day 16: a home you want to spend time in.

I believe a life of Purposeful Simplicity and enjoying your house go hand in hand and here’s why: Part of simplifying your life is learning to be at peace with being at home. Now before you write me off saying, “Well easy for you, you’re a home schooling stay-at-home mom,” just bear with me for a second.

Even if you work 60 hours a week or drive kids to and from school, I still believe home can and should be a place of rest. I believe a simple life is one in which we grab pre-made food and make Target runs less and spend a smaller percentage of our day racing from activity to activity (I’m not saying never, just less).

A simple life is one in which whole hours of down time – and by that I mean just being at home – are scheduled into our week. For rest. For hobbies. For spending time with our family. For inviting people over. For meeting our neighbors while taking an after-dinner stroll.

My passion is for everyone’s home to be a restful, cozy, inspiring place. Even if you rent your house or apartment and can’t paint your walls or live in 500 square feet, even if you have zero interior design skills, you can enjoy your home.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. When people say they dislike their house, my first two suggestions are: 1. De-clutter, and 2. Put a plant or jar of flowers in every room. Those two activities cost next to nothing, and I promise they’ll change the feel of your home.

2. When it comes to de-cluttering, just start with one space in your home at a time. Tackle your linen closet one day, your master bath the next, etc., etc. Make a bag for a yard sale or Goodwill donations, a bag for trash, and hack away. I read on a design blog that if you try and try and absolutely can’t ever keep back the mess, you have too much stuff.

3. Let go of your desire for a magazine or Apartment Therapy-worthy house; instead find out what’s pretty and calming for you and learn to enjoy that. Your style may not be trendy or be what someone else loves, and that’s okay!

A good way to start making your place feel cozy is to display items that have special meaning to you. For me, this is often a piece of art from my parents or something we collected from our travels. For you it could be your grandmother’s cross stitch or your nephew’s artwork or curtains you sewed yourself. Put at least one meaningful-to-you item in every room of your house. Not sure how to display these items? Check out The Nester’s series on 31 Days of Vignettes.

4. Paint works wonders. A coat of paint on the walls changes a whole room. If you can’t paint walls, try your furniture. Picture frames. Shelves. Even jars or knickknacks can be brightened up with paint (I love colors like turquoise but when in doubt, I go with white). This is a good search for Pinterest. I had a shelf from India I liked but felt like it was a little dark. So I gave it a makeover with a four dollar paint sample from Lowe’s, hung it in the dining room, and it looks like a whole different piece. It makes me so happy.

Before:

After:

5. You need natural light. If you have a dark house with few windows, maximize those windows. I feel depressed in houses where blinds are closed all day long. I understand closing them for energy-efficiency when you’re not home, but please don’t spend daytime hours in your house without pulling up the blinds and back the curtains. If your house is short on natural light you could also consider light wall colors and curtains to brighten it up.

6. Find an outside spot and make it your happy place. If you have a matchbox sized patio or a shady corner of your yard, grab a couple plastic chairs and a little side table at a thrift store. Shop your house and make it cozy. Take a cup of tea or glass of wine out and just be. The fresh air will lift your mood and make you happy.

7. Make your master bedroom (or wherever you sleep) a haven. David and I waited 10 years to do this (our bedroom was always our very lowest decorating priority), and, even though it’s not finished yet, for the first time we have a master bedroom we love. I can’t tell you how restful that is, how much I enjoying settling under my duvet at night with a book, and how I smile in the morning when I wake up and see our warm gray walls and reading corner and assortment of baskets.

8. Finally, if you can afford it, have a monthly house budget: even just 20 bucks. Use it to buy a new plant or a can of paint or a string of lights for your bedroom. Hobby Lobby and other craft stores have fun quirky photo frames and you can use their weekly 40% off coupon to display a photo that makes you happy. I’d rather eat out less and invest in making my home a haven for our family. I’ve seen the fruit of that desire this year as we all realize we’d often rather just be home in our own backyard than go out somewhere.

Happy homemaking!