At Last It Feels Like Home

I received a very nice compliment from our pastor's wife a few days ago. She told me that I make wherever I live feel like home.

I will unabashedly admit to having entirely too many wall decor items for my own good. Since my husband insists on using the bookshelves for books instead of decorative items like any frequent viewer of a Pottery Barn catalog will tell you they are supposed to be used for, I am forced to hang everything on the walls.

When we were first married I went a little crazy. It became apparent that we couldn't afford for my apartment to look like something out of the pages of a Martha Stewart Living magazine so I think I overindulged in what we could afford, which was picture frames. This past move, we actually gave away a lot of items we had that weren't getting much use or that I had discovered I didn't actually like all that much. It felt good to whittle down my collection. I was left with mostly photographs of family.

It's important to me to personalize my living space, and it's also important to me to have visual reminders of the people who love me. When someone comes over to my home I love being able to show them who I'm talking about when I mention Mom or Dad or one of Alex's many siblings. And that's what makes a place feel like home. It is not matching furniture (we still don't have anything that matches, but it's comfy and I like it ^_^) or perfectly arranged books and knick-knacks, but reminders of love. Mine are hanging on the walls all around me.

I still find myself longing for a replica of a Crate & Barrel display from time to time, but when Mynda (our pastor's wife) complimented me on being able to make wherever I live feel like home I know that's not what she meant. Think about your favorite place on earth, the place you feel the most comfortable, warm and safe. It's probably not the show floor of Ikea, is it? I really used to think I needed that in order to have a "nice" home, but when I think about my favorite places to be it always involves people more than decor or furniture.

I finally managed to get all of my decor hung in the new apartment this week. The old addage is a little cliche, but I realize just how true it is. Home is indeed where your heart is. Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart may try to convince you otherwise, but take it from someone who has lived four different places in the last three years and managed to always feel at home. My heart is on my sleeve, on the walls of my abode, and with each person that I love. All I need to do is look around my family room and see that I am indeed home.