What is Home Decorating, Really?

I get several home décor magazines. (Traditional Home, Country Home, and so on) Unfortunately for me, they are not truly home décor, but more house décor. Let me explain.

A home is a place filled with love, laughter, family. A house is a shell that needs those things but misses the mark.

If, to me, it is home décor, I can see a family, kids climbing on the couch, husband reading in the nook, wife in a rocking chair reading or knitting or writing. In house décor, I feel as if I was looking at a museum, not a place where people live.

I know people who have large homes; they have lots of aesthetically pleasing things, placed in strategic alignment. The things over power the rooms; there is not much space for the people. In some of these magazines I see pristine kitchens, and when I try to imagine a pizza party, it just won't happen. Pizza parties in our house are legend; my small kitchen has made pizzas for up to 17 people in one night. The large kitchens showcased look like they could not manage an impromptu batch of gooey, hot chocolate chip cookies, at midnight on a Friday.

So to decorate your home, not your house, toss the books! If you love dearly Aunt Jane's fuzzy orange throw, use it. Make your rooms comfortable for people, and pets if you have them, don't fix it up so that people feel they must pay admission to enter.

Pristine environments to me inhibit people. I once had a friend comment when she saw my son knock over a small plant, that I was the only mother she knew who did not scream at her child for making such a mess. I told her the carpet is not precious, my son is.

I always feel constrained in a super clean place. I mean yes keep things clean, but there is no need to white wash things every day.

I look for old, comfortable furniture. Not costly antiques, but things that I can comfortably use. In my living room now are, a couch and chair purchased from an estate, they match. We have 3 side tables, all gotten at various yard sales. A rocker, that is the most hideous colors I have ever dealt with, it is a 1970s model, in gold, green and orange stripes. It is also the most comfortable chair in the house, and the cheapest, costing just .25c. Actually the only thing new in the room, is the TV, bought on sale when our old one died and could not be fixed again. Also in this room is my husband's office, set up on a dining Table. He repairs computers for others here.

I suppose my home is a designers nightmare, all mismatched, but also comfortable. To me home décor is more the nuance of hospitality than the matching dining suite and side board. House décor is all matching Louis the whatever sets of things.

I saw in a catalog a few weeks ago, a small 5 drawer chest, the price? $1295. My son had one that fits just exactly where I needed it, and he didn't (need it) so I got my 6 drawer chest for free, with an extra drawer.

I know some folks need new things. We needed a new mattress many years ago and got one, I choke to recall the $700 price tag, and now we need, really, to begin looking for another one. I like new things too, but they need to be useful and blend in with the old things I already have. I can not have stuff in my home that children (even though mine are grown up) can not touch, at least furniture wise. I understand keeping grandmother's crystal out of touching range, but a table top that can not handle legos, to me is not a good investment.

If I was going to redo my home so that things did match, instead of just painting them to match as I plan to do soon, I would still look for older furniture. Perhaps antiques for the more private rooms, such as the master bedroom. My office, which now holds a computer table, fold up table, desk, bookcase, 2 huge bins of patterns, file cabinet, small 3 drawer roll away cabinet and 3 sewing machines, would get solid oak work tables for all things, but sewing machines, 2 of them have cabinets, 1 does not. I would need a large floor to ceiling bookcase, a 4 drawer file cabinet, and another 5 drawer dresser to store my material in. I would need some sort of storage thing for all the patterns, they are for eBay sales, and must be stored and kept dry!

My advice, remember how you use and live in your home. Chintz pillows in a magazine do not mean they would work well for your sofa, especially if like me you allow your pets to get on it. If you have a formal, for company only, living room, they might work ok for you. Always remember though when decorating a home, instead of a house, the people that live there come first, before fashion. After all the people will most likely out live the current fashion trends and then they would just be uncomfortable for no good reason. Fashions, like computers, are made obsolete in a matter of weeks anyway!