I shared this photo of my living room a few days ago on Instagram, and I was nervous about doing it.
If you’ve followed me for some time, you may have noticed I don’t share a lot of photos of my home. Besides it being a tough space to photograph, it’s a very unfinished space.
While it’s cozy and inviting for our family and friends, I’ve felt like my home doesn’t always measure up to the Home/DIY blog standards that are out there.
Sometimes I feel like to write a blog, every photo I share has to be a magazine-quality image of a space fit for an HGTV designer.
I’m not saying that’s true, but it’s the struggle I feel sometimes when I want to share with you all more about my own space.
Since we had our living room painted back in the spring, I’ve been working on re-doing our decor, but it still has a long way to go.
There is still so much wrong though about this space, and you can see it the Instagram photo I shared:  my tv stand needs to be painted, the floor lamp next to it needs a makeover, the shutters framing the tv are too short and don’t contrast enough with the wall color, there are cords everywhere . . . I could go on!
But I decided to throw caution to the wind and share this photo anyway. Â Because you know one thing that is so right with this picture? Yep, that awesome, giant tobacco basket!
I loooove my tobacco basket and I wanted to tell you all about it! Â So who cares if the rest of the room still isn’t together?
I decided it was worth sharing anyway.
I’ve been on the hunt for one of these for about 6 months now. Â I have seen them online and a few for sale by other dealers in my mall, but they were out of my price range.
That’s one problem with being a dealer–you never want to pay full, retail price for something because you know if you look hard enough you can find one yourself for way cheaper!
So last month at the Canton flea market, I spotted this basket stacked up along side another one in a dealer’s space. Â The dealer said she brought 10 to the market, and all she had left were these last 2. Â They were both pretty beat up, but I’m ok with that. Â Of the 2 left, I picked this one–it was the green paint that stole my heart.
And my patience paid off. Â I paid $55 for the basket, as opposed to the $150+ I have seen them for elsewhere. Once I got it hung up on the wall I couldn’t wait to tell y’all about it!
But let’s go back to the idea of “the perfect room” for a minute.
Besides wanting to show off the tobacco basket, another reason I decided to go ahead and share my unfinished room is because if I want to be anything on this blog, it’s the real me.
And the real me is a slow decorator.
The real me doesn’t have a lot of excess income to spend on home decor.
The real me is living with her green couch because she can’t afford a new one right now.
The real me has 3 kids and didn’t have time to paint my tv stand this summer.
The real me doesn’t mind having an unfinished room for awhile if it means that my patience will pay off by finding the right things for the right price.
I know that it’s my job, as a blogger, to provide beauty and inspiration to my readers. I don’t get to pass on that in the name of authenticity.
But at the same time, I want to always make sure that I am not creating too perfect of a world that doesn’t fit with most of our realities.
I want to encourage those of you who are putting spaces together a little at a time that it’s worth it to enjoy the beauty of what you have despite what you may be lacking.
There are some parts of my living room that are coming together in ways that I really love. Â This whole corner is newly arranged, and I’m loving the interest it adds to what was a forgotten area of my room.
So if you need a beauty shot, I think this one will work 🙂
And if I have a message for this post, it’s this:
Be patient with your spaces. Be patient with yourself. And be the real you.
And to go find yourself a tobacco basket, because they are fantastic!
I SO loved your honesty in giving us both a glimpse of your home and your heart – the “real” you. Great post! And I LOVE your tobacco basket. I find the same is true of me, since I buy stuff to re-sell, I don’t want to pay full price for items for my own home. I’ve followed you for a while but have never commented – I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for sharing with all of us!
Thank you Mary! I am glad somebody else out there can relate to my paying-full-price struggle!
Beautifully said. I think many of us have that struggle. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sherry. I so appreciate you being a reader 🙂
While I love looking at pictures of pretty rooms, in reality I prefer to walk into houses that are less than perfect. Throw some paperwork on a table, toys on the floor, some unwashed dishes in the sink, and I feel right at home. It also makes me more likely to relax if that homeowner comes over to my house because I don’t feel the pressure to “keep up with Joneses” and know that this person is someone I can be real with. Perhaps you should start a new trend- chaos and clutter in otherwise pretty spaces. 🙂
Not a bad idea Lori 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hi Melanie!
I think your home (what I’ve seen) is beautiful! The TV stand looks awesome as is. Love the shutters. I think your vision of the finished product is keeping you from fully appreciating all of the wonderful details that you already have in place. Thank you for being real! Keep sharing!
I am sure that is true Trina, and a great insight to make. When you have a vision in your mind it can be difficult to see good in anything that doesn’t line up with what’s in your head. I appreciate your comment so much, thank you!
Thanks so much for your honest post! So many times I beat myself up for not having the perfect looking home and you just made me feel a whole lot better!!! Not to mention that I’ve been on the hunt for a tobacco basket for over 2 years now!!! You gave me hope I’ll still find one and I’m headed to Canton tomorrow for my search!!! Thanks again for your honesty.
Thank you Sheila! Did you find a basket?? I hope so!!
We are always our own worst critics Melanie! I didn’t notice ANY of the things you pointed out, I love that first picture! You notice them because they bother you and it’s your room that you see every day. I know what you mean though, I struggle with this very thing myself :o)
If the room was all done then you would have nothing to work on! ;o)
Tania
You are so right Tania, we are our own worst critics. I remind others who are just starting out painting furniture to sell of that fact all the time–the “wrong” things you see will likely never be noticed by anyone else!
And yes, truth be told, I like a project to work on! Thank you for your kind words 🙂
if you could sneak into all the homes in the good old USA I am sure that you would find that maybe 1% are “pinterest worthy” and most look like mine and yours little spots of awesome with mostly just comfortable else where, your kids are not going to remember the furniture or the nick nacks but will remember the memories you are busy making xx
I am sure you are right Chris! And yes, my boys couldn’t care less about what “pretty” things are around my home. In fact, when I got finished making over their bathroom, I asked my oldest what we thought about it. He spotted some construction debris still left in the bathtub and promptly replied: “It looks like somebody threw up in the bathtub”. That was his summary thought on my 8 month renovation of his bathroom, lol!
This is a great post. Often I feel like someone’s poor relation, on the outside looking in. We bought this house because it reminded me of my childhood. It still does. I still like it even tho it’s not perfect. I wish it were a little more open, but the one doesn’t see my sink from the front door. lol You made my day!
Oh Linda, thank you for your kind comment. Reading your sentence though about feeling like the poor relation on the outside makes me feel sad. I hate to hear that, but totally know what you mean bc I have felt that way too! You have summed up though the challenge of this whole Home Decor blog world: How do we inspire people and offer valuable instruction, without creating a sense of elitism and discontentment? I struggle with that so much . . . Which is one reason why I wrote this post! Still haven’t figured out how to do it all well, but I hope that at least in this post, I’ve been able to address that issue some and remind readers that our homes are faaaaaar from magazine perfect!
I love the pictures of your house! It’s adorable, and I don’t mean in a “cute” kind of way, but in a classy, fun kind of way. I’ve been looking for something to put in the space above my t.v. for a long time, without spending a lot of money, and I LOVE what you did with the basket and shutters! That’s inspiration.
Thank you Diane! My giant, 2-story walls make for a lot of blank space to fill, so I have to hunt for BIG things. Glad you found some inspiration!
Hi Melanie…I love the tobacco basket I have two in the shop and with living in NC you would think they would be easily accessible…but no they are not. When you find one you have a gem. I have two now and I was blessed by customers with their giving hearts. I love your tobacco basket and I could see myself right at home in your home…we have been under a remodel for seven years…now with owning a shop…..well, you know where I’m going…(the remodel) it will not happen. We have actually put our home on the market to move into a home that is move in ready. We don’t have children at home, but my husband was badly injured on the job and the company (Lowes) did not take care of him. So, our income is very limited too…but, I love everything you do and share…keep it up my friend!!!
I am so surprised Brenda that you can’t find more tobacco baskets in NC! I would have thought they would be everywhere in your neck of the woods. I can imagine a 7 year remodel can get quite taxing, glad you are able to make a move though and hope your new “finished” home lets you rest some more. I can’t imagine the demands on your plate now of owning a whole brick-and-mortar store! Thanks so much for leaving your encouraging comment 🙂
Love, love, love your honesty and keeping it “real”. I always enjoy seeing pictures that I can relate to and knowing that I am not the only one who doesn’t have a magazine cover home, but a cozy, inviting home.
Thank you Rose 🙂 I appreciate your comment.
I was in awe of your post! I think your space looks beautiful and I appreciate your honesty. My house isn’t even close to “finished” either. I am just happy if I can keep it clean(ish).
Me too Rachel!! And my standards for what is “clean” have dropped drastically with the addition I each child 🙂 Thanks so much for your encouraging words.