The mentality behind decorating.

With another semester now under my belt—having experienced all of the emotions, joys, and stresses that come with being a working, newlywed student, I have discovered some truths (at least for myself personally).

But what I am thinking of right now has nothing to do with school, work, or even cleaning the house…instead, I am honing in on the factor of decorating.

This semester I have been wrestling through controlling myself when it comes to decorating our apartment—when we know that we will only be here until next May. We vowed to not make any large purchases and are saving it for the future when we are in a more permanent residence. This is logical—it makes sense.




But if you have ever experienced “design fever,” you’ll understand. The things that keep me awake at night are what color I would like to paint the walls and the things that I ponder in down time is how I could decorate a certain corner. Colors, patterns, and textures take a large chunk of my brain. If design and DIY could be an addiction or “guilty pleasure” it would be mine. Granted, I have learned to prioritize. In fact, DIY Design doesn’t make the list until about bullet 6 after husband, family& friends, church, school, and work.

But there is truth to the fact that a well decorated home aids in the coziness, the warmth, and the cheeriness that it provides. A clean & pretty home gives me a place to welcome friends, a place my husband can come back to and rest, a place that I can feel at peace and focus on what really matters. We obviously can’t spend all of our lives on decorating and cleaning, but in my opinion, there should be a small chunk. No matter your style or means, take advantage of the space that you have and make it special.

In my case, with all things temporary—I’ve had to limit myself. But with a few trips to Goodwill, some printable crafts, and the art of bringing the outdoors in—I would consider our apartment to be a haven of sorts. Sure, it’s not all that it could be and will be in the future. But the key to remember (and what I’ve been getting at this whole post), is that you can’t spend life dreaming about a future home or capabilities. You must start where you are and within your means, make it your place, and be proud of it—use it to welcome people in.

I will vouch for this being possible since I have done so on Dollar Store budget.

This thought, this mentality, is a superior thread in this blog.

Do what you can with what you have, be content.

To quote one of my long-admired bloggers, the Nester,

"It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful."