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Fall Nesting Tips: #20 Find Beauty Where You Are

by | Nov 11, 2009 | Authentic Living, Fall Decorating, Seasonal Decorating & Entertaining

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Fall Nesting Tips: #20 Find Beauty Where You Are

It is time for our Fall Nesting tips to transition from fall to ideas for embracing the holiday seasons. I have many more series like this in mind for the future! But before we make that switch to holiday and winter ideas, I’ll offer you one final Fall Nesting Tip for 2009.

Fall Nesting Tip #20

Find beauty where you are.

It is so easy to get caught up in all the things you have, don’t have, should have, wish you could do, envy about what someone else has and wish you could change about your life TODAY.

I’ve always disliked the term “decorate.” It is quite ironic considering that is my chosen profession. But decorating seems so pretentious and superfluous. I prefer to get to the heart of what it means to create a home.

Nesting isn’t about having the latest, greatest, most stylish, up-to-date or most picture perfect magazine-worthy home. Nesting is the process creating a HOME — a place where you and your family are nurtured.

Nesting is creating a safe haven, a place a peace and comfort that welcomes us home every day. Don’t let blogs or magazines or glossy photos of stylized rooms intimidate you into thinking your home is not wonderful enough.

Be real. Be yourself. Each and every one of us can have a lovely home if we can make peace with where we are. I really don’t care if your home is “current” or “fashionable” or if all the design snobs would snub their nose at your choices. The important thing is that you learn to love where you are, that you live within your means and limitations, and your life at home is beautiful to you.

Fall Nesting Tips: #20 Find Beauty Where You Are

There are many things I want to change about my home or my furniture. Things I want to change NOW! You all know my walls oink and squeal at me. They mock me. I enjoy seeing my rooms in black and white to blank out those swine colored walls and fabrics I don’t want to see! And sometimes that is just how life is. You have to blur out the things about it that are not perfect so you can see with clarity the beautiful things you do have all around you.

Nesting is finding beauty where you are.

For the rest of this series and other fall ideas, click here!

37 Comments

  1. Kim

    This is a great message!! Thanks so much for sharing and encouraging us to make our houses a home!
    .-= Kim´s last blog ..Hospitality on the Go! =-.

    Reply
  2. Julia

    Love that bird and nest pillow. So pretty!

    Glad you’re joining us at Blissdom again next year. I know it’s a long way for you to travel! It’ll be fun to see everyone again. :)
    .-= Julia @ Hooked on Houses´s last blog ..Pets on Furniture =-.

    Reply
  3. Franki Parde

    LOVE your day dreams! Back to reality….where did you find that wonderful bird/nest pillow…..hmmmmm, how would that work in my ,,,,,,

    Reply
  4. sheri

    i couldn’t agree more. i posted awhile back about standing in my kitchen and seeing something as simple as fruit in an old fireking bowl that makes my day every.time.i.look.at.it. I don’t care that the bowl is blue and i don’t have a drop of blue in my house. It reminds me of my aunt and grandmother and i love that old stupid bowl. :)
    .-= sheri´s last blog ..This is a blog to say I’m not blogging =-.

    Reply
  5. Red Door Home

    So true! When people ask me my opinion of something I am always quick to add, “but it really does not matter what I think, you are the one who is going to live with your choices, not me.” Homes should be personal not necessarily reflecting the lastest trends.
    .-= Red Door Home´s last blog ..Amy Butler Sweet Harmony Handbag =-.

    Reply
  6. Marcy

    Thank you! This is so important – thank you for such a beautiful message.
    .-= Marcy´s last blog ..Fall color =-.

    Reply
  7. Stephanie

    Well said Melissa! Thank you for this great series. I really enjoyed it, and your message.
    .-= Stephanie @ A Fine House´s last blog ..Making a List, and Checking it Twice. =-.

    Reply
  8. Rene

    You are so right about finding beauty where you are…thank you for pointing that out. It is easy to be enticed by the latest and greatest with all of the talent that surrounds us. Oink, oink…

    Reply
  9. Christi

    Melissa, this is a great reminder – speaks to me exactly where I am right now.

    Thanks!
    .-= Christi´s last blog ..God is still good =-.

    Reply
  10. songbirdtiff

    There is, perhaps, no better tip than this. It is the easiest, least expensive way to have a beautiful home! Thank you for the reminder. :)
    .-= songbirdtiff´s last blog ..Ranch Seasoning Mix Recipe =-.

    Reply
  11. suzanne

    Oh, yes ma’am…….I totally understand and was just thinking the other day that I am so blessed. My home is indeed a blessing and I don’t need to be comparing it to what I WISH it was! thanks for sharing.

    Suzanne
    .-= suzanne´s last blog ..homemade gifts? =-.

    Reply
  12. Michelle, Home Staging Pro

    I’ve really enjoyed reading this series. Thank you for sharing it.

    One thing I tell my interior design clients that I have learned from my home staging business is the best way to make your house more livable and enjoyable is to declutter. Bite the bullet and get rid of stuff you don’t use, and put the rest away. Your house will instantly look better, and best of all, its free. Open space created by decluttering makes the things you do love stand out and shine.
    .-= Michelle, Home Staging Pro´s last blog ..Staging A Business – A Hollywood Advertising Agency Office Makeover =-.

    Reply
  13. LeAnn

    Hi Melissa,
    These are wonderful words for me today! I am afraid that I have let other blogs and magazines intimidate me for far too long but I am finally at peace with my decor and my style.

    Reply
  14. Gina

    What a great reminder! I find myself thinking a lot lately, “I just need to go pick up….” or, “If I just go out and buy…….then my holiday look will be complete.” I’ve been forcing myself to back up from those thoughts and work with what I have…and be flexible. I was thinking I can hardly remember all the specific holiday things that my mom decorated our home with growing up-but I remember the heart of it. She took time to make it special, no matter what we had. I’m encouraged to continue doing that today-thanks for sharing!
    .-= Gina´s last blog ..Projects, Projects, Projects =-.

    Reply
  15. joanne

    So true! Many years back my husband, while doing some tree pruning, found a tiny bird’s nest in the tree. It was abandoned by its former owner, so he took it down to show my daughter. I myself was amazed at what was in that nest! Bits of string, dried grass, even a wad of dog hair, no doubt from my Golden Retreiver, whom I brush out side daily! I was humbled then, by what was in there to make that nest just perfect. To this day, when I see dog hair tumbleweeds (Golden owners, you know just what I am talking about!) blowing about my house, I remember that nest- dog hair and all, and I realize my home is just perfect the way it is, right now, hair and all…
    joanne

    Reply
  16. Abbie

    Thanks! It’s so easy for me to get overwhelmed right now at all the (mostly cosmetic like wallpaper) changes I want done in my house NOW! So I’m going to try to take it one baby step at a time to get it done.
    .-= Abbie´s last blog ..And the wall(paper) came tumbling down. =-.

    Reply
  17. Julie

    Oh Melissa—You have such a gift and such wonderful insight. Many, many thanks for the loving, caring and much needed reminder. I, dare I say we, all need this from time to time. Perhaps never more so than in the wake of the tragedy at Ft. Hood. Since I live in Texas, perhaps we are hearing more than in other parts of the country, but another startling reminder of ALL that I have and my heart overflows with gratitude. THANK YOU. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours sweet lady.

    Reply
  18. Kathy

    I absolutely agree with you, Melissa! Ultimately a home should reflect the loves and lifestyles of the people who live in it ~ not whatever the current trend is. I kind of make my own trend in my home ~ right now I’m on a black and white kick and that’s how I’m refreshing my living room.

    Reply
  19. Barbara F.

    Melissa – I have really enjoyed all the Fall Nesting Tips. Thanks so much for creating these messages and sharing them with us.

    I’m assuming the pictures associated with this post are of your house – the bird plates and bird prints are wonderful! I’d love to find those for my own home.

    Reply
  20. Janean

    completely agree. thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply
  21. Denise

    Hey, are you talking to me? Thank you for the reminder of what is important!

    Reply
  22. a-m

    Oh you are sooo right Melissa. I am just about to sell my home and move into a rental again. I get excited every time about creating a new home, no matter where or what it is. If we yearn too much for things we miss the happiness in ‘the now’. Great inspirational post as ALWAYS. A-M xx

    Reply
  23. Abbey G.

    This message is so perfect, especially as we’re rounding the corner toward Christmas (or am I the only one still making a wish list to Santa for Christmas?). On my blog I do Favorite Things Friday where I intentionally point out things in my home that I love. Well, I’ve only done it twice so far but it’s a great way to do exactly what you describe here. Thanks!

    Reply
  24. Elise

    You are soooo right ! I agree!! Thanx for sharing

    Love, Elise

    Reply
  25. Kathy  :)

    LOVED this post !!!!

    So true…

    Kathy :)

    Reply
  26. lynne ledom

    Thank you for saying what has needed to be said. I truly believe that it is a gift to transform a house into a home, but the most important ingredient of all is that it is filled with joy,laughter and love!

    Reply
  27. Elizabeth

    Thank you Melissa, you are so very right! I have enjoyed all your nesting tips, but this is my favourite. The idea of not worrying if our style is not up to someone else’s expectation, but rather to enjoy our homes and families the way WE choose to.
    .-= Elizabeth @ blue clear sky´s last blog ..Looking for more Cowboy/Farm ornament ideas =-.

    Reply
  28. HollyM

    This topic resonates with me; we just bought our home and we purchased it BECAUSE it felt like a home – – not a builder box, or trendy custom job. It is 30 yrs old, has a personality, and needs a few upgrades. . .someday. Right now it is comfy, cozy, warm and inviting. Who needs granite countertops?

    Reply
  29. Julia Ross

    What a wonderful and inspiring post you gave today. To be happy where you are and with what you have. Just what I needed to hear.

    Thank you.

    Julia

    Reply
  30. Lisa

    This just makes sense and it’s such wise advise. Thank you!
    .-= Lisa´s last blog ..Flavors of Fall =-.

    Reply
  31. Renae

    I’m with you! I enjoy making a home for our family wherever we end up. Sometime (like now) it’s a lot of hard work, but it pays off when my family can sink into the couch and giggle and laugh. That is the best decoration yet!
    .-= Renae´s last blog ..Homestead =-.

    Reply
  32. Linda in AZ *

    * Dear Melisssa~

    I wish time would permit me to tell you how very much I enjoyed this, & how you’ll never REALLLLLY know how T*R*U*E and profound your words honestly are!

    When one sees an eighteen-wheeler (or, oh my gosh, in MY case, TWO!) drive off with all one’s worldly possessions… after having been married 40 years & moved ALL over the world, to include having spent 18 years in Europe & two in the middle east… there’s that part of one’s heart that understandably & very quickly sinks… it just goes “thump”…right to your feet! (“Dear Lord, please bless all our friends we are now leaving”, and, “Oh Mr. Movers, PLEEEEASE be careful with OUR “life” you have loaded in your trucks!”).

    Then, after farewelling the place you have created into your “full-time home” for the last 18 months, 2 years, or even my goodness, THREE!) , and everyone hops in the car/s to head off for yet another “military adventure”, an EXCITEMENT fills the air… one of hope, expectations & dreams of what one’s “new” life will BE like… THIS time! And all of the sudden exhaustion & that little “fear of the unknown”, if approached correctly, can be so exciting & so actually ENTICING!

    Having “been there & done that”, for 38 years (& 27 or so moves), I can truly speak the honest-to-God TRUTH when I say no matter WHERE it is, there really IS “No place like home”~~~ and I know for a fact there’s not ONE SOLDIER DEPLOYED would would disagree with that.

    And, it’s ALWAYS beautiful to me, and my family.

    Thanks for letting me take up so much space… I tried to be as SHORT & to-the-point as I COULD be… “considering”!

    Many blessings,
    Linda in AZ *
    [email protected]

    Reply
  33. Lana of Simple Joys Paperie

    THANK YOU for this post. Several years ago I finally realized that it wasn’t what was in style or trendy that should be in my home. It should be things that mean something to me and my family, things that evoke fond memories, bring a smile to our faces, and make US happy.
    .-= Lana of Simple Joys Paperie´s last blog ..French Fleur de Lis Paper Wreath – Custom Order =-.

    Reply
  34. Linda

    Thank you for sharing this –

    I recently separated from my husband and had to leave my “home”. I miss it so much – breaks my heart.

    I am in an apartment – which seems so “unhomey” to me – but I need to figure out how to nest here.

    Reply

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