Happy almost New Year! Today I wanted to share a round up of some of my favorite posts as I reflect back on 2014. It was an awesome year. Right now I am taking a little break to wind up the holidays, complete a few projects and gear up for an exciting 2015! It’s nearly time for my annual Home Goals review and my new goal list, so stay tuned for that!
I have so many plans for The Inspired Room this year (a few secret plans are already in the works behind-the-scenes!), project ideas I can’t wait to do around my home, helpful posts we are going to feature, fun announcements and really awesome things to share that I know you are going to enjoy. Not to mention the REAL LIVE books I wrote that will be published! AHHHH! So exciting. And scary.
2015 is shaping up to be a productive and inspiring year, and I think it will be one of the best ever for The Inspired Room and all you wonderful kindred spirits out there. I love being here among friends, and can’t wait to get back to our favorite topics and conversations.
A few favorite posts from The Inspired Room in 2014:
1. Get To Know You: Home Sweet Home: We loved getting to know you and your homes a bit in this post! We read every single comment and you made our YEAR! We are planning another new “get to know you” post, soon!
2. Secrets to Success and Longevity in Blogging: This post was fun to write and we received so many sweet comments. I’m so glad it was helpful and I plan to write a similar post this year with more thoughts!
3. The Truth About White Slipcovers: Pet Edition
4. The Unraveling: Jack and Lily’s ornament incident
A few favorite cookbooks we acquired in 2014:
My favorite inspiring design book in 2014:
A few favorite home improvements in 2014:
Laundry room refresh (continuing to eliminate all traces of swine!)
Getting organized in the dining room (with entertaining cabinets)
Home office progress and my new rattan bookshelf in the office (I have more to show you soon, I’ve made some more progress)
Master bedroom progress (as seen in my fall house tour)
Creating a reading corner in the gathering room
Our new gray Sunbrella wingback chair
Wicker wingbacks for the front porch
See my progress report from April here!
2014 House Tours:
Christmas House Tour Part One and Part Two
Favorite accomplishments in 2014:
Being voted Reader’s Favorite Decorating Blog by Better Homes & Gardens (thank you so much for voting!)
My kitchen featured in Better Homes and Gardens
Celebrating my 7th year of blogging and announcing my book contracts
Hiring my daughter Courtney to work for The Inspired Room full time
Keeping my fiddle leaf fig alive for longer than a week
A few favorite family memories from 2014:
My oldest daughter buying her first house
I love your blog and everything you write about and I look forward to reading your posts. Your home is beautiful and inspires me to look at mine with new eyes. Like you I have grown up children and a dog so I feel we have a lot in common. Keep up the good work.
Wonderful year full of blessings! Thanks for sharing your talents- Happy New Year.
This is my favorite part of the year! I love reading all the highlights and top blog posts. I’m playing “catch up”.
I don’t know if you care what people think if it’s negative, but maybe you do, so here: every time you talk about your house being painted “swine” I think how ungrateful that sounds. It doesn’t look like “swine” to me, it looks like a shade of tan, and apparently it’s not a cool color anymore, but your house is lovely, “swine” or not. Every time you say that, I think how we really don’t have much in common, and it doesn’t make me want to buy your books. I love your floors and your kitchen and I think you should be really grateful for having such a lovely home. Maybe you are. Happy New Year.
Having a wall color you don’t care for doesn’t mean you aren’t grateful for your home. If you don’t prefer a color in your home and you change it with a fresh coat of paint, I believe it’s just a reflection of your personal taste or preferences, your care in maintaining your home, or your enjoyment in being creative. That’s like saying because you chose to eat soup for lunch instead of a cracker from your pantry you must not be grateful for the cracker. Or if you decide to get a new shirt you must not have been grateful for your old shirt. Or if you dye your gray hair you must not have been grateful to have hair. It’s wonderful to have choices about what to wear or eat or how to decorate, but of course having choices at all is a blessing no one should take for granted. It’s fun to have a choice, but it isn’t a necessity or a reflection of our gratitude.
My walls were in need of a good coat of paint and over the past six years, we’ve changed the color as we painted each wall. They were a flat dry flesh colored mauve pink in certain light. We call them swine around here because it’s an amusing way for us to picture them, but there is nothing “uncool” about tan or pink or any other color people might like for their walls. You might have noticed that I don’t talk about what’s cool or not cool or in or out around here very much, because I believe a home and how you decorate it should be personal to you. I wouldn’t judge your wall colors or you at all based on what color you like.
I’m very grateful for my home and have been all along, with or without swine walls. :-) Happy New Year!
I have been decluttering a bag a day. Some days when I am motivated, I can declutter 4 bags a day. I will reward myself with an ice cream whenever this happens.
Thanks for your article!