You know the homes you see on blogs or Instagram—or even the one down the street—that look absolutely perfect? I’ve come to believe that “perfect” is often misunderstood, especially when it comes to our own homes.
What does perfect mean to you?
Is a house perfect because you spent a lot of money on it? Because it has every feature and the ideal layout? Because it matches a style you’ve always wanted or sits in the perfect location? Or is perfection defined by trendy decor and Instagram-ready photos? Maybe it’s simply a home where everything functions as it should.
I found this definition of perfect online:
perfect: having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.
That phrase about “required or desirable elements” leaves the standard of perfection up to our own interpretation. Which, as many designers would agree, can actually be a very good thing.
If you measure your home against an open-ended list of “requirements” or compare it to someone else’s high standard, you’ll likely always fall short. But if you set your own priorities—what’s truly required and desirable for your family in this season—then what feels perfect for you can look very different.
Put another way: if your expectations are lower because they reflect your actual needs and values, your sense of perfection changes. It becomes about what works for your life now, not what looks flawless on someone else’s feed.
Exactly two years ago we bought this house in Seattle. The market was—and still is—wild, so we knew we’d need to compromise on what would be “perfect for us.” Choosing the neighborhood we wanted narrowed what we could expect from the house itself.
Luckily, we found a solid, older home that feels good to be in. That warm, homey feeling mattered more than ticking every box for a dream house. You can’t put a price on a home that just feels right—so that feeling became one of our main criteria, even above style or size.
The house didn’t have every feature I might list for a dream home, but because it felt right, we knew we could make it our own over time.
Making it our own isn’t about achieving design perfection. It’s about creating a home that feels right for your family in the season you’re in.
I’ve been leaning toward simplicity lately—not just in decorating (this house does feel best with restraint), but in life overall. Simple choices feel best for our family right now.
Instead of using perfection or someone else’s standards as our benchmark, we try to use simplicity as a guiding principle when making decisions.
When simplicity is the goal, it’s easier to be content with what we can do or with what we’re willing to invest in during this season of life.
So what does all of this have to do with painting our stone fireplace white?
When we first painted our fireplace gray, I wasn’t sure I’d want white stone eventually. Gray made sense at the time—it was the simplest, most sensible choice for the season. It wasn’t the ultimate fix I might dream of, but it worked.
I thought we might eventually remove the stone and build my dream fireplace. But I also knew I could always paint it white later if I wanted a fresh look.
Recently I felt the urge to refresh the living room and briefly considered ripping out the fireplace. But choosing simplicity led me to the easier solution: a fresh coat of white paint.
I reminded myself that if I didn’t like it or grew tired of it later, a more dramatic—and costly—renovation would always be an option when the time and budget were right.
That day wasn’t today. So we painted it white.
And I’m happy with the result. I like it more than I expected—the white feels fresh, simple, and clean, and it provides a calm backdrop for the room. Now I’m eager to decorate for fall and the holidays. All it took was paint.
I’m also comfortable leaving the fireplace as it is for a while, at least as long as it suits our life. In this season, simple often feels close to perfect.
Below is a flashback to what the fireplace looked like when we moved in.
Do you ever find yourself craving a life of greater simplicity? How does that influence the way you design your home?
Sources:
Fireplace and wall paint color – Simply White Benjamin Moore
Watercolor quote artwork on mantel – GraceLaced
Woven Shades
Curtains
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