Beautify Your Home Powwow!

Have you ladies beautified your home? Are you ready to link up? Good!


So as you all know, we're moving into an charming farmhouse this month. Although fitting our family of 4 in a small townhouse has proved challenging, we have had a beautiful home here. (That is, after I made my new years resolutions and turned it around from the garbage dump it started out as).


My idea of a beautiful home is comfortable meets practical meets beauty meets personalization. My home has to be a practical comfy place to be... the kids and I are here all day every day! I mean, we do live here! But I can't rest if I don't feel surrounded by beauty. Your home needs to be yours, and not someone else's.

Make sure you like it: I. Love. Purple. Could you guys tell that by looking at my blog? Haha! Yes, I feel my best when surrounded by purple, so I surround!


Be Original: The number one thing I would like for people to think when they walk into my home is "Wow! I like this... but it's nothing I would do in my home." I love to be original! I guess that's a trait that comes along with being an artist. I keep our nativity set out year round on our mantel. It reminds me of how God came down to Earth for us, and it makes me happy to look at it up there. It's not something normal people do... but it makes me happy and it sure is original!

The Starry Night coffee table I painted was also pretty original. Or do any of you have a Starry Night coffee table??? ;-)

Mix Practicality with beauty: The toys are out. My children are 3 and 1. This is their home too, and they come with a whole mess of diapers and eyesores. We are not on a sitcom. We live here... all of us. So our home is practical. But I minimize eyesores when I can with cabinet doors that close. Here, I'll show you with my X-ray vision:

But some things have to sit out where even regular people can see them (...not just us "supers"). You can help classify this look with some nice baskets.

Our entry hall needed to be more functional, and I was able to make it more practical for our family. In the process, I sprinkled it with some beauty as well!

Make it Personal: Family portraits, your children's artwork, your wedding cake topper, that ugly unicorn statue your grandma gave you when you were a kid, trinkets from your family vacations... these are the things that make a home. Surround yourself with things that make you happy and tell a story.

Yes, that's a flip flop in my china cabinet... but I wore it on my wedding day!

My final tip???

Keep it Clean! Cleaning will take any room from eyesore to extraordinary. I learned that the long way. Just yesterday, I shampooed the living room carpet, and I have not loved my living room this much in a looooong time! I just want to frolic on the floor and roll on the rug!


Don't be a slob... but do remember to enjoy your beautiful home!

Now it's your turn! What have you done to make your home a beautiful place to be? What are your ideas and tricks? Leave us a link or a comment and let us know what you have to say about your beautiful home!

Rules:

1. Link must be about your beautiful home (decorating archives count!)
   
2. You must link back to The Masked Mommy in your post
3. Enjoy and leave some comment love ;-)

Powwow runs from now until Sunday! If Mr. Linky is still open, feel free to link!