The Inspired Room: The Secret Ingredient Every Room Needs
2. Jessica, Four Generations One Roof: How to Decorate with Container Plants
3. Traci, Beneath my Heart: How to Style a Coffee Table
4. Cyndy, The Creativity Exchange: Tricks for How to Zone in on the Perfect Paint Color
5. Laura, Finding Home: 5 Ways to Personalize Your Home
3. Kim, Sand & Sisal: How to Decorate Coastal (without lookin’ all Margaritaville!)
4. Diane, In My Own Style: How to Decorate so You Feel at Home
5. Melissa, 320 Sycamore: 3 Decorating Truths in any Home
2. Rhoda, Southern Hospitality: Adding Architectural Interest
3. Lindsay, Makely: How to Decorate With Color and Not Feel Like You Live Under the Big Top
4. Jen, Jennifer Rizzo: Easy table top decorating with the display rules of 1-2-3
5. Heather & Vanessa, At the Picket Fence: Blue Home Decor Ideas …I’ve got the blues!
2. Marianne, Songbird: Decorating Tips from a Lazy Decorator
3. Jen, Tatertots & Jello: How to Decorate with Spray Paint
4. Brooke, All Things Thrifty: The Six Best Things About Decorating
5. Wendy, Shabby Nest: Making a Rental (or any space for that matter) Your Own
xoxo,
Brooke
Have a great weekend!
Oh I love this chest and the fabulous accessories. Great post and such good advice and encouragement to just do something fun.
All great points!
Where the heck did you get your USA wall decor. I NEED THAT!!!!!!!!
WHERE did you get that hutch?! Did I miss something? I love it! So much character! 🙂
Oh Brooke I loved this post so much. I suffer from a major case of what I call rearrangitis, and I make no attempts at finding a cure. I come from a military background so I crave change and new surroundings. Decorating and rearranging gives me the opportunity for constant evolution now that im settled in one place. I think decorating to show love is really powerful too. I bet not only can our children feel it, but so can everyone who enters our home. Im telling you there’s nothing better for your soul than some alone time wondering the aisles of your fav store. Target gets me everytime
I meant *your* children and *your* home. My keyboard was being finicky!:)
The most important thing in this house is our happiness – that is where we see wife / husband, father / mother, children and friends.
The decorations will mount family members, so please respect each person’s ideas. That’s how my family happy
But my house is like a flower garden – very glitzy: D
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
each time a comment is added I get several emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Appreciate it!
Mariel, I think you can do that in your email by unsubscribing at the bottom. Will you let me know if this is still an issue?
So happy to have found your blog as I am about to re-decorate. Thanks for these practical ideas.
We must be kindered sprits!
I grew up in a very neat and tidy home. Every item had its place and no knick nacks were allowed to be harmed. Nothing changed my entire childhood. Even now that my parents have moved, once mom got things set in place they will not be moved again. Lol
Me on the other hand, I am always improving my home. I have to everything in its place but I always find some better way to organise or display everything. My poor husband never knows what will be rearranged on any given day. His mom did it as a passive agressive way to irritate his dad. Thank goodness he doesn’t mind or we would have been divorced a long time ago.
LOVE this post! Thank you for the encouraging words. I absolutely love your wooden America sign!
And then to get to the bottom of this post and find all that amazing content! Wow…mind is going to explode with all the fun I am going to have reading all of those posts!