Announcing "Love the Home You Have" by Melissa Michaels!

Five years ago I opened my laptop and stared at it. My good friends had suggested earlier in the day that I start a blog. Since I didn't really know what to write about I started searching for other blogs about things I was interested in. 

One of the first blogs I read was The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels. At that time I was trying to figure out where my creative self and reality intersected with a tiny house budget and a lot of ugly. I had a lot of determination, an eye for design, but I got a B+ in elementary art class and always felt a little uncomfortable at those women's events where you have to do a "craft". 

50's Kitchen BEFORE

We had just put most of the money we had into our first house, and I had tons of ideas and not much to spend. I was finding myself frustrated by the shows I loved on TV, because they gave me all these creative ideas and I realized that what they were doing was never going to happen in my home, in which every room was painted the color of the pants your grandpa used to wear.

As I read the Inspired Room, I heard Melissa validating those feelings, but also encouraging and inspiring with a different message than TV: That our homes should be places we enjoy, that we want to improve and should work on, but we can't be perfectionists. That we miss out when we only think of what can be instead of appreciating where we are at right now. She also challenged me to do what I could do, instead of feel stressed out and sad about what I couldn't .

With a lot of inspiration from Melissa and others, I slowly transformed my little 50's home the next few years with a lot of my own sweat equity and creativity. Maybe it wasn't magazine worthy, but it was Real Life worthy.  Paint cans and brushes, hammer and nails, plastic mitre box and mdf. And it's funny, even though I live in a new home now where nothing is old, smelly, ugly or quirky, I still won't forget the journey that began there.

50's Kitchen AFTER

Now five years later, I have the privilege of promoting Melissa's first book Love the Home You Have in the same week as launching Kristin Bythewood Interiors! I am so glad I let Melissa inspire me and teach me in those humble brown beginnings to make the most of the gifts I have in whatever home I am in. I encourage you to get this amazing book, and to check out her blog The Inspired Room!I can't wait to finish the book and get even more ideas and inspiration!