Our Nesting Place

So I have started reading a  decorating book 

by Myquillyn Smith aka "The Nester" called The Nesting Place.

What you should first know is that I love looking at houses and admiring home decor what you should also know is that I know nothing about decorating a home.  

I stroll through Target, Home Goods, Pottery Barn, and Hobby Lobby admiring all the cute home nicknacks and am also paralyzed by them at the same time.

I don't understand the concepts of decorating. The way things should be position, the colors that should be paired together, or how to choose the right paint for the size of room.

I am not a risk taker-at least when it comes to home decor.

I play it safe in various tones of beige.  My philosophy is that if I keep my walls in the beige family, then I can change up my furniture without having to repaint.

I am sure those of you who are decorators are appalled by that concept.   You are probably thinking, "The fun is in the paint color!!"

A few years ago, Adam and I did something that we have never done in the history of our marriage... We took a risk.  At that time, I was working at our church and we had been living in our first little starter home for 10 years and our family was well past outgrowing it.  We knew we needed a bigger home but weren't sure that we could actually afford anything bigger.  

Everyday as I would pull into our church parking lot for work, I noticed a house just across the street for sale.  Days passed, months passed, and the for sale sign sat in the front yard almost mocking me.  Finally Adam and I contacted a realtor friend of ours and asked to see the house.  

Long story short the house was built in 1962 and was much larger than we had expected!  A 3 car garage, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a basement, a bonus family room and a fireplace that is comparable to Cracker Barrel.  As it turned out, the house needed a lot of work and had been on the market for almost 3 years for that reason.  The price was dropping and we decided to make an offer...

and we got the house.

This was our house just before we made the offer..

Our Frist Christmas...

Last Spring we sprung for new windows.... (see what I did there)

This was taken last spring..

Although we have cut down trees, killed weeds, and got new windows, the outside of our house is still a hot mid western mess.  The house still needs painted and we need to completely gut out everything around the porch and start from scratch. (..and I haven't said anything about the backyard yet....)

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

There are days, when I want to give up and go live in an apartment where we will never have to do home maintenance agin, and then there are other days when I mustar up enough energy to tackle a project, only to get half way finished and quit. Adam and I have no idea about DIY and home renovation.  I watch HGTV and am both inspired and defeated all at once.

We start projects and don't finish them.  We have 2 bathrooms that the walls are torn up with wallpaper and  and tile hanging by a thread.

I look around at my undone house and think that it represents where my head is right now, mentally:  Distracted, half finished, tired, and gleaming with potential...

I have spent most of our 3 years looking at the walls of our house with disgust and resentment, wondering if we will ever get just 1 room completely finished...

I want our house to be something out of Pottery Barn, RIGHT NOW!  I want everything that comes with a beautiful home without any of the work...

I love what The Nester asks in THE NESTING PLACE: 

"What if your house were patiently waiting to be enjoyed?"  

Meaning: what if there was a balance between a Pottery Barn house and a neglected house?

Our house is not pristine or magazine worthy, not for a long shot!  But!  Our house is where we live, we eat, we laugh, we fight,  we do homework, ride bikes, invite friends and just plain do life. 

 It's ours and it is working for our family.  

Isn't that the point?  

It will take YEARS and lots of dollars to get there, but know it will be worth it but why wait until then to enjoy our home?! 

"Making a charmed and happy home is a noble endeavor."  

-Deborah Needleman

Currently Listening to: HOME by Phillip Phillips