Making your House a Home

I get a lot of questions about how to decorate and design different styles of houses.

There is one thing that remains consistent in designing every style of house and home.

I can tell you what decor pieces go together well. However, have you ever moved into a new house or apartment? Only later to find yourself saying…

It just doesn’t feel like home yet.

That is because you haven’t made it your home yet.

Making your house a home means that you need to put you back into it.

For example, the first picture on this post is a photo taken of our engagement book; A gift that I gave to Jay [My husband].

Below, I have inserted some more photos of this book.

What is relevant about this item, is that it is not just a picture of a book that I purchased at my favorite decor store, because it looked pretty.

This is an item that I use as a piece of decor in our home. Yes, I believe it is a pretty decorative item as well; But more importantly, it means a lot to me and my husband.

This pretty book sits on our coffee table. When a guest opens this piece of decor, inside they will find that it tells our story. Inside you will find letters written to my husband, prayers, pictures, vow lines, song lyrics, quotes, and poems that I have written.

Photos are another great way to personalize your home!

The second picture shown on this blog entry is an image showing some of our gallery wall.

Our gallery wall displays different photos from our wedding. Most often, I find gallery walls to look best when they display a specific theme and color palate.

For example…

Regardless of the theme you like, they all display a piece of you and your family. A piece of your heart and what is important to you.

Encased in this dome [Currently on sale] are the letters that my husband and I wrote to one another before our wedding.

On our wedding day, we were given a gift from the other. Displayed on a tray were these letters.

I have attached some photos, below, to show you how they were used.

This formal way of preserving and displaying a piece of us, to read and see anytime we want, is such a gift.

I love getting to have these keepsakes on display in our house; As a happy memory and reminder of how blessed we truly are.

Another wedding keepsake we display, in this way, are our vow booklets.

Actually, Jay and I have pulled these out multiple times and read them because they are so easily accessible; Every marriage, I think, could benefit from this.

We have also decided to get them out every year on our anniversary and read them to one another; So, we will be keeping these on display for years to come.

I grew up in Jupiter, Florida. As such, nautical living and the ocean are very close to my heart. Naturally, living in Alabama, I do not have this view in my backyard anymore.

Realizing this fact, is something that took me quite a while to be alright with and as much as I love my new home; Who wouldn’t miss this?

My “Momma” [That is the only way to say it] has always had a great way of bringing my heart to Alabama for me.

This is actually a stunning piece of art that she purchased for Jay and myself, from a good friend of hers; Craig Dietrich.

Below are more photographs of some of his work.

There is nothing better than portraying a piece of your childhood, your heart, and your soul in your own home.

This is a picture of our “guestbook” from our wedding.

I originally came up with this idea because I didn’t want to use a book that would just get put away in storage. After a lot of thought, I was inspired by the Love Lock Bridge in Paris.

Each guest, took a piece of old tea tag paper and wrote us a love note, attached a small key, and hung their message on the gate.

I could not be happier with how this idea turned out. Not only was it more fun and creative on the big day but it is something that Jay and I will cherish forever.

Today we have this on display in our living room. Friends and family alike love trying to find their love note when visiting our home together.

Below are some images of the set-up on the big day.

Here, I have pictured the china we used for our wedding and our “thank you” letter to our guests.

We actually ended up giving a table setting of these plates to both of our parents after the wedding as well.

Not only do we display these on our breakfast table but we actually use them fairly often too.

These thank you letters are just another happy memory and reminder that I like to leave on display.

This is a family recipe book that I use regularly.

Our favorite family recipes are all written here, in this book.

Not only that, but every entry is hand written by the family member who we received that recipe from.

Every page|entry is also timed and dated; Which I absolutely love.

Sometimes, we even pack it away and bring it to family member’s homes when we go to visit; To make sure we never miss out on a good recipe!

I plan to keep this long after some of it’s authors have left us. Therefore, I will cherish it forever and hopefully get to pass it down to our kids [If it holds up].