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From ladiesagainstfeminism.com Lady Lydia Speaks  Inviting Entry from Allposters.com Do you know someone whose home is a delight to visit? Do you feel a sense of well-being and happiness the moment you enter? I'm sure it is more than perfect decor that makes it so. The home is a natural history museum of the way your family thinks and lives. It is a reflection of your values. Without realizing it, you are showing the standards of loveliness, joy, hard work, creativity, or peace by the appearance and atmosphere of your home. Your home expresses your beliefs about life. When you look at a room like the one shown below, for example, what do think has happened and will be happening? Rooms in your house hold clues to the preferences and convictions of the homemaker's heart.  Living Room from Magnolia Hall At times when it is not possible to have exactly the kind of house you really like, the best way to create a feeling of happiness in your home is to treat your current dwelling as though it were your ideal home. Whether it be a low-income rental in a neighborhood, a manufactured home, or "trailer," you can make it your dream home just by including the things that delight your heart. Although I'm presenting some pictures here for you of rooms decorated to soothe and refresh the soul, please remember that in a real home, there will be personal touches. There would be favorite books lying about. On a table there might be a stack of letters to answer. A sewing or craft project could be seen in progress. Some rooms will need curtains or a fresh paint job, and some rooms will have unmade beds. Children's shoes will be cast off near the doorway, and a favorite toy rests on the couch. Every home has a room full of stored items that need organizing. No house is ever in perfect order unless no one lives there.  Grandma's Cupboard by Erin Dertmer from allposters.com There will be piles of laundry, indicating a life of activity. The dining table may show evidence of a meal just eaten. If you are really living at home to the fullest, the times when every thing is in order and cleaned up "show-home" style will be rare indeed. If the clutter and disorganization of your home brings you tension and discontent, there might be some solutions for you. One of the best ways to overcome this is to decorate the home. If the general decor is pleasing, the unfinished work is not as noticeable. If you have small children and do not wish to have objects on tables within their reach, try putting things on shelves above the windows or hanging them on the walls. Plates, sconces, pictures, mirrors, and just about anything else, can be mounted on the walls.  Window scene from BHG.com You may create a feeling of order and contentment just by making the front room, or living room, presentable and well-arranged. If you have children, you can make it their job to clean this room up first thing in the morning. This one room can help set the mood for the home and inspire you to make other rooms beautiful. Our homes are not show homes, yet we want them to look pretty to add to our happiness and the refreshment of others. Why is happiness in the home so important? It is because without it, a homemaker cannot put herself joyfully and wholeheartedly into her tasks of organizing, delegating, cleaning, and beautifying her dwelling place. Happiness gives her the mood she needs in order to function fully. If she does not love this place and she does not feel any joy in living in it and caring for it, her work will not reflect happiness to her family and visitors. Lack of a feeling of happiness in the home can result in debilitating lethargy and depression, so put the things you love into your house, and keep it as though it were the home you've always wanted. To put her whole heart and mind into creating a lovely retreat for herself and her loved ones, the homemaker can be creative. She must have free reign in her home, to choose a decor that works best for her. She must be able to choose colors and objects that she likes and her entire family enjoyes. She must be able to relax and study a little about the home and about decorating in order to effectively establish that haven that her family will long for and her guests will appreciate and enjoy.  Summer Porch by Kevin Liang from allposters.com Sometimes, when you are out looking for ideas to put into your home, you can get a little discouraged because of the cost of things. You don't have to be rich in order to create a feeling of happiness and joy in your home. For every item that you need, there may be a free, or practically free, substitute. Try some of the following substitutes:
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