SIn my last post I mentioned feeling a little disconnected from my house. I’m not unhappy—Seattle remains a place I adore—but I missed that intimate sense of ownership that makes a house feel like mine. Maybe I’m extra sensitive about my surroundings, but I suspect many of you have felt the same: a home with potential that still needs something to click.
Yesterday I decided to focus on finding that connection. Since we moved, I’ve sketched ideas and created vision posts to help clarify what I want. Those posts were useful, but I hadn’t really spent time testing ideas in the space itself. So I sat down with my new book and reread parts of it, remembering how I pulled my previous home together. Reading my own words felt a bit vulnerable, but it sparked a realization.
I needed to follow the same steps I used in my old home. I’d been trying to reinvent the process when so much of what worked before would work again—adapted to this house, of course. The method mattered more than trying to force something brand new.
I started by puttering around the living room and decluttering. A pile of stools, baskets and random items had settled there during the move and they contributed nothing. Removing those things instantly lifted the space. It’s surprising how clearing a few items can open your vision; what’s in a room can hide what could be.
Clearing the excess helped, but I still wasn’t sure what to do next. In the dining room I tried a familiar tactic with a new twist. My daughter Courtney helped by marking the kitchen doorway with painter’s tape so we could visualize an idea that had been simmering since we moved in. Sliding the furniture and removing more clutter revealed possibilities we hadn’t noticed before.
It felt risky because it didn’t follow conventional “rules.” Who set those rules anyway? With tape on the wall mapping our idea, it took only a few minutes for everything to click. The taped outline and the rearranged furniture made the concept real. We felt an immediate connection—this was the direction the house wanted to take.
We hadn’t shared the whole plan because we weren’t certain it would work. But once the tape was in place and the furniture shifted, Courtney and I practically jumped out of our skins. We recognized what had been making us feel disconnected, and with that understanding we knew exactly what to do to feel connected again.
With that fresh little vision—and the courage to see the room in a new way—we realized we could:
– give the dining room a unique, personal look
– infuse the house with more of our personality
– repurpose what we already own in a fresh way
– make the home feel cozier
– clarify how to best use a limited space
– feel more connected to the dining area
– create a design statement that reflects our taste and refreshes the house
– update the look on a manageable budget
– imagine a smoother flow between dining room and kitchen without a complete renovation
– and, once we saw these possibilities, we could picture how the rest of the main floor would come together.
It’s a lot to achieve in a single day, but we were thrilled. Even with tape on the wall, we already love our house more than before. The tape changed how we perceive the space; for now we’ll leave it as our guide so the idea doesn’t fade before we can act on it.
Next week we’ll share a photo of the dining room with the tape so you can see what we see. The idea might surprise some of you, but that’s part of what we love—shaking things up creates unexpected joy.
A house is just a structure until, layer by layer, you make it a home.
I’m also excited to introduce the video trailer for my new book, The Inspired Room. It’s fitting how this book reflects where I am in this new house: slowly discovering what makes a home feel personal. Making any house yours is a rewarding journey.
If your home isn’t perfect, it’s normal to feel uncertain about how to get the look you want. I don’t have everything figured out, but I do feel like a clearer piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. Transforming a house is a slow, enjoyable process.
The book is filled with photos so you can flip through it casually or leave it on your coffee table, but I hope you’ll read it sometimes, too. I share stories and practical ideas about how my previous home evolved—often on a budget and by using what we already owned. There are suggestions for how to make progress with what you have now and how to gather pieces over time to create an authentic, loved home. The advice is meant to be adaptable, even when you face limitations.
I want you to experience that same sense of belonging in your home that I love feeling in mine.
Here’s the trailer!
You can preorder The Inspired Room through the book’s site to be among the first to receive it when it releases.
I can’t wait to show you our taped-up dining room and the new furniture layout so you can see how we reimagined the space. Thanks for indulging my house ramblings—this process brings me so much joy.