A Lived-In Home is a Beautiful Home

I want to say a big thank you for the amazing words of insight and encouragement and wisdom on yesterday’s post. Your words made me laugh, smile, and cry – all in good ways. I thank you.

Kristi said in response to that post (bolding mine), “This post is something I like every single woman can relate too. Probably even the ones in the magazines. It’s sad really. I started telling myself recently that while my house is not ‘new’ or ‘pre-fab chic’ like every. single. one. of my friend’s homes- I LOVE it just the way it is & I need to stop caring that they may be judging my house because the only people who should be judging my house are those that LIVE here. Maybe I’ll have to start doing that with my self-image. Only those that reside in this body have the right to judge it accurately or at ALL. & I really do like my body- my son is 2 and I still marvel that I made him, my body knew what to do and it DID it & he’s perfect. Love your post & love your blog. It makes me happy to see a ‘not new’ home being celebrated and loved on! (Now go do the same for yourself!!!)”.

I love that Kristi related how we can feel about our bodies and our selves the same way we do our homes. That even if we aren’t brand spanking perfect and shiny new, that we can be beautiful, and we ARE beautiful. Our selves and our homes. And what makes us beautiful is the laughter, the experiences, the things we do. Not the things we wear or how much we weigh. I am going to celebrate my home the same way I need to celebrate myself. For what it is inside, for what I do, for what is in my heart – laughter, love, and joy.

I love looking at magazines and blogs for inspiration for my home. I like working on my home, making it pretty, and adding “things” that make it cozier and more like a home than just a house. However, there is usually something missing from all of this inspiration. The people who live in the homes I drool over. What do people do there in that pretty room? And I hate to admit it but a lot of times I look at rooms and think how totally impractical they are – like they are so perfect, you’d be afraid to sit down or worse yet, let your child run free or even worse yet, let your dog play.

I can take photos of my house all day long and at the end of the day, the ones I love best are the ones of my family living, loving, learning and playing here in this home. Not the ones of the empty couch in the living room. Not the ones of a bare kitchen.

What makes a home beautiful? The moments and the memories made in it. Not the things on the shelves or the stuff on the walls. I can pretty my home all day but it’s really what we do here that matters. The meals we make together, the eggs I let the kids crack in the bowl, the meals we share, the afternoons spent building train tracks, the evenings spent wrestling. There is nothing more sweet to me – not lovely scented candles or a perfectly placed vase of flowers – than the sounds of laughter and joy filling these rooms.

This home is beautiful because we’ve put a lot of time and energy into making it so, but most importantly because it’s where our family makes our memories, it’s where my kids play, it’s where my husband and I connect. It’s home because of us, not our things. It’s beautiful because of who is inside and what we create here, not what we put on the outside, on the walls or on the shelves.

Don’t forget that the Lisa Leonard Designs $75 Giveaway ends tomorrow! Leave a comment to be entered!