overcoming paralysis.

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I dedicate this post to myself, for my 40th birthday this week.

And I am speaking to my 25 year old self, and my 30 year old self, and to my 39 and 362day year old self.

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{for me}

There is only one way to climb out of a pit, my sweet, beautiful girl.

You have to step up.

Then, you have to lift your other foot, and you have to step up again.

And then, after you do that. You have to lift your other foot up, the one that you already lifted before, and lift again.

If you are really tired of living in that pit, there is only one way to get out.

You have to do the work.

If you are really tired of living with the holes in your sofa, and you feel overwhelmed with fabrics and choices and no time,  and its tough to save up the cash and impossible to make a decision, and who to call to pick up the dang sofa… there is still only one way to a beautiful sofa.

You have to do the work.

If you are tired of kids who talk back, and act ignored, and call for your attention, and just want another piece of you, there is only one way to have a beautiful relationship with them, even though you are already a loving and giving mother.

You have to do the work.

If you are tired of feeling bad, of an aching back, of stiff joints and of hating your reflection. If you are tired of having to buy a size up and you know you are letting yourself go, and there is no turning back, there is only one way to turn this around.

You have to do the work.

If you dream of writing a book, decorating a gorgeous space, inspiring others, sharing your vision, helping others find wellness, looking like a million bucks, feeling healthy, and living with laughter. If you want a meaningful connection with your family and you want peace and joy within the walls of your home, there is only one way to get there.

You have to do the work.

If you are sitting alone in your home surrounded by love yet still surrounded by loneliness. If you don’t even remember your own soul and who you were before all of this. If you think you have no friends and no connection with others. If you feel darkness, there is only one way to feel connected.

You have to do the work.

If you give and give and give and give, and never fill yourself up and ignore the person God made you to be. If you pour out your pitcher, there is only one way to fill it up.

You have to do the work.

My gorgeous, loved, talented, hurting, beautiful self …..

You have to do the work.

You can do ALL things. You are not alone.

God GAVE you the gift to create beauty with your surroundings. You have to do your part.

God GAVE you these amazing children and the time that you have with them. You have to do your part.

God MADE your body to run, and work out, and sweat and feel glory. You have to do your part.

God CREATED you to have these passions and share them. You have to do your part.

God GAVE you your friends, your family, your husband. You have to do your part.

Bit by bit, Be Better than you were before.

Just better. Not INFINITELY better. Not arrived. Not perfect. Not great.

Just better than you were before.

Be gentle to yourself. Take it one step up at a time.

this is how you overcome paralysis.

You’ve got this.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

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Take daily, bite-size steps toward living in a home you LOVE: Be sure to subscribe to FHD via email, bloglovin, your fave reader, and follow Fieldstone Hill on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

MY GENEROUS SPONSOR:

This post is generously sponsored by my YL. I am into natural choices for my family, and this is the main way I avoided toxins during pregnancy, and now our family is hooked. My Young Living essential oils are also my business, and the oils are so well loved that they sponsor my blog!!! Thank you, friends!  Enroll by clicking here.

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 Don’t miss a single post from Fieldstone Hill Design! Have regular decorating goodness delivered {free!} directly to your inbox.

{This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much  for reading and supporting FHD! }

A Colorful SchoolRoom

This is a design board that I finished a while ago with a beloved client, Sarah. {We have done her library, her keeping room, and her living room so far} It was so fun to execute a fun and functional school room for this growing family:

My client was all about color, color, color for this space. Her room provided a few unique space challenges, which we fixed with strategically placed built-ins. I love me some built-ins. Find me a hole in a wall or an awkward bump, and my answer? Built-in!!!!

{Check out my Built-in obsessed Pinterest board here. And if you are a Pinning Junkie like me, follow all of my boards here.}

So, built-ins and color splashing, and now my client and I LOVE  the result! Wouldn’t you want to learn in this room?:

{for more design boards from my portfolio, click here.}

What I love about this space:

1. This room is a color explosion that is made do-able and breathable with some sweeping neutral spaces for the eye to rest. The floor is painted. The walls are a soft blue-green. The built-ins provide ‘white space’ and grounding architecture.

2. Creative storage. Rolling bins, shelves with baskets, built-in closets and shelving, storage-bench seats. When it comes to school spaces, there is never any shortage of STUFF. So, thoughtful storage is essential.

3. Why do I love built-ins so much? They are a very efficient use of space, and they take advantage of the vertical plane. They are streamlined and take up less floor footage than furniture. They are seamless. They add architectural interest to an otherwise boring, square room.

3. Pops of color, and contrasting color at that! You hear me talk all the time about the power of contrasts. I love creating an impact by highs and lows, brights and darks, and opposites on the color wheel.

4. Echoing pattern. I had fun playing around with the “flag” theme, which was inspired by my client’s vision. I brought colorful ‘flags’ into the art, the pillows, and the rug.

5. The blackboard and bulletin board solution. Are they closet doors, or are they useful school surfaces? Both!

6. Proud of the practicality. I love gorgeous spaces. But, somewhere in this idealistic mind of mind, I believe we can have it all! Gorgeous spaces that work FOR us and WITH us! I love when I look at a room that is so lovely, like this space, and is equally USEFUL. It makes me want to move right in!

I cannot wait to see this room as it evolves and takes shape. Be sure to follow along with Sarah as she makes her gorgeous updates!

Get the Look:

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Take daily, bite-size steps toward living in a home you LOVE: Be sure to subscribe to FHD via email, bloglovin, your fave reader, and follow Fieldstone Hill on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

MY GENEROUS SPONSOR:

This post is generously sponsored by my YL. I am into natural choices for my family, and this is the main way I avoided toxins during pregnancy, and now our family is hooked. My Young Living essential oils are also my business, and the oils are so well loved that they sponsor my blog!!! Thank you, friends!  Enroll by clicking here.

There is a freebie special sign-up this month, MY ABSOLUTE BIGGEST GIVEAWAY YET!! Click the image for more info:

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 Don’t miss a single post from Fieldstone Hill Design! Have regular decorating goodness delivered {free!} directly to your inbox.

{This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much  for reading and supporting FHD! }

I am a dreamer of the possible.

Some people get anxious or envious when they open a decorating magazine or hop on Pinterest. This doesn’t really happen to me. Whenever I see inspiration pictures and images of beautiful things, I don’t tend to suffer from jealousy. But instead, I’m spurred on to think, how can I bring an element of this into my life? I am eager to go, go, go.

Recently, however, I’ve been walking through a different season than usual. A season where, due to my commitments to my family, I have had to completely back off of my dreams for my home. Other than keeping it from turning it into a violent tornado, of course. This has left me with many longings for a peaceful and lovely and inspiring environment.

This has been hard on my soul. For a woman who expresses her creativity through vase of flowers on the table, and a pretty pillow in just the right spot, part of my soul has been aching. A beautiful space recharges me and energizes me. Like many others in this place, I am trying to find that happy medium where I can both serve and recharge.

Melissa’s book walked into my life at just the right time. {You know, from the sweetest decorating gal on earth? Melissa!}

Bite-sized

Do-able

Simple

Lovely

Fresh

These are the words I need to hear right now when it comes to the home that I have.

And these are the words Melissa will breathe into your home.

And if you are thirsty for these words to be breathed into your life as well, you will LOVE the end of her book. This is where Melissa shares a 31 day Challenge that is, honest to goodness, DO-ABLE!

I am joining all of these amazing and talented friends in taking this very challenge for our homes. Each of us has picked one of the challenges from Melissa’s book and made it our own.

I immediately knew which challenge was right for me in this season that I am in:

What message does my heart need right now?

Well, it just so happens, I know exactly what my heart AND my home need to hear:

SLOW. DOWN. FOR. NOW.

Here is how I brought this challenge to life for the Home that I have:

I placed, front and center, in the most well-used room in our home, the very words my heart needs to meditate on.

I hope these words are a blessing to those of you who are in a similar season:

14 “Let my lord go ahead of his servant.

I will continue on slowly, at a pace

suited to the livestock and the children,

until I come to my lord at Seir.” – Gen. 33:14

Each season has its own pace….

And for me. For now. This means a slow pace.

Bite-sized.

Do-able.

Thank goodness that Love the Home you Have delivers the message that you can find this Beauty no matter your season.

And no matter your pace.

Melissa doesn’t just talk about it. She walks you through it.

Her book, Love the Home you Have, launches TODAY! The pages are filled with grace, and wisdom, and will leave you completely inspired in the four walls you are already sitting in.

What pace are you taking in this season?

Do you need some hand-holding in loving the home YOU have?

** Be sure to visit all of the talented and lovely friends who are taking part in the Love Your Home Challenge!

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Take daily, bite-size steps toward living in a home you LOVE: Be sure to subscribe to FHD via email, bloglovin, your fave reader, and follow Fieldstone Hill on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

MY GENEROUS SPONSOR:

This post is generously sponsored by my YL. I am into natural choices for my family, and this is the main way I avoided toxins during pregnancy, and now our family is hooked. My Young Living essential oils are also my business, and the oils are so well loved that they sponsor my blog!!! Thank you, friends!  Enroll by clicking here.

There is a freebie special sign-up this month, ONE DAY LEFT!! Click the image for more info:

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 Don’t miss a single post from Fieldstone Hill Design! Have regular decorating goodness delivered {free!} directly to your inbox.

{This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much  for reading and supporting FHD! }

The Fieldstone Hill Historic Home Tour

The Living Room

Thanks for joining me in another room of the Fieldstone Hill Historic Home Tour!

Come on in to the most well-loved and well-used room in our home: The Living Room!

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This deep entry used to be a window well, but now serves as a passage, ushering you into our living room. This living space looks out over our woods, and it is a peaceful, light and happy space:

The sofa is the centerpiece of our space. The kids love that 11 tiny kid tushies can fit on this baby, all at the same time. Yes, they measured. Using the accurate butt-measuring system. {Vintage sofa from Jayson Home}:

The stone wall is the original back wall of our house. The built-in bar was our original back door {you can still see the threshold}:

This is what the back wall used to look like. See the covered porch area? That attached to the former back wall of our house:

My desk has a gorgeous view of the deck and the backyard. The art is by yours truly. That little doorway leads to the guest suite:

Here is a closer view of the bar. I have a water bar set up on our antique serving buffet. I am thinking of painting the mirror to match the bar… this house could use all the brightening up it can get. It is very wood and stone heavy in general:

We got our hand-hewn beams from a local torn-down barn. The ultimate in up-cycling. The doors above the fireplace conceal our television. The doors and closet you see on the right are also on the left. The right hand closet is our media cabinet {and half a zillion toys} and the one on the left contains my “cloffice”:

See that large, lovely blank spot on the wall?:

Well, this family heirloom is going to be framed and hung in that space. I cannot wait! The shawl used to belong to my Great-Grandmother:

On the future wish list for our living room:

curtains

art

{are you noticing a theme? All of my house is missing curtains and art. Essential, but they are last bc I want them to be realllllly GOOD and I do NOT want to skimp.}

a fabulous chair for my desk

bench cushions for the window seats

Lighting by the orange chairs

Get the sofa recovered. It is in its original vintage silk {from 1958. yep} and some lovely holes are getting bigger by the day. It probably doesn’t help that my boys put their toes DIRECTLY into the holes and play with them….

Thank you for touring with me!!

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Take daily, bite-size steps toward living in a home you LOVE: Be sure to subscribe to FHD via email, bloglovin, your fave reader, and follow Fieldstone Hill on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!

MY GENEROUS SPONSOR:

This post is generously sponsored by my YL. I am into natural choices for my family, and this is the main way I avoided toxins during pregnancy, and now our family is hooked. My Young Living essential oils are also my business, and the oils are so well loved that they sponsor my blog!!! Thank you, friends!  Enroll by clicking here.

There is a freebie special sign-up this month!! Click the image for more info:

* * *

 Don’t miss a single post from Fieldstone Hill Design! Have regular decorating goodness delivered {free!} directly to your inbox.

{This post contains affiliate links. Thank you so much  for reading and supporting FHD! }