It Can Be SO Hard To See

When I first learned how to drive at age 16, highway driving seemed awfully daunting.

"Remember, to check your blind spot before you change lanes!" I remember my parents urgently telling me.

As if there wasn't enough to remember already, with the turn signal, the high speeds, where the break pedal was, and all the other drivers hurling their cars around at 80mph...

At least when we learn how to drive, the whole blind spot thing is a known, and people warn you about it. However, with other things in life, we are left guessing--unsure of when we aren't seeing all that is there to be seen. 

I find this to be especially true of our houses. 

There are things we live with day-in and day-out that "have always been that way." They may not be particularly lovely, well-designed, or easy to use, but we don't even question the way it is. Whatever length of time we may have lived in our current house, it is easy to become blind to the possibilities that are right there in front of us.

For example, a pantry that functioned "okay" at the far end of the kitchen caught my eye as I met with my clients last year. 

They had talked about renovating their kitchen for many months, but ideas they had considered about simply getting new cabinets and appliances had fallen flat, and they didn't know why. 

I helped them to see that the problem wasn't only that the room needed updating, but that the way the room related to the other rooms around it was keeping the space from having any sense of flow and connection to the rest of the house.  I can't tell you how important that is!

As the space was opened up during the renovation phase, you could feel the difference the new opening had made in how the rooms functioned, how light was shared from one room to the next, and the changes allowed room for the installation of a new bar area linking the den and the kitchen. 

It is a big part of my job as the House Whisperer to help you see around corners, recognize your blind spots, and make you consider questions you didn't even think to ask.

If you are interested in seeing all the possibilities your home holds, a House Call (an hour-long initial appointment) with me is the first step. Click here to schedule yours!

My Month In Pictures

It has been a busy month, filled with lots of pretty flowers, delicious food, and adorable houses. SO, I have some fun pictures to share... :)

Outside my house things have been happily blooming:

And the view from inside is made all the better for it!

With everything so leafy and green, just taking walks around my neighborhood can be breathtaking. 

And we were so blessed to have the PERFECT evening for our Simple Summer Pleasures class. Setting everything up before everyone arrived, I was giddy with excitement...

Once we got started, all were riveted learning about the best tips and tricks of summer grilling. 

I got to sit and relax while Matt took care of the cooking (and of course my assistant snuck a picture of me doing so!).

Who knew that grilled Romaine would make for such a nutty and wonderful grilled salad? Matt did! (I can't thank Dine-o-matic Cooking Co enough for helping to create such a delicious evening!)

Everything was amazingly delicious. 

May I have some more, please?

Did I mention just how gorgeous the weather was that evening? So lovely. 

In other news, Revealing Redesign has had the honor of touring some pretty exquisite, vintage, Smithsonian-worthy kitchens and baths lately. :)

I don't think a single thing has been changed in the bathroom above since 1961. These are the rooms that keep me awake at night dreaming of all that they could be. 

What would YOU do with these spaces if given the chance?

I will keep you posted if they become RR projects.  I get all excited just thinking about it. :)

And I always love snapping pictures of little charming houses I come across in my travels. So cute. 

Hope your May has also been filled with beauty, charm, and blessings. 

If you would like to see more of my day-to-day adventures, please follow me on Instagram!

Remember, It's For YOU

A couple of years ago I invited a colleague of mine over, a woman who is a professional gardener, to answer a few questions and give me a fresh perspective on the grounds around our house...

The advice she gave me wasn't what I had expected at all, didn't just pertain to gardening, and has forever changed how I look at my yard and my house. I am hoping it will help you, too. 

In those days, I had a large herb and perennial garden in a far-flung corner of our yard. It was fun to hike out there at times to visit--it did feel like another world--but it often was neglected and was off on its own for many days or weeks at a time. 

"Why do you have this all the way down here?" she asked me. 

I am sure I had a puzzled look on my face, and I probably muttered an answer that made really good sense to me at the time… something like it had sun, & didn't that big flat piece of land need something??, and shouldn't your garden be visible from the street so it makes the house look good??

"But it isn't where you are all the time. You really should have your garden where you will walk past it each day and enjoy it as it grows and changes."

Well, duh, right? HELLO. How did I miss such an important point of having a garden??? I had made it about being big, impressive, complicated…I had made it about everything but my enjoyment. 

SO, THIS IS YOUR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE MONTH!!  (even if you don't have a garden…)

Now that summer is almost here, carve out a little space of your own where you can enjoy an outdoor view, a cool breeze, a potted plant…and put it where it is right there in front of you all the time so you actually USE IT.  A nice place to sit right outside your front door (even if you don't have time to sit there at the moment) can make you smile as you leave your house to go to work in the morning.

And it will be there to welcome you home at the end of the day. :)

I feel very blessed since I now have two places--one right outside my front door, and one outside my kitchen door--that beckon to me to come outside and sit awhile, each with their own little garden that I enjoy whether I am sitting there or simply walking to my car on my way to an appointment.  The small beds are easy to tend to, and I have other things that delight me in the spaces too--like a bird feeder that attracts all kinds of feathered friends, or twinkle lights and candles that I can light in the evening. Heaven. 

Just about very day I enjoy these little spaces. Every day they make me smile--and that is what I want for you, too.

May's Class At The Farmhouse: Simple Summer Pleasures--BBQ's & Staycations

Staycation: A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer.

I am so excited about our upcoming class at the farmhouse this month!

We will sit outside under the farmhouse's old oak tree (weather permitting) and talk about ways to really savor the wonderful summer ahead of us in and around our homes. And of course, we'll share ideas on the wonderful foods that are popular for the summer season. 

I am thrilled to again team up with Matt Genthert, personal chef and owner of Dine-O-Matic Cooking Company in Chadds Ford, to explore summer delicacies hot off the grill & fresh from the garden. 

Learn how to make simple, delicious, fresh and festive food while you make the most of your time at home. These simple summer recipes will help you unwind and relax in the months ahead!

Skip dinner and come hungry!!! Great food and drink included! 

When: Thursday May 14th, 2015 at 6pm.

Where: Locust Hill Professional Center 327 W Baltimore Pike Media, PA 19063 (across from Wawa Corporate Center)

Cost: one ticket $35, a pair of tickets $60--so BRING A FRIEND!! :)

Click here to register!

Register early--this class is filling quickly!!

Routine Examination

After a crazy, busy couple of months, I have been finding myself longing for routine--not something I often do. 

Because of this, I wanted to republish the below article I wrote in November of 2011, during a difficult family time--a time made easier by routines: 

MY LIFE LATELY--Anything But Routine

(November 23, 2011)

It has been a long time since I have written...my life has been anything but routine. An important part of owning your own business is setting goals and keeping deadlines...BUT another thing that has been important to me as a business owner is the ability to take time off when needed, as I have just done for the past month when my grandmother was placed in hospice care. I was able to be by her side as she went through the last weeks of her earthly life, and finally went on home.

My grandmother was a creature of habit, a master of routines. As her creative, right-brained granddaughter, it made me a little nuts at times, especially as a teenager. But as I grew up and had a family of my own, and especially over the past few weeks as our family dealt with the stress and sadness of her passing, I noticed that I had a whole new appreciation for simple daily routines.

In our day to day lives, when is life ever really routine?? However, if life doesn't give it to you, here are a few gifts you can give yourself each day (yes, they really are gifts...just disguised as routines):

1. Make Your Bed Each Morning-- This simple habit has actually been shown to increase your happiness. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project has written about it, and pulling up the sheets and comforter as soon as your feet hit the floor takes less than 5 minutes.

2. Give a Focused Fifteen Minutes to Manage Frustration--Is there a room in your house that seems to fall apart every time you turn around? For me (and many others, I am sure), it is my kitchen.

Each Morning, right after everyone is off to school and work (and the room looks like a box full of gremlins were let loose), I set a timer and quickly straighten and put away breakfast dishes, lunch making items and and anything else that is out of place. Most days I even have time to empty the dishwasher and wipe down the counter and table before the buzzer goes off. Getting this done before I settle into my work day helps me immensely.

What room and what time of day make sense for you and your house? This little bit of time each day can make a world of difference.

3. A Load a Day Keeps the Crazies Away--Does this sound familiar? On the floor is the heaping pile of clothes that needs to be washed, on the bed is the pile that has been washed and is waiting to be folded, and on the dresser is the basket with folded items that need to be put away. UGH--how overwhelming.

So much of our daily mess stems form this task that never really can be completed (someone is ALWAYS making more to wash!). Trying to get all laundry loads done at one time, or doing laundry ALL the time, catch as catch can, will wear you out like a pair of old underwear with a spent elastic band.

Completing one load from start to finish every day can give you a sense of mastery, accomplishment, and peace. Simply don't start a new load before the last is put away, and do the process all the way through (wash, dry, put away) once a day. You will be amazed at how easy it is, how little time it takes, how there isn't stuff just laying around in transition, and how good it feels to not have a  mountain of smelly socks staring you down on Sunday afternoon. I first started doing the laundry this way after reading about it via the Flylady...and each time I have strayed away from the method, I feel bogged down again by the task & I wonder why I ever try any other way.

Pick one of the routines I have listed above, commit to it for the next week, and see how it changes things for the better.  Simple routines can make stressful times (such as the holidays) more manageable, and give you more time and peace.

I wish you and those you love a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Giving thanks is another routine we should all practice daily. Amen!