Five ways to make your new house feel more like a home:

June 28, 20197 Comments

We’ve moved into a new house, I know I’ve mentioned it a time or two, but I’ve been surprised at what it takes to make a house feel like home. Obviously a lot of it is time, those first few nights there you’re still waking up wondering where you are, but even after that passes and it starts to feel like home, you notice that certain things are missing. It’s a layering process, and it’s been interesting to learn. So here are somethings I’ve noticed help make a house feel more like a home:

Rugs, blankets, and textiles galore: One of the big things I knew I wanted but couldn’t get for a few weeks was a rug for our living space. The room felt incomplete without it, because with an open floor plan, there was nothing defining the space. I didn’t think getting a rug would make it feel more like home, but it did. It did so because it made it feel finished, sure, but also because it added a layer of personality and comfort. There was something softer about the space that made you feel more relaxed once it dampened the echo and gave your bare feet a break. I also picked the rug, so it felt like me, and that helped it feel like my home. I think pillows and blankets can do the same thing. Things that bring us comfort help make a room feel cozy. They’re important.
Bring personal items front and center: It’s easy to want to buy all new stuff for a space, most of us can’t afford that, so we like to decorate with the new stuff. Decorative items are cheaper than new furniture so it’s easy to replace them and change them out, but a lot of our decorative items from the past help make our place feel like our own. I’m not saying not to buy new, I’m just saying to put those personal items in the front and use the new stuff to fill in. The amount of people I see run off to Hobby Lobby and come back with all their house decorations is startling. There is nothing wrong with pieces from chain stores, but you need to make sure you have your memories mixed in.

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How to Display your Trinkets:

June 7, 2015May 21, 20162 Comments

We all collect things from travels, thrift finds, and who knows what else. We’re sure we need them in our lives, but we realize while trying to put them up… they’re actually trinkets and not too terribly necessary. But they are memories, and we don’t want to lose them. So how do you go about displaying them together without it looking like a cluttered mess?

Play with height: If everything is eye level you get clutter, an easy way to keep from doing this if your stuff is all the same height is to use books or old full journal to stack your stuff up. It gives it interest, and you can put little things on the layers too, like my random stone and glass animals. Height gives your shelves a more thought out appearance and keeps the eyes from getting over whelmed.
Cluster: Don’t cluster by color unless you’re doing complimentary- when things are all the same color they get lost. Don’t cluster by size for this same reason. In fact, cluster the opposite of these things, and you can cluster by trip and our relevance to each other.
Glass it up: I love putting things in glasses! I have my sea shells from St. Martin in little martini glasses and Mardi Gras beads in a hurricane glass I got a drink in from Bourbon Street! It keeps all those little things contained and where you can see them!
Mix Materials: Don’t just layer glass and glass, mix wood, plastic, pottery, you name it, it gives it texture and interest!
Every Other: Mine are floating shelves so this isn’t usable in mine, but if you’re doing it on a bookshelf, use a shelf for books and then one for trinkets and then one for books, that way you get function out of things too and it doesn’t seem like your collecting souvenirs.

The New Hope Chest:

May 12, 2015May 21, 2016Leave a comment

You’ve heard about hope chests, haven’t you? Well, if you haven’t they’re an old tradition where a mother collects a big chest fill of things for her daughters future house. Now, my mom has a few things that she’s going to give me, but it isn’t the same. People are buying everything new, mothers aren’t normally cranking out handmade linens. It’s just not a super common thing anymore. Well, as a 20 something year old hope chests mean something else. I have friends who still live at home and are planning to move out at sometime. They’re creating hope chests. They’re collecting stuff for the life they want. It’s like dressing for the job you want in a way. Imagining what will be, setting yourself up a little at a time.

Moving out and getting an apartment is hard if you don’t have a start up kit, and that’s what hope chests can become. You’re paying for things over time instead of all at once, and they don’t have to just be for homes, though the home one is what I have, I know that some women do them with baby stuff. You can do them with any real life style changes you are getting ready to make. Changing career? Moving states? Traveling the world? Get creative with it. Don’t count on just your mother for some hope.

Interior Inspiration: Farm House Style.

January 23, 2015May 21, 20162 Comments

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ya’ll may not know, but ever since I was about 13, my goal in life when it came to home ownership, was to “live in a white house with a front porch”. The exact details have shifted a bit in time. When I was 13 it was going to be located in a neighborhood like the one I grew up in. Now it’s more located outside of town, within a short drive, with a big yard, maybe enough land to have a horse or two out there with me. Long in short I went from wanting a more suburb styled house to a farm house, just in the same color with a front porch.

Well, the older I get the more and more I find myself interested in design and the more time I spend binge watching HGTV and DIY (want to watch something with this taste? Fixer Upper, it’s a favorite. Also, Rehab Addict). So I thought I’d share some of my favorite style inspirations. It’s clear to say they’re farm house inspired. The only real conflict with my taste? I’m hoping for kids some time in the long run, and, I’m in love with white interiors. Talk about hand prints, constant repainting, and bleach.

What’s your style? Does it match your lifestyle? Where do you pull inspiration from?