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The dining room is painted white, but now I have four different shades of white from this view (because one living room wall is ivory, and extends up the stairs into the hallway) 😂 I’m thinking I either need to paint the bottom of the dining room in the same bright white as the top, or choose a light color that would play well with the abundance of wood trim. I may paint a custom wallpaper pattern above the board and batten, but that requires making decisions. 😬 What do you think? All white, white on top and color on bottom, or white on bottom and pattern on top? Help!

Peony season means our wedding anniversary is approaching! Ben and I will celebrate our 3rd anniversary on June 3rd. 💛I love having peonies in our home because they are BEAUTIFUL, but also because they remind me of our wedding. I was admiring the blooms yesterday and thought to myself, “God made those.” It was a simple thought, but its significance is humbling and awe inspiring. What a gift, to have a physical representation of God’s beauty and creativity on display in my home. It was a striking reminder that God is not far off. I started thinking about other beautiful things that God created, and remembered that God made you and me. I believe that humans were created in the image of God, and that we are made to reflect His character and love. But we don’t have to guess what God looks like. Jesus is the perfect image of God, and He shows me what it looks like to reflect God’s image. I don’t always reflect God’s image, because I can be selfish and impatient and unloving. But for every day that I am selfish, God is selfless towards me. For every day that I am impatient, God is patient with me. When I am unloving, God is still loving and faithful to me. When I am faithless, He remains faithful. He doesn’t expect me to be perfect, because Jesus was perfect. This is the gospel. Jesus’ perfection can be ours. We are full of sin, which deserves punishment. But Jesus took our punishment, and offers us new life. It doesn’t sound fair, but it is available to every one of us. I am unworthy of being called God’s child, but Jesus made a way for me to be part of God’s family forever. This is more beautiful than any peony. There is so much more to be said about what the gospel means and how it looks in my life, but it isn’t complicated. Having this bouquet in my home reminds me that God is not far from me. He made me, and His Spirit dwells within me because Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I talk about finding contentment in your home, but contentment in your SOUL will only be found in Jesus. If you’re discontent, your soul is weary, and you don’t know why, I’d love to talk with you about TRUE contentment. If you are desperate for new life, it is here for you today.💛

I’ve mentioned many times before that I am “choosy” about partnering with brands, because I only want to share brands that I actually enjoy. I have a long list of questions that I ask myself when I have an opportunity to promote a company, and I’ve turned down many offers that were not a good fit. When you see me promote a product, I want it to be thoughtful and meaningful since it isn’t something I do often. I was recently given the opportunity to review this Spa Luxe Bamboo blend mattress pad from @downlitebedding , and decided to say yes because comfort is a priority in our home! Yesterday, I shared about my principle that “how my home feels is more important than how it looks”. Photos of a beautifully made bed wouldn’t show that there is a mattress pad underneath, but I know it is there when I get in bed after a long day! Ben and I were very surprised at how comfortable this mattress pad is, because we have a Sleep Number bed that we love. I wasn’t sure if it would make a difference, but we LOVE the extra layer of comfort. This would be an excellent addition to a guest bedroom if you don’t have loads of money for a fancy mattress, but want to provide your guests with extra comfort. Our plan was to put this mattress pad on the guest bed if it wasn’t compatible with our Sleep Number, but we love it and the guest mattress is already very comfortable. 😂 @downlitebedding is giving Holland Avenue readers 15% off everything on their site with the code “DYGEN15” . I will occasionally promote brands that fit my vision of encouraging thoughtful homemaking, and Downlite Bedding was a great fit! Now is it time for bed yet?😴🛌🙌🏻

I love the way my sunroom looks, but I really love the way it feels. Warm, cozy textures and inviting colors make this the perfect place for morning coffee with Ben and Louie. When I style a room, I obviously want it to look good. But my home isn’t a showhouse, and every space needs to function as an invitation to cozy up and rest. I think that’s why I have a chair addiction. I want every room in our home to say, “Come in, take a load off, and rest for a while.” How my home feels is more important than how it looks. But when a space can both feel AND look good, I call that a win. This #oneroomchallenge space checks all of my boxes for inviting, real-life, thoughtful design. If you need me, I’ll be here swinging the day away with Louie while I write a few blog posts and enjoy my break from school. 🙌🏻🐾☕️ What is most important to you when styling your home? #bhgorc @oneroomchallenge @betterhomesandgardens

Recently, I’ve been sharing photos from my fancy camera that were taken before I actually share them. Improving my photo quality is something I’m passionate about, but I only have so many styled photos of my home. 😂 Getting out the Canon and tripod has been a fun learning experience for me, and there is a drastic improvement in quality from my typical iPhone shooting. I mostly share photos after-the-fact because there is no way that my house could all be clean and styled at the same time to share photos in the moment. I really enjoy styling and photography, and I’m learning more and more every day. When I step back and think about the fact that I share pictures of my house on the internet, it’s super weird. But then I remember that my home is an expression of my creativity, and that styling and photography are my hobbies that I would like to turn into “jobbies”. 😂 Certain spaces like our bedroom and bathroom don’t really get photographed, but I use the downstairs rooms as my practice subjects. I practice my styling and photography, and then share that with all of you! I talked with @thenester this week, and told her how much I admire everything she does to educate others about styling and homemaking. I want to do that one day, but I consider myself to still be in a “learning” stage. She reminded me that ALL of us are constantly in a learning stage, which is so true! I share photos of our home so that I can give inspiration for real life design, and to improve and refine my styling and photography skills. My house is kind of like my guinea pig, and I want to learn as much as I can before ever claiming to teach others what to do with theirs! Sometimes you’ll see styled photos that I took in an effort to improve my skills, and sometimes you’ll see iPhone shots of morning coffee and my dog. But no matter what you see, know that I’m on the other side of your screen cheering you on towards thoughtful homemaking and resourceful decorating in your own home, and that I’m learning as much as I can every day to help encourage you in that process! Let this be your daily reminder that we are ALL in the “learning phase” of whatever we're pursuing. What are you learning?

This sunroom feels more “me” than any space I’ve designed before. It is cozy, colorful, one-of-a-kind, and has just enough vintage flair to feel soulful and collected. I adore the color palette of muted pinks, navy, and olive green. This view is inspiring me to tweak a few things in other rooms of our house, like painting our dining room white! I had two gallons of white paint left over from the sunroom, and decided to give our black dining room walls a fresh start. I’ll share photos when I’m finished, but it is already feeling much better! I love a good dark accent wall (like the navy one behind the swing), but the abundance of dark wood trim in the dining room was too much with the black walls. Hopefully the fresh paint will brighten things up, and then I can add in some fun colors like the ones here!🎨 Are you Team White Walls or Team Dark Side? I think I would have to be the referee, because I just can’t choose!😬😂🤼‍♂️ #oneroomchallenge #bhgorc @oneroomchallenge @betterhomesandgardens

Finishing this round of the @oneroomchallenge has me reflecting on my first experience with the challenge last October. I still love everything I did in our master bedroom and attached sunroom because it reflects my evolving style. It takes time and intentional effort to figure out what you love or don’t love in home decor. Instead of just looking to Pinterest or Instagram for home inspiration, look to the spaces you love the most in YOUR home. Allow those spaces to guide you when making decor and color decisions for other spaces, and you’ll be able to create attainable style that reflects your story. ✨🌷💛 This space taught me that I love bright spaces with lots of color, pattern, and texture, and that black windows are always a good idea. It also reminded me of the biggest lesson I learned from our initial $150 kitchen transformation. You can completely transform a space with smart and bold paint decisions. I decided to go bold with black windows and a sage ceiling. If you can make a bold paint decision- do it! Worst case scenario, you can repaint it. Best case scenario, you have an incredible space with a mural and a happy ceiling! #oneroomchallenge #bhgorc @betterhomesandgardens

I found a perk of having a long, narrow porch. If I sit on the gingham furniture, I get to admire the bed swing and curtains. But if I sit on the bed swing, I get to admire the gingham furniture set. It’s a win-win situation. Which side is your favorite?✨🙌🏻👀 #oneroomchallenge #bhgorc @oneroomchallenge @betterhomesandgardens

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