My posts are becoming too long. . .

A while back, I posted some pictures of the inside of my home.
My sister, Karen, liked the post and was excited to see some more pictures of the rest of my home.
I walked around taking photos of the rest of the house. There is nothing there.
I don't like the rest of the house right now. There is potential.
It's mostly bare walls, and unfinished projects.

That is one of the hardest things I have found about being a stay-at-home mom. I'm home A LOT.
I stare at the walls of my home everyday and want to get out and do something about it.
It's just not that easy, though, for me.

I love real estate, floor plans, remodels, interior decorating, model homes, 

anything to do with making a house a home.

Long before blogging, and bloggers shared their decorating ideas online;

I loved the idea of making my house a home.

There is something in me that likes to take a bare space, make it better,

and liven it up with color.  I love making a home personal.  

But, it's hard for me to do. Really hard.

I'm not a full-time decorator.

Between life, kids, church, laundry, feeding everyone, illnesses and everything in between, decorating always falls at the very, very, very bottom of the to-do list that never gets done.

Decorating takes a lot of time,  A       LOT      OF         T    I    M     E.

I make a lot of mistakes and I do a lot of returns, and leave things unfinished.

It takes some money, I know you can decorate on a budget, but it still takes money. 

Here are some pictures of the rest of my home:

The basement: bare walls, lack of organization, needs color

Guest Bathroom: boring & uninviting

Laundry Room: Needs some pizazz!!, something to make the room more inspiring & exciting to be in.

Living Room: Big Empty Space

The Home Office: Cluttered, I feel stressed when I come in here, I can never find what I need,

strange unfinished decorating ideas in here: ABC's falling off wall, free ugly blue shelf that was supposed to be repainted, weird storage ideas, etc. 

Sadie's Room: Bad mixture of girl and boy decor, too cheap to get a 2nd curtain to finish window,

badly needs a place for toddler books to be stored, an empty wall needing attention.

The boys' room: I painted the walls green, then left it unfinished.

I didn't like the green color, so I gave up.

We will be having "Make your bed School" over the summer.

Master Bedroom: Not good. A bad clash of a blue nautical theme with older Tuscany style curtains.

You can see the master bath has the same problem: maroon with blue but not in the same style decor.

Excercise equipment in the wrong place, empty spaces needing attention.

We have orange bedroom furniture.

I have been feeling inspired recently to begin again.
To move decorating to the top of my to-do list.

A long time ago I attended a fireside for young women. The speaker was a long time custodian for one of the L.D.S. Temples.  She talked about the importance of using symbolism in our homes, and for us to observe the simple, beautiful inside decor of temples to inspire us to make our homes more meaningful.
We are taught "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." Bible Dictionary, p. 781


My children are quickly growing up, they need to feel loved, welcome, warm, and happy in our home.
They need inspiration, and confidence. I can teach them things indirectly by the kinds of things I decorate with or hang on the walls in our home.

I've already begun very slowly.
I made a list. (Of course, any project needs a list!)
I'm going to start one thing at a time, It might be room by room, or project by project.
It might take me years. (Of course it will take me years.)
But, I'm going to do it anyway, and try not to get discouraged.

I went to the library and looked at home decorating books.
They were mostly boring, out of date, old, and too wordy with not enough pictures for inspiration.
But, I did find this one that I got a few useful tips from.

It was quick and easy to read, with good, simple inspiration.

In one of my future posts I will share some of his tips.

I have been inspired by this blog.

Scroll down on her right side bar to see her family room, kitchen, & master bath redesigns.

I don't want to copy or do everything like her.

But her blog is simple, quick, and easy to get inspired by.

She has undertaken some big projects, that part is not quick and simple, but I still found it inspiring.

Now, that I've posted about my plans, I need to follow through.

My blog actually inspires me to do better.

If I write/post about it, I should do it.

Let's see what happens!!!!!!

Fingers crossed, someday, I can show you some after pictures of these rooms in my home!