Life & Business: Jamie Leigh Moore By: Sabrina Smelko

Architect, surgeon, artist; these were my career prospects as I knew it as a 15-year-old in high school. I remember feeling confused and stunted while staring at a list of possible careers on a computer screen, results based off of a few multiple choice questions and answers. None of them felt fully right for me, but then again, I didn’t know what any of them really meant.

Discovering what it is that you’re meant to do, let alone what you want to do, is terribly hard. And often, even going to college can only confuse you more as you realize the infinite possibilities. This was the story for me until I discovered my passion for illustration and design at nearly 20 years old — and I think it’s the story of most business owners — just as it was for production designer and prop stylist, Jamie Leigh Moore.

Inspired by powerful women in the creative industry paving their own way, Jamie move to Brooklyn, NY, and started hustling her work and name around. She worked various contracts in the field, such as her position as a crew-member on the show GIRLS, and after lots of hard work, dedication, and sleepless nights, Jamie made a name for herself and went it alone. She’s now a successful freelance business owner with a portfolio of projects for clients including Tribeca Film Festival, Nick Jr., TLC and San Pellegrino. Today, Jamie’s chatting with us about understanding what makes you marketable, how calm is key, and the “series of palpably awkward missteps and false starts” that led to the start of her business. –Sabrina

Why did you decide to start your own business?

The short answer is that there wasn’t a specific moment in time when I made a decision to start my own business. It happened out of necessity in order for me to get what I want out of my career — which is creativity, flexibility, being my own boss, and moving to New York.

The long answer involves a series of palpably awkward missteps and false starts. I’ve never lacked ambition or passion, but finding my niche post-art school was difficult. At 23, I was an MFA dropout, virtually broke, and literally packing boxes for money in a dimly lit basement (the time in my life that I dramatically characterize as my low point). I was obsessively researching women who found a way to marry creativity and business and who pioneered creative entrepreneurship as we know it today — women like Alyson Fox, Sibella Court, Emily Henderson, Anna Bond, Grace Bonney. I knew that this was my general trajectory and it required me taking the risk of moving to Brooklyn without a job, only $700 in my bank account, and renting a tiny room in a railroad apartment in deep Bushwick.

Image above: From Brooklyn Book | Photo By Olivia Rae James

When you first decided to start your own business, how did you define what your business would be?

I more or less fell into what I’m doing now and decided to stick with it because it suited me so well. Props and design seemed to be a good starting point for everything I had been practicing and learning my whole life. I grew up in a household where creativity was completely embraced, so art and making things have always been a part of me — whether it was photography, painting, or annually redecorating my bedroom since age 7 (that included an unfortunate sponge-painting phase circa 1992).

After moving to Brooklyn, I contacted anyone and everyone working in film, design, and photography that would meet me. Within a month, one of those loose connections led me to a freelance position with the scenic painting crew on the first season of GIRLS. It was a foot in the door and a way to quickly acclimate myself to the world of set design, set decoration, and prop styling.

After a year of a half of freelance scenic painting, I had gained enough experience and contacts to go out on a limb and begin exclusively taking on design projects. The next two years were like a boot camp for learning how to build, design and decorate sets, events, interiors — you name it. I said yes to each and every project and opportunity that came my way — the scary, big ones that I was naïve enough to take on and the unglamorous ones that will never see the light of my portfolio. My business formed into this malleable service, as I’m able to bounce around from films to commercials to photos to interiors to events to personal projects and so on.

 

What was the best piece of business advice you were given when you were starting off?

One idea that resonated with me and inspired a big turning point in my own business and personal growth was to think of pieces of my own identity as capital — meaning that it’s just as valuable as money. It’s very important to understand who you are and what makes you marketable. Anything you can do to more clearly define your tastes, your talent, your skills, are huge investments in yourself and your business.

Image above: photo by Jamie Leigh Moore via Instagram

What was the most difficult part of starting your business?

The NY Film Production industry is male-dominated at the top and can be sexist. The reality is that it’s alarmingly difficult for a young female to have a respected voice among groups of older men. Gender bias and inaccurate, preconceived notions are all working against you, even before you open your mouth. So much so that you must painstakingly prove yourself competent each and every time you’re working with a new crew (and as a freelancer, you’re almost always working with a new crew). Of course, there are countless exceptions, and I’ve noticed progress as these issues are more a part of mainstream conversation than ever before.

 

Can you name the biggest lesson you’ve learned in running a business?

Problems are going to arise — your perfectly laid plan will fall apart, overnight shipping will fail you, things break, people change their minds, the custom window treatments you ordered are 8 inches too short… One deep breath and say, “Let’s see what we can do.” Calm is key, always.

Image above: a still from Don-O-Mite

What has been the biggest sacrifice you’ve made in starting your business?

9-5 is completely out the window — you keep very odd and intense hours, you sacrifice sleep, time with friends, nights and weekends. I’ve re-booked six different flights and scheduled trips in the last year, but it all seems worth it to me. I’ll keep up with the pace until I feel otherwise. I’ve never been too concerned with work/life balance, but would instead rather focus on shaping my work into something that fits seamlessly into the life I want to have.

Image above: from San Pellegrino Off the Menu Dinner. Photo by Jamie Leigh Moore via Instagram.

Can you name your greatest success in your business experiences?

I’m just getting started with tremendous room to grow, so I’d like to speak again in about 10 years regarding great success! I’m excited to be at a point where I’m able to focus on personal projects that really challenge me creatively. Beyond that, yes, there’s not much stability or many guarantees in freelancing, but I would take that every day over predictability or boring or lack of challenge. Whether it’s decorating a 1960s British M16 office or propping a shoot filled with exotic taxidermy — it’s all new information, new people, and new experiences.

 

What business books/resources (if any) would you recommend to someone starting a creative business of their own?

Design Matters Podcast – Debbie Millman gives me a particularly intense set of heart eyes. This interview with Stefan Sagmeister will give you so much to think about and Debbie’s personal narrative at the beginning is everything.

The Defining Decade – a must-read if you’re in your 20s.

The Great Discontent – I’ve been known to hole up for several days at a time and binge-read Great Discontent interviews. They are a tremendous source of inspiration.

Not specifically business-related, but read Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed for your soul and other things.

 

In your opinion, what are the top three things someone should consider before starting their own business?

My painting professor in college told us that so much of painting is like washing dishes. Having a successful business is simply a lot of work — it takes an unbelievable focus and grit to get what you want. Consider how much you’re willing to wade through the muck — if it’s worth it to you, all your blood, sweat, and tears will pay you back tenfold.

 

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1OzYvV8 From Sabrina Smelko

Do You Run An Online Business? You Should Know About These New VAT Laws By: Sabrina Smelko

If you’re an online seller, you’ve probably already heard some noise around the new EU Vat laws that came into force in January, but, if you’re anything like me (and the majority of North American vendors), you might be left wondering what it has to do with you.

When interior design coach Issy Zinaburg first got in touch with me to share her advice on the these new laws, I felt confused and awfully silly: As an online shopper and seller myself, I didn’t know much about the new laws and what implications they had on me and my favorite online shops, but Issy is all about helping women gain confidence in design and business. So when she heard rumblings about the law in late 2014, she joined forces with eight other business owners and together they founded the EU VAT Action team, campaigning for a unilateral suspension of these laws for micro-businesses. Today, Issy is taking us through the basics of this complex law, what is and isn’t, and breaks down why it’s relevant to you, whether you’re an online business owner or not. –Sabrina

The headlines

The basic premise of the new regulations is that it’s all down to a change in the way Value Added Tax (aka VAT), the EU equivalent of sales tax, is applied to the purchase of digital services sold to customers in the EU.

From January 1, 2015, instead of the tax rate being applied according to where the seller is located, the onus is now on the seller to determine where the buyer is located and apply the relevant local rate of tax to the purchase — similar to the US “Use Tax” concept. I.e. if someone buys your product from Germany, you need to add German VAT to the sale — then you need remit that to the relevant authorities.

What’s the reason behind the change?

In essence, this has been brought to stop billions of dollars of sales tax being lost due to multinationals locating in low tax jurisdictions and undercutting local businesses — an aim which few would argue with.

So why the fuss?

Although the European Commission argues that this will create a “level playing field” — in reality, this is easy for the large multinationals to comply with, but it is virtually impossible for sole-traders and micro-businesses to comply, making many businesses no longer economically viable.

How does this affect North American business owners?

Technically, similar rules that apply to North American business owners have been in place since 2003.  Now, what has become clear is that very few small business owners were even aware of this legislation until it started hitting the headlines just a couple of months ago — which obviously raises questions about how and to what it extent this is enforced outside of the EU.

However, despite many people claiming that EU has no jurisdiction to “inflict these laws on other countries,” in actual fact, in law it is the other way around. The EU can enforce laws on you if choose to trade within their countries because this brings you within its jurisdiction.

The wider context

In the background to this are agreements made by the US, Canada, EU etc. as part of the OECD, which agree to mutual cooperation in enforcement of tax laws across borders — and whilst they might not be enforced yet, you can be fairly sure that they will be soon.

The principle of this legislation has been agreed internationally, and it seems that both US and Canada (as well as many other countries such as Australia, Singapore, Norway and Japan) are looking at introducing similar legislation soon — at which point there will be a commonality of interest in enforcement.

So, the way things are going, I may need to collect taxes for many other countries soon, too?!

Without wanting to scare anyone, that is the way global taxation appears to be headed, which is why I and my colleagues in the EU VAT Action Team are campaigning so hard for a global threshold. Although this is currently only EU legislation, we see it as a global problem — creating such an unworkable administrative burden for micro-businesses that they become unable to trade outside of their home country.

We believe it is just isn’t reasonable to apply the same level of red-tape to kitchen table businesses as it is to huge multinationals. So, as business owners, we cannot allow the mistakes in the current EU legislation to be replicated internationally.

How was this allowed to happen?

The problem, as we have seen in the UK, is that sole-traders and micro-businesses were way below the radar of the authorities when they were researching the impact of these laws — we estimate that the UK authorities only considered the impact on 0.04% of the affected businesses!

We are concerned that other countries will make the same mistake, which is why we are urging everyone to raise this with their local politicians/campaigning bodies to make the case for micro-businesses before the legislation is passed, rather than having to try to do it retrospectively like here in the EU.

How to know if the rules apply to you:

• Currently the rules cover only “digital services” (for now).

Digital services have been defined to include pretty much any goods bought online and delivered digitally, such as: e-books, e-guides, PDF downloads, stock images, fonts, screensavers, mp3s, films, apps, games, online magazines, knitting patterns, digital scrapbooks, meditation downloads, etc.

• If you sell through a marketplace (such as Amazon, The App Store, etc.), where you sell your product to them for resale, they control the Terms & Conditions, payment, etc., so you may not need to worry about this.

Under the legislation it is the marketplaces that are liable to handle this, not you — but please do check with your relevant marketplace. Even if you are covered, depending on the platform (such as Amazon) you may still need to adjust your pricing.

Please note that Paypal is a payment provider, NOT a marketplace, and therefore does not do this for you — nor is it currently possible to collect the customer data required to comply using basic Paypal buttons.

• What if I don’t sell direct from my website?

Then technically it is your responsibility to ensure your website is programmed to comply with this legislation.

A large number of plug-ins are coming to the market to handle this for you. I cannot personally endorse any specific solution, but there are a range of options available at varying costs — a list of these is being currently compiled can be accessed in the EU VAT Action Campaign Facebook Group.

• What if you just don’t have the time/inclination to deal with this?

As much as those of us living in the EU hate to see those of you outside the EU blocking us, we are seeing MANY examples of USA companies now refusing to sell to EU consumers. At least in the short-term and if you are below a certain size, this unfortunately might be your easiest option — although, we hope you’ll use this as a last resort, and will try find a solution that means we can continue to buy from you!

To leave you on a positive note: led by the tireless efforts of Clare Josa and Juliet McKenna, the message of the campaign is being heard at the highest levels within the EU. It has become apparently clear that politicians are genuinely horrified at the unintended impact this law is having, so if globally we can all come together and make enough noise about this, we are hopeful that we can ensure that this (and future) legislation is redrafted fairly!

For up-to-date information and inspired actions you can take to support the campaign to introduce a global threshold for small businesses, please visit our website, join our dedicated Facebook Group, or follow us on Twitter.

 

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1Dxksbq From Sabrina Smelko

24 Hours in Edinburgh with Eloise Leeson By: Sabrina Smelko

Eloise Leeson is a CrossFit-oholic, food enthusiast, skilled barista, blogger, bad joke connoisseur and lover of all things shiny. She was born on the south coast of England, but moved to Edinburgh when she was just five, growing up in and around the borders of Scotland. On top of the wonderfully rich culture, when I asked her what her favorite thing about Edinburgh was, she answered, “the light on the golden buildings and the feeling of possibility early in the morning!” Eloise wrote the original Edinburgh City Guide over four years ago, and she’s back today to eagerly share an update on this great city! –Sabrina

7 am: If you’re anything like me, then you’ll aspire to the idea of being a morning person without actually being able to get yourself out of bed at a sensible time! Artisan Roast is my roundhouse kick of wakefulness to the face – their double shot latte gives me both life and purpose. Depending on the day ahead, I’ll either grab something to go – flaky almond croissants that leave me so covered in icing sugar that I look like I’ve been in a snowstorm – or I’ll head up to Hanover Street for breakfast with some favorite chums.

9 am: Papii’s vanilla buttermilk waffles are glory in breakfast form (my buddy Graeme insists on his with extra bacon and an iced mocha) if you’re in the mood for something sweet, but Urban Angel’s all-day brunch is also heavenly. Eggs Benedict with locally sourced smoked haddock sets me up ’til lunch. If I’m hungover (a frequent occurrence: cocktails in Edinburgh are lush and plentiful) then only a Huntsman’s fry with venison sausages and poached duck eggs from the Pantry will save my soul.

10:30 am: Leg-stretching time! Edinburgh is a fabulous city to wander around. Our cobbled streets are hell on stilettos yet so beautiful to look at, but if it’s raining (as it so often does) then a wander around the National Galleries never fails to delight. The Turner exhibition every January is a lovely reminder that color does exist, and the permanent portraits are always a treat to ponder.

A brisk walk up North Bridge toward Chamber Street will lead you to the Scotland’s National Museum – one of my favorite haunts. Their current “Game Masters” exhibition will thrill your inner child and surprise even the most hardcore arcade addicts.

Noon: Lunch spots seem to depend, at least for me, on the weather. Sunny, but a little too chilly to be outside? Peters Yard is perfect for open smoked-salmon sandwiches, smeared with crème fraîche, stacked with lemon slices and tangled green leaves. Their blue cheese and pear salad will also blow your mind. Be sure to grab a sticky cardamom bun to take away, with (you guessed it) Artisan Roast coffee.

Freezing cold, damp and dreich? I need the triple-soup taster from Union of Genius. Three wee bowls of soup on a slate with paired breads is the best way to brave the famous Scottish drizzle.

And if I have no idea what I want for lunch, I fall back on my old favorite – sushi from Bonsai. Available to take away or sit in (the décor is insane, you’ve been warned) – the unagi nigiri-zushi is amazing and the prawn tempura avocado hand rolls are nothing short of a religious experience.

1 pm: A foodie at heart, no lazy day would be complete without a trip to the Edinburgh Farmers’ Market. It’s the perfect spot for purchasing locally sourced meat, fish and seasonal veggies. Trips here will often shape what I have for supper on a weekend, and I rarely leave uninspired.

Once I’ve had my wander through the stalls, my magpie eye will usually lead me to the Grassmarket, and consequently, Victoria Street. Godiva for vintage, Walker Slater for tweed jackets of perfect cut and color (ladies, there’s a discount room upstairs – a seemingly well-kept secret!) and, of course, the inimitable Armstrong’s for a good bit of dressing up.

3:30 pm: Afternoon tea is held in various establishments across the Capital…

Lovecrumbs – all about the cake. Meringue mushrooms? Lemon thyme drizzle? Violet and bramble sponge? Bacon chocolate? Lavender tarts? Rose and pistachio buttercream? These guys have your back.

Eteaket – all about the tea. Loose leaf, black, white, green, oolong – this is tea done properly, by experts themselves. Their Genmaicha is gorgeous, and if you need to take a little bit of Eteaket home with you, I can heartily recommend their Bollywood Dreams Chai – particularly good for inducing armchair fantasies about Bengal.

Brew Lab – all about the coffee. A self-professed artisan coffee bar, this is a caffeine addict’s dream intersected with a mad scientist’s lab. Their custom espresso blend, roasted by Has Bean, is rocket fuel in innocuous form. A pastry from Le Petit Français, munched whilst you’re there, will stave off the worst of the shakes. Promise.

6 pm: The perfect time for an ice-cold glass of wine and elegant, early-evening pizza at Valvona and Crolla’s Ristorante. V&C are a real Edinburgh institution – my grandma used to pick up her groceries from the same deli I now visit when she was a little girl.

9 pm: With so much to do in this city, it’s hard to whittle it down to just one evening pastime, but I do know that every fantastic evening I’ve had here has been kicked off with a cocktail or two.

Bramble has a sexy, gritty, underground vibe that will have you sipping until the wee hours. Try their signature drink, the Bramble, or my favorite: the Mint 500.

The Voodoo Rooms: outrageously OTT – the baroque ceilings, curved booths and slightly sleazy burlesque vibe make this place hands down my favorite spot for a glitzy tipple. If you like your liquor with a side of whimsy, try “From Tusk Til Dawn.”

Dragonfly – award-winning libations in Art Deco surrounds. If you get peckish during your night, these darlings will have pizza delivered to your table. Yes, really.

Extra Goodness

There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do Edinburgh justice – so I do hope you’ll forgive a few follow-up suggestions…

Dining

Posh nosh: Restaurant Martin Wishart

Scottish deli delight: Edinburgh Larder

Steak and seafood: Wildfire

Vegan/vegetarian: Kalpna

Attractions

Pricey but worth it: The Castle

Electrifying energy: The Festival

Bring your boots: The Seat

Royally eponymous: The Mile

 

Shopping

Chocolate: Coco Chocolatier

Shortbread: Pinnies and Poppy Seeds

Sparkles: Bebaroque

Stationery: Paper Tiger

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1ba6xkW From Sabrina Smelko

BH&G Vintage Living — Displaying Your Collections From Jennifer OBrien

Today's Inspiration comes from Better Homes and Garden's Style Spotters Jennifer OBrien.

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Open shelving has become a hot home trend, although a classic idea it has recently made a come back in a big way. You can find this trend in kitchens & pretty much every room in the house. I do love the look of open display and having the creative freedom to style in dimensional way. Open shelving is used throughout my home and through the years I have changed the look countless times. I must confess though, in the beginning I was a little intimidated by displaying my collections. My mindset was that everything had to be perfectly styled but as I realized the perfect part comes from self expression. With that being said you do want to create a visual connection through balance and repetition. Here are a few of my favorite examples of that….

This is a piece I just styled for my kitchen nook with function as a main priority, that helped me narrow down the items I wanted to display. Finding purpose gave me a visual direction.

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Creating balance through symmetry is always a good rule of thumb. This vintage piece highlights a collected look of natural elements and repeats color & texture through the glass jars, plants and wire baskets.

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This is also a great example of bringing function to your piece while displaying your collections. The warm wood tones, with white ceramic, wine bottles, glass details and aged metal tell a story of simplicity and purpose.

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Displaying a collection of books never gets old, it brings texture and can be a grounding element. The great thing about books is they are very easy to find used for very little money if you don’t feel you have a large enough collection for display.

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Another example of creating balance with color, texture and worn details. The transparency of the repeated glass gives a sense of spaciousness

and light .

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These next two images also highlight a sense of continuity through there collections but also are aware that less is more. If you want your treasured pieces to stand out then don’t be afraid to let them be a focal point.

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This open display of vintage items above a bed couldn’t be more perfect and purposeful. You can find balance here through the repeated color tones and theme.

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An important part of displaying your collected pieces is finding balance through height. Don’t be afraid to go vertical and display on your walls as well. You see a small risk pays off as the art hung on the wall brings the height needed to give continuity.

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Displaying a collection doesn’t always mean on shelves, nor does it have to include home accessories. This pipe rack/wardrobe is a perfect solution to a space that may be lacking storage. Here a creative solution is met visual appeal.

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Have a beautiful week,

Jen-City Farmhouse

Slähult table top + Expedit shelf unit = Kitchen island By: ladysun1969

We bought a Slähult table top from the as-is department and fastened it to the top of our existing Expedit shelf unit to make a kitchen island for our new-to-us home. (We plan to re-do the kitchen in Grimslöv but in the mean time we needed more counter space!)

To fasten the top to the shelf unit, we straightened out 4 Vågen curtain rod brackets we had left over from a previous project to an L-shape, then screwed the top & shelf unit together.

The post Slähult table top + Expedit shelf unit = Kitchen island appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1QEuT7o From ladysun1969

The 5 Best Decisions We Made In the First Five Years in Our Home From Jackie

Today's Inspiration comes from guest blogger Jackie Be sure to check out their blog!

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve re-read a book. I am only in the middle of the one I am reading right now and I already want to read it again (and I will as soon as my husband reads it). I’ve needed the wisdom contained in Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown my entire life. I instantaneously latched on to two main ideas in the book. First, the mistake most of us are making, “A millimeters progress in a million different directions,” and, second, what we can do differently, “One decision to settle a thousand more”.

This week we are celebrating our 5-year home anniversary, so while reading Essentialism, I’ve been reflecting a lot on our home journey. As I eagerly lap up every bit of advice on doing less to achieve more, I realized in one area of my life I’ve already adopted the way of the essentialist–in my home.

There are thousands of decisions to make when creating a home. It feels exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. There were a handful of key decisions we made in this house that made every decision that followed easier. It wasn’t easy to make some of these decisions, it often wasn’t as quick as we wanted, but our home is much better off because of them.

If you can make a few tough decisions now and be intentional in your home, you will love and enjoy your home more down the road.

1. Do Nothing for One Year

As I rocked my son Jax to sleep every night, I stared at tan walls I despised. But then I looked at him and knew I could never get these precious moments back. The walls could wait.

Whether you have a newborn baby to cuddle or not, the best thing you can do for your home at first is nothing. You might be thinking, “But I finally own the place and can do whatever I want. Why would I wait?” I get it. We moved fast in our first home, too. Fortunately the changes we made worked out at the time, but we sold that home in less than two years to move across country. Who knows if those changes would have stuck?

We learned our lesson the hard way in our second home. We moved just as fast at first and made mistakes. Nothing worked for us and we ended up redoing everything at around the three year mark.

In our current house, we knew the best thing we could do was nothing–at least at first. It turns out we took a year before we did anything. It was the best thing we could have possibly done. We took that waiting time to really get in tune with…

• What we wanted to change
• Why it was important
• How we wanted it to be different

2. Choose a Whole House Color Palette

We were exhausted and sweaty, when I looked down at José from atop the ladder and our eyes connected and in unison we said, “Never again.” We had just finished repainting the 12-ft. tall walls in the living room of our second home for the second time. The first time we got the color wrong. We vowed to make better color decisions going forward.

After a year of waiting in our current home, we knew the number one change we needed to make throughout the house was color. Instead of going room by room like we had done in the past with mixed results, we created a whole house color palette. This is a prime example of my Essentialist nature at home. We took the time to make “One decision to settle a thousand more.” By evaluating a lot of options once and choosing a palette, we haven’t made a new color decision since. The palette is already decided. When we need to a pick a color for something new, we pick one from our palette.

It seems minor, but we wasted hours upon hours agonizing over colors in our second home, where we repainted every room at least twice. Not to mention all the time we spent living with colors we hated. Now, we don’t even think about color anymore.

3. Quit the Nonessentials

When my husband José was deployed while we were engaged, I toiled away my evenings building him a TV stand. I couldn’t find one like he wanted, so I decided to make it myself. I even bought a router to make slots in the wood for the shelves. In the end, it turned out wonderful, but I hated every minute of making it. I hated the feel of sawdust on my hands, the frustration of pieces not lining up perfectly, and how hard it was. I thought it was just because it was my first time and it would get better as I gained experience. I dabbled on and off building things for the next 10 years and how I felt about it never changed.

It took me a while to come around to this decision, but quitting do-it-yourself projects (DIY) last year changed the way I feel about creating a home. I stopped spending time learning new skills and pretending to like wood-working. Instead, I decided to stick to what I am already good at and enjoy–decorating. I realized I was only pursuing DIY projects for some invisible “I built it myself badge of honor”. I wasn’t good at it and hated every minute of it. Building my own furniture was not essential to loving my home.

Until I quit DIY, I was making “A millimeters progress in a million different directions.” I was surrounded by half-done projects, others I had given up on, and some I couldn’t bring myself to start. I felt like I was going in circles. Since quitting, I’ve regained focus on what we really want for our home, and in turn I’m finding a lot more time to enjoy my home and family.

Your nonessentials might be different than mine, but the same principle holds true: stop doing things that don’t add value.

4. Pick a Priority and Go All-In

A few years ago, José was away on a business trip and I took a few days off work to do projects around the house. I wanted surprise him by painting the guest bathroom, install shelves in the laundry room, organizing the pantry and a list of about four other projects. Even with the boys in daycare and no distractions, I barely got the bathroom painted and the shelves installed. I foolishly thought I could tackle seven projects at once. While the first coat of paint on the shelves dried, I would tape out the stripes in the bathroom and paint a first coat in there. Then I would do pull everything out of the pantry. Leaving the pantry disheveled I would paint coat two on the shelves. After the first day, I realized I wasn’t going to finish anything, so I scaled back my plans and focused on completing just the bathroom and the shelves. It would still be enough to surprise for my husband.

In our first two homes, we constantly bit off more than we could chew and I carried some of that into this home, too. We spread our resources thinly over many projects, instead of focusing on one that mattered. You don’t get anywhere if you’re going in a million different directions.

During our year of doing nothing in this house, we compiled a long wish list of projects and the first chance I got. The first chance I got, I tried to tackle them all at once, all by myself. I took vacation days to try and complete all the projects. It was clear to me after my first failed attempt, I didn’t want to take vacation days to do home projects. With two demanding jobs and two small boys underfoot, the only way we could get anything done, was to choose one thing at a time.

We developed a practice of prioritizing what is worth our time and money. If you’re curious how we pick our home projects, I share my favorite part of the process in the Make Your Home Happy Workbook (a free download).

5. Stay Selective

One night after a particularly long day with the kids, he told me to go out and take a break. I went shopping and bought a vase that had all the right colors, but was all the wrong style. And I bought it for all the wrong reasons. I was tired, sad, and crabby. I thought a vase could cheer me up. It was only $12. It made it one week on the mantel, before I stashed it in the coat closet. José didn’t notice at first, but then one day he found it and pulled it out. He asked, “You don’t like this vase already?” It was that word “already” that was so incriminating. I’d never hidden anything from José before. He was pointing out how quickly I fell out of love with things, but the truth was I never loved it in the first place, which is why it wound up in the closet and later got donated.

I stopped spending money on a whim and started being more selective. I made it my goal to only buy things for my home that I never want to replace. That philosophy is the theme of my first book, Free Decorating (coming soon…learn more here).

In Essentialism, Greg Mckeown references a great philosophy from legendary designer Dieter Rams who said, “Less but better.” To achieve better with less you must be selective.

I have several sets of selective criteria I apply to my decorating decisions. For specific projects, I call them success criteria. In a broader sense, I constantly use three filters for everything I do or bring into my home. First, does it fit my style? Second, do I love it? Not like it, not appreciate it, but love it. Third, do I have a place and purpose for it? An item could be functional or beautiful, but it has to have a point.

I’ll be honest, I sort of just happened upon most of these decisions. There simply came a point where I had to make a choice, snuggle with my newborn baby or decorate our new home? Risk color clashes or choose all the colors at once? Continue unhappily DIYing or admit it’s not for me? Start a million things or finish one thing? Buy lots of stuff or spend wisely on things I love? Now, after five years creating this home we love, I can say without a doubt on all of these decisions we made the right choices.

I want to hear from you, what is one key decision you made when you first moved into you home that paid off for years afterward? 

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