31 Days of Home. On Purpose. Days 1 & 2

Day 1


This summer I thought about our home, what I write here, and what the purpose of a home truly is.  I thought about my habits and my pull to creativity.  I thought about how that all fits together. And I want to write about it and hear your thoughts.
Let’s talk about the purpose of our homes & being purposeful in our homes.
We’ll talk about home making and decorating and Stuff and nurturing families and money and creativity.
I’m calling this 31 Day Series:



 This is my other 31 days of reflections and writings. Found this at the Nesting Place.  I've been thinking a lot about what I want my home to look like, as we prepare to move to Front Royal in December.  I want it to be a beautiful and comfortable and  homey home on purpose.  So I thought this would be a beneficial 31 days.



Day 2 


The purpose for our homes change with each season of life.
But in order to have a home that serves your family well, it helps to think of the overall purpose of your home.
Right now, I want our home to be nurturing.  A place of learning and learning how to learn.  A safe place to practice taking risks.  A place to come back to.  A place for laughs and for connection.  A place where you don’t have to pretend you are perfect.  A place to let your guard down. A place to just be.
Words like cozy, warm, inviting, playful, loved on and lived in describe what I want our home to feel like.

All of those words and purposes play a role when it’s time to decide what items should be in our home. They play a role in helping me figure out what I should or shouldn’t purchase and what I could sell or give away.  Creating a beautiful, meaningful home doesn’t start on Pinterest or at the furniture store.

Creating a beautiful, meaningful home starts in your head.

It starts with your goals and thinking about the atmosphere of your home.

“that’s all your house is, is a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff…”
–George Carlin

He’s so funny. But I hope he’s entirely wrong.

Take a few minutes and think about these questions.  Write  down your answers. Leave them in the comments or just think of one main word and keep it to yourself:
What is it that you want to happen in your home in this current season of your life?
What words would visitors use to describe your home?  Are you happy with those words?  Do they describe the home you really want to create?



With a 10 month old crawling all around the house, I realize our lives have entered a new season.  For now, and many years in the future, I want our home to be a safe, but very fun place for Gracie to play and explore.  I would like there to be lots of space for her to crawl around, and room for her toys.  I'd like things she can't get into to be out of her reach, so she can go almost everywhere without me worrying.  I want to have places for her to play, and lots of activities (thinking of Atrium type activities) for her to be creative.  And I'd like there to be room for creativity for Bobby and me too.  I want to sewing machine and craft projects to be easily accessible for me, and to have the piano for Bobby to play.  Finally, I look forward to a big backyard and lots of space to do outside stuff, for Grace and for us.

Right now, I look around our little apartment and the first word that always comes to mind is cluttered.  I love my pictures and knick knacks, but there are too many in too small a space.  I suppose it may be seen as cozy, and certainly are visuals of many of the things we love, but still, it's very crowded and I want more space.  I want to create a home that has style.  I want to explore what my particular style really is, and have a house that looks coherent and beautiful.  But today reminds me that those goals should be secondary to a loving, creative environment for our family.  So the word a chose to describe the home a want to create is CREATIVE.