Why We Nest

Why Do We Nest?

Because it makes us feel safe in the sanctuary of our homes.

I have had the desire to nest for a very long time. In my 20's I moved around a lot...and I mean A LOT! I lived in nice apartments...not so nice apartments...even rented a room in a house once. In all these places I did a little nesting...made the space my own.

Then when I bought my first condo, I really got to nest for the first time. That was in 1982. Country decor was all the rage. I stencilled a duck border on my dining area wall and put a chair railing all around the living area. Country decor was everywhere...and some antiques including a liitle armoire that I still have in my guest cottage.

Since then I have owned four homes. I bought a townhouse in 1992 as a single mother to the cutest little three year old boy. In that space I kept the decor simple and little bit on the modern side. I did have a floral wallpaper border in the kitchen that makes me cringe just thinking about it now.

Then there was my first real single family home in Gilroy, California that my husband and I bought. I expanded my horizons there....lots of faux painting, stenciling, and even making our own cornice boards for some of the windows. We made fabric covered headboards and created a beautiful backyard filled with roses of all kinds. My husband laid the most beautiful herringbone brick patio and walkway paths that led to more trees and flowers. I even had an arched trellis covered with beautiful climbing yellow roses.

In 2002 we purchased a downtown house built in the 1920's. Oh how I loved this house! Everyone that entered felt a wonderful feeling. That house had the best aura...really! It called for a more vintage decor....I fell in love with ebay then. There were vintage linens, vintage dishes, teacups, and even a stained glass front door. After almost five years in that house we decided to sell (a smarter decision than we realized at the time) and rent for awhile so we could search for some property to build.

Now this was a challenge......nesting in a rental house that was built in 1980 and I couldn't paint or do anything since we were only going to be there for a couple years. I did have to change out the plastic brass chandelier in the dining room though.--just couldn't "hang" with that, pardon the pun : ) But I still managed to make it comfortable while we were there.

Now we are living in a house that we planned ourselves...every little detail. The style, the floorplan, the wall finishes, the light fixtures, the tile, the floors....ALL OF IT!

It is a wonderful feeling to be able to start from scratch and pick everything. Of course we had to stay within our budget and we were constantly on the lookout for the "look for less". We succeeded. We love our home and our guest cottage. It will be a work in progress, especially the landscaping of 10 acres! It is definitely a European style home and my husband and I both love the feeling of the wood beams, the hardwood floors and the arched doorways. It reminds us of a trip we took to Europe in 1996.

I am a self-proclaimed homebody. I love being home and feeling the security that it brings. But the truth of the matter is--we can nest anywhere, on any budget and in any size space. I believe that anyone can bring beauty to their surroundings. We can choose to be organized and tiday (as much as we can with kids) and put things in our home that make us happy and remind us of wonderful memories.

That is how I have nested. I will continue to nest as long as I can. I do love to be invited into the homes of other women who blog to see how they nest. What a dream come true for a self-proclaimed decorating magazine junky! I love seeing your homes and your creativity and your beautiful gardens. There is a neverending source of inspiration.

The icons of birds and nests are comforting to me. I took my camera and snapped some photos of things that I have in my home that represent nesting.(there were actually more than I realized)...

I hope you do a little nesting today as summer begins to draw to an end....have a wonderful day.

On...one more thing....I really do believe that if you purchase something that you absolutely LOVE, there will be a place in your home for it (somewhere) and it will continue to bring you joy for many years to come....