house sharing

the blogs i love the most are home improvement DIY blogs. not really the blogs with professional photos of impeccably designed rooms. those are great and beautiful and all, but i am less drawn to them because it looks like no one actually lives there. the rooms look straight and careful and sooooo 'on trend' and like you wouldn't want to walk through the room for fear of trampling the rug or scuffing the hand scraped african rainforest hardwoods, or whathaveyou. i like the rooms where the homeowner cannot afford the custom handwoven rug and is not bothered by that fact. instead, they've happily thrown down a splashy ikea floorcovering or are ignoring the stained linoleum altogether and are training their eyes on the thrift shop distressed hutch standing proudly in the corner. meanwhile, there's a bucket of kids toys or a stack of gossip magazines taking a place of prominence in the room because, well, that is what the room is actually used for: living. and reading gossip magazines. which is part of living, right? anyway, i love seeing how people live and use their homes. how they create spaces that are cozy and friendly and most of all, how they create spaces where they want to live. where they will drink their morning coffee, kiss their kids good night, laugh with friends, you know... the good stuff. we're all interested in making these good moments better, which includes living these moments in places we love.

why am i telling you this? since i love seeing the real homes, i figure there's a good many of you who like the same thing. and since blogging is a two-way street, i want to share our home. so i guess i'm telling you this partly as a disclaimer, partly as a confession, and partly as a mercy plea.

the disclaimer: i feel fortunate beyond words that this is my home. god has blessed us not only with a safe peaceful country, but also a beautiful coastal town where we can raise our little family. this house is bigger than we need, and prettier than we deserve. that we get to put our own little spin on how it looks is a pure treat. if i say something that sounds crabby, or sounds like a complaint, please know that i am a brat. i am blessed far beyond anything i deserve. i do know that, but sometimes it might not convey.

the confession: i am not an interior designer. {did i even need to say that?} i am a girl who likes pretty things and really enjoys tinkering around with the aesthetic of my home. i like it to change and evolve and grow over time. i don't enjoy a room that looks like it was built in one day. i don't like to think of any room in my home ever being "done." actually, i like for them to be a little unfinished so when i give someone a house tour i can comment about it being 'a work in progress,' you know, to explain the mess. i like almost anything that can be described as refurbished, distressed, from a flea market, from the trash pile, reclaimed, and most of all, anything that looks like it was once in active use in a school or industrial setting. i also really like things that are free.

the mercy plea: there are loads of bigger, flashier, smarter, more beautiful, more ingenious, more expensive, or just all around better houses than mine. if i say something that makes me sound all high and mighty, righteous, or like i think i have just invented the internet, please ignore me.

cool. onward...