10 of My Favorite Home Decisions

As I was driving home tonight, I pulled into our circle drive, rather than the garage. I entered our home through a different door, and with a fresh perspective. One of the only reminders of where the home started is the front door itself and the blessing written in chalk just above it. I walked in and realized I was thankful for so many things – so many little decisions that once felt overwhelming, but collectively, feel so right.

Our home is not perfect. It’s a work-in-progress. While I’ve shared a lot of before and “afters”, truly, they’re all durings, which leads me to one of many choices in our home that I am happy with. I thought I’d share the choices that I am beyond excited 1-2 years later. {Originally posted August 30, 2016.}

1. I am glad that we are taking our home room by room rather than trying to complete our home “overnight”. Charm comes through being lived in, function is found when you have the time to experience the space and see how you utilize it. Decorating over time rather than filling your home with pieces at once can allow you more opportunity to add pieces that are significant to you. Take a deep breath, take your time and don’t allow photos online to make you and your home feel insignificant. 
2. I love our sand and stain hardwood floors. After talking with our flooring guy, he advised me to go to a flooring wholesaler who showed me so many beautiful engineered hardwood floors that were indeed beautiful, but nothing has the look and feel of true, genuine hardwood floors. Knicks and scratches only gracefully age them and if you really want to, you can sand and stain them time and time again as your taste changes. I am glad that we weren’t swayed and invested a little more energy {a short move out of our home}. Not long after we had our wood floors installed, our new roof leaked and the floors warped. Eek! Not too worry, our flooring guy came by and said “I’m glad you went with sand and stain, they’ll fall back into place when the weather changes.” Guess what? They did. 
3. About one week into our last home I had wished that I had painted our main level in a cream rather than grey, but couldn’t justify paying to have it repainted. I did however love the upstairs which was painted Zurich White – it felt light, bright, but warm. When we purchased this home, we had it painted in various shades of cream and I am head over heels in love with it. It’s warm, inviting, open, spacious and easily transitions with the seasons. 
4. Can we talk about door knobs? I know, boring, right? WRONG! We replaced builder’s grade nickel door knobs with crystal and brass door knobs, giving our home a timeless depth that adds to otherwise less than exciting areas like a hallway. 
5. We have the luxury of spending a little more in our current home and decided that one way we would “invest” in it would be to select authentic lighting and as it has aged, I am reminded that the return is tenfold. The patina adds much needed interest to our home. I always say that faux metals come and go, but real metal is timeless. 
   
6. Another decision that we’ve never regretted is updating our screened in porch, defining the space as a dining room. It has extended our living space and allows us to enjoy the beautiful views and a glimpse of the sunset. 
7. When we first purchased our home, I considered whitewashing the fireplace, but it turns out that leaving the brick and minimizing it with a mantel is one of the best choices we have made. It connects the exterior of our home to the interior. It is also original to the home, which adds instant character. We even added brick floors in our mudroom, which connects it and makes it feel fresh. 
8. I’ll never regret removing the heavy vanities that once stood in both of our powder rooms. Unless you really need the storage, they consume a lot of space in a tiny room. Eliminating them nearly doubled the footprint, instantly making the powder rooms feel larger.  
   
9. I’m also thankful that we found several ways to make our older home function in a modern world. By utilizing an old armoire, updating a linen closet and turning a bookcase into a dry bar/bar cabinet, we made our home work for us. We also add storage systems to the garage and removed a couple of closets to allow light to flow and make hanging coats one less step. 
10. Finally, I’m glad we finished the basement. It not only extended our living space, but likely my life. I wish I were a little less crazy about the chaos that comes with being a mother of 3 girls, but when your daughter draws on your linen ottoman with bright green chalk, what are you to do? PANIC. No, really, you just use a little upholstery cleaner, take a few deep breaths and equal drinks of wine, but having a designated “just about anything goes” space is priceless! We painted the walls and previously carpeted stairs, added a stair runner and a versatile floor and pretty much said “go for it”. It’s been fabulous!

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Of course there’s always a regret. For us, it’s painting our garage floor with an epoxy. After properly cleaning it and waiting 4 days for it to cure, it has peeled up in multiple places. What was once just drab is now a source of frustration. I’m hoping to find a remedy that won’t consume an entire weekend – fingers crossed! If you have any ideas, I’m all ears!

What do you love about your home? What are some of your favorite decisions?

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