Even the ones that used to have curated tastily decorated homes, now don't post kids. Toddler ages. It's clutter everywhere nown even in the 3500 sq ft house.

Anonymous wrote:Our downstairs is gorgeous. I am having a huge brain block on doing the kids' rooms though. I haven't seen a lot of them, but I think that a lot of people have kid rooms that are a lot more done up. I don't even know how to get started. I know I need shelves or things on the walls...

Ha, I am totally the opposite! It was so easy and fun for me to pick out stuff for the kids' rooms, but I am paralyzed with indecision for our downstairs. Which is truly annoying because that's the part people see when they come over. I felt like it was so easy to pick out bright fun stuff for the kids' rooms. Oh well...

We had our house done by a decorator before kids were born. They did top to bottom, like paint, drapes, carpeting, and all furniture. It came to $25-50k per room. The stuff is really good quality, so it's lasted through wear and tear of kids, though I know once they're older I'll have all the upholstery and carpets deep-cleaned. We have cleaning people every 2 weeks -- no pets, so it's just "kid mess" in between.

Most of my friends are mostly not magazine-ready decorated, but they look nice then my house. The homes I feel most comfortable in have signs of life... Family photos, comfy places to sit, reading material, even books and the current day's newspaper out (gasp!).

Unlike pp I don't have an eye for decorating and it would never occur to me to update my throw pillows or spend money on things for the house. I'm trying to get better on that front, though, and move beyond hand me downs to actually develop a style. It's hard for me, definitely a skill that Is not blessed with.

If you're talking about decorating: Some people just have more style and have an eye for that kind of thing. I wish I was a decorator, but I can pull anything together and make it look like it goes. We don't spend lots of money on design either. We get lots of compliments. I've decorated most of my friends houses too, which is really hard. I'm very good at colors, textures and knowing what I like. I absolutely love curtains and I think most people think it's a stupid thing to waste money on good fabric. But it's what makes the room.

I think most of the above people are talking about cleaning.

Our house doesn't and none of our friends' houses do. Come hang out with us, OP!

Honestly, my house always looks best when I know I have company coming... Somehow I can pull it all together and get it cleaned up. Also, when we know guests are coming from out of town, we usually get motivated to spruce up a space before they arrive (such as the guest room or dining room or such). It's always so nice after the company leaves and your house is in good shape!

I am a neat freak...Okay I may have undiagnosed full-blown OCD...Lol...But honestly when my kids were living at home (even as teens!), I had to learn how to take a step back and tell myself each and every day, "This too shall pass...."

And it has, Thank You Lord!

But when my kids were at home, nothing was ever the way I wanted it. So I don't understand how your friend's homes look so nice. Perhaps they fix their homes up before you come over. Next time, drop by on the spur of the moment and see what you find. If it still looks perfect, I would stop socializing with them because that would be full evidence they just are not human. Kidding.

Now that I have my empty nest, my house is perfect. The way I always wanted it to be. Everything geometrically aligned. Nothing out of order, everything in its place.

I do not apologize for any of it. Hey, I haven't lost anything in the past three decades. Really!

Oh well, gotta run now. Time to categorize my soup cans. Tomato on the right, Chicken on the left, etc. Yes, that's correct since C comes before T.

Ta Ta....

Yes, for the most part they do.

Some do. I do. Some don't.

It helps a LOT to have cleaning people coming on a regular basis. I have them twice a week (we have two kids and one low-shedding (if not no-shed) dog). We also don't have tons of Stuff. Dh and I travel regularly, both for work and pleasure, and we buy nothing to bring home most times. When friends give us gifts we either use them or pass them on (to friends in different circles so there's no chance of it being noticed). Our kids don't have tons and tons of toys. They have a shared bookcase in their bedroom with books and toys, and a bin in the living room of toys. They have to ask for art supplies that I keep in the linen closet in one basket. They are almost two and three years old, and are being taught to put one thing away before taking out another.. That way there's rarely a huge mess.

DH and I are both a bit Type A. We clean up from meals as we cook, we take out trash regularly when leaving the house to walk the dog, we put things away the first time we touch them, etc.

My friends do but I don't. My house is brand new and I hate the idea of having every available space be it floor or wall taken up with stuff like their homes are done. Plus I hate cleaning all that extra stuff.

I'm more of a curtain, pillows, rug type. Walls, no so much. I have new furniture in every room but I'm lacking in the bedding department.

Our downstairs is gorgeous. I am having a huge brain block on doing the kids' rooms though. I haven't seen a lot of them, but I think that a lot of people have kid rooms that are a lot more done up. I don't even know how to get started. I know I need shelves or things on the walls...

Money.
A taste that's easy to suit.

You could hire a decorator now to do the work for you, OP.
You could go yourself to a store and buy coordinating stuff pretty easily.

I have a lovely, carefully curated little house, but it's still lacking major pieces like a sofa! Because in the 5 years I've owned this house I haven't found something I liked enough.
I am terribly picky. Plus I would rather not spend a fortune.
The two together means that my house will be somewhat complete in another quarter century.

Some people have their priorities right and just want to welcome their friends into a furnished house

My house was well-decorated and accessorized, to my taste, when the youngest kid was 15.

all have really well-decorated, accessorized homes? Where everything seems done and ready for photos all the time? I have several friends like this (with kids) and I don't know how they do it. Just trying to figure out if I'm in the minority, or if they are. We have a very nice home and it's nice but not to the level of some of my friends' homes. I just understand how they maintain it so nicely with young kids and pets.