Thoughts on Decorating

I am hesitant to write this post because I know as soon as I press publish I will think of a million more things to say. But, here is goes anyway.

This weekend I had a conversation with my mom about how our house (referring to my childhood) was never really "decorated" and I wish it would have been. I love decorating but to be honest I can be overly frugal and sometimes it can be hard for me to spend money on things I don't think I need. I had a comforter, I didn't need a new one. I had blinds to cover my windows, I didn't need decorative curtains. 

We are coming up on a year of living in this house and I haven't done much in terms of decorating but I think about how I'd like to decorate this house all. the. time. It consumes much of my thoughts and I always feel like I don't have enough money or my house is too messy and unorganized to even get started. The same went for our apartment before we moved. I didn't want to waste money on making it our own if we were only going to live there short term.

But now I'm realizing a few things. Decorating is important. At least it is to me. When I see houses like the Parade of Homes I just imagine myself living in the beautifully decorated spaces and I want that for my own space. I really love my home and just living with items that are purely functional and not at all pretty makes me kind of sad. For example right now I'm writing this blog post while my computer sits on a folding table in our front room. Next to me is a plastic tower of drawers holding office supplies. This is the first thing you see when you walk in our house. I am not worried about the "impression" people get of our home when they first walk in; I care because it makes me sad to see it that way. I am not at all inspired by folding tables and plastic drawers.

By no means do I think it's acceptable to over-extend ourselves to decorate our home but I do think it's important to use our dollars wisely. Making a plan about how we want each room to look and function and then executing that plan as our budget allows is a good idea. Then I'll see progress, which will free up my thoughts from constantly mentally decorating and allow me to be creative in other areas, or just sit back and really enjoy my time here with friends and family.

It's talking me a little while to process that. I have always loved decorating and now that I am understanding just how important it is to me personally, I realize I have to make it more of a priority.

What are you thoughts on decorating? Is it something you've always loved but never achieved like me? Or is a new space a reason to decorate no matter what? I'd love to hear your thoughts.