With the coming of Spring, I am always inspired to rethink my home. There must be something about welcoming a little more natural sunlight and wanting to declutter so that I can simply enjoy these warmer and sunnier days. Over the last few months I have been playing around with our decor to make it more bright and comfortable while working for us and this season of life.
Now that we are expecting our first child, I am reevaluating how we use our home and how we are going to make room for another little human to live with us. I am happy to say that I have slowly been preparing for this season over the years - learning how to use our home while taking care of my two nephews as well as decluttering and simplifying a little more each season so that we are only surrounded by things we actually love and use on a regular basis.
But even still, giving up a room in our three bedroom house and making room for all the obnoxiously sized, non-storage friendly baby gear is a new challenge. We aren't just getting rid of stuff but we are adding things for our son.
I am a planner so this has been a process from the day we started trying to get pregnant. If I was forced to make room for our little guy in one big swoop, it could be disastrous! But I have chosen to be patient, live a little chaotically for a few days, for the sake of being really intentional about how we want to use our house, what needs to change, and how to make those changes while still maintaining a happy marriage!
So we are slowly getting around to not only making room for what we love, but making room for another person to love! As I look to our future of lack of sleep, long days at home, and enjoying the beautiful (yet scary) first weeks and months of having a child, I want our home to be comfortable and manageable so that we can focus on our new role as parents and not worry about our home or excess things keeping us from just being in the moment.
We are creating space to lay out blankets and a pack and play. I am making shelf space for diapers and burp cloths. We are evaluating what we really need versus what we want when it comes to our baby registry so that we don't overwhelm our home with excess. Instead we are trying to be really wise about what we need, what will get used longer than a month, and what will add joy to our home. It is tempting to want all the baby things but we are becoming more disciplined with wanting to live comfortably and simply and not just fall prey to all the cutesy kid stuff!
My friend Melissa of The Inspired Room has just came out with her third book, "Make Room For What You Love". I am currently eating up all her advice on organizing and simplifying. She is a mom of three and her wisdom in having a beautiful and functional home has come at the perfect timing for me. I love her first few words of the book that says, "Your home should be your sanctuary, your safe haven in this crazy world. It should be inspired by what you love, the memories you've made, and the people you cherish." What a great foundational message for anyone when it comes to making a home!
I used to think if I would just get everything right in my home, I would happily be able to just live in it. Unfortunately life seasons are always changing and I am forced to look at living in our home differently as the years pass by. Luckily, I enjoy decorating and have learned that it is okay to switch things up! It would be so easy to let discontentment take over, thinking our home is not big enough, or that I am limited to someone else's home design. When in fact a little creativity and sometimes rearranging some furniture is the key to creating a home that I love!
Sometime early last fall we switched our dining room with our living room so that we could have our couch be in the same room as our fireplace. It was our first fall season with our fireplace so I was excited to spend every free moment curled up in front of it! We were not pregnant yet and the holidays were just around the corner. Making the change seemed like a no brainer and it fit the season of life we were in.
Six months later, it is spring, we aren't lighting fires in our fireplace anymore, and we are expecting a baby in two and a half months. We have started talking about buying a new couch, wanting more space for baby things, and the advantages of using carpet space to lay the baby out. So we have decided to switch the rooms back!
It seems crazy and chaotic that we are switching the rooms again. But if I was so worried about what people would think about my ongoing decorating whims, we would be forcing ourselves to not use our home in the best way it could function for us right now. And really, who cares what other people think? Because we are the people who actually live here everyday! Our home needs to reflect our needs and not just decorating rules we read in a magazine.
I mentioned a few months ago that we also finally got rid of our futon that we were sleeping on and switched it with our slightly smaller and taller guest bed (that was a hand me down) so that this pregnant lady could sleep a little better! Before getting pregnant, I loved our low two mattress futon. It worked for us and the season of life we were in. But now that we need our guest bedroom for the baby's room, we have the excuse to switch things up and make my sleeping life just a little more comfortable!
The room feels a little smaller now that we have a taller bed so I am keeping the decor minimal so that the room isn't overwhelming. So now we have a cozy bed, simple decor, but still a beautiful and welcoming retreat to the end of our day (and for me, sometimes an afternoon nap!).
It is all a work in progress and we are still trying to figure things out as we prepare our home for this upcoming life changing season! But having a comfortable and beautiful space to embark this new adventure in makes the change just slightly easier. We can focus on our family, on getting sleep when we can, and enjoying this new life we have been given! I have a feeling it will be a pretty great addition to our home!
If you could use a little inspiration in simplifying and organizing your home, I highly recommend "Make Room For What You Love." I promise you will leave encouraged to look at your home with new eyes. It is a great read for any home lover (like me!) or even those who desire to capture that love for their home in a way they haven't before.
And while you wait for the book to come in the mail, you can find more inspiration for your home right now! Visit these other fabulous and talented bloggers share their tips for making a home that you love!
Eleven Gables / Craftberry Bush / At the Picket Fence / Julie Blanner / Beneath My Heart / Thrifty Decor Chick / Emily A. Clark / Reluctant Entertainer / My Sweet Savannah / Domestic Fashionista / At Home In Love / 320 Sycamore / Sunny Side Up / Happy Happy Nester / The White Buffalo Styling Co / Sweet and Simple Home / Finding Home Farms / In My Own Style / Fox Hollow Cottage / The House of Silver Lining / Infarrantly Creative / Fieldstone Hill Design / Shabby Nest / Today's Creative Life / Sarah M. Dorsey Designs / Just A Girl / Southern Hospitality
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