When you moved into your home, did you have a big dream for it? Pretty pantry. Curated closets. Swoon-worthy living space you'd love to have admired on social. Fast forward to now. Is your dream home realized? Or is it just hanging somewhere in your mind?
Original formal living room...turned bright, modern home office.
Life happened, right? And the reality of homeownership. Utilities. Insurance. Unexpected repairs. How can maintaining grass, a few trees, and shrubs take that much time (or money)? Owning a home is a much greater undertaking than anyone realizes and your experience with your space is not going to be like anyone else's. There’s no manual. It’s trial by fire.
And in putting out all the flames (hopefully, not literal ones), your dream dropped down the list and everyday life stuff took its place. Works. School. Activities. Most of these take place outside your home, lending another reason your dream keeps fading.
The thing is, when the day is done you do come home. And the first thing you probably want to do once you arrive is not think. You want to unwind. Rest. Relax. Breathe a little. You want your home to be so cozy and inviting you feel the stress of your day melt at the door. Instead, you take two steps in and see remnants of the morning rush because there isn’t a system to keep things in a practical place. The collective you scrambled to get going and left a trail in the process. Five steps more into the dated kitchen and you begin dreading dinner prep in the room you like the least yet find yourself in the most. You've concealed what you can behind cabinets, but their locations aren't intuitive. Everything's just the way it was when you moved in because, hey, you're tired, it’s familiar, and dodging from cabinet to cabinet counts as exercise, right?
You head for your bedroom to escape but that's another space you're stuck on. You’ve thrown money at whatever's trending to give this space a serene feel, but now it's a hodge-podge of patterns and colors stimulating your senses rather than calming. Your closet's even more exciting packed with clothes spanning decades, shoes mismatched and forgotten, and random items like luggage and linens filling the spaces in between. You’ve thought about hiring a pro to help organize it, but you’re too embarrassed at the thought of someone seeing it all. No time to ponder a declutter now. Quiet time before your kiddos arrive is short, so you head back down toward the family area, which ironically, just reminds you of kids! All the toys in all the colors. You’re so grateful for the walls around you but wonder when you'll finally see yourself reflected in them.
Sound familiar? If yes, you’re not alone.
Since 2017, our family room has evolved into a warm, inviting retreat with artwork, decor, and furnishing updates woven in (slowly) along the way.
Whether you own a house, lease an apartment, or rent a room, the space that greets you at the end of the day is yours and it should make you feel good. It should welcome you in, reflect who you are, and be so dang comfortable you don’t want to leave. The state of your space affects how you feel and what you choose to do. Without structure and organization, you’ll feel grumpy, weighed down, and lack energy and drive. A well-designed space serves YOU. It flows with your life and frees space in your mind to live the dream in your heart.
My home is on its own journey right alongside my family as we grow and learn every day. Little by little things land in a place that makes sense, feels right, and helps make our days run better. There are plenty of tweaks made along the way and each one is practice towards something better. I started the process of finding what feels good and works well for my family in our home and it's enabled me to pursue my purpose here to help you.
You deserve to feel good at home and you can make that dream of yours a reality...if you start small now.
One shelf at a time.
One drawer at a time.
Room by room.
where are you at in the process or
what's holding you back from starting?
Is it time, money, both, or something else? Maybe there's a lot of chaos right at your feet…and you can't imagine taking on another thing. Whatever comes to mind, tell me in the Comments below, and I hope this post gives you an opportunity to pause and consider what's possible for making that dream come true.
Always,
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