House vs. Home

Beau and I have been shacking up for about ten months. Why then, are there no curtains hung and no photos on the wall? I hadn't ever really thought about it until I went to a co-worker's housewarming on Friday. He'd owned the house since June and lived in it since July. Aside from it being mere blocks from the beach--which gives it its own kind of beauty and ability to invoke jealousy--the impeccable decor made me feel a little behind.

If I was any good at this blogging I would have had my camera at the ready at his house warming so I could be showing you photos of his abode. Alas, you are stuck reading and not seeing the inspiration. Perhaps one day I will ask John if I can share his uber cute home with my readers.

Enough about my failures as a blogger and back to my decorating failures. I do want to defend myself a bit. John is that guy whose classroom is perfectly decorated where mine looks as if a tornado blew through. He is stylish and hopes to decorate in his retirement. I hope to crawl into a dark hole and write in my retirement. My vision of this hole has papers askew and tea mugs scattered about. So, we are two very different people.

That doesn't mean that beau and I can't have curtains on the windows and walls that are thoughtfully decorated. I mean, I have curtains. I have art and photos. And, not to give the wrong impression, some of that art is on the walls and our house is rather cute and charming. It just doesn't live up to its potential.

John's cozy home as inspiration to buckle down and turn our house into less of a house and more of a home.

Here are some inspiration homes from Pinterest and fun blogs:

Inspiration walls from here, an unidentifiable catalogue, here, unknown and here via Pinterest)

(The last three walls are from here because Sherry at Young House Love is the home designer I wish I could be.)

Now, off to hang curtains (because I finally got around to buying and hanging curtain rods) and dig out the boxes of frames, sconces and other decorative elements I've had hidden away for the past ten months. I'll keep you posted on my adventures in making our house more of a home.

Thanks, John. You inspired me to do some of the decorating I've been putting off for quite a while. My classroom is a whole different story; that's been tornado-devastation-zone for the past ten years and probably isn't going to change much in the next ten. 

What makes a house more homey to you?