Regina 
When I say the phrase, “dream house,” what comes to mind? All of your IG saves and Pinterest boards probably plaster themselves in your mental storehouse. Maybe you’ve seen your “dream house” in real life and you’re presently doing what you can to make the house you have just like that. Let me ask you another question. If you had your dream house… every paint color, light fixture, room placement just so, just the way you’d always imagined, do you think that you would be content then? Be honest. Are you content now? I would gently suggest that the issue we have with discontentment in our homes would not be cured should we at once have every single thing we hoped for. The moment we did the trends would change and, for most, so would our dream.
It is a noble thing to make ones home a place of beauty and ultimately a place of refuge. I want to encourage you in something though. Whether you have every single thing you want in a home or if you currently live in a space you sincerely hope you do not have to stay for always, you can make that exact space serve your family and thus Christ’s kingdom. It is quite possible to make any space you have quite beautiful. It might not meet the standard of the world at present, but do you really want to enter into that rat race. And in the end find that you’ve only made perfectly lovely what would one day burn, instead of spending most of that same of energy on what will last forever, Christ Jesus, His Word, and the people He made. In a few moments I’m going to offer some suggestions on how to start making a space even a rental home beautiful, but when I do I don’t want your mind to get lost the way it does when you’re on IG or Pinterest. I want you to engage with the Lord as you consider these things. I want to grow in asking the Lord for permission to buy what I buy, to pin what I pin. I want to do the things in life that show how valuable He is and not fall into the trap of showcasing how perfect (or not) my home is.
So, let’s be real. I’m not showing you our play room, right?! That’s where the toys are. The kids tend to that space, and they know how to clean that room just as well as me. I’m saying this, because some of you will think this cannot be her real day to day situation I’m looking at. It’s too tidy, but I assure you that it is. I want to tell you why I am able to keep it so and what benefit it has brought to my family and those we welcome into our home. I’m going to laundry list some suggestions and combine them with my own thoughts. Note I said suggestions and my own thoughts. If this doesn’t resonate with you no worries, sweet friend. I’ve just been asked enough times to know it miiiight be helpful, but if this isn’t your cup of tea, that is perfectly ok.
- Edit your spaces ruthlessly. In the most untrendy way ever I want to say PURGE all the things NOW. This is not me jumping on some bandwagon here. This is really what I think all to myself. Get rid of STUFF. If it isn’t serving a purpose or just beautiful to you say buh-BYE. I’m going to save you some money right here if you’ll listen. Do not hire someone or buy a book to learn this…. If you feel like you’re cluttered or feeling anxious while at home because of messes in every corner, take control of it. It is likely you need to get rid of HALF of what you’re looking at, and you will NOT miss it. Most people live under the weight of all they own & all the price tags that come with it. You do not need to live that way. It is a choice. The reason my home always looks “just so” to you in images is because 95% of the time you if were to drop in on me (like right now) it would look just like that picture. It isn’t because I’m a mom who won’t let her kids play downstairs ever, nope, they do. It isn’t because I hustled and shoved it all in the closet, I didn’t. It is because I did and continue to do what I am encouraging you to do… EDIT your spaces. Do it every season.
2. Buy neutral furniture & get some cozy neutral walls, because even if you love color, it can be added with pillows and accessories. Good neutral walls (they don’t have to be gray either) and good neutral furniture will go the extra mile for you. While everyone else is trying to get rid of their outdated couch, chair, what have you, you will not have to. Your furniture will stand the test of time, especially if it’s slip covered (winking smile).
3. STOP shopping the latest sale. No typos there. And by the way sorry for all the typos, grammatical errors, I catch some, but I have no editor, it’s just me, and y’all I’ve got to wife and mom so even if I see them later chances are I’m not going back to fix it. Do forgive and know I am more competent than these simple mistakes you read, I just don’t have the time to deal with them (laughing smile). And honestly I do love a good run-on sentence, Ephesians anyone? Back to the point here. Just STOP with those sales girl because even though you might be keeping a budget with it you’re not designing a home you love you’re decorating a home you like well enough. Feel the difference. It is better to save for a solid year or more and buy the thing you really desire one time then to spend and spend and spend hoping you’ll land on the look you’re aiming for. If you choose to wait, you will likely wind with a home you LOVE and with one that is truly beautiful. Now, maybe everything Target is exactly your style. In that case, shop those end caps until the cows come home, but most of us want a couple of signature items that might have a little higher price point. For me the items I save and wait for are the items that last. It is by WISDOM a home is filled with stuff, no, that’s not what it says. It is by WISDOM a home is filled with PRECIOUS and BEAUTIFUL treasures. The latest Target sale may or may not bring you that, you know?!
4.The “fast fashion” trap of decor. Last point for the day, have you ever noticed how the designers you love, even the ones that put out new lines of decor every single season, in their actual homes you don’t see the trends circling in and out, unless they are styling them there to sell you on them. There’s a reason for that. People who excel in this art of making things beautiful realize trends are just that. They aren’t going to stay and as far as I can tell, those who promote them, do not themselves invest in them. That’s not to say you can’t buy that $10 thing at Target that offers you some color without the commitment of a high dollar item; it is to say that too many of us buy into the “fast fashion” (that’s cheap clothing that cycles in and out every season) and the “fast interior decor” mentality, and it hurts the budget at times and it probably won’t bring you a home you love. That designer you’re following, she hunted and searched for just the right thing. She didn’t settle for just any ol’ thing, and you shouldn’t either. In the early years of our marriage I made this mistake and now almost every single thing I bought back then is no longer in our home. We learned quickly though (thank the Lord) and even though I slip sometimes rarely do I fall for the “fast interior decor” trap.
This part 2 of the Grace Full Home series. Later this week, we will consider the why behind the ideas I’ve suggested and see what benefit they bring to how we minister both to our family and others. In the meantime, maybe they’ll give you a little bit of your sanity back. I don’t know about you but clutter makes me panic a little. Let’s not live with it, so we can be more ready to serve.
