Well friends, today is the day!
I've got my welcome mat out, my Dutch door is wide open and my special guest has arrived!!
If you don't already know Michele Ranard from Hello Lovely you are in for such a treat. Besides being an accomplished DIY renovator (two houses in two years) she is a prolific writer and artist who somehow finds time to maintain a gorgeous design blog.
And yet, what makes Michele stand out from the crowd --in my mind--is when she weaves her unique wisdom and serenity into her topics the way she did in this post.
If you've ever been part of a long-awaited home renovation or a simple, blood-and-sweat DIY project you'll want to read Michele's reflections on her own experience.
Reading Michele's post made me stop and realize how our home projects--with all the sacrifices and stress and delays along with way---can be 'gifts' that help us grow into a better person.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did!
--Leslie
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| My Kitchen - Hello Lovely Studio |
What a treat to be a guest of Gwen Moss today!
I'm Michele of Hello Lovely, and like you,
I admire Leslie's design style and
lovely heart which has been inspiring
mine for years now.
Home for me is in Northern Illinois, and
while I have always been a summer girl.
in the second half of life, I have
fallen in love with the unfolding
beauty of autumn.
Fall brings:
fresh apples from the orchard,
crisps and cobblers bubbling over in the oven,
shopping for vintage at fleamarkets,
and hiking outdoors where the
changing colors delight.
This is the first fall in our home
where we're not swamped with
DIY whole house renovation,
and it's a great time to reflect
on how downsizing and renovating
has deepened us in profound ways.
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| Hello Lovely Studio |
The kitchen needed to be completely
gutted, and the reno process brought
disappointments...for example,
learning we wouldn't be able
to lose a wall to create a more
spacious hub for our family to gather.
The gift that emerged instead?
Cozy intimacy.
Rubbing shoulders with
people you love is not the worst
compromise one must make.
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| My Kitchen - Hello Lovely Studio |
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| My Living Room - Hello Lovely Studio |
I was not a huge fan of the fan windows
we inherited with this fixer upper,
yet when a blog reader called them
"church-like," I changed my tune.
Slight shifts in perception
can pack a huge punch.
Church-like is perfect for someone
who longs for her place to feel prayerful.
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| My Courtyard - Hello Lovely Studio |
Weeds and dead shrubbery had overtaken
the front entry area, and the remedy?
Subtraction and creativity.
With a limited budget, we simply erased
all but one plant, and brought
in boxwood and pea gravel for an
airy French-inspired courtyard.
Letting go is also good for the soul.
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| My Home - Hello Lovely Studio |
A few more peeks inside...  | ||||
| My Studio - Hello Lovely Studio |
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| My Studio - Hello Lovely Studio |
What's inspiring you this fall?
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| My Courtyard - Hello Lovely Studio |
Thanks so much for having me, and
I hope you'll come visit Hello Lovely,
where Leslie is my guest!
Peace to you right where you are.
~Michele
Thank you again Michele... for sharing your beautiful home and your inspiring perspective with us!
--Leslie
9 comments:
Thanks for sharing Michele with us. So much truth in her beautiful words. So many times we just need to view things in a different light, with new eyes. I needed to read this today. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to following along over at Hello Lovely.
So grateful to be here today, Leslie. Renovations can push you to your limits but can also reveal what you're made of! Blog reading can be good medicine, and yours always brings me deep peace and encouragement so it feels very natural to join the lovefest. xox
I needed to read it too Lauren. Our work on our fixer has slowed down for various reasons and I notice how hard it is for me to be completely OK with my surroundings. I have spurts of being on the pitty pot and feeling impatient to get my kitchen d-o-n-e with an " I don't want to wait anymore" attitude ....
My favorite line in Michele's post was when she was accepting that the wall in the kitchen wouldn't be coming down,
"Rubbing shoulders with people you love is not the worst compromise one must make."
How's that for reframing a bummer realization?
I love that.
Sending love your way,
xo
Leslie
I needed to read this lovely post today. Letting go of our longtime home and remodeling another has me ready to run some days. I feel like I had a real attitude adjustment reading this. Thank you for sharing some of your learned lessons.
I feel restored after reading this lovely post.
The timing of this is perfect for me.
Thank you Leslie and Michele.
As I face remodeling and issues in our new home, I know it will all be ok:)
Thank you, Leslie for sharing Michele with us.
We have a This Old House project that we have worked on thru the years. It can be frustrating at times, once the project is complete, it feels so good.
I enjoy sharing our scrapbook with friends. It is wow! We did this!
I'm so glad you mentioned timing Laura, I completely understand. I've found that I can intellectually "know" something to be true yet it's not until I hear it in a different way or at the Right time, when it truly feel it. Leaving a home that was mostly "done" and moving into a fixer has been a wonderful lesson in patience and humility for me...we have to be kind to ourselves through out the process. I'm so excited to see what you do to your new place!
xo
Leslie
Carla can I just say how much I love your positive attitude? It's SO you to highlight the fun of sharing our before and after with friends. You're right, that's one of the best parts of the renovation process and hey, the longer it takes... the more pictures we can take right? Sending a big hug to you!
xo
Leslie
Thanks for the introduction.
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