Spring....a Fresh Start, even if it's almost Summer

 I definitely meant to post this a while ago but you know how time gets away!

With the coming of Spring it was time for me to give the house a little decor makeover.

I had been going through the rooms in the house and asking myself, what do I love and what am I just satisfied with?  If it's not a room I love, then how do I make it one that makes me feel happy and completely at home.  I've seen several pins on Pinterest about de-cluttering or making your house a home on my organization board and that's one of the questions you should ask yourself.


It's also a question I have made a habit of asking myself this year.  Life is too short, I'm aiming to follow the advice outlined in my new wall art from Kirkland's.

Ok you guys! I just discovered Kirkland's and I have no idea how I hadn't gotten there sooner! I freaking love that place! Anyway, I have this little beauty hung on the living room wall opposite the front door so when I get home from work every day, it's the first thing I see when I walk in the door.  Alright, I guess it's not the first thing I see, because there's usually a few fur babies right in the front door hungry for supper.

My next bit of "Pinspiration" is from all those Gather signs on Pinterest.  Hung in the dining room, it's a perfect vibe in a place to sit down for a family dinner or have some great friends over and share a meal or play some games, or just enjoy a drink and chat.  Here are my inspiration Pins:


So I went shopping at Hobby Lobby (Kirkland's is great but I'll never kick my Hobby Lobby habit) and I found the perfect metal gather sign and a great wall hanging with blue and brown accents that really pops nicely on my off white walls in the dining room:

They came as separate items and with just a couple nails they go so well together!  Under that I have a giant key that my cousin Katie didn't want any more.  She had painted it red and I was keeping it in my craft room closet waiting to paint it black or dark brown or maybe blue, I had no idea.  Well while Lonna (my sister) and I were dragging things out to decide what to hang in the perfect arrangement, my eyes landed on it, but it was just too much red.  Lonna and I decided if it was a little weathered so the black underneath the red, it'd look perfect!  We took some sand paper to it and worked it until it was right:

I have red accents in the kitchen so it's a great way to tie the kitchen and dining room together, along with some fake roses I have in a vase on the bookshelf. I paired it all with items I already had in the dining room, also all things that answered the do I love this/does it make me happy question. Among the items is my hand print that I made in Kindergarten and one of my mom's hand print from when she was 2 years old, and a chalkboard that I always customize for the season.  I have a koo-koo clock in the dining room and it plays "Edelweiss" and "Happy Wanderer." I decided for spring and to mirror the songs from the clock, I decided on "Bloom and Grow" for the chalk board.  So many meanings behind that phrase, inspiring, hopeful, and comforting.  What better feelings for your home right? Here's the full decor above my beautiful new/old buffet from my last post:

For the wall next to it I put some more Hobby Lobby finds along with a project I made with my favorite fellow crafter, :) it was our first intro to string art and was super fun and surprisingly easy. I'll show how we did it in a later post so stay tuned but here's the other wall:

The tree I already had, the birds make me happy and remember the bonding moments spent doing a new task together and learning along the way and ending up with something beautiful.  I also love that little hi sign :) such a nice way to welcome people to the heart of the home.

With the shifting of items in the dining room there was a big white blank space next to the buffet under my red clock by the kitchen door.  I wondered what to put there and I thought of another of Katie's hand-me-downs. One of the many great perks of having a cousin who has similar interests and taste in decor, I've been gladly accepting her hand-me-downs all my life :)

I've always loved the color of this beauty! The teal pops so nicely off the almost white walls and anyone who knows my design style knows that wrought iron is my jam! I love it, all the intricacies and detail, it's awesome! I had this in my office for a long time but with the tan walls in my office it just didn't look quite right.  In the dining room it adds a great balance in the color in the room and the balance of large pieces.

And with that, I looked around my dining room loving everything I saw, and it was good. :)  I went into the office next and tweaked some thing in there too, making it a space I can get sh** done and let my creative juices flow.

So Beauty and the Beast just came out on DVD right? I've been watching it pretty much consistently all my life but especially since I got my pre-ordered DVD in the mail.  To say it's my favorite Disney movie is an understatement as reflected in some of the references in my guest room post ironically titled "Be our Guest" Now here's the reason for the Beauty and the Beast tangent, since I love the story so much, I got some Belle related art work :)

The picture on the left is a water color painting of Belle "with her nose stuck in a book" and the words read "That girl is strange but special"  I would say similar things can be said about me haha. Plus this is hung above a couch section I have in there where I sit and read from time-to-time. The picture on the right is of a dandelion with it's seeds flying away with the words that Belle singes in the meadow when she releases dandelion seeds: "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere" how inspiring? Both pictures have the letters in metallic ink so it's shiny and of course I love things that glitter, shine, or sparkle! Of course in the middle is a picture of my family at the Alan Jackson concert, who's music I also love.

Oh and I love my Dad, Mom, and sister too :)

On the wall by my desk is another great form of inspiration and this one is a bit more in your face which, when you have my procrastination skills, is sometimes what you need.

You Got This! Definitely a comforting and inspiring thing to see when the bills need to be paid, budget needs to be done, grocery list or to do list needs compiled and then completed.

And there you have it! A few minor tweaks can go a long way to take your house from like, to love. I, as mentioned, did some shopping in stores but I also shopped my craft closet.  I've been squirreling away items from my grandparent's farm, garage sale/Goodwill finds, hand-me-down decor.  If you are feeling the need to shift rooms from one you just have mild feelings about to head-over-heals, shop your house first.  Does something not quite fit in one room? Try taking it to another.  Forgot about that lamp you bought years ago? Dig it out and find it a home.  You can do a lot with things you already have.

How do you make your house feel like home?