Start the Project or You Never Will
Something truly debilitating for folks is the inability to get started on a project. Is this you?! Cue the many excuses and stories that replay in our head over and over and over again until we somehow believe them! Limiting beliefs is such a sucker sometimes.
Let’s set the scene. You’re bundled up on the couch, with a coffee in hand, a candle going, and warm music in the background. You think to yourself, “It’s time! I’m going to start the project in my home that I have been dying to start.” You pick your interior design poison – a Magnolia magazine, the juiciest accounts on Instagram, the MANY Pinterest boards you’ve been pinning since you were in your early 20’s, and of course … you have HGTV playing on the TV. You’re feeling inspired!
Then it hits you …
You see a picture of a master bedroom in the magazine, and you think to yourself, “Gosh, I could never afford a headboard like that.”
You see the sweetest living room on Instagram, and you think to yourself, “Dang, my living room is a.) way too small and b.) my fireplace looks nothing like that.”
You see such a welcoming entryway on Pinterest, you pin it, but you think to yourself, “maybe in another life I can have an entryway like that.”
You see the dreamiest of dream kitchens on the episode playing on the TV, and you think to yourself, “My honey and I would EACH need to work 24 hours a day to be able to afford a kitchen like that.”
Nevermind, inspiration gone and totally buzzkilled. The project will never happen. You slam shut your computer and the magazine, switch from coffee to wine, and watch a Hallmark movie instead of HGTV. Before you know it, you forget that you wanted to start any project at all.
Raise your hand if this has been you! C’mon I can’t be the only one who has had these thoughts, or thoughts similar. Don’t be shy! Well, it’s time to change the story. I’m going to help you transition those “I can’t ever have my dream home” thoughts and help you feel way more joy in your home.
What folks like you aren’t realizing right now, is that with the right decor, the right color scheme, a bit of trial and error, a little patience and help from a professional you can accomplish these things in your home, but the very first thing you have to do is … GET STARTED.
You’ve heard it before, time is going to keep going by anyway. Would you rather spend that time wishing your space felt and looked different or take small steps to making it look and feel different? Think about this … like all things in our lives that become some of our greatest successes, they oftentimes did not start out that way. You had to start, and then you had to work on it. When you realize that your home CAN look like the magazine you've been flipping through or the Pinterest board you've been pinning things to for years, the sky's the limit, friend! It’s truly amazing how if you just get started (somewhere, anywhere), your home can become the home of your dreams.
Getting started can look like this:
Scenario 1: You try to recreate an entryway. You dislike the way it turned out and end up calling a professional to help guide you to what you were hoping it would look like.
Set the scene: You pick the entryway to start with. You figure that it would be easy enough. So, you give it a go and by the time you’re done, you realize it doesn’t look like your inspiration picture. That’s completely fine! You can rearrange these things, OR hire a professional to help rearrange the items in a new way, OR have them help purchase a couple of new items you didn’t think of. The key is just getting started. It's not going to be perfect the first time--most things aren't. But what makes this experience great is taking the jump into putting your own personality in your home.
Lesson 1: Asking for help doesn’t mean you have no style.
Lesson 2: Hiring a professional doesn’t have to break the bank.
Lesson 3: You don’t have to buy ALL new items to change the space.
Scenario 2: You start the project of your master bedroom and end up having to return most things you buy, which forces you to “start” or pivot again because it doesn’t fit in your actual room.
Set the scene: This time you pick the master bedroom. What do you do first? Start with picking the right comforter, then picking pillows with complementary textures and colors, then picking two end tables, then picking two lamps. You think “Jackpot, I did it!” And then what people don't understand is that just because you buy those items, it doesn't mean you will like them, love them, or keep them. This can be frustrating, I know. However, sometimes you buy the lamps, take them home and realize they are too big or too small, the vibe isn’t right, you’re not getting enough light or too much light, or maybe it’s not even functional for your space.
Lesson 4: Getting started and creating momentum is important.
Lesson 5: You won’t like everything; that’s okay.
Lesson 6: It will take trial and error.
Lesson 7: You don’t know until you know!
Scenario 3: You decide to honor the slow burn, and buy one item at a time to stay on budget, and eventually you fall in love with your space and the small acts of love you’re giving it.
Set the scene: The dreamiest of dream living rooms isn’t going to pay for itself. But, you know that if you don’t start somewhere now, you never will. First, you buy a new area rug, then a coffee table, you paint the brick fireplace white, buy something for the walls, add some fresh flowers, and eventually you buy the couch you have been eagerly waiting for! It took a while but eventually it’s there, it’s done, and you are so proud to show your family and friends!
Lesson 8: You don’t have to use your credit to refresh a room.
Lesson 9: It doesn't have to be quick; you can take as much time as you need.
Lesson 10: You have to start somewhere.
Something important to remember is that you should love your spaces, you should love your home, you should be proud and take pride in the spaces that you create. When you take responsibility for heading a huge project like that, it's amazing how you can and will feel once that project is completed.
I promise you it will give you those little fireworks in your soul and make your heart warm. On top of that, then you will be able to show your family, your friends, your kids, your husband and say “Wow, I did this!!!!”
This will bring so much joy and most people don't realize it until they get started. You can have the house you have been dreaming of. No matter how big or small, it's amazing what just getting started can do.
