Day One: 31 Days of Finishing Rooms

Welcome to Life of Splendor’s 31 Days of Finishing Rooms Series!

For several years, I have read The Nester’s 31 Days Series every October.  So, when she opened it up this year to other bloggers, I was really excited to jump in and participate!  Here’s how it works…you pick your own topic, link to her blog, and blog about that ONE topic for 31 days straight.

Sound like a challenge?  Yeah, that’s what I thought too.

But, I’m giving it a try!

I started thinking about a topic that I would like to write about.  As a home/design blogger, that meant something I also wanted to work on in our home.  That’s pretty easy to figure out.

You see, for the last several months, God has been revealing some things to me.  I’ ve talked on here about my passion and my “dreamer nature”, which are all pretty good things.  But there is definitely a not so great side to that as well.

I’m always dreaming, always looking to the future.  The problem comes when you become so focused on what could be, or maybe what will one day be, that you become discontent with your present situation.

Don’t get me wrong…I am very happy with my life.  But I see how my tendency, and most of our tendency as humans, is to always think that next thing, that next stage of life, will really make us happy.  How many times have I really thought, “I’ll be happy when…” or “Life will be better when…”

Yeah, you’ve all been there with me, right?

I see how this plays out in my home design as well.  In buying a foreclosure, as you can imagine, there is A LOT of work to do.  You know I love the idea of making a house all your own, but I struggle with seeing it as beautiful and homey without having the next project on cue.

As soon as a room gets painted, instead of staying and finishing that room, I immediately move on to the next room that needs a new paint job, etc.  It’s not that I don’t want to finish it.  It’s just that I want more done than can possibly be done at once.  And then, I become discontent with the rooms because nothing is finished.  Everything is just half-way done, but yet I have a vision in my head for what I think it will one day be.

A good example of this is our Master Bathroom.  It took me FIVE months to post a finished shot of it.  That is because it took us almost all of those five months to finish it.  We got the big stuff done and then just let it sit and moved onto other projects.  All the while, I’m frustrated with the bathroom because it isn’t finished, but I’m still pouring time and energy into new rooms.

The fix seems pretty simple, right?  FINISH THE ROOMS, LINDSAY.  But, this has been a process of discovery for me and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Just a few weeks ago, I began realizing how I need to not stop dreaming, but readjust my mindset about my current situation, and in turn, the current situation of my house.  And then, The Nester goes and invites me to blog about it, whether she realizes it or not.  Gosh, I just can’t say no!

So, for the next 31 days, you can read about my quest of finishing rooms in our home that are half-started and you will probably (fingers crossed) see some personal growth along the way.

After all, the whole reason I chose Life of Splendor as a title for this blog was because I believe that regardless of your current situation or what could be better, life is full.  God has blessed us all.  We can choose to recognize that and bask joyfully in the splendor of it all.  Or, we can miss those blessings and wish for what could be.

It’s about time I get back to choosing the blessings and choosing to live in and love the present.

So, here’s what you can expect around here for the next month:

Week 1: Finishing the Living Room

Week 2: Finishing the Master Bedroom

Week 3: Finishing Random Projects throughout the House

Week 4: Finishing the Guest Bedroom/My Office

I hope you stick around and join me!