Blog Description

A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Home Renovations | Thoughts About Beautiful Images

Sunday, April 22, 2018


While you are mulling over your thoughts about budget wise countertops, or why white is timeless decor, or 7 ways to add French style to a bathroom, may I ask you to mull over something else about home renovations, also? 




Recently I began thinking about what others write about home renovations and how it relates to home decorating and blogging. The whole point of this blog is to share beautiful images and thoughts about beautiful images for our homes and gardens. 






French Country Living Room Spring Sunlight 
Everyone's home is VERY personal, designed to fit the person's needs and style. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure. 

Have you seen the amazing transformations of trash from all the talented, GIFTED, people on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Blogs across the Internet? Items discarded on a curbside by one homeowner and turned into beautiful, reimagined objects by another homeowner?

Truly amazing! 

Along my life's journey I came to realize we should talk about the important things in life, not just about the everyday things... what's for dinner, what color of paint should we use, where should we go on vacation...  (Paris is always a good idea, or so I have heard.) 
Just like facts we knew in the past are forgotten when we do not recall them or practice them periodically, the important things in life are forgotten and lost when we do not periodically recall or practice them, too. 

For our children to learn good manners, we have to consciously teach them every day for many years. Otherwise, good manners do not become part of their lifestyle. 




Christmas Guest Bath, recently updated guest bath 
So, let's consider how we talk about our home renovations. 


An important thing to consider about home decor... 

Have you ever been reading along on a favorite site about the latest home projects/transformations and read descriptions that were unflattering of the previous owner's decorating choices in paint color, wallpaper, flooring, etc... Words like ghastly, horrific, ugly, couldn't rip it out fast enough...? 

I have read some of those kinds of descriptions and cringed a little inside, hoping the previous owner is not reading those words, too. 




7 Ways To Add French Country To A Master Bath
without structural changes 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is ugly to one person is beautiful to another, or was at one time in her life. I have been known to change my mind about past decorating decisions and to go into a different direction completely... like changing my American Country home into French Country. 

May we all be compassionate in our descriptions of other's decorating choices. Just because we have differing opinions does not make someone else's choices ugly. Now, I can call my own past choices ugly, but please 

slap Frog Tape over my mouth if you catch me saying that about someone else's choices. 


Life is hard... let's be kind to one another.


 ~~~~❦~~~~  


May I also say I have read about outstanding home transformations and projects from many who are gracious in their descriptions of why and how they chose to transform their new-to-them homes. 

There are many, but here are two I would like to recommend to you if you do not already follow them. They do amazing transformations and write from their hearts with uplifting words. 

When Botanic Bleu blog grows up, it wants to be like these two. 



Marian Parsons @ Miss Mustard Seed  

The link takes you to an article about Marian replacing the countertops in her new-to-her home. Note the way she describes the existing countertops. 

One classy lady, Miss Mustard Seed. I did not cringe one time. 



KariAnne Wood @ Thistlewood Farms 

The link takes you to a house tour with several BEFORE and AFTER photos of the same rooms in KariAnne's new-to-her-but-not-really home. KariAnne just moved into her childhood home that had belonged to a non-family member after her mother sold it. 

Another classy lady, KariAnne. She encourages everyone to realize how amazing they are. And, her newly renovated childhood home tour is a blueprint in how to showcase your changes in a positive way. 


Thank you for reading. Who are some of your favorite bloggers who exemplify the best-of-the-best?