Home trends will always come and go, but there is nothing more disappointing than investing in a decor item that magazines and design blogs suddenly declare to be “outdated.”

While I usually choose a classic style for my nicest pieces, I fall for bold trends pretty often.  My home has all of these things and I have no regrets:

Wallpaper

It’s out, it’s in, it’s embarrassing, it’s hip.  I’ve never really gotten over this shimmery green floral wallpaper my mom had in the dining room in the early 90’s.  For awhile, graphic wallpaper was acceptable only in fancy hotels or garish restaurants.  But it’s been back with a vengeance for several years now and you can bet I jumped on that bandwagon.  I have graphic wallpaper in my powder room and in my home office.

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Written by contributors Lauren & Josiah Lowe of The Burlap Bag

Ah, do we have a special treat for you! For the next FIVE weeks, Josiah and I are going to do a mini series on the basics of design! It’s going to be called “Strategies for Designing Your Life”. In this series, we will discuss some basic design elements and give examples of how to utilize them. The series will help to add interest, harmony, and unity to your life. Be sure to check back every Thursday for the next design element!

Today’s design element is COLOR.

We present you with: A lesson in color.

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Written by contributor Maggie Whitley of Gussy Sews.

Sometimes I’m too quick to want a beautiful home but not quick enough to want to create that beautiful home. And I know that may sound silly and yes, it’s not true all the time. And maybe it’s even a bit lame to admit that, but when you work from home and spend a lot of that time online, dreaming new product designs or researching fabric or connecting with customers, it’s easy to feel creatively zapped once six o’clock hits.

Does that surprise you?

Gosh, I hope not. I know it can’t be that hard to create a beautiful home. Many of my friends share simple + easy tips on creating an imperfect, beautiful home.

Finally one day I sat myself down and had a serious talk. With myself. Yes, myself.

I told myself, “Maggie, don’t make this harder than it needs to be. You only need a few things to create a beautiful mantle that loves you, too. Now go on, get started!”

And so I did. I gathered inspiration from my friend Lisa’s mantle + added in some of my own pretties that make me feel happy. I wanted our home to be relaxing once six o’clock came, but still inspiring enough that I felt encouraged to dream + play during non-work hours.

A friend mailed me a darling string of paper garland she made + I knew that would be the finishing touch to our living room’s decor. To creating that beautiful home.

Sometimes decorating our living room feels super hard because of the dark, original wood details or the old {that doesn’t work anymore} fireplace, but since we rent I know these are things I need to work around.

Fashioning our home in a style that makes me proud is a home decorating challenge I find myself in often. I think because I spend so much time with fabric + zippers I forget how much fun it is to work in a new medium, like books + candlesticks. Do you have any decorating challenges in your home that you’ve been able to creatively work through?

Here are three quick tips to decorating your home:
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