How I Do...SPRING DECOR

An accurate assessment of how I assume most of us feel after an Iowa Winter.

It's that glorious time in the afternoon where I'm in Nap Jail, drinking my coffee, and catching up on voicemails and emails. Also...Blue Crush is playing in the background because that's my signature, "I'm-in-the-mood-for-summer-and-swimming," movie. Is it appropriate for a SAHM to pop in a movie in the middle of the afternoon?

I say 'yes' as long as it's a rainy day. It's also acceptable to stay in sweats all. day. long. on rainy days like this one. 

Fun Fact: Blue Crush was the first PG-13 movie I ever secretly watched. In 7th grade. At Emily Hokinson's house. So it holds a special place in my heart to this day.

Nearly six years ago when we bought this plain, boring, ranch house with exactly ZERO character...I was frustrated and lost with the decorating, distraught that I'd be 'stuck' here for who knows how long...and annoyed by every gold knob, honey-colored piece of woodwork, the overall lack of woodwork, and the downright HORRIBLE floors.

While I was grateful we were able to purchase a home as a young, newly married couple, for years it never truly felt like 'ours.' At least it didn't to me (Josh doesn't care what he's sitting on or surrounded by as long as he has chips and a TV to watch). Furniture was all hand-me-downs or crafted from something I'd scored at a garage sale or from a curb. But I hadn't had the chance to find my style and the look I wanted for this house. I got to choose the paint, but the rest of it just fell together haphazardly.  And nothing I did could hide the blue carpet that stretched from the kitchen to the living room.

If nothing else, those early years taught me how to get creative; stretch the nonexistent decorating budget I had to work with; and experiment with lotssss of paint.

When the floors were finished last spring...I fell back in love with this boring ranch house...every part of it...even its ranch-ness. And despite the basement issues we had a few weeks ago and the crazy neighbor we're stuck with, Josh will have to PRY MY UNHAPPY BODY out of this house whenever it's time for us to move on.

I've perfected the furniture arrangement...painted every inch (twice now)...and I know exactly how to clean the 1,200 square feet we inhabit. I know what we have room for, what we should get rid of, and I don't mind living without tons of space to fill with crap we don't need. If it comes into our house, it's useful, necessary, classic, neutral, versatile, and fits with the style of the decor I've chosen. 

With all of that said...I'm loving some of the spring touches I added to our house this year, most of which I've already shared on Instagram. I avoid clutter and make sure we still have plenty of useful (and pretty!) storage, but the house needed some new life after the plain, clean, white look I embraced after Christmas.

We found this trough in the barn at our acreage and it comes in handy every season.
For spring it's full of hydrangeas from the two bushes Josh planted beside our front steps.

Brought this 'B' in from outside because I didn't think it was getting the attention it deserved.
I'm in love with it hung in our dining room.

These shelves are always making me walk the line between over-done and cluttered vs. downright bare.
I think I finally found the right balance for spring.

Just when I think I'm 'done' decorating, I find a little something else that could add height/color/dimension/texture...like these books I found last week for $4.00. They're old, interesting, and will work great for spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Maverick's six month pictures added a nice spring touch around the house, in the perfect color scheme.
I also don't think there's such a thing as too much boxwood.

More old books...purchased for 75 cents each at the antique mall in Story City!

Found that watering can at Overflow for basically nothing, scored the boxwood ball from Target for $10 because it had been repackaged (originally $20...absolutely nothing wrong with it) added a scrap of fabric from the throw pillows I sewed earlier this spring...and ta-da! A simple, styled shelf with the right amount of texture and color.

Josh's mom kept telling me I needed birds to decorate for spring and I was sort of against it...until I found the right ones. :)
The two I have came from the Spring Shop at Hobby Lobby for $2.50/each.
Please also notice the 'History of the World in 100 Weapons' book amongst my Interior Design collection. 

WWJGD...What Would Joanna Gaines Do. Something I ask myself these days before I paint, buy, or rearrange anything.

I'm still not in love with the florescent light above the island in our kitchen, but it gives us light where we need it and I camouflaged it as much as I could with light gray paint. I was on a mission to pretty-up that entrance area, and these two metal brackets helped.

These pictures are a close-up view of each side of my kitchen window. Sometimes I like this space bare...sometimes I like it filled with Christmas...for spring I prefer it decorated simply. An antique flower frog, some succulents, and a boxwood wreath on the window add enough color without creating too much visual clutter. 

You all know how I love sewing straight lines...throw pillows are probably my favorite thing to sew. Much like boxwood, I also believe you can never have too many throw pillows. I'm looking at ELEVEN in our living room right now.

This house may not be my Dream Home, but it's perfect for what we need right now, and as much as I don't want to admit...it was even perfect for us during those first five years when the floors weren't quite so pretty. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open floor plan...isn't that what everyone is looking for right now, anyway???

So HAPPY SPRING from 422 13th St!

MmB