Make Your Home Your Own

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New England Home Photography by John Gould Bessler

Do you feel the freedom to make your house your own? Do you decorate in a way that makes you happy, brings you joy and reflects who you are? I know so many people tend to get “stuck” when it comes to making their own decorating decisions for their home.

We might worry too much about what other people will think (especially for those of us who post our homes on social media, since we have Instagram telling us what people like or don’t like).

We sometimes worry too much about the impact our changes will have on a future sale, even if we are making good decisions and have no plans to move any time soon. We worry that we are making a design or budget mistake, even if our heart knows it’s what would bring us more joy.

Make Your Home Your Own — *Country Living*

Your home is the one place on earth where you should feel fully comfortable and give yourself permission to be surrounded by what you love! Even if you are renting or are only in your home for a short time, you can find ways to make it your own.

Southern Idea House, Coastal Style — *2019 Southern Living Idea House*
*Photographer: Laurey W. Glenn; Stylist: Liz Strong*

There are so many ways to make your house your own. Whether it is changes to the architecture, the accessories, the colors, the style, the arrangement of the furniture, the organization of the room or the look of the lighting or rugs.

My general rule of thumb with decorating is: if a design decision or change is extra scary because a mistake would cost you thousands of dollars to fix or would set you back more money than you can afford to lose if you decide later that you don’t like it, it might put your mind at ease to first ask for a professional opinion, get design help from someone you fully trust, or give it more time to think it over. Don’t rush it.

Otherwise, don’t worry! Do what you love. Bring in personality. Do something unexpected if you want to! It’s OK to put a room together in a different way than everyone else. Blend in pieces or features you don’t love as much so doesn’t have to stand out.

Navy powder room with white shiplap — *New England Home* *Photography by John Gould Bessler*

Chances are, you can find a way love the room as a whole in spite of any design missteps you make along the way, or any limitations the room might have. It’s OK to live with the imperfect. I think imperfect is far more charming, anyway.

Join me in HomeBody Gathering Place for our weekly Home Therapy plus get inspired by six e-zine style decorating guides found in my signature Room Recipe Decorating Method! I’m there to answer questions if you need help, too!