If I look at my home as a whole I smile from ear to ear. I love every inch of it. Even those rooms I’m not done with. I know they will soon be amazing just like the rest of my home. My home is a place of comfort, a place to ground myself, and a place to hold those things I love and cherish. I do put a lot of effort into my home but it’s an investment for my family and friends to gather in.
Every room is filled with items myself and my husband have hand selected. I’m not one to run out to a furniture store and buy what I see. I work at finding things that are different and sometimes a bit odd. I like to add things to a room that tell a story, like the time we went to Amarillo, Texas and bought a bronze mermaid that now sits on the side of our pool. Most every piece has a tale to tell.
Art is very important to me so I try to fill each room with art. A lot of the art in my home is mine. I was blessed and can draw and paint anything I see or can think up in my head. As soon as my daughter and son started doing art I would professionally frame their art for my walls. You will be so amazed at how beautiful your children’s art is framed. My home has art from both my children and my grandson.
I have taught art for many years and a few years back I started collecting art from my Seniors as they left me to go to college. I dedicated a wall in my guest room to display these pieces. I sometimes find myself sitting and looking at this wall missing but cherishing these kids. I think art is one of the best ways to fill your home with love.
Although I love everything I put in my home I do have favorites. So I want to share a couple with you and the story behind them. When Greg and I first got married we had NO money at all. When we left the Airforce we moved to Dallas. We window shopped a lot. Once we saw this glass cat painted black with jade green jeweled collar I loved it. It was $150 and that was never gonna happen. A few weeks later at a road side sale Greg found this plaster cat painted black with a green and red painted on collar. It was $10 he brought it home so proud and ever so hopeful I would love it as much. My eyes and head said no but my heart said yes, I love it honey. I knew he was trying to get me what I wanted the best he could. Years have pasted and the cat has many layers of paint. I still have it and it’s about 25 years old. It’s now blue of course but I wouldn’t get rid of it because it holds a special place in my heart.
More recently we needed a small piece at our front door. I had been looking for a old entry piece called a hall tree. We found one at an estate sale. We both loved it and shockingly we both agreed that $200 was a fair price. We brought it home and started to shove it in to place and it was to big by a 1/4 inch. It stayed there for 2 days while all kinds of ideas bounced around. While Greg was out of town I decided it was going in no matter what. So I hammered a dent in the wall using a screw driver flat against the wall. It made the perfect sleeve for the decorative piece at the top to slide right in. Problem solved, well until Greg got home. I had fixed the wall so it just looks like a built in piece. He got over it and now it’s a funny story we tell.
The point is things in your home don’t have to be expensive. They only need to have a purpose or a story that make you happy. I’m sure you have some art that can be framed or that bowl that was grandmothers, just get it out on display so you can enjoy it and love it. Find what makes you Blue Happy and run with it. Go be Blue Happy!
