Yesterday, I was so honored to have our home shared in a Houzz article.

Although I was a bit nervous.

One of the main reasons I was nervous is because, as I share on the about page of my blog, I have a very “unfinished” home. And, as a decorator, I know what my house COULD be. I always joke, “You should see what this house looks like in my head!! It looks gooooood!”

Our family has decided to live in a way that only affords us occasional large purchases. And, you all know by now, I will not buy something unless I love it. I choose to wait for exactly what I love, and therefore, that leaves a lot of walls blank and windows uncovered and corners empty.

This emptiness attracted a comment on Houzz. A comment that hurt me at first, but then really made me think.

My first reaction, of course, was to try to defend my home in my mind. {I may or may not have even entertained the notion of sending a comment back…}. But then I cooled down and saw a lot of truth in her words. And I thought:

There is a lesson in this.

In many ways, our decor IS cold and empty. We have practically nothing on our walls. We have only the essential blinds and curtains. We have wood floors with very few rugs. And we have a lot of unpainted and unfinished projects, and some rooms with no paint. Some rooms with no walls, actually.

So. The reality is, what is there to be defensive about in light of her comment?

…… I, myself, am often disappointed in my interior decor!

But, here is the truth.  A while ago, I decided to get over my disappointment.

And I decided to move on with the following attitudes about my home:

thankfulness and patience.

Thankfulness:  I remind myself of how thankful I am for what I have, which is SO much more than most.

Patience:  And then, I continue to remind myself that if I really, really wanted to, I could have my home decorated from top to bottom by tomorrow. I even know exactly what I would do!!

I would just need to make a few changes first:

1. I could take on some serious credit cards.

2. We could stop sponsoring Monika, Kostantine, Brian and Luis.

3. I could send my kids to traditional schooling and do my design work full time.

4. I could spend a lot more time doing DIY

But none of these choices would be best for OUR family right now. Instead, I choose to be patient.

My point? {there is one, right?}

Of course, You don’t need to homeschool. You don’t need to decorate your home from top to bottom. You don’t need to be a patient decorator. You don’t need to sponsor a child. You don’t need to work full time. You don’t need to work part time. These are choices for some and not for others.

But one thing is for sure: you DEFINITELY do not need to decorate your home so that it meets the approving eye of the Jones’s.

Here is the good stuff:

This decision, to NOT decorate for the Jones’s,will help to free you from your decorating paralysis:

1. If you currently decorate to the nines, but maybe you should not be spending all of your time and energy and resources this way, ask yourself if you are doing it to try to keep up? with the Jones’s? with other bloggers?

2. If you don’t decorate at all, and are frozen, make sure it is not because you are afraid of making a choice that others will frown upon. If you are frozen, is it because you are afraid of doing it all wrong … according to OTHERS?

3. If you feel like your home MUST look a certain way, ask yourself, do I buy things I just “like” a little bit, and don’t LOVE, because “everyone is supposed to have a rug in their foyer, and a pendant light over their island, and a wreath for their door, etc. etc.?”

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The opposite of paralysis is freedom. Freely decorate your home in a way that WORKS for you and your family. Not in the paralysis of “always-thinking-about-what-others-will-think” as you decorate

ok. ok. I did find ONE teesy thing I must correct this honest commenter on:

This IS a warm family home.

Maybe not yet in the ways you can see with your eyes……

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How exciting! Our well-loved and well-lived-in home, Fieldstone Hill, has been featured on Houzz.com. I hope that you will hop over to check out our humble little tour.

{click on the image below, or here, to see the article}

A special thank you to Amy Renea of Allenaim Photography for taking the photos and submitting the article.

Sooo……. I am new to Houzz, and just learning as I go. You can find my Houzz page here. But you can tell I am a newbie.

So do any of you use Houzz.com?

If so, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on using houzz.com as a resource, or for design inspiration.

Any tips for how to use it effectively?

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Today is my mom’s birthday! Before I go a-ditto-ing, I want to send a special Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom! I love you, mom! I am so thankful for you, and thankful that I have such a caring and loving mother! I hope your day is GRAND!

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May is the month of Moms. And most Mommas want a dreamy kitchen. Since we spend sooooo much time in there!….

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When I first saw today’s Ditto, I was in love. What is not to love about an exquisite, crisp, white kitchen splashed with the punch color of fuchsia {did a whole post on punchin’ it with fuchsia here}???

{As always, I look forward to hearing from you and finding out what you would ditto, too. So, be thinking!}

{design by Caitlin Wilson Interior Design}

DITTO :: {WHAT I WOULD STEAL FROM THIS SPACE}:

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“Almost doesn’t count.”

Unless it’s in horseshoes, hand grenades, or the backseat of a ’57 chevy.

OR

if you are ALMOST finished decorating your living room, save your art and your curtains. Then, “Almost” counts!

Since it will likely be a while before we get our curtains {I am going to wait until I can buy the silk gold ones on my board} and I finish painting my own art {ahem. NOT going to happen until school is out}, I think I will just show you our “Almost After” pictures. I just couldn’t wait to show you how far this room has come.

So, without further ado, here are a few Before Pictures:

Here is my FHD Vision Design Board for the Living Room’s new look:

and HERE is our Living Room, Happily {Almost} After:

Oh, and I am SO excited to share my sources with you! {Out of courtesy to my paying clients, I usually don’t share sources, but, since I didn’t pay a cent for this design – tee hee – I am going to spill the beans}:

1. The rug: Safavieh Mahal in Navy, 9 x 12, via Overstock

2. The sconces: World’s Away Randolph Gold Leaf sconces, via Layla Grace

3. The Mongolian sheep pillow covers: 16″ in white, via West Elm

4. Paint color on walls: Deep Secret by Benjamin Moore, in Matte

5. Paint color on coffee table: Museum Piece by Benjamin Moore, in Semi-Gloss {yet to be waxed in gloss}

6. Gold paint on velvet wingback chairs {tutorial coming soon} and gold paint behind the bar shelves: Liquid Leaf in classic gold

7. The velvet wingback chairs and bamboo chinoiserie chairs were scored on Craigslist. Check out this post if you want to start finding great stuff on Craigslist.

8. The awesome brass candlesticks were a find and a gift from my sweet friend Carrie. Post about her sweet-ness coming soon. Now, that is a good friend.

9. Mirror: old Pottery barn

10. Brass captain’s glass: An antique replica bought somewhere in the South in a roadside antique shop.

11. The marble around our fireplace and on our bar is Chocolate marble.

12. Pretty much everything else in the room has been owned by us for at least 10 years or more {including a bunch of those liquor bottles}.  Nearly all of our furniture comes from family hand-me-downs, used-furniture shops, or Craigslist. I am a lover and supporter of old furniture.

Well, there you have it. An “almost” finished living room. I must admit, it makes me smile to see my vision come to life… and to enjoy it with my precious family every day.

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