Sixteen years ago I coined a playful term, Magazine Cover-itis, to describe a common feeling among people who love decorating: an urge to make every room look like it belongs on a glossy cover. While seeking inspiration is healthy and can enrich our lives, it can also spark perfectionism, comparison, or dissatisfaction with what we already have.
When inspiration feeds a tug-of-war between creativity and unrealistic expectations, the process stops being joyful and starts feeling like an affliction. Instead of guiding us, it can make us question our choices and undervalue the home we’ve created.
Back in 2007 we didn’t have Instagram, but we loved our monthly magazines. I used to tear out pages and save them in design notebooks, studying every detail. It was inspiring and educational, but sometimes it led me to chase a “magazine-worthy” perfection that didn’t match our life. As a mom of three on a modest budget, my home often felt like a cheerful mess rather than a staged photo spread.
I laugh now because later homes of mine did appear in magazines. That was an honor, but more meaningful was the shift: turning my home into a sanctuary and helping others do the same over the last sixteen years has been far more rewarding.
Today we have more inspiration at our fingertips than any generation before. That abundance can be energizing — until it becomes overwhelming. Constantly hunting for ideas can leave us confused about how to shape our own spaces, lead us to buy things we don’t need, or push us toward trends that don’t fit our lives. Worst of all, it can make us feel our homes are not worth sharing because they don’t measure up to curated standards.
Many people are unhappy trying to keep pace with expectations for an Insta-perfect home.
For some, the quest for design perfection evolves into a more harmful trend I call Instagram-Worthy-itis.
Comparing ourselves and our homes to highly curated social feeds affects far more people in varied ways than the magazine-era version did. It’s easy to feel unworthy when every scroll shows an edited highlight reel of other people’s lives and spaces.
What’s the antidote to Instagram-Worthy-itis?
The same remedy I used for Magazine Cover-itis:
Treat your home as a sanctuary, not merely a showplace.
A sanctuary approach doesn’t mean your home won’t be beautiful or shareable. It simply begins with different priorities and a clearer why. When you design for comfort, meaning, and daily life, beauty grows naturally and lasts beyond a single photo.
Does the idea of creating a sanctuary inspire you?
My goal in starting The Inspired Room was to help people create sanctuaries. It remains my goal today. A sanctuary is a personal, welcoming space for you and the people you love. It holds more depth than any Instagram square because it’s about how you feel in the space, not just how it photographs.
A sanctuary conveys warmth and refuge, a place where hospitality and lived-in stories set the tone. Your style should reflect what you love, the memories you value, and the life you lead, rather than chasing every passing trend.
Recognizing the benefits of a sanctuary—and learning how to create one—can counteract discontent, comparison, and design confusion. It helps you focus on intentional choices that support well-being and genuine hospitality.
Let’s create a sanctuary together.
You’re invited to a comfortable corner of the internet for people who want to turn their homes into sanctuaries.
As a member of the HomeBody Gathering Place, you’ll find downloadable resources, printables, mini-courses, and workshops designed to inspire and encourage you through every season. We share ideas, topics, and gentle challenges to help you reach your unique sanctuary goals while connecting with like-minded friends.
This community is a place to slow down, find encouragement, and be inspired by others who value a meaningful home life. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, consider joining and inviting friends, sisters, neighbors, or family to come along.
If you’d like a community like this, we’d love to have you join us. Invite someone you care about and let’s do this together.
