I love to nest.
The fun thing about nesting is that everybody's nest looks different. There is no secret ingredient. There is no perfect method. In fact, the more unique and imperfect it is the more beautiful it is.
For the Watsons, nesting has taken a unique form. Our home is a small apartment inside of a borrowed space- a women's residence hall. Creativity wears a different hat when your options are limited. In my opinion, this is when creativity really shines. Here are a few ways to describe my nesting these days:
Rearranging way too many times in 1 week. Sometimes I disassemble the living room. Add a new side table. Sometimes I just move cute little accents around. Change, that scary thing I usually avoid, is what makes nesting fun for me. My husband is used to coming home to something new and he thinks its silly but humors me. I think he realizes that a small inconvenience (like not being sure where to put his keys and wallet) is the unfolding of my creativity. So he just laughs and lets the nesting happen. Nesting is fun when you keep things fresh.
Thrifty nifty. Our home represents the life we're choosing right now. Since we are committed to getting our school debt paid off, we are on a tight budget (which means I cannot just browse Target home decor anymore...) Our home is a hodgepodge of thrift store antiques or just pretty little things that catch my eye. You'd be surprised what you can find when others get rid of what they're bored of. I look for things that tell a story. It seems to make me feel connected to the homes of others. It doesn't have to be NEW to be nesting.
Paint covers a multitude of sins. People. Have you heard of the miracle that is Annie Sloan chalk paint?! I love this stuff. It covers virtually ever surface with out having to pre-sand or strip before painting! And the colors are lovely. (You'll hear more about this paint in future posts). The biggest project my crafty mom and I took on was covering a 70's walnut hutch ($60, Salvation Army thrift store) with duck egg blue chalk paint. My hubby added chicken wire to display our fancy wedding dishes that we never use. I am IN LOVE with this piece. The cool thing is- you can do it too. Check out Big White Goose Store.
Rearranging way too many times in 1 week. Sometimes I disassemble the living room. Add a new side table. Sometimes I just move cute little accents around. Change, that scary thing I usually avoid, is what makes nesting fun for me. My husband is used to coming home to something new and he thinks its silly but humors me. I think he realizes that a small inconvenience (like not being sure where to put his keys and wallet) is the unfolding of my creativity. So he just laughs and lets the nesting happen. Nesting is fun when you keep things fresh.
Thrifty nifty. Our home represents the life we're choosing right now. Since we are committed to getting our school debt paid off, we are on a tight budget (which means I cannot just browse Target home decor anymore...) Our home is a hodgepodge of thrift store antiques or just pretty little things that catch my eye. You'd be surprised what you can find when others get rid of what they're bored of. I look for things that tell a story. It seems to make me feel connected to the homes of others. It doesn't have to be NEW to be nesting.
Paint covers a multitude of sins. People. Have you heard of the miracle that is Annie Sloan chalk paint?! I love this stuff. It covers virtually ever surface with out having to pre-sand or strip before painting! And the colors are lovely. (You'll hear more about this paint in future posts). The biggest project my crafty mom and I took on was covering a 70's walnut hutch ($60, Salvation Army thrift store) with duck egg blue chalk paint. My hubby added chicken wire to display our fancy wedding dishes that we never use. I am IN LOVE with this piece. The cool thing is- you can do it too. Check out Big White Goose Store.
I think I love nesting because it's a kind of creative expression I feel capable of contributing. There are times when I don't feel good at it. That mostly happens when I spend too much time on Pinterest trying to recreate a look or too much time browsing others' creations on Instagram. I think successful nesting, the beautiful kind, is measured by the uniqueness of those who dwell within its walls. When the style, the overall ambience and the accents tell the beautiful story of your family. Does it fit you? Is it nice to come home to? Do you want to invite others in? Then it's beautiful. That's nesting at its finest, folks.
"Eclectic ingredients intentionally selected and woven together..." As much as you joke about not being detailed or artistic I think this phrase captures your homemaking perfectly. I love our home. The time you spend making it ours doesn't go unnoticed :)
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