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      in Style Tips

      The Most Regrettable Decorating Mistake You Can Make

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      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

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      in Decorating

      Thinking Ahead to Fall Decorating

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      Notice the title of this post is… thinking ahead to fall decorating, as I am not quite ready to actually decorate my house for fall yet. It has been on my mind now that summer is slowly winding down.

      Fall Mantel DIY Ideas
      I have been reflecting on past fall seasons and how I decorated the house. This year, I want to make the fall season feel even more extra comfy-cozy… as if placing an extra blanket of calm and comfort throughout the house.

      Remember the catch phrase from the 90’s… Cocooning?
      Hunkering down in place, but with all your cozy comforts around you to make sure that you had everything you need to live a comfortable life right in your own home. This is what I am planning on doing.

      We have no trips abroad planned or party invites like we did last fall. Life this fall will be about sticking close to home.
      This fall, with uncertainty about the pandemic and more still looming, I want more than just decor to create a comfy fall home.
      I want the “whole lifestyle package” that fits my life, wants, needs, and budget. Life is too short not to make the best of every second of every single day, even if they are mostly spent at home.
      I am finding that this is what I am seeking more than buying new “stuff” to simply decorate the house.
      Decorating for fall this year is going to be more about making sure the decor feels just right for how I want to “be” at home.
      Being at home for you could mean setting up a desk in the least used room for your 9-5 job or a place where your children can learn at home.
      As fall arrives and the weather gets cooler we will find ourselves back inside more. Time for our inner homebody to shine instead of feeling stuck inside like many of us did back in the early spring 6 months ago. In the spring, we were in shock and not mentally prepared to be homebound.
      Now we have time to plan ahead to make sure we have everything we need to make the most of our time spent more at home this fall.

      Sourdough bread by Alexandra Cooks
      My youngest makes the best sourdough bread and guided me to Alexandra Cooks’ website to learn how to make it. She gave me a portion of her sourdough starter to get me started on my own bread baking journey.
      The smell of fresh bread baking brings back fond memories of simpler times that I want to embrace in my life.
      Good smells add to the ambiance of a home.Remember, creating a beautiful home is not just about the decorating.
      When Decorating for Fall I Am Going to Make Sure That:
      I have cozy comforts in reach – good books, good internet, favorite music, as well as good food and wine stocked in the pantry.

      Since Ed and I are not going out to the movies and dinner every week like we used to pre-pandemic. I want to make sure we can create some “special evenings” in our weekly schedule. For us, this is movies and good food. For you it might mean something entirely different.
      We are saving money by not going out to eat, which in turn gives us more money to splurge a little on better wines and better cuts of meats and fish for Ed and plant based for me to make at home to enjoy. We also order dinner from our favorite local restaurants to pick up every Friday night.
      TV shows this fall will mostly be reruns as TV show production was put on hold like everything else. So for me Netflix, Prime Video and streaming new release movies will be key for movie watching.
      I also upgraded my Spotify account so I could listen to music anywhere in the house that makes me feel good all day while both working and just hanging out.
      Making sure I have all that I need to do these pursuits in the style I want on a daily basis is what is important to me.
      My Fall Decorating Plans
      Decorating for fall this year has me thinking that it doesn’t necessarily mean using lots of pumpkins, gourds, and plaid blankets, but maybe something not so contrived.
      I did buy a velvet pillow back in June to use on my sofa come September. It has great texture and is perfect for my white and woodsy decorating scheme that I am trying to build upon.
      I made up a list of fall decorating projects that I plan to do around the house and post about. The first one you will be seeing involves this…

      Last summer, one of the patio umbrellas on my deck broke. We fixed it the best we could. This summer “our fix” broke and the umbrella is a goner.
      Instead of throwing the whole thing in the trash, I threw away the mechanical frame and kept the Sunbrella fabric cover you see in the photo above. Next week I will share with you what I am doing with it.
      Come September, I will start removing the warm weather touches around the house and will slowly begin to add items that will give a subtle ‘nod’ to fall since Fall doesn’t officially arrive until the end of September.
      I hope that I will inspire you to make the best home life you can for yourself in your own style this fall…
      Whatever this means for you, try to plan and make sure you add it to your home and life as the weather begins to transition into the Fall season of 2020… the year most of us will never forget.
      Let’s make the fall of 2020 unforgettable, not because of the pandemic, but by the ways we make the most of how we choose to live in our homes in the best way we can within our style and means.
      Staying home in your own style is the new lifestyle to embrace.

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      in Decorating

      What These Houses Taught Me About Decorating

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      What have the homes you have lived in taught you about decorating? If you think about it, it may be quite a lot. Over the last few months I have been reading many decorating books, both old and new. From how-to’s to high-end coffee table style decorating books. There isn’t a decorating book I don’t […] More

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      in Decorating

      Decorating Tip When Using Large Baskets

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      If you like the look of large baskets in your decor, but are not sure how to make items look full inside, then I have a quick tip for you. One that will make your decorating efforts using large baskets look decorating magazine worthy. A few weeks ago, after I posted how I used a […] More

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      in Decorating

      Try This: 20 Minute Decorating Idea

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      Trays are a decorating staple and offer a lot more than simply a way to carry something. What makes trays of all shapes and sizes a versatile decorating accessory is that they are a fast and affordable way to add style to any room in a variety of ways. Read on and learn a few […] More

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      in Organization

      Decluttering the Dining Room

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      Hey friends! The week is flying by, how did it get to be Wednesday already? Guess time flies when you are having fun, right? In Saturday’s post I had mentioned that we were doing some tidying around my house. I tried to show you the time lapse video we had made on Instagram of my […] More

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      in Organization

      How to Start Organizing Your Home

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      When we feel overwhelmed by disorder in our home, we often think we need to get better organized. Where do we start? Add drawer dividers? Buy a new cabinet? Get some bins? Stuff things in baskets? I ran across a post I had written years ago that offered a simple answer to this question. It’s still […] More

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      in Organization

      Six Simple Secrets for a Less Cluttered Home

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      Greetings! Who needs to declutter? {raises hand}. I wish I could say that I decluttered once, years ago, and that was the end of the “excess stuff” in our home. But alas…. it’s an ongoing process for me. We decluttered a lot before we moved here four years ago but we still ended up with far too many things we don’t need or have room for in this house. Our garage became more like a storage room.Moving is an excellent time to declutter, but it’s also tricky because you are making a transition to a different home. It’s easy to misjudge what you will have room for or need. Plus, moving is exhausting :). If you are not starting over from scratch with all new furniture, it can take some time to figure out what fits and what works best in a new home.And it’s not just moving that causes chaos. Busyness, delayed decisions, design indecision, procrastination … I wrote all about my decluttering issues and challenges and how I deal with them in Make Room for What You Love and Simple Organizing.Deadlines are super motivating to me, though, so with Courtney moving in this weekend, we are decluttering, rearranging and making room for her in our lower level :). It feels great to finally have the motivation and a deadline to work on some “out of sight, out of mind” spaces (like the basement and garage!) in our home.
      Even if you don’t have time for a big decluttering project right now, there are lots of little ways you can make your home feel less cluttered right now.Here are six tips I use to make my house feel less cluttered:
      1. Clear the floors.
      My husband taught me this tip when our kids were small. If there is stuff covering the floors or piled up in the corners of the rooms, your house is automatically going to feel cluttered. Now we spend a few moments every day picking up clutter from the floors. Instantly the whole house feels cleaner and tidier.
      2. Empty the surfaces.
      Take a look around your room. Are all the tables covered with unnecessary stuff? Even if you just have time to clear one surface, your room will feel less overwhelming. Start with one table and then move onto another! It helps to set a timer for 15 minutes; you’ll be surprised how fast you can clear the surfaces when the clock is ticking!
      3. Make some room.
      Give your closets, drawers and rooms some breathing room. Donate, toss, or store even a third of the items from a closet or half the accessories from a room and you’ll be amazed by how much tidier it feels! 
      4. Close the drawers and cabinets.
      When cabinet doors and drawers are left ajar, the whole room feels messier. Walk around the house and close every drawer and cupboard to give your rooms a tidier more streamlined appearance.
      5. Straighten the dining chairs.
      It’s a little annoyance, but when the dining chairs are turned every which way and not pushed in straight to the table, the whole room will feel a bit haphazard. Take a few moments and push the chairs up to the table and straighten them out. This will give your dining area an instantly tidier look!
      6. Clean the kitchen sink.
      When your sink is piled with dishes, the whole kitchen will feel cluttered and messy. Make it a habit to clean the dishes in the sink—and the sink itself—every day.
      I’ve written many organizing posts featuring tips I use and ideas that have inspired me in my own home. 
      Always start with decluttering, but getting organized feels great, too.Here’s a round-up of some of my top decluttering and organizing posts!
      The Secret to Getting Organized
      10 Minute Household Tasks to Organize Your Life
      Do you make any of these common disorganization excuses? > > Kick Excuses to the Curb: Confessions on Organizing & Decluttering
      A Bag A Day Keeps the Clutter Away
      9 Clever Organizers to Tidy Your House
      How to Get Organized in a Small House
      How to Organize Papers You Don’t Want to Lose
      Pretty and Functional Bathroom Storage Ideas
      Happy Drawers: Simple Organizing Ideas
      10 Habits of People with Organized Houses
      How to Set Daily Routines that will Transform Your Life
      5 Takeaway Tips from a Small Office
      My Kitchen Pantry and Tips for Pantry Organization
      MY DIY Organized Free-Standing Command Center
      How to Clean Your House When You’re Busy
      How to Eliminate Paper Clutter Forever
      Habits for an Organized Home
      How to Organize a Small Kitchen
      9 Ways to Get Organized Now
      5 Minute Baking Drawer Organization: Using What You Have
      Find inspiration and the strategies that inspire me to declutter and simplify in my book Make Room for What You Love.
      More Books by The Inspired Room:
      Simple Organizing: Amazon or Barnes and Noble
      Love the Home You Have (NY Times Bestseller): Amazon or Barnes and Noble
      All books
      Room and kitchen sources are found here.
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