My Happy Home

This morning I read a delightful post from Serena's Farm Chick Blog, regarding creating a happy home.  Here is an excerpt I copied from her blog.

I'm reading a mother's book from 1902 and have enjoyed discovering that the importance of a happy home has been around for a long while. In fact, I think this content is perfect advice for what I'm trying to convey.

Pleasant Homes:

Beautiful furniture on its own will not make rooms cheerful. The charm of a cozy home rests with its homemaker. If she is fortunate enough to have sunny rooms, her task is half done. In homes where the sun never shines, something must be done to make up for it. A sunless room should have bright and joyous color in its furnishings. The walls should be warmly tinted, and the curtains give a rosey glow to the light that passes through them. Ferns and shade loving plants may add cheer to the room and suggest quiet forest nooks.

An attractive room need not be too orderly. A book left lying on the table, a bit of needle-work on the window sill, an open piano, indicates the tastes and styles of those who live there, without suggesting that there is not a place for everything in that room.

There is such a thing as being too neat and nice to take comfort in everyday life, and this is anything but cheerful. And there is such a thing as being so disorderly and messy that comfort and cheer are impossible.
If a mom cannot rest while there is a fingermark on the paint or a spot on the window panes, she may have a neat home, but her tension will keep it from ever being cheerful.

A bird singing in the window, an aquarium on the table in some corner, plants growing and blooming, pets moving about as if at home, these give life and brightness to a home.

Creating a warm and inviting home is something all "mothers" aim for.  Yet with two young children, I often wonder if my home ever seems welcoming.  Our floor is always scattered with toys and it seems when I finally clean and organize one part of the house, there is a disaster in other part of the house waiting for me to tackle it.  For every mom, a completely clean home is a never ending battle that I am not quite certain will ever be won.

The tips from the 1902 Mother book made me smile today.  For a "happy" home is not the appearance of a perfectly clean, decorated and designed home, but one that is filled with the sounds, smells and sights of a family that lives together, plays together and loves together.

Here is just part of my happy home.  Amongst the constant clutter these small signs that little people live here always make my heart happy.        

~Amy