The author, Myquillyn Smith{known as The Nester}, blogs over at Nesting Place. You may have heard me mention it before. It's kinda my favorite.
And she is awesome. She is now living in her 14th house in 18 years, 13th at the time the book was written. Crazy, huh? But out of the crazy, is her story. Her story also includes a house full of boys and dog hair. And everything in her house gets used.
Her big mantra is "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" and it's a mantra I'm learning to speak to myself every day. From the very first chapter, my perfectionist butt was getting whipped. Not only in how I see my home, but also life in general. I couldn't put it down!
I suffer from this horrible thing called perfectionism. It paralyzes me when I come to make a decorating decision. Usually I end up doing nothing because I don't want to make a mistake. This book challenged and inspired me to just get things done! Because done is better than perfect.
And, really now, who can relate to someone that's perfect? I want the people that come in my house to feel welcomed, comfortable, and like we could just be good friends. That's not going to happen if I'm putting on a perfect, put-together face.
I suffer from this horrible thing called perfectionism. It paralyzes me when I come to make a decorating decision. Usually I end up doing nothing because I don't want to make a mistake. This book challenged and inspired me to just get things done! Because done is better than perfect.
And, really now, who can relate to someone that's perfect? I want the people that come in my house to feel welcomed, comfortable, and like we could just be good friends. That's not going to happen if I'm putting on a perfect, put-together face.
She has a lot of practical tips for making your home beautiful as well. She says to remember your lifelong decorating favorites and incorporate them into your home. Because it makes you happy and it makes your home yours. My favorite things to decorate with when I was little were animal figurines, especially birds and horses, and stuff from nature. Seashells, feathers, rocks...that sort of thing.
I'm not sure how I can use it all together yet but I'm excited to try!
Even if you aren't a crazy decorator person like me, you should still read it. If you have ever apologized for your house when guests come over, then this book is for you too! Throughout the book, the emphasis is on home as a haven for people, not just a perfectly pretty house for pretty's sake. And that's a message we all need to be reminded of.
Through her blog, and now her book, The Nester has helped me remember that home is beautiful because of the lives we live in it and because of the lives of the others we share it with. Many times the beauty is in the imperfection. And it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
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