The Intentional Home, Week Three: Wednesday

For an Introduction and Table of Contents for The Intentional Home, click Here.

Week Three: Wednesday

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 

Acts 2:42

I hope that you are having fun this week and not stressing over any part of this process. Remember the dream that you have for your living areas, with God’s help and a little work, I believe it can be accomplished. If you’re stuck in the area of accessorizing or decorating, really consider inviting a friend over to help. 

Some of you may feel overwhelmed when trying to decorate on a tight budget. I can tell you for a fact that we’ve decorated our house very frugally, but that doesn’t take away from the beauty of it in my opinion.

Now, I understand that I have a different style from many of you that I like to call “happy modern”. Your style may be completely different, but I’m here to tell you that you can achieve what you want frugally with a little patience and time.

Here’s something that I wrote awhile back that might give you some encouragement in this area:

I find many of my friends are paralyzed when it comes to decorating their homes. They genuinely want a beautiful space, but they are afraid to "make a mistake" or not "get it right". I completely get where they're coming from. If you're going to invest money into your home, you don't want to waste your money on something that just doesn't work. I hope that some of my advice in this area will free you up to make your house a home in your style.

Before you get started, you need to know what you like. Do you like vibrant colors or a more neutral color scheme? Do you like vintage, modern, country, cozy, eclectic or formal?  You might start by looking in your closet. That should give you a good feel for the colors that you like. I think Pinterest is a great way to get a feel for what you like as well. While, Pinterest can be a wonderful tool, please use caution. Chances are our homes will not look like the ones pictured, but this tool can give you an idea of "the feel" you want to create in your home.

Once you find your style, how do you achieve this feeling in your home without spending a fortune? I am a big fan of garage sales and thrift stores. Here's the deal, you've got to be patient and realize that your home will not be decorated in a weekend with this approach. But, I believe that in the long run, it will have a much more fun design than buying everything at one stop at a big box store. Not to mention, you can decorate on a tight budget. Don't be afraid to take a little risk, if it doesn't work, you've probably only spent a dollar, right?

Here's the biggie, don't be afraid to put a nail hole in the wall. I find so many people afraid to put a hole in the wall. Girlfriends, I have so many holes in our walls! I am always moving pictures around. Also, when going to hang a picture, hang it at eye level. I find many people hang their pictures much too high.

Also, throw design rules out the window. I mix and match so many styles and colors, and I think it just makes our home vibrant and unique. Really, just enjoy the process. It is a process and might take some time, but it's worth it to invest a little time into making our house a home.

Daily Chores: 

One load of laundry from start to finish

Make your bed

Unload the dishwasher in the morning, load and run it at night

Wipe down the kitchen counters and sink 

Wipe down the bathroom counters and sinks

Wednesday's chore of scrubbing toilettes, tubs and showers