If you missed the introduction to this series, go here to read about it.
We bought our first home 4 years ago during a crazy season of life. My husband had just finished nursing school, started his new job and we had just had our first son. When we first moved in, all we did was paint the nursery. We didn't have time for much else.
I remember at some point during our first year, after the newborn fog was lifting a little, I made a list of everything I would love to fix and change in our home. My list included things like painting, replacing cabinets in the kitchen, ripping up the carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors underneath, and replacing our yellowed blinds. Our home was built in 1926 and renovated in 2005 but it still needed some changes to make it a home.
This list didn't even include all of the decorating our place needed. While owning our own home was exciting and I had lots of ideas for it, our budget was small and our time was limited as a new baby was demanding. In my head I had all of these ideas and felt the urge to create a space we loved ASAP. And while I love shows like Fixer Upper, they didn't help my urges.
I am a creative and visual person so I had a tough time embracing things the way they were. I also struggle with contentment and so I may have complained (don't ask my husband how much😏). But over time I have come to learn (and am still learning) to embrace what we have. For me, that has meant embracing our couch that didn't match until I could find one that we could afford, letting go of floating shelves in the kitchen and a farmhouse sink and painting our cabinets instead, embracing our carpet and decorating around it until we have time and funds to rip it up and refinish the hardwoods underneath and embracing our season with little ones where certain things have to be put away for now.
Making your house a home is a journey. On that journey there are limititations, seasons of waiting and seasons of letting go for now. There are seasons of getting creative with what you have and making the most of it and seasons where funds allow for bigger projects.
I have found that the limitations have forced me to grow in contentment and also have grown my creativity of using what we have.
When I create art for others' homes, I want to create pieces that add beauty as well as help celebrate and tell their story. My hope for this blog series is to also help and inspire you in your journey of making your house a home. Although Joanna Gaines is my BFF (she doesn't know it yet😉), I am not an interior designer. But I am creative and resourceful and I hope to inspire you to make the most of what you have and the season you are in.
Stay tuned for more posts with helpful tips. To be sure you don't miss any, sign up for my newsletter here and have them sent directly to your inbox!
Leave a comment