Last week I posted 10 Ways to be Happy at Home and asked you what you’d add to my list. Here are 20 of the responses I received that I thought were too good not to share!
Bring spring bulbs inside your home–they’re like happy little presents peaking out each day. (Charlotte)
Make every room in your house usable. (Christy)
Always have fresh herbs in little pots or antique creamware…and scissors to USE them. (Linda)
Take a good bath at least once a week, and read a good book. (Dagny)
Enjoy candlelight breakfasts on the weekends. (Lisa)
Clear out as much clutter as possible, clean off the kitchen countertops, open the curtains and let in some light! (Leslie)
Listen to classical music when you’re cleaning. (Ramona)
Every once in a while, buy something special that catches your eye whether you have a place for it at the time or not. (Kristin)
Don’t follow decorating rules that go against your own instincts. (Kristen)
Surround yourself with things you love – things that make you feel good. (AnNicole)
Display things that have been passed down from family members. (Pam)
Have a room or space where you can escape. A breathing room of sorts. (Gennaro)
Take time to enjoy your favorite hot beverage before starting your day. (Jeweled Rabbit)
My Grandmother always said anyone can have a house but it’s the little touches that make it a home. (Kathy)
Keep a scented candle burning in your entry. (Sheila)
Two words: Chaise Lounge. (Julia)
Baking can make your home feel lovely on those days when it’s just not all that. (Theresa)
Work at wanting what you have rather than having what you want. (Susan)
Eat on paper plates tonight so you can quickly clean up and play UNO until bedtime. (Melissa)
All great ideas Julia! You have some creative and inspired readers. I especially like the suggestion of taking a good bath at least once a week! I remember when I disciplined myself to do just that and it really did make me happy, everyone around me as well! Though, I generally prefer a shower. But the idea is the same.
Tim
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Hi Julia. Oh how I love the room in that first photograph! You DO love pink and green as much as I do! And I love the list of ways to be happy at home! Thank you, thank you! ~Arleen
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What a GREAT list!! A manual of sorts.
Thanks for including my tidbit, Girl!!
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Great post! Thank you. Also, stop by my blog to see what’s working for me + a little surprise for you!
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That first photograph (and the rest of the house) was in a BHandG Special Interest a few years ago. Harbor Springs, MI is way north, but still a Lake Michigan beach town, like I wrote about for your Hooked On Friday a couple weeks ago.
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DeLISH…I want to do ALL of those things!!!
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Hi Julia 🙂
Great ideas! I love the scented candle in the entry. What a wonderful way to welcome people into your home 🙂
rue
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I’m a bit late to this post but can never pass up an opportunity to caution people about scented candles. With at least 15% of the general population allergic or sensitive to fragrances, a significant number of people visiting your home will not feel “welcomed” with a scented candle in the entry. I have a couple of close friends who had scented candles in their homes until they saw how very ill it made some of us–an array of problems from itching skin, swollen eyes, stuffy nose, scratchy throat to life-threatening asthma attacks and migraines with vomiting. Scented candles as well as all sorts of air “fresheners” are actually air “poisoners” as they are neurotoxic petrochemicals. I hate to be a buzz-kill, but …
Um, I somehow missed that other post. But I went back. I love them both. I LOVE the picture from the last post. And I LOVE the top picture, and a couple others especially in this one. Love!
You’re so great, girl.
That first photo is adorable. I just want to sit on one of those sofas and look around at all the loveliness.
One thing I like to do is to display old photos of my grandparents and great grandparents in antique looking frames. It reminds me that they were once young and living through the same types of things I am, often much worse, and still lived happy productive lives.
Mom in High Heels’s last blog post..Junkin’ German style and other stuff
Hi Julia Girl!
That post sure did make me a happy girl!
I really liked the first photo-what a great room! Awww big *sigh*
One silly little thing that makes me happy at home-is having my windows open on a breezy day and enjoying the sounds of a windchime! So nastalgic for me. 😀 Hope you are having a happy week!~Tam
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These are good collection of thoughts
thanks for sharing!
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I put up pictures of my family (8×11.5, printed from the digital camera of candid shots) in our hallway. We now have over 200 up that chronicle my kids’ growing for the past 7 years. It’s really neat!
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Oh my some amazing photos. The third photo calls to my heart so loudly that I want to jump in and drink in every inch of the room.
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Julia~this is a great list, and I’m honored that UNO made it 🙂 I am in love with that pink and green room~such a happy, fresh space. Have a great day~
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What a heart-warming list. I enjoyed your original list and am so glad you shared these–just what this girl was needing today! 🙂
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Ooh I LOVE all these ideas. I recently cleared off the counters in the my kitchen and it feels SO GOOD! And I love the idea of candlelit weekend breakfasts too – so romantic! And I do surround myself with things I love. And finally, thank you so much for including my suggestion – I’m touched!
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Inspiration! Inspiration! Inspiration! Thanks to all of your commenters for their wisdom and ideas!
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Fabulous ideas, Julia!!
Pat’s last blog post..~An Early Spring Porch~
I really enjoyed reading this post! I love the idea of having fresh herbs in cute containers in the kitchen!
I loved this post! I notice lots of people fixing up their houses in order to sell them, I believe you should fix up your house for YOU to enjoy. Don’t wait until it’s time to leave it. You want granite counter tops? (I DO! lol) Get them now, not when your about to sell your house.
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Hi Julia, I am crying as I type this. I loved my Grandmother so much, she was SO important in my life, thanks for using my comment it means the world to me !!!
Loved this post (well truth be told I love ALL your posts)
xox Kathy 🙂
Julia! Thank you so much for including me in your post! And love all the other ideas as well! I definitely agree on displaying family heirlooms, Chaise Lounge (I LOVE MINE!), and making use of every room in the house. And all the other ones as well!
And Nancy left a great comment here about fixing up your house WHILE you still live in it and not when you’re selling 🙂
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A wonderful list to be sure! And, those photos are all so gorgeous that I can imagine the people who live in those places must be happy whenever they are home. 🙂
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What wonderful posts about being happy at home…it is truly possible to BE happy with what we have. It is just a mind set! And there are so many little ways to encourage that happiness! Thanks to you and all those who left ideas…we all could use this wake up from time to time! A house need not be perfect to be wonderful…: )
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Thank you Julia for so generously including me in your post!
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Hi Julia,
Thanks so much for visiting me and your sweet comment on my room! I love your blog and was so happy to see you do a post on the Brothers & Sisters homes. When they show scenes from Sarah’s house, I’m always too busy looking behind the actors at the house to pay attention to the dialogue. lol The Walker house is of course amazing, but I love how “real” they make Sarah’s home. Toys are often on the floor, the kitchen looks well used. And don’t even get me started on that woodwork! I love it! Thanks again for your visit, I hope you’ll stop by again.
~Michelle
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Great links! I love that first picture!
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What great tips! I love that pink and mint green room.
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That first house is so cheery! Live there and you enjoy spring time year ’round!
Mostly, though, I wanted to say YES! to the 10 Ways to be Happy at Home. How true for each of them. Good thoughts everyone. cheers, -susan
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These are great ideas! I like the take a bath and read a book one best:-)
Amy @ Living Locurto’s last blog post..Art Collage
Thanks so much for sharing this great list – it’s easy to forget sometimes how the little things can make such a difference.
Alana @ Gray Matters’s last blog post..The Dining Room: Choosing A Chandelier
Thanks for sharing more inspiration- Love all the photos you shared too.
Happy Day
teresa’s last blog post..Denver, The ugly white car… and It’s a Beautiful Life.
Beautiful ideas and lovely pictures. Thanks for the inspiration today!
Kirsty’s last blog post..Spring-ing the Kitchen
A great post. Definitely much needed today.
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Love the ideas and that first photo captures the essence of spring perfectly!
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I want that room!!! I love it…I believe that same room was on the cover of Creative Home magazine quite some time ago and I fell in love with it!
Great thoughts from everyone!
Happy Spring!
;-D
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I feel more peaceful even after just reading those ideas. Thanks so much for sharing. 😉
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hello J – where is that last house pic from – so cute I want it now …. le
le’s last blog post..A Neat Spot
Le–that house is on the market in a neighborhood near mine. I just love it. Looks like a little fairytale cottage. I posted the MLS link on my Facebook page if you want to see it. Just click the “Facebook” badge in my left sidebar and it’ll take you there. -Julia
Glad to see others are finding Cottage Company photos to post on the web. This little company has some really inovative ideas for space use and their work is amazing.
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I love your list! I missed the first list, so I’m just reading both of them together. What a great set of advice.
I’m going to link to both of them in my Things to Write Home About post later today.
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I really enjoyed reading the list.
Our family advice is to include everyone in decorating the home. Our home reflects our family’s personality.
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It’s been almost a year since you posted this and I just found it … definitely what I needed! I live in a townhouse rental that I can’t do anything with to remodel obviously and we’re somewhat nomadic by moving every couple of years. But I can certainly do a better job with appreciating the positives of what we have, and decorate with stuff I can take with us as we move on! And as I recognize from a recent too-long vacation, whatever it is or is not, it’s OUR SPACE and no one else’s.
Forget someday! I always loved windowboxes and figured I’d have them at my “someday beach house” . Then it hit me ,this was it, this IS the house. So I put one long windowbox under the three windows outside the downstairs bedroom(I have a bilevel…….yawn). I can’t wait to plant my pansies! I have a great time decorating it at Christmas, too. Home Depot has freebie greens from trimmed Christmas trees– then January and February I just fill it with pine cones. Anyway, it brings me a lot of joy. I still dream of the beach house, but I love to find ways to enjoy my here and now house!
I LOVE the picture of the “Terrace Park Cottage” on this post (20 More Ways to Be Happy at Home). Can you tell me more about it or if there are pictures of the interior? Thanks!
It’s not at all simplistic to simply find yourself giving out steps that many people could have been selling. And now we see we now have you to give thanks to because of that.