Let’s Normalize Average Homes

This year I have decided to get a little bit more personal on the blog and Instagram by sharing more photos inside my home. In the past I haven’t shared much because the lighting in my previous two apartments wasn’t as bright and airy as the homes in the magazines. It was kind of dark and moody, not exactly pretty for photos. Then I moved to this lovely rental home last year and we had all the light. But also, all the fixtures of a rental home; thrifted furniture because we don’t have the budget to buy new ones that match yet and we are waiting for a house, features we can’t change because we don’t own the place (like the brown painted kitchen floor that is beginning to scrape off because it was never primed properly), and simply not having the budget to decorate exactly how we want.

To be completely honest, I kind of felt bad sharing interior photos of our home. I personally love the space, but I wondered if anyone else would find the beauty or value in it as I do. I love our home and I am not ashamed of it. I’m not embarrassed for not being able to afford more. I grew up very poor so this rental home feels safe and luxurious. I am so proud of how far I have come and that I am living in this beautiful safe town in this lovely rental home. It isn’t anything extraordinary or up to par with interior design, but it is my home and I love it. But was it worth sharing? People love to see interiors that are lavish and exciting. Ours is simple. And that’s ok with me.

This apartment is my favorite that I have ever had and I am so thankful for all that I do have. We have lived in quite a few places (three different apartments around Baltimore and now our third here in Connecticut). With each move we have gotten ourselves a little bit closer to where we want to be. One day we would like to own a home, but if nothing were to change from here on out I would still be happy right here where I am. It is a very good feeling to have.

I questioned sharing our simple temporary home on the blog. It didn’t seem like there was a need or a space online for ordinary and plain interiors like mine. I don’t live in a cozy rustic cottage with all the cottage core decor. I don’t live in a fancy sleek apartment with all the modern designs. My home is pretty ordinary. Pretty average. And while I do love it that way, I didn’t really think anyone else would care to see it. It isn’t interesting like many of the homes online. I don’t have eye catching art on the walls or murals. It isn’t in a unique location. It doesn’t have any interesting features not found in most homes. But that is also why it is so very important to share it.

People need to be able to see their lives reflected in media (and that includes social media), not just the glamorous homes of the rich and famous. People of all walks of life need to be represented in media (I can go on a long tangent about this topic for diversity in so many ways, but I’ll keep on the topics of homes right now.) We need to celebrate the average homes too and the average lives, because there is beauty in that too. Not everyone can, or even wants, to own a nice big house. Instead of scrolling and seeing a one sided view of constant perfect we need more real. More tiny apartments over luxury condos, more basic rooms over lavish designs, more rental homes over permanent residences, more dorm rooms or tiny homes or camper vans over mansions, and more real interiors over glossy perfection. Of course, I love a gorgeous interior designed home as much as the next person, but I am want to see more simple and modest homes too. Both need to exist in media just as they do in real life. Which is why I intend to share a little bit more this year, starting with our modest little rental home.

A blogger I really admire who shares the beauty of simplicity is Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves. I’m not quite a minimalist like Erin, but I do love simple living and find the beauty in the ordinary. She lives in a tiny apartment with her husband and three children and manages to make her old simple apartment feel like a beautiful cozy home.

Most people live in apartments. Not everyone owns their own home and those that do do not always have the decorations or even the budgets to design homes that look like they are picture perfect. Homes are lived in. Families with kids have toys and clutter. Even I have my fair share of clutter from time to time with mail piles and dishes or piles of books in corners. Sometimes I don’t always put away my laundry right after taking it out of the dryer.

Life isn’t perfect. But it is real and it can be beautiful even if it is not expensive or organized or trendy. My kitchen is a great example of that. The first part of our kitchen dates back to the 1940s/50s. An extra kitchen area was added sometime in the 90s and there is another non-matching kitchenette on the other corner where the stove is. The backsplashes were an ugly brown tile so I covered them with a blue and white tile print contact paper to make it look brighter and more coordinated. The floor was painted by our land lady a not so pretty shade of brown that has been slowly peeling off in some spots. I’m thinking about getting a small washable rug to put under the table to hide some of the floor.

Our table is the same Ikea folding table that we had folded up against a wall in our old studio apartment; I now leave it open all the way. Two of the chairs are the folding chairs we also used in our studio apartment because we didn’t have the room for dining room chairs. When we moved I found two extra chairs for $4 a piece at Goodwill and the corner hutch needs some work, but I snagged it for only $35 on Facebook Marketplace. I display some of my cutest thrift tea cups on that shelf. -Most of which I collected several years ago for our wedding tea station. I donated quite a few, but kept my absolute favorites.

I love the three windows in the kitchen for the light in the mornings. One year after moving in I finally purchased some curtains, but I have to tie them up a little funny to keep them out of the way of the radiators (and our cat’s claws). Nothing matches, but I love this cozy space and I spend most of my mornings here. It is a very happy room.

There is a steam radiator under the window that fogs up the old 1800s windows and the walls are plaster with old wallpaper that has been painted over with white paint. It is far from perfect, but to me, it is a very beautiful and tranquil room. I intend to share more of it with you.

We should normalize imperfections and the ordinary. We should normalize appreciating and loving what we already have. We should normalize real homes.