I’m so excited to be joining my sweet friend Bre in celebrating the launch of her new book, The Gift of Home.
It’s all about finding joy and contentment in every corner of your home and seeing the beauty in the everyday and learning to fall in love with your home again.
If you are stopping by for a visit from The Inspired Room, welcome. My blue and white living room are so happy that you are here.
Bre reached out to a group of bloggers with a challenge—to share what we love about our home.
Truth?
For me, learning to love my home is a journey sometimes.
Just between us do the rooms in your house ever get on your nerves?
Just a little?
Once a week at least?
Oh, good.
Come sit by me.
Last week I was generally fussy with my house. It was so messy after everyone left after the holidays. The house wouldn’t behave. It needed a haircut. It was extra sassy and needed its bangs trimmed. It was like me in 1997. Wearing highwaters and a poncho with dark roots that needed touching up.
And then?
I did something that COMPLETELY changed my perspective.
I pressed pause and stepped outside myself.
And my house.
I went outside the front door and rang my front doorbell and waited for someone to answer and then I walked inside.
Like I was a visitor.
Like I was just stopping by for sweet tea and conversation.
Like I had never met the house before.
Ever.
And when I walked inside, I looked at the house with new eyes.
I looked at all the blue and white in the living room and the navy color in the dining room and the rug that I adore and molding that has been there since I learned the multiplication tables and the blue and white striped chairs in the dining room and the flowers on the table and the blue and white pillows on the couch and the patterned bench that I found at a yard sale and the brass accessories and the cutest little marble side tables.
I looked at all that.
And ignored all the stuff that needs to be fixed.
I ignored the things that me and my high-watered, poncho-wearing, need-a-highlight self usually focuses on.
I ignored the negative.
Like it wasn’t even there.
And when I did that?
Something AMAZING happened.
Something I didn’t expect.
Something that made me laugh out loud.
Right then and there in the middle of my blue and white living room and my blue and white dining room, I fell in love with my house all over again.
It was like the first time I saw my future husband across the room with his brown hair and his smile and his twinkling brown eyes and his Members Only jacket.
My heart beat faster.
And it was love at first sight.
So today, I want you to try it.
I want you to go outside your front door and ring your doorbell and step inside your house like you’ve never met it before.
(BTW, I can literally feel you rolling your eyes at this moment).
I want you to walk inside and focus on what made you fall in love with your home.
The architecture.
The floors.
The windows.
That cute chair that you found by the side of the road.
I know it’s silly.
I get it.
I understand.
Just try it and see what happens.
Here are 25 simple, easy ideas to start loving your home today
(and most of them are free or almost free)
1. Add a grouping of vases to your dining table and fill them with leaves from the yard.
2. Switch out the pillows from one room to another.
3. Cover your books in craft paper.
4. Add a few pinecones to your rooms.
5. Open your curtains every morning and let the sunlight in.
6. Toss a throw over the back of a chair
7. Cover the buttons on the back of your dining room chairs like this.
8. Update an armchair in minutes with this simple tip.
9. Repaint a piece of furniture in your room in a happy color.
10. Place a tray on the center of your coffee table and add flowers and accessories.
11. Change out the lightbulbs in your room with soft white to make them cozier in winter.
12. Rearrange your furniture with a new perspective.
13. Add a baskets full of games or puzzles your living room.
14. Stack books next to a chair for an easy side table.
15. Fix the sagging couch cushions on your couch for summer with this simple tip.
16. Add a wreath to the front of your hutch.
17. Create simple no-sew drop cloth curtains like these.
18. Add pillows to your dining room chairs.
19. Spray your countertops with lavender spray.
20. Paint the back of your bookcase with a contrasting color like this.
21. Make no sew roman shades like these.
22. Shop your refrigerator and place a bowl of lemons on your kitchen counter.
23. Fold the towels in your bathroom and this cute way and place them on a stool.
24. Put together your favorite playlist and PLAY IT.
25. And lastly? Step outside your front door. Ring your doorbell. Meet your house again for the first time…
….and fall in love. 🙂
And now?
Be sure and stop by Claire Lynn At Home’s blog for even more ways to fall in love with your home.
You can read more about Bre’s new book, The Gift of Home here.
It’s all about breaking free from your decorating disillusionment and looking at your home from a new perspective. Bre has tons of ideas and inspiration to help you overcome the obstacles that keep you from trying new ideas, and be happy in the here and now as you transform your spaces into places filled with warmth, joy, and love. That way you can see your home the way it was intended—as a gift and a space to celebrate this amazing journey we call life.
She’s also giving away a book to one lucky reader. Simply click on the rafflecopter below to enter.
I totally agree with you! After the holidays my house was very unorganized. I love January because it gives me time, where everyone is back to school and work, to re-organize my home. I was able to re-organize the kitchen, the pantry and the family room. I feel refreshed after completing everything. Thank you for all your inspirations!
Love the idea of walking through your own house! We sold a few things on FBMarket and it feels so good to clear out stuff! Happy New Year! Your on my calendar for a few zoom calls this week! yay! Laura in Colorado
I need to try this! To see my home from a visitors perspective. I constantly only see the unfinished projects, the things I want to change or do - even though to most people my house looks amazing, I can't see it because Im always so myopically focused on what still could make it even better. . . Sigh, it's exhausting.
Michelle, me too. Always so self-critical. Never feeling like it is good enough, I'd actually been putting together a vision board of all the things I'd do for a total makeover. Got a good night's sleep and woke up with "fresh eyes", somehow. Realized just how much I love what I have, maybe just needs some rearranging, a few tweaks. Then I sat down and added up all the makeover would cost me, if I could even find those items right now. Went to the grocery store, bought a bouquet of fresh flowers ($6.99) and appreciated all I have.
Too cold and windy to try that trick in Michigan today! Sometimes when I get discouraged about my home, I'll start listing off everything we have done to improve and update it (or even pull out old pictures from when we first moved in). It's a good way to remind myself that we have indeed come a long way. Where would the fun be if everything was "done"? In related news, myscandinavianhome.com has an amazing before and after feature today.
Good suggestions, KariAnne! 😁 My condo has too much furniture and so at Christmas time, some small pieces went into the garage. Funny, I like the slightly less “full” look now. Although the other pieces are still in the garage! But to add to the rearranging confusion, all new windows are being installed tomorrow, so now each room has its contents shoved into the middle of each space to wait for the new sparkling window arrivals! The old wooden blinds will finally come down and lots of shiny new sunlight will sparkle through! Then I’ll get it put back together and look at my home from the front door approach! Thanks for your suggestions!
What a great idea!! I will have to try the doorbell approach! On my list this month, to still be accomplished, is the organization you shared last year for your linen closet. I have my pretty boxes with the cutest labels and my peony air freshener. As you like to say, "Let's go!" Even the unseen things can bring joy! Have a great midweek, friend!
Love this approach.
Love this simple free idea.
I like this idea and will try after the snow and ice are off the porch here in NC. Love your post and would like the source and paint color for the bookcases. Looks like the perfect color for my small island. also would like the source for the dining room rug as would like to try that one in my family room. Love all the multi colors. You are such a wonderful source for us all and your joy is just what I need on days like today. Thank you for sharing. Your posts are such a delight to read and always make me smile. Blessings,
I love January after all the holiday decor is neatly organized & stored away and my house is a bit bare for a few weeks. It’s always a great time for me to reorganize, clean out, refresh, rethink, rearrange, etc. Feels like I’m giving my house a breather, a rest. Such a great idea to try to see our home like a visitor! We all see the things we don’t like about our homes. The list of projects we want OR need to get done. Seeing the positives in our home is such a wonderful take. Thanks KariAnne (you little ray of sunshine you)!
I absolutely need to do this! I think it might happen automatically once we finish our kitchen renovation and I clean up all the construction dust!
I am totally going to do that. After the holidays I didn't really take everything down. I just edited and left the neutral and greens. Maybe it'll give me ideas on what to do next. lol
This is my first winter in my lake cottage. No decor patterns have been established. Christmas just got put away and I needed some of these ideas to help me find some winter solace here. Thank you!
I actually find myself doing this every time I walk into my house. We downsized considerably 3 years ago and I keep thinking my home is way too small- but in reality it is perfect for the two of us! And when we have company over we just know that we are closer in body and mind:) I love your blue living room as blue is my favorite color!
A fresh perspective is always good. Thanks for the tips and inspiration. Look forward to your daily post
Well, today I swapped out my dining room table runner - it's navy blue! That's about it! I too remember seeing my future husband for the first time - actually, I fell in love with a car in the parking lot at work so I sat in my car one night to see who it belonged to - turned out it was the cute guy in the cubicle across from mine! The rest, as they say, is history. I love all your suggestions.
Great post, totally agree. Love #8 updating armchair.
Great idea. Love looking at you home!!!
One of my favorite quotes attributed to William Morris remains in my heart & head, and applies to my home each & every day, and thus I am always in love with my home. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” A few seasonal tweaks or even a few small tweaks to more closely reflect my interests, moods, feelings and thoughts, and I & my home are wonderfully in synch and content. This is truly one of the joys of not following trends, fads and whatnot.
Thank you for the reminder. It's so easy to be critical of our house, I look at yours as that's my goal house! I know my house is beautiful and loved.
Long time fan of yours and your homes! I definitely love my home more ever since I started reading your blog and using your ideas!
It's too cold to go outside but I will start at the front door and see what happens. Thanks for these ideas and a blessed day.
Great advice, KA. We all need to love what we have and not constantly want more. It takes practice - and you are right - most of the best decorating comes from things like repainting an old piece, swapping out, using nature and fruit, etc. But if it is okay with you I think I will just imagine going outside to ring my doorbell cuz baby, it's cold outside. We got the best snowing the other day! ♥ I like the pic with you with those wicker balls- your top matches your home perfectly! : - )
Love all your great tips! My house and I are not in love with each other at the moment. We need a little help.
Great advice! We are in the middle of a big renovation so finding it hard to find much to love right now, just keep picturing the end result and focusing on enjoying the small spaces that aren’t in disarray. Thank you for always making me smile☺️.
Sometimes we just need to fall in like with our homes and appreciate what we have and then we will love it!!!
Love this approach! I do love my home and feel blessed to have it, but every once-in-a-while I play the compairasome game.
I find it easy to focus on what I would like to change in my cottage instead of the lovely things that first drew me to it. Thank you for the reminder to look for the positive!
I pretend and do this too, when I do a room or an area of my home , I come at it in different directions haha , that' when I know I got it right , Karianne this Aussie loves your blog and your beautiful home P.S I have blue and white rooms too soo clean and fresh
I love all of you our creative ideas to update and love our homes! And I always love seeing your blue and white…..especially the bookcase with the blue background and milk glass!!!
I love your dining room. Where did you get the rug? Thanks Susan
Such a good post for this time of the year, especially when you want to change to all new decor and the budget doesn't allow for it Lol! Thank you!
I have been following you for years...way before Instagram reels were even 'a thing'. I love how you now live in a house you grew up in and the little tidbits you share about your childhood experiences in this home! The photos are as beautiful as always!
I wish we were neighbors! But I guess the blog is the next best thing. I love decorating for holidays and never knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. At 71 I guess it is being a mom and wife and loving my house and family! What a great idea to walk through your home. Mine is currently like a warehouse because after our move we have left things in boxes while we remodel the kitchen and bath. Then family crisis put it on the back burner. But when I can I will be doing that walk through! Great job on your blog.
This post contains such great info! Thank you
helpful info
At this moment I still have some Christmas bins downstairs. I hope to get all that stuff in the attic this weekend. Then I feel like I can appreciate my home's good points without all the Christmas clutter.
Love this post, KariAnne! Great perspective. Some days I love our home & otherdays I only see the list of to do’s.
It is not silly at all....Perspective is everything. In our home and in our lives. This post is a great reminder:)
I fell in love with my home without one eye roll!