a house-lover | chatting at the sky

things to chat about :: home edition

June 18, 2010

Here are a few great home ideas that I found this week from some of my favorite blogs. You can browse some more of my favorite blogs by clicking on featured at the top of this page.

Sweet and Simple Photo Display :: Remodeling This Life

Ranch Redo :: The Painted House (Exterior house before and after photos – my favorite!)

photo from Playing Sublimely

The Most Impractical Room in My House :: Playing Sublimely

Pretty Little Things for Your Walls and Furniture :: The Inspired Room

photo from Nesting Place

How to Accessorize Your Coffee Table :: Nesting Place (it’s easier than you think . . .)

A Beach Cottage & A Vintage Milk Bottle :: A Beach Cottage

(not really a house-y post, but definitely a house-y blog. Every photo smells like the sea. Check her out.)

Enjoy your weekend!

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how the nester helped me see

May 17, 2010

This weekend, I was able to spend some time at my sister’s house with some friends, including Stephanie from (in)courage. This would be an appropriate place to put a picture of us, but I only took one and it was super blurry. Besides, when you are at The Nester’s house, it’s hard to take photos of people.

I tend to take photos of stuff like this. Because, hello? How cute. While chatting with Stephanie, she asked me if I am ever intimidated by the fact that my sister is The Nester, and whether or not that makes it hard for me to measure up in my own house.

People actually ask me this question a lot, so I thought it might be helpful to answer it here. As you know, my sister hasn’t always been The Nester. But she has always, always nested. And she’s always been creative, brave and free when it comes to crafting house into home. When I got married nearly nine years ago, I thought those instincts might kick in with me as well. They did not. In fact, the exact opposite happened with me. I became a ball of insecurity, not necessarily in comparison with my sister, more because I lacked confidence in my own taste or ability. I didn’t have that same sense of freedom.

Where my sister would paint a wall, hate it, repaint it, hate it, repaint it, and change her mind, I would leave it white and worry. Afraid to try. Afraid to fail. Afraid. Over the years, she has helped me to know how to think about my house, to not let fear be a motivator, and to give myself permission to fail.

“Is your home a place to be or a place to be careful. If you can’t make a mistake at home then where can you try out something new? If you are determined to worry about something, worry about cancer or a meteorite hitting the earth or the end of the world. DO NOT worry about paint colors.”

~The Nester

You have to admit, she makes a great point. Because the truth is, there is an uncanny parallel between how we approach our home and how we approach our life. The heavy, hovering cloud of fear does not discriminate. If we let it, it will overwhelm all areas of our life, from cancer to curtains. So to answer Stephanie’s question: No, I am not intimidated by the fact that my sister is The Nester. If you have met her, you will I’m sure agree that she is simply not an intimidating person. But there have been times where I was envious of her freedom. I wondered why I couldn’t just let go and live in my home and feel free to make it rather than letting it undo me.

I sincerely hope this doesn’t sound too cheesy or dramatic but I’m going to say it anyway. I credit my sister for ushering me into a place of healing and freedom when it comes to expressing myself in my home. I now feel fairly confident in my own taste and style, and it isn’t because she told me what to like or because I copy her. It is because she has encouraged me to try, play, mess up, have fun and try again. I would do well to apply that same philosophy to the way I live my life.

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paint avoidance

April 19, 2010

Last year, we painted our kitchen cabinets black. I do not regret painting them, as I like them much better than what they were before. Still, I have been thinking about how I might like to have the top cabinets painted white while leaving the bottom ones black.

But I am a lazy girl with two books to write. So instead I changed the curtains.

In the two years we’ve lived in this house, the curtains in the kitchen have been changed three times. Currently, they are dressed in this buffalo check from Country Curtains. They have brightened up my writing space quite nicely. And it has been a much easier change than re-painting the top cabinets.

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for the love of the mantel

April 8, 2010

I haven’t posted much in the house-lover category lately. In a way I feel like there isn’t an inch of this house you haven’t already seen. Still, when I heard my sister was doing a mantel linky at her place today, it felt like a great springy thing to do. So even though most of you have seen this mantel countless times, here it is again.

For more mantel inspiration, visit my sister at Nesting Place.

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glimpses of home

March 12, 2010

I love home. I would (almost always) rather stay home than go out. For a few weeks, I wanted to document glimpses of this place where we do life and would love for you to join me. It’s not about sharing our decor with each other, though I’m sure that will come out. The point is to keep it short, take a photo of a detail that says home to you, and share your glimpse. That is all.

I wasn’t going to have a linky but then my sister told me about this image linky that works the same way as the others and thought it might be fun to try it out. So I’m taking a risk at being that girl with all the linkys this week. Still, I look forward to seeing what home is for you.

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a glimpse of home

March 5, 2010

home

I love the idea of doing a 365 project where you take a photo everyday. Maybe next year I’ll discipline myself to do that. One thing I’ve been doing in place of that is to take snapshots of home, of the familiar corners and quiet spaces that make up these walls where we do life. The memories captured and framed out on shelves, the faded pillow fabrics and even the overflowing toy baskets all make up this place where our souls to breathe, and its rhythm and pulse changes as we do. I don’t want to forget what it is now, so I plan to post glimpses of home on Fridays. Want to join me?

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christmas tour of homes

December 13, 2009

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Welcome and Merry Christmas! It’s time for the annual Christmas Tour of Homes at my sister’s place, the one she so happily inherited from BooMama. I’m so naggy and little sistery to be first on her linky (tee, hee!) I always look forward to walking through other people’s houses for these tours because it satisfies both my creativity and my nosiness. Here’s to hoping no one spots the blanket fort I forgot to clean up before I took the photos.

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Thanks for nosing around my place. You’re always welcome here. Feel free to find out a little more about this space, but I have a feeling you are busy breezing through other people’s houses. I know I am.

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*The mini pre-lit tree, the Jesus sign and the Christmas cards are all from DaySpring. The kids table I got at a yard sale, chairs from TJ Maxx. The color on the walls is Tobacco Road. The fort was free.

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