After spending years living in apartments and rentals, my husband and I really wanted to make our house our home. I just never fully realized how much effort was involved! So where do you start and what does it entail? I think creating a home can be broken down into three different areas:
Style
Furniture
Decor
Keep reading to find out how I started to tackle this process:
Establishing Style
Style dictates everything else you put into your home so it should be the first thing you establish when starting out. My main priority when moving in was deciding a style that would be timeless. I created a ton of Pinterest boards and looked through home decor shows and magazines to narrow down inspo ideas. I gave myself plenty of time when doing this, too. It was important for me to choose a style that would work for us throughout the years. I’m notorious for being indecisive (and changing my mind) so this was really difficult for me to do! The good things is, there’s no rule book when it comes to personal style. You can mix it up, blend different styles and create your own.
Here are some styles that I really loved for our living room and kitchen:
Modern Organic Mexican
Minimalist
Mid-Century Modern
Eclectic
Coastal
There are definitely some commonalities here which helped when deciding overall color palettes and design choices. For example, we installed wood vinyl flooring, chose to paint the walls white and went with warm furniture and decor pieces.
Decluttering
We accumulated a lot of furniture and decor that served us well throughout the years but just didn’t fit our new place. I decluttered before moving into our new home but as soon as the dust settled, I realized there were still a lot of items that wouldn’t work. I spent a few weekends here and there really looking at each item and deciding whether or not it fit the style I was going for. I donated a ton and sold the rest on Facebook marketplace.
Be Intentional
This is is a look at our entrance room this year. It didn’t always look like this. It was pretty empty for awhile with the exception of the piano. I intentionally took my time when deciding on certain things and that’s because I wanted to make sure I loved what I was adding. I truly believe some of the best places to find furniture and decor is secondhand, whether that be at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores or Facebook Marketplace. You’ll find a wide range of styles at an affordable price. In fact, most of my furniture and decor is secondhand. The piano seen in the photo above was a Facebook marketplace find and one of my first additions to the house. Over time I added the stool, which I found on Amazon. Believe it or not, I found the table and chair at Goodwill for $10! The side table is an antique that was passed down to me from my grandma. The light fixture is from IKEA and I just recently added the rug and I feel like it’s the perfect funky little addition to this space.
Be Patient
The last piece of advice I’ll share is pretty obvious: Be patient. Watching home inspo videos on TikTok and YouTube made me think home projects would be completed within minutes. Ha! I wish! You need patience, especially if you want your home to look good. Furnishing and decorating is no different. I so badly wanted to pop into a HomeGoods or Goodwill and immediately find all of the pieces of furniture and decor that would complete our home. It’s been a few years since we’ve moved in and we’re still working on things! Turning your house into a home won’t happen overnight, nor should it. Have a clear idea of what you love and the rest will follow. Good luck!
