There are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes in life. And yes, many that *could* be made while decorating your home.Maybe you’ve made a few blunders yourself! I know I have.So what is the most regrettable decorating mistake you’ve ever made?Painting a room the wrong color?Ordering a sofa that is too big or too small for your intended room?Buying a free standing cabinet that won’t fit up the stairs?So many possibilities.
I happen to think one of the most regrettable mistakes we can make in our own home is simply not following our heart.
Maybe we aren’t inspired in our home because we:
worry too much about what others will think of our choices.
followed the style or advice of someone else and chose things that didn’t really speak to us.
make choices for our room based on what we think is the safest option
fear making a mistake
don’t know how to pull together what speaks to us.
stay paralyzed or stuck in a rut and don’t make changes at all.

When we make decisions based on peer-pressure, fear or worry, our home probably doesn’t speak to our heart.
Sure, even when we follow our heart it’s possible to make mistakes. And maybe lots of them! Hahah! BUT THAT IS OK! Most design mistakes aren’t fatal. PRAISE HANDS! Having fun with our home and trying things is how we can discover what works for us, what we love and what speaks to us. Mistakes could cost money, so definitely on major purchases, it’s wise to give it some good thought before you place an order. But most mistakes are not impossible to correct, so don’t fear!
Oftentimes misstep turns into a happy accident. Mistakes can give us the opportunity to get creative or try something unexpected that we end up loving even more than our original idea.
Taking a risk or trying something different can lead us to have a home that speaks deeply to us.
When we put our heart and soul into being creative and not worrying so much, it brings us more JOY.
A home you love takes time, but let it be an enjoyable process.
A home that sparks more joy and connection is worth taking a risk on, don’t you think?
A couple of things for you today:Speaking of sparking joy, the beautiful wood and glass diffuser you’ve seen in my home (the ARIA) IS BACK in STOCK for new members. It’s only while supplies last (and won’t return for at least a month due to Covid limitations) so you’ll want to grab it quick if/while it’s still available! I’ve got fall oil samples to send to new members, too!! Get the Aria Diffuser premium starter kit here.

If you’re already my YL member and you didn’t get my fall recipe cards recently, let me know in the comments and I’ll send you some happy mail!
What are some decorating mistakes you’ve made? Did any of them turn into a happy accident? I want to know!
PS. I’ll share a happy decorating story with you in a week or so, it was an unexpected situation but but I LOVE IT!
Photos: House & Home
Related blog posts:
Make Your Home Your Own
How to Decorate: The Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love
Catch up on my 2020 Fall Nesting Series:
Tips to Decorate Your Fall Living Room
Cozy Fall Throw Blankets
My Favorite Fall Decor in My Cozy Fall Shop
14 Ideas for a Cozy Fall Kitchen
Make Your Home the Coziest It Can Be (3 Take Away Tips)
Fall Puttering Playlist
Cozy Self-Care Corner Must-Haves
Four Essential Home Making Practices for Every Season
Fall Nesting and Doormats
How to Dwell Well This Fall
How to Decorate with Faux Fall FoliageTimeless Pieces for Your HomeHospitality and Joy are Not Cancelled (Decorate your Porch)How to Make Your Home Smell Cozy and Inviting
How to Create a Memorable Fall Home + Cozy Diffuser Blends More

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here

@honeycreekfarm1896
Do you have any collections in your home? Collections are one of my favorite ways to add soul to a home. Today you’ll find some lovely inspiration from some of my favorite finds around the internet.
No matter what your design style is (or if you’re a maximalist, minimalist, or somewhere in between), you can enjoy the process of collecting things you love and displaying them in a way that makes you happy!
“By inviting in things you love, you’ll feel more deeply connected to your home in a way that will inspire your life”. – from my book Make Room for What You Love
If you love the idea of having more collections and personal details in your home but aren’t sure what you like, study inspiration photos and design books to learn what you love (these are some of my favorite design books). Take note of the colors, shapes, textures, patterns, and styles that catch your eye!
Pay attention to how they are paired together and where collections are displayed, so that you will have ideas you like for styling, too.
When you know what you like, then you will know what to look for and be quicker to spot it secondhand, in stores or online. It’s an exciting process to hunt and gather treasures for your home over time!
Ideas for collections: seashells, books, blue and white, ironstone, copper or brass pieces, books, artwork from travels, vintage stamps or stationery, glassware, ornaments, quilts, antique baskets….
The more you decorate in a way that speaks to you, the more soul your home will have!
We’ll be talking about meaningful ways to decorate to bring more soul to our sanctuary in our new member community HomeBody Gathering Place (learn more and join us HERE by February 28th 11:59 PM PST to get in our spring session before the doors close).
Enjoy the inspiration below!
Sunday Strolls + Scrolls is a series inspired by the interiors and exterior spaces I fell in love with while scrolling the internet. I particularly enjoy finding spaces and ideas that reflect a sense of sanctuary! I hope this series will feel as relaxing and enjoyable to you as a leisurely walk down a charming street, a peaceful stroll through a garden or finally getting to peek inside a lovely neighborhood home during a Sunday open house. 

@missmustardseed
@littlesquaresofjoy
@mothermeg
@abeautifulmess
More Inspiration:
My Favorite Secret Decorating Tip
How to Decorate: The Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love
How to Create a Cozy Collected Kitchen
Enjoy the home inspiration in all past Sunday Strolls and Scrolls posts here! More

This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy here

When I began The Inspired Room in 2007, my “tagline” was Refining Your Home for Authentic Living. While I don’t use that tagline now, it certainly remains true to my philosophy of home. While we certainly have embarked on some bigger renovations over the years, I actually find the most joy in the smaller refinements that can be made to one’s surroundings. I believe it’s the refining process that can make any house your home.

REFINE: improve (something) by making small changes, in particular make (an idea, theory, or method) more subtle and accurate.

When we understand how to refine our surroundings and know how to make the appropriate adjustments, the impact on the room will be significant in all of the ways that truly matter.

Designing a picture perfect space is not the same process as creating a sanctuary. A sanctuary is a place of refuge where you feel at peace.
Even if you create a picture perfect scene in your home, a photo cannot tell the whole story of how you actually feel in your surroundings. You are the one who can write that personal story and feel the impact of it every day.
To create a true sense of sanctuary, you must learn how to refine the details that will make a difference to you and the people who live there. Those details could in time make it picture perfect (when it’s all clean and the lighting is just right!) but more importantly each refinement will begin to make your home a reflection of you and transform how you feel when you’re there.

When you learn how to refine a room in this way, you can go through this design process with what you have and can gather over time. You will know exactly what decisions need to be made each season in order to bring all of your senses into harmony! These refinements are what will finally invite you to exhale and experience a sense of peace in your surroundings.
Would you like to learn how to do this in your own home?
I’m thrilled to invite you to my brand new workshop in HomeBody Gathering Place called Room Recipe where I will teach you the exact ingredients every room needs to feel like a sanctuary!
In this custom workshop, my daughters and I will teach you how to use these ingredients and apply my tried and true design formula to each room in your home.

With our Room Recipe design principles, you will be able to turn any room into the sanctuary you’ve always wanted.
This summer I’m offering this brand new workshop free to members of the HomeBody Gathering Place community. We want to walk with you step by step! We make the adventure to a sanctuary attainable and personal through membership in the HomeBody Gathering Place.
For less than the cost of one design regret (which we can help you avoid!) HGP members get access to all of our custom resources designed for people like YOU, printables that you can use for home planning, art and inspiration, as well as our community support.
Everything we offer in HomeBody Gathering Place is to inspire you and give you support as you’re creating a sanctuary!
However, we are only opening our community for two more days, so I hope you’ll hop in today and join us!

How it works:

We go through one relevant topic and activity at a time together, so you can learn and can make progress real time! The weekly and seasonal format and commitment is simple and doable. You can go at your own pace in any season, so you’re never behind!
Every mini-course or workshop we offer is designed to be adapted and personalized to you and your home. You do not need to have a certain design style, our principles can be (and should be!) applied to what speaks to you.

No matter what type of home you live in, or what season of life you’re in, if you want to create a sanctuary, you belong in HomeBody Gathering Place! More

1. West Elm Market 2. Liberty Ross’s Home in C Magazine found via Design Manifest 3. Ariele Alasko’s studio found via Design Sponge 4. Claire Archambault’s home in Canadian House & Home 5. Martha Stewart Natural Elements + Warm Colors = Rustic Fall Room When I think of Fall decorating, simple and understatedcan be a refreshing change from the expected. 31 […] More

Cozy and Inviting (Get the Look!) is a fun periodic “mini-series” on The Inspired Room!
To get that “cozy and inviting” mood many of us crave for our home, in this series I share a variety of inspiration rooms that feel cozy and inviting to me (for a variety of reasons!). Then I quickly brainstorm a list of whatever elements I see that I think help create that mood. We will also feature items or tips to “get the look” into your own home.
Today’s inspiration rooms are all from a beautiful home I found in New England Home Magazine. It is a traditional look with a bit of a coastal vibe, it feels so cozy and collected! Enjoy the inspiration images below and then you’ll find some design observations and get the look sources below.

Wallpaper – KASAI Wallpaper at Thibaut

Here are some of my observations and notes on what stands out to me about this home. At end of this post you’ll find a design mood board and more pieces I would consider including in the design if I was styling a similar space!

Rattan accent pieces
Antique looking dining table and bed
Soothing paint colors
Fun pops of green
Accessories and furniture with a collected look
Fun patterns used in the window treatments, garden stools, wallpaper, artwork, pillows and furniture
Warm wood in every photo
Unique accent lighting
Twisted taper candles
Natural rugs with subtle patterns
Books (I have a fun post full of rooms decorated with books here)
Interesting details on furniture and accessories like fringe, tassels, trim
Fun pattern lampshades (gingham, scalloped woven, pleated with pattern)
Landscape paintings and chinoiserie botanical artwork
Decorating with collections (blue and white pottery, books, baskets, the green cabbage dishes, books etc)
Inviting seating areas (window seat, plenty of dining seating, conversation area in living room)
Lively plants and flowers

See more photos of this home here: New England Home Magazine

Mood board sources (click links below):
Turquoise twist taper candles
Green and white geometric ottoman
Gold metal adjustable wall sconce
Framed landscape summer mountains artwork
Round rattan wall mirror
Green and white floral vine curtains
Green ceramic lamp
Blue and white ikat pillows
Taper turned wood candlesticks
Green ceramic cabbage plate
6 light brass round chandelier with white shades
Taper turned wood candlestick set
Blue and white ceramic garden stool
Teak oval wood stool
Blue and white ginger jar
Blue and white ginger jar with lid
Striped jute sisal rug
Cane back wood dining chair (and here is a woven wicker dining chair with blue velvet seat)

More similar sources below (click thumbnails for details):

You can find other posts in the Cozy & Inviting Get the Look series below!
Cozy & Inviting: Dining RoomCozy & Inviting: Coastal Living RoomCozy & Inviting: Kitchen More