thrift shop

Until this past year, I had no direction or stance on what I wanted my home to say about me. Typically I would purchase things that were either on sale, took up a lot of wall space, or were made of canvas found in the aisles of Kohls. I was more concerned with matching this with that, getting items in the right color scheme, and little pieces of decoration that I believed “would look nice and that others would like.” None of which reflected any ounce of my own personality nor did any space in my home ever feel inspiring, cheerful, or like a place I truly enjoyed being in. Recently I decided I wanted to be a little more free and a little more me when decorating our home. The way I look at it now is this place, our home, is where we spend the majority of our time. I don’t want everything to match, I don’t need everything to flow, I just want it to reflect what we want our home to be….cheerful, inspiring, joyful, and fun. I absolutely love walking into this space everyday and knowing it’s so far from perfect, but it’s so perfect to me. I love smiling when reading my walls or glancing over at a giant picture of a sailboat reminding me that Summer is right around the corner. I love the random sea urchins hanging in our living room, the giant disco ball looking light hanging in my office, and the vibrant pops of coral scattered all around. I am so glad I stopped making my home look like what I thought it was supposed to, but rather made it a space I love to be in. What does your home say about you?

Erin Schrader

Founder and creator of LIY, Erin turned her dream of a hobby blog into a full-time career which she now runs alongside the LIY team! When not in front of her computer screen [with a La Croix or wine in hand] or in front of a mirror taking mirror selfies, you can find Erin spending time on the water, cuddled up with her two pups and husband most likely watching the latest Shark Tank episode, or getting lost in an easy beach read.