THANK YOU so much for watching! You can find the House Rules Book here: amzn.to/4cfOIRt and the Hush Your Kitchen Video here: ruclips.net/video/ETvcXjVNWWw/видео.html and I would LOVE to know your favorite tips! - Dawn
Hi Dawn. Love your video, as always. I’ve been following Myquillin for a while now. Her name is pronounced MIKE-willin. I thought you’d want to know. 🙂
I recently found out that if you have 3 design elements in your living space such as rock or brick or concrete or ceramic, fire and wood then it takes you into your innermost calm of ancient times
Dawn…I just had to let you know what you are doing is making a difference: I have been on this journey awhile now, but today was the 1st day that I looked at the dirty dishes & my VERY first thought was “I need to further reduce our inventory,” NOT “what a terrible person I am” or “why doesn’t my family help more.” My family helps & I am not terrible.😊🎉
This is emotion that runs deep for me. I had the same realization and what a game changer it brought to me and how my perspective has changed in such a wonderful way too! I truly feel like this perspective of simplifying our home has blessed my family so much!
Same here! Thank you, Dawn. And thank you to this community! It’s taken me a few YEARS, but two days ago, I finally accepted that the plethora of gifts from grandma- which were causing so much stress and time suck from maintenance- could go. Three hours, four garbage bags of trash, and 6 bags of donations- feel SO much better!! ❤️❤️
Six months ago we downsized and moved 4 states away. I am so thankful that I discovered your videos about 5 years ago. I had been decluttering for a couple years before our move. It made the move so much easier! After the move I decluttered some more and I love my peaceful house. These decorating tips are not new to me, but it was great to hear them again. I will be rethinking some of my decorating.
Best advice I’ve learnt from 7yrs of watching youtube is that I deserve a space that reflects my personality, I’m squealing with delight to come home to it, to fill it with my love and laughter, to declutter and organise in my way and to do it all on my budget, in colours that calm or excite me and mix a couple of styles and all be intentional. Also have furniture and items that work for you. I recently made a skinny bedside cart on wheels so I could move it out to make my waterbed in a smaller room. The firewood boxes are also on castors so I can vac under them and wheel them to the front door to load without bringing in wet shoes and slip or bring in mud. Most importantly, if someone doesn’t like your style, that’s their opinion and not yours. Take advice that works for you.
Hi Dawn, great video and tips. I’m 60 and married 38 years. In the past (over the decades) I have changed my decor sooooo many times and have had different colors on the walls in my home. Now I find that I just want everything clean and bright. I have a very light wall color now throughout my small home and I’m loving it! I want little pops of color. It feels calmer and refreshing. ❤
The 60-30-10 rule is so powerful! I just understood, why our living room feels more peaceful than our bedroom and realized: It was the proportion of color! What an easy fix
Yes, here I am looking around my living room where I sit and relax and read. I like the room and think I nailed it but the 30% seems to be more like 45%. The 60% seems more like 50%.
Hi Dawn - Your house looks lovely but I must say that the prettiest things in your house are the views out your windows! Priceless !!!! Space, nature, no neighbor's stuff!! You are very fortunate :) Never take that for granted. Each window is like a framed piece of beautiful art. xoxo
I love the farm too! She often talks about how she loves it too. I’ve been following her since the beginning and she was talking about the house being her dream house… I was like thinking it was weird because it was nothing special- then she showed the farm land. So beautiful there! And now the house is so cute and remodeled
I started Admire Don’t Acquire about 10+ years ago. It was an epiphany I had when I saw a beautiful shrub as I was driving through a neighborhood. As an avid gardener with a showplace garden, I would have to buy that shrub but that I thought to myself, “I don’t need to buy another thing that I probably won’t plant right away. It’s enough to have seen it here”. I used to buy hundreds of dollars worth of plants in the spring of summer, now I might buy 4 planters for my window boxes and patio. It’s actually a relief.
I have sold my house and settlement is Friday, I’m decluttering to move into a motor home. I have emptied everything out of the linen cupboards and wardrobes, my clothes are in packing cubes . I don’t have the motor home here yet so everything is on the kitchen table. My kitchen cupboards are almost empty also and my laundry room, so freeing to see what I have chosen not to take with me and as I put things in the table I am revaluing what I thought I need and the decluttered pile is growing
Just wanted to share this with you. I've been watching you for a while now picking up your great tips. The other morning I was looking all over for my favorite drinking glass.... I burst out laughing when I opened the cabinet and there it was. Washed, dried and put away after I used it the day before 😊 This NEVER happened before..it would be whenever i used it the day before, probably half full of whatever I was drinking. I thought of you and smiled. Thank you for all the blessings you are bringing to my house and life 🙏
Dawn, as your personal interior designer I've been commenting to you for several years to raise your curtain rods to just below your ceilings. I know you will have to buy new curtains, but it is worth it! I commented to Tom on his most recent video to do this on your rental homes too. The windows will look so much bigger you will get a better rent.
I do mine that way. The only place locally that has affordable long curtains is IKEA, but fortunately they have gray hannelil curtains that i loooooove
We have quite high ceilings and floor deep windows and thought for years that curtains would make the rooms feel smaller so we were very reluctant to hang up curtains at all. But when we finally did two years ago we hung them up very high u under the ceiling and quite wide and were surprised by the positive effect.
Yes! Hang them high and let them kiss the floor. I did this also for baths ( other than the glass door one 😝) . A regular curtain, with shower liner not a shower curtain. Also, I would suggest getting clips for easy opening of drapes . Not to sound mean, but curtains with grommets look cheap. No professional Interior Decorator would ever recommend grommets. It's not necessarily more expensive to use clips, and elevates the look, and much more functional . Grommet top curtains just scream "Walmart". 🤦♀️
For anyone wanting to do a gallery wall on a budget. I purchased plain cheap black frames from Walmart 4:50 with a pack of white matting for them from Amazon. It looks very high end to me for very little.
Decluttering has absolutely been a huge design tip for me! We live in an old house and it's a rental so there's really very little we can do to fix it up. But I've found that even in an old house, the less stuff I have the easier it is to keep clean and the better it feels. My motto....I may not be able to have a nice house but I can definitely have a clean house. And that's easiest by having less stuff!
I'm so happy to have found your channel. Decor does not come naturally to me. I have an idea of what I want but don't know how to put it together. The combination of your voice, the tips you give, and how you are breaking it down makes decor and simplifying so much easier, and the idea of having an attractive living space so much more attainable.
Of course it depends on your personal style, but I've actually found that I love the look of mixing and matching frames for a gallery wall. I think it adds a lot of interest.
Dear Dawn - besides being inspiring and helpful on my journey towards a more simple and joyful home, your content is always sincere and "friendful". Thank you! Credit to you for being such a warm and open person in your videos; being interesting AND warm is not a very common combination on RUclips. Thanks for being a role model.
Dawn, you are one of the best content creators out there. Taking a great book and giving practical tips and examples in a short video. Amazing!! So valuable, especially for working moms. How you don't have a Netflix show I don't know. I would definitely watch it. Love from Germany!!!!
You can use gold nail varnish to change the silver hinges to match the cupboard handles. And you can paint the black shelf supports to white or bronze.
Thank you for another great video. One tip that I have for a bedside table is to keep items that you use daily/nightly in a basket and then tuck the basket in the bedside table (mine is a cupboard) every morning when you make your bed. That way, for the daytime hours, the bedside table surface is clear of loose items. Thanks again.
I painted my two tone walls white and put black curtain rods as high as possible (rods are extendable). It has added 1ft of height to the ceilings and I actually stand straighter in my 9ft high rooms. I can’t tell you how much this has given me a wow factor and refreshes my soul. I’m going for neutrals now even though I love colour. My highlight colour is green so the greenery feels cohesive with the rooms. I’ve painted a lot of my furniture including the firewood boxes black for the contrast. It also disguises the functional items like the wood box. I painted my bedhead white and have removable covers over the foam piece so I can wash them and change them up. Large decor is more intentional and makes it more sophisticated. Best hack was to have the hoarder move out and now I have space to happy dance in. I’m making the yard much simpler too so I don’t need a whipper snipper or hand mower, just the ride on.
Terrific, terrific video, Dawn!!! Thanks to you, I've hushed our kitchen and LR and put almost nothing back! Loving the hush!! You have inspired me (an 80-yr-old subscriber) to declutter everywhere, and I am endlessly grateful to you for the joy you exude as you and your wonderful husband and children all pitch in to make your home so minimally cluttered and maximally beautiful. One question: with six people in your family, how does it work out at mealtimes with four chairs at the kitchen table, and four stools? None of my business, but I always wonder when I see these! Gratitude to you in heaps and heaps!!!
This video (the "quieting" part) reminded me of the time you suggested I get rid of my back saver mat in the kitchen. You giggled and said something like, "get better shoes!" I really need my mat ... but not every day! So I hide it until I need it, and WOW! My kitchen looks so much bigger and tidier! It was as impactful as stowing my toaster oven! THANKS
I learned years ago if you are filling something with flowers make the flowers overflow or layer them. Vases look so much better when they are brimming with flowers or greenery.
A design tip I learned a couple of months ago is to match the curtain rod finish to the grommets in your drapes. I realized this makes a huge difference. Love your videos!
Great points! The curtain rod rule really helped in our living room. We put the rod right up at ceiling height and it made the ceiling look higher and the room look bigger! IKEA is the our go-to for inexpensive curtains that go floor-to-ceiling.
I have to echo the comments that say you make a difference in our lives. We are in the midst of getting our home electrical system upgraded, which means that every single room has to be cleaned and cleared for the electricians to be able to work in that space. I have been decluttering for years now, and the difference in the amount of inventory that I have to manage is quite noticeable. I am taking this opportunity to further scrutinize what we have, and clearing out even more as we go room by room. I cannot even imagine how I would have been able to provide clear working space if I had not downsized our belongings. Even my husband has been more on board with paring down, and we love the open feeling that our space now has. I have asked everyone to really be intentional when they return things to their space. I even went to a grand opening of a Balsam Hill outlet, and was able to walk through there without feeling like I needed to bring anything home. Thank you Dawn! You have shown that minimalism does not mean that a home cannot be cozy, and I really appreciate this video with design tips. 🥰💐
I really appreciate hearing about the difference between decorative and functional draperies. I never knew that. I need that book too. Never heard of the 60-3-10 rule. Such good info.
This was great. I listened to your podcast with Myquillyn as well. My one tip I would give anyone … Don’t fight your house. Let it be what it is. There are ways to put a little pizzazz in your home but trying to make your ranch style house a Tuscan villa is expensive and could end up being disappointing as well.
Your zig zag tip I LOVE and reminded me of the great accent tip I learnt! You should have at three 3 of your accent colour and have it spread out , not just clumped together! I used this tip for EVERYTHING not just accent colours but also furniture materials too…makes the room look more cohesive!
Bronze fixtures are a great choice! It's not as cold as silver but a bit more toned down than gold while still being timeless and unique in that it's not overdone and you don't see it everywhere you go.
Wonderful video! I really appreciate this kind of content. I want my home to look nice, but don't know the tricks and principles and would rather just learn easily from a channel I'm already watching. Thank you!
I've been minimizing for years, and your encouragement has been amazing. We are in a crazy season and I think we allowed too much back into our home. Today I felt so frustrated and it dawned on me (haha) that the inventory is now too much to manage.
I mentioned to my kiddo (9) that I wanted to hush their room and then forgot to do it/didn't have time. They kept reminding me and today we hushed the living room first. It's amazing how much had accumulated and how much bigger the space is just by clearing off the surfaces and floors. There's still furniture and bookcases that are full (but not overfull) and it's still pretty amazing the difference. I don't have many places to stash the stuff from the rooms, so we can only do one at a time. Next will be the kid room, followed by entryway, dining room, and kitchen.
Also for wall colors etc, there is cool vs warm. Warm for a more cozy vibe and cool when you want a more open or spacious feel. For me it’s pretty much just keep experimenting with arrangements until it looks and feels right. Decluttering was major Bcuz it helps to simply be surrounded by all the colors and textures and things you love. Kinda like clothing. When every outfit is one that you love. Decor can be like that too. I found it sorted itself out a lot easier once the stuff I loved was no longer getting lost in all the meh kind of stuff I kept around.
Dawn ,I will never be a minimalist or do I want to be but I have decluttered so much! I love to decorate but making sure I am tasteful and no where as much. I live with a decor for a week or sp and see how it makes me feel. If I walk into a room and I feel calm and love the little touches, it makes me happy. It is easy to get too cluttered with decor. I am being very mindful but still being true to me! Thank you for all the wonderful information!
Hi Dawn, You might want to think about removing the pointy napkins from the open shelving. (Pointy and sharp objects bring negative energy). I think you might enjoy the more calming look of it. Just my perspective. Thank you for the video I feel it will be very useful for me! 🙏🏼😊
Dawn thank you so much now instead of trying to find a home for things I try to find things to rehome! It's like everything is free game if I can replace it for $20 or less and I don't need it now then it's gone it's such a relief and it has helped every facet of my life and I really really really really really appreciate you!
Like the gold! I added a brushed gold faucet to the kitchen sink and changed all the cabinet hardware to longer brushed gold handles as well. Along with a white sink and white backsplash it all really brightened the kitchen up. Gold has such a warm feel.
Awesome thank you. I bought more expensive quilt cover set and quilt in king size for a queen bed and I had purchased at the right time as it had discount. It feels so much better a love the colours but it covers the bed so much better. My son liked it a lot. I bought him one. The down side we match 😁.
I’ve been following Myq (like Mike-will-lynn) for YEARS and my house feels beautiful because of her grace-filled permission to let things not be perfect! I highly recommend people buy her book and listen to her podcast, House Rules!
It was fun to hear about color rules…..we have neutral walls furniture but everything else is colorful! Im an artist and my kids love to paint so artwork and colors everywhere is for us! I also feel like repeating greens in decor and houseplants can become almost like a neutral just blend in. Idk definitely not everyones cup of tea but we like it and seems to be enjoyed by visitors.
The best interior design rule that l use is trust your taste. If you really are drawn to a colour, pattern, texture, shape then use it. Your wardrobe of clothing will give you a strong direction of the colour palette you like and the style of clothing will indicate the interior design. For example my clothes are red, blue, green in different shades and neutrals of white, gray and black. My furniture and decor pieces are in those colours with the main wall paint colour a warm white. My clothes have streamlined shapes without bows and frills. My furniture is also streamlined rather than ornate. I enjoy colour. For me colour energises and inspires.
I am slowly embracing less. I have decluttering, cleaning, & organizing. These tips today are so helpful. I want my house to be more than just less stuff. I want it to be beautiful too.
I'm an artist, so I sometimes take a picture of a painting and convert it to black & white...boom instant Notan, and I "see" where the light is or isn't. The camera sees without bias, and has helped me spatially arrange my open concept living/dining/studio, and "see" if I have populated my accent color throughout. I have a track on my studio wall like a gallery to hang my paintings, so they can be moved and changed....you still have to "arrange", but it works for me.
A MN gal! I love supporting people I find in MN. 😊 Great suggestions and I am downsizing and decluttering my home. It's a work in progress with ADD and depression. I do my best.
This is probably the most practical home decor / design video I have EVER seen, Dawn! Absolutely love it. Our little place has such a long way to go, but I'd like to make some real progress this year. Thank you for being you!
I have always had my curtains rods extend 4 - 6 inches away from the window frame and the curtains full looking. BUT after my small children would use the longer drapes for tents and the pets decided that the longer drapes make great places for sleeping, I shortened the expensive drapes so they are 5 - 6 inches from the floor. Sometimes desperate measures must be made that do not follow designer styles. LOL Great points made in the video. Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE the one about contrasting vs blending. At our last home, we had a dark blue accent wall in our living room. It wasn't intentional, but I LOVED that the TV (big and ugly 😅) blended in with it. Our walls have otherwise been very light colors, but I'm keeping this in mind for when we settle down in a home. I definitely want my TV to blend in when not in use rather than to stand out so much. Great video! And I love your pinkish shirt!
Excellent tips. Thank you. I have antiques, ( my father’s high chair from 1921, then mid-century modern, then retro. Sooooo, my mind is spinning as I moved into my own apartment two weeks ago. I’m going to do, “ ME,” and use your advice , also. Thanks so much for still contributing great content for us viewers.🙌😇
Great video! I love watching you evolve and taking us on a journey every time. Life goes beyond decluttering and organizing! There are always going to be projects that continue to enhance our homes and lives.
I learned about the “rule of three” several years ago. Similar to the zigzag rule, use 3 accent items and place in a triangle or zigzag. It really makes a difference, doesn’t it ❤
Design tip. Add more lights. Match lighting fixtures to other elements in the room. Diffuse your light sources. Use dimmers. Light your outdoor spaces. ✨️ ❤
Dawn just wanted to say Hi I liked tennis ball comment. You have taught me: When things are misplaced, put them back now. If you have 15 mins between things, reorganize on area. In daily living, my permanent habit now is to reassess items as I go through my days. It is not a conscious effort ( it is almost automatic from the training and practice you gave me) It always makes me happy and gives me a boost in mood to do so. My home is more functional and easy to maintain now. My motto is “Do small changes that can make a big difference.” 😊❤ thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Love your videos. You have taught me so much and inspired me to go thru my closet and kitchen and start letting stuff go. I come from humble beginnings and got into the habit of having so much stuff to make myself feel like I was successful. Now I'm realizing what a mistake that is and stuff doesn't make one successful. Now, if you'd tell me how to convince my husband to let things go, I would be forever in your debt. He has clothes he hasn't worn in 20 years but he won't get rid of them!! I think he's a secret hoarder.
I had the same with my father. First I promised him to never throw something away without him knowing. I told him I want to get rid of stuff because it is too much for him to wear up anyways, and I would love if someone else could get use out of it while it is still good. When he parts now it is still wearable, if he parts in ten years it might already be destined for the landfill. With him knowing my intentions I asked if I could reorganize, and we look through it after. He agreed, and sure was surprised how many of things he had. And all those he actually likes but forgot because they were hidden. He let go of quite a lot that day! In some categories he still was stuffed, so I asked to store some away so he can see if he misses it, or enjoyed the easier acces and so on. But most important: be a good example and tell him all the time, all the advantages you have from living with less 🙂 Good luck!
I learned about scale, styling shelves, and hanging curtains from an online course called Design Genius. I will order this book too because I love decorating. I don't need any more anything so I need to adopt the idea of admire, not acquire.
Dawn, Our house is 1/2 the size of yours. Recently,my Hubby & I cleaned everything out of my sewing / craft room & he painted it a light color to make it brighter. We've only brought a few things back in because I love the empty look. I know the sewing / crafty stuff needs to come back in eventually, but right now I'm enjoying it empty. 😅 Great video. 😊
I want my sewing room to be emptier also. My FAMILY loves the shelves with the little decor that represents my life. I'm tired of it. Times past, but not forgotten. I'm keeping it as is FOR THEM. :(
You, Dawn, and Myquillin combined have made the absolute BIGGEST impact on my home. My home isn’t “done” yet but even with four little kids, my home doesn’t feel overwhelming and it’s a peaceful place to be in (most of the time 🤣). You helped with decluttering and she helped with LEARNING design! 👏🏼 what a power team
I have completely failed at a gallery wall! I loved seeing pics of my family everywhere but It made my house feel smaller and look more messy. It is definitely something that requires alot of planning to make it nice.
I am so happy to see you have a regular refrigerator. I have a large one that came with the house and I am getting a regular refrigerator. I just don’t need the crazy large appliances. No shade to people who do but it is not necessary.
FWIW, the "large" refrigerators don't hold substantially more than the regular size. They are shallower and wider to blend into your cabinetry (they predate the deeper cabinets you can sometimes find now). We did this when we built our kitchen. Very pretty, VERY expensive, no real gain in utility. 😓 Now we're moving and I won't make that mistake again.
Thank you so much. This is such a helpful video for me. I know what I like but putting it all together never quite worked. I am going to tackle my living area again using your advice.
Loved the gallery wall, I did a similar one with Dollar Tree 8x10 frames and Dollar Tree double stick tape (alien tape dupe) I will never nail another hole in my walls again!
I loved seeing these rules in action! I love Myquillyn and preordered her new book to add to her others in my library! I love the changes you have made so far and look forward to your video with all the changes put together! It was great seeing the flashback video including your kids, they were so small! It has been fun watching them grow up!
Love learning and being reminded of different design rules! I don't know if this is something I learned from a past video or if it just felt natural, but I have zig-zagged both colors and shape/weight. For instance, I have our tea pot, toaster, and rice cooker zig-zagging and matching baskets beside each. It brings great visual balance and feels less intrusive for this cricket living with a butterfly 😉
Just pretty much hushed the kitchen last night so new floors could be put in today. I have a good sized pile going bye bye! Thank you Dawn for all your inspiration!❤
THANK YOU so much for watching! You can find the House Rules Book here: amzn.to/4cfOIRt and the
Hush Your Kitchen Video here: ruclips.net/video/ETvcXjVNWWw/видео.html and I would LOVE to know your favorite tips! - Dawn
Hi Dawn. Love your video, as always. I’ve been following Myquillin for a while now. Her name is pronounced MIKE-willin. I thought you’d want to know. 🙂
I actualily like the red stools better, lol
Oh my. I just realized you bought new throw pillows 😂
Wow, wow wow… what a ton of valuable, practical and useful information.
You’re my new BFF ❤
I recently found out that if you have 3 design elements in your living space such as rock or brick or concrete or ceramic, fire and wood then it takes you into your innermost calm of ancient times
Dawn…I just had to let you know what you are doing is making a difference: I have been on this journey awhile now, but today was the 1st day that I looked at the dirty dishes & my VERY first thought was “I need to further reduce our inventory,” NOT “what a terrible person I am” or “why doesn’t my family help more.” My family helps & I am not terrible.😊🎉
This is SO good! You're doing awesome work, way to go!!!
This is emotion that runs deep for me. I had the same realization and what a game changer it brought to me and how my perspective has changed in such a wonderful way too! I truly feel like this perspective of simplifying our home has blessed my family so much!
Same here! Thank you, Dawn. And thank you to this community! It’s taken me a few YEARS, but two days ago, I finally accepted that the plethora of gifts from grandma- which were causing so much stress and time suck from maintenance- could go. Three hours, four garbage bags of trash, and 6 bags of donations- feel SO much better!! ❤️❤️
Zig zag rule - Great! 60-30-10% rule awesome! Definitely will take them into account when redecorating our house. ❤ This is a great video Dawn!
Great video, thank you
Six months ago we downsized and moved 4 states away. I am so thankful that I discovered your videos about 5 years ago. I had been decluttering for a couple years before our move. It made the move so much easier! After the move I decluttered some more and I love my peaceful house. These decorating tips are not new to me, but it was great to hear them again. I will be rethinking some of my decorating.
Best advice I’ve learnt from 7yrs of watching youtube is that I deserve a space that reflects my personality, I’m squealing with delight to come home to it, to fill it with my love and laughter, to declutter and organise in my way and to do it all on my budget, in colours that calm or excite me and mix a couple of styles and all be intentional.
Also have furniture and items that work for you. I recently made a skinny bedside cart on wheels so I could move it out to make my waterbed in a smaller room. The firewood boxes are also on castors so I can vac under them and wheel them to the front door to load without bringing in wet shoes and slip or bring in mud. Most importantly, if someone doesn’t like your style, that’s their opinion and not yours. Take advice that works for you.
I suffer with depression. Some days I just sit in my recliner all day.67 yrs old.This made me want to get up and do SOMETHING
Hi Dawn, great video and tips. I’m 60 and married 38 years. In the past (over the decades) I have changed my decor sooooo many times and have had different colors on the walls in my home. Now I find that I just want everything clean and bright. I have a very light wall color now throughout my small home and I’m loving it!
I want little pops of color. It feels calmer and refreshing. ❤
The 60-30-10 rule is so powerful! I just understood, why our living room feels more peaceful than our bedroom and realized: It was the proportion of color! What an easy fix
Yes, here I am looking around my living room where I sit and relax and read. I like the room and think I nailed it but the 30% seems to be more like 45%. The 60% seems more like 50%.
Hi Dawn - Your house looks lovely but I must say that the prettiest things in your house are the views out your windows! Priceless !!!! Space, nature, no neighbor's stuff!! You are very fortunate :) Never take that for granted. Each window is like a framed piece of beautiful art. xoxo
I love the farm too! She often talks about how she loves it too. I’ve been following her since the beginning and she was talking about the house being her dream house… I was like thinking it was weird because it was nothing special- then she showed the farm land. So beautiful there! And now the house is so cute and remodeled
It’s nice to see a normal house in this video. Great tips
I started Admire Don’t Acquire about 10+ years ago. It was an epiphany I had when I saw a beautiful shrub as I was driving through a neighborhood. As an avid gardener with a showplace garden, I would have to buy that shrub but that I thought to myself, “I don’t need to buy another thing that I probably won’t plant right away. It’s enough to have seen it here”. I used to buy hundreds of dollars worth of plants in the spring of summer, now I might buy 4 planters for my window boxes and patio. It’s actually a relief.
I have sold my house and settlement is Friday, I’m decluttering to move into a motor home. I have emptied everything out of the linen cupboards and wardrobes, my clothes are in packing cubes . I don’t have the motor home here yet so everything is on the kitchen table. My kitchen cupboards are almost empty also and my laundry room, so freeing to see what I have chosen not to take with me and as I put things in the table I am revaluing what I thought I need and the decluttered pile is growing
I like your gallery wall. I think adding a third row on top would give a WOW impact!
Yes it needs a third row.
yes, or even (please don't have me) but the bottom row on top instead - so the 'gallery' is higher on the wall
I agree!! With the height of the lower cabinets, the pictures need to either go up or add a third row. So glad you put something there!! ❤
Just wanted to share this with you. I've been watching you for a while now picking up your great tips. The other morning I was looking all over for my favorite drinking glass.... I burst out laughing when I opened the cabinet and there it was. Washed, dried and put away after I used it the day before 😊 This NEVER happened before..it would be whenever i used it the day before, probably half full of whatever I was drinking. I thought of you and smiled. Thank you for all the blessings you are bringing to my house and life 🙏
Dawn, as your personal interior designer I've been commenting to you for several years to raise your curtain rods to just below your ceilings. I know you will have to buy new curtains, but it is worth it! I commented to Tom on his most recent video to do this on your rental homes too. The windows will look so much bigger you will get a better rent.
I did this in my current house of 2 years for the first time in my life. I can't believe how much I like it!
I do mine that way. The only place locally that has affordable long curtains is IKEA, but fortunately they have gray hannelil curtains that i loooooove
We have quite high ceilings and floor deep windows and thought for years that curtains would make the rooms feel smaller so we were very reluctant to hang up curtains at all. But when we finally did two years ago we hung them up very high u under the ceiling and quite wide and were surprised by the positive effect.
@@stephaniee7510 Another convert! Spread the word.
Yes! Hang them high and let them kiss the floor. I did this also for baths ( other than the glass door one 😝) . A regular curtain, with shower liner not a shower curtain. Also, I would suggest getting clips for easy opening of drapes .
Not to sound mean, but curtains with grommets look cheap. No professional Interior Decorator would ever recommend grommets. It's not necessarily more expensive to use clips, and elevates the look, and much more functional . Grommet top curtains just scream "Walmart". 🤦♀️
Declutter is absolutely the most important thing in home improvement.
For anyone wanting to do a gallery wall on a budget. I purchased plain cheap black frames from Walmart 4:50 with a pack of white matting for them from Amazon. It looks very high end to me for very little.
Decluttering has absolutely been a huge design tip for me! We live in an old house and it's a rental so there's really very little we can do to fix it up. But I've found that even in an old house, the less stuff I have the easier it is to keep clean and the better it feels. My motto....I may not be able to have a nice house but I can definitely have a clean house. And that's easiest by having less stuff!
I'm so happy to have found your channel. Decor does not come naturally to me. I have an idea of what I want but don't know how to put it together. The combination of your voice, the tips you give, and how you are breaking it down makes decor and simplifying so much easier, and the idea of having an attractive living space so much more attainable.
Of course it depends on your personal style, but I've actually found that I love the look of mixing and matching frames for a gallery wall. I think it adds a lot of interest.
Dear Dawn - besides being inspiring and helpful on my journey towards a more simple and joyful home, your content is always sincere and "friendful". Thank you! Credit to you for being such a warm and open person in your videos; being interesting AND warm is not a very common combination on RUclips. Thanks for being a role model.
Dawn, you are one of the best content creators out there. Taking a great book and giving practical tips and examples in a short video. Amazing!! So valuable, especially for working moms. How you don't have a Netflix show I don't know. I would definitely watch it. Love from Germany!!!!
You can use gold nail varnish to change the silver hinges to match the cupboard handles. And you can paint the black shelf supports to white or bronze.
Wondered if I was the only one who noticed those silver hinges..great way to change out the color without having to buy new ones.
Thank you for another great video. One tip that I have for a bedside table is to keep items that you use daily/nightly in a basket and then tuck the basket in the bedside table (mine is a cupboard) every morning when you make your bed. That way, for the daytime hours, the bedside table surface is clear of loose items. Thanks again.
I painted my two tone walls white and put black curtain rods as high as possible (rods are extendable). It has added 1ft of height to the ceilings and I actually stand straighter in my 9ft high rooms. I can’t tell you how much this has given me a wow factor and refreshes my soul. I’m going for neutrals now even though I love colour. My highlight colour is green so the greenery feels cohesive with the rooms. I’ve painted a lot of my furniture including the firewood boxes black for the contrast. It also disguises the functional items like the wood box. I painted my bedhead white and have removable covers over the foam piece so I can wash them and change them up. Large decor is more intentional and makes it more sophisticated. Best hack was to have the hoarder move out and now I have space to happy dance in. I’m making the yard much simpler too so I don’t need a whipper snipper or hand mower, just the ride on.
Take a look at SW 9130 Evergreen Fog.....I fell in love with it:)
Terrific, terrific video, Dawn!!! Thanks to you, I've hushed our kitchen and LR and put almost nothing back! Loving the hush!! You have inspired me (an 80-yr-old subscriber) to declutter everywhere, and I am endlessly grateful to you for the joy you exude as you and your wonderful husband and children all pitch in to make your home so minimally cluttered and maximally beautiful. One question: with six people in your family, how does it work out at mealtimes with four chairs at the kitchen table, and four stools? None of my business, but I always wonder when I see these! Gratitude to you in heaps and heaps!!!
I saw your comment. I wondered the same but then counted 6 dining room chairs.
This video (the "quieting" part) reminded me of the time you suggested I get rid of my back saver mat in the kitchen. You giggled and said something like, "get better shoes!" I really need my mat ... but not every day! So I hide it until I need it, and WOW! My kitchen looks so much bigger and tidier! It was as impactful as stowing my toaster oven! THANKS
I learned years ago if you are filling something with flowers make the flowers overflow or layer them. Vases look so much better when they are brimming with flowers or greenery.
A design tip I learned a couple of months ago is to match the curtain rod finish to the grommets in your drapes. I realized this makes a huge difference. Love your videos!
Great points! The curtain rod rule really helped in our living room. We put the rod right up at ceiling height and it made the ceiling look higher and the room look bigger! IKEA is the our go-to for inexpensive curtains that go floor-to-ceiling.
The floor length curtains make my windows look even taller than they already are.
I did the same and it’s amazing how much I like it. IKEA is my go to as well, for extra long curtains.
A friend of mine came over today. She hasn’t been here for awhile. She said your home is so spacious. I said thank you I love it.
Beng cheap, I used walmart frames ($5.00 each ish) and command hooks. They are fabulous!! never fallen, no probs and wall stas free of holes.
You are an excellent teacher! I know absolutely nothing about design. What you are sharing makes sense.
Dawn I bet one of the reasons you like that gorgeous new kitchen light is because the clear globe looks so much like a cake stand topper. 😄
When she was holding it, I totally thought it WAS a cake stand topper! 😀
@@lobsterlogic 🤣
Just wanted to say your one of my fave RUclipsrs! Thank you for your content as always. I love your bubbly nature. God bless you and your family x
This is one of my favorite videos. Thanks for the reminder of the 60-30-10 rule. I love the aesthetic of your home.
I love that shirt on you! The pink one!!! Love you Dawn so much wisdom!
I have to echo the comments that say you make a difference in our lives. We are in the midst of getting our home electrical system upgraded, which means that every single room has to be cleaned and cleared for the electricians to be able to work in that space. I have been decluttering for years now, and the difference in the amount of inventory that I have to manage is quite noticeable. I am taking this opportunity to further scrutinize what we have, and clearing out even more as we go room by room. I cannot even imagine how I would have been able to provide clear working space if I had not downsized our belongings. Even my husband has been more on board with paring down, and we love the open feeling that our space now has. I have asked everyone to really be intentional when they return things to their space. I even went to a grand opening of a Balsam Hill outlet, and was able to walk through there without feeling like I needed to bring anything home. Thank you Dawn! You have shown that minimalism does not mean that a home cannot be cozy, and I really appreciate this video with design tips. 🥰💐
I really appreciate hearing about the difference between decorative and functional draperies. I never knew that. I need that book too. Never heard of the 60-3-10 rule. Such good info.
This was great. I listened to your podcast with Myquillyn as well. My one tip I would give anyone … Don’t fight your house. Let it be what it is. There are ways to put a little pizzazz in your home but trying to make your ranch style house a Tuscan villa is expensive and could end up being disappointing as well.
I agree! We bought an historic cottage circa 1758 and modern furnishings would be a totally wrong fit.
Totally! Have to listen to the house and it will work.
Your zig zag tip I LOVE and reminded me of the great accent tip I learnt! You should have at three 3 of your accent colour and have it spread out , not just clumped together! I used this tip for EVERYTHING not just accent colours but also furniture materials too…makes the room look more cohesive!
I follow a LOT of interior design groups and designers. You just described the fundamentals in a way that is very easy to understand. Bravo!!
Decluttering is my #1, followed by white walls for brightness.
I love this video so much!! I miss trading space. The straw on the wall....crazy.
Oh my goodness. Hildi did the most outrageous things to those poor people's homes!!
Bronze fixtures are a great choice! It's not as cold as silver but a bit more toned down than gold while still being timeless and unique in that it's not overdone and you don't see it everywhere you go.
Wonderful video! I really appreciate this kind of content. I want my home to look nice, but don't know the tricks and principles and would rather just learn easily from a channel I'm already watching. Thank you!
I've been minimizing for years, and your encouragement has been amazing. We are in a crazy season and I think we allowed too much back into our home. Today I felt so frustrated and it dawned on me (haha) that the inventory is now too much to manage.
I mentioned to my kiddo (9) that I wanted to hush their room and then forgot to do it/didn't have time. They kept reminding me and today we hushed the living room first. It's amazing how much had accumulated and how much bigger the space is just by clearing off the surfaces and floors. There's still furniture and bookcases that are full (but not overfull) and it's still pretty amazing the difference. I don't have many places to stash the stuff from the rooms, so we can only do one at a time. Next will be the kid room, followed by entryway, dining room, and kitchen.
love all your content Dawn. The all day declutter was great on Saturday.
Thank YOU and I'm so glad to hear this!!!
One breathtaking piece beats a bunch of little pieces just about every time imo. It's great if you're going for a grown up elegance.
Also for wall colors etc, there is cool vs warm. Warm for a more cozy vibe and cool when you want a more open or spacious feel.
For me it’s pretty much just keep experimenting with arrangements until it looks and feels right. Decluttering was major Bcuz it helps to simply be surrounded by all the colors and textures and things you love. Kinda like clothing. When every outfit is one that you love. Decor can be like that too. I found it sorted itself out a lot easier once the stuff I loved was no longer getting lost in all the meh kind of stuff I kept around.
I love this video as someone who has struggled to decorate and always feeling like it wasn't quite right. These tips are so helpful!
Dawn ,I will never be a minimalist or do I want to be but I have decluttered so much! I love to decorate but making sure I am tasteful and no where as much. I live with a decor for a week or sp and see how it makes me feel. If I walk into a room and I feel calm and love the little touches, it makes me happy. It is easy to get too cluttered with decor. I am being very mindful but still being true to me! Thank you for all the wonderful information!
Hi Dawn, You might want to think about removing the pointy napkins from the open shelving. (Pointy and sharp objects bring negative energy). I think you might enjoy the more calming look of it. Just my perspective. Thank you for the video I feel it will be very useful for me! 🙏🏼😊
Interesting observation. I'm imagining a scalloped edge fabric instead and it "feels" nice.
Dawn thank you so much now instead of trying to find a home for things I try to find things to rehome! It's like everything is free game if I can replace it for $20 or less and I don't need it now then it's gone it's such a relief and it has helped every facet of my life and I really really really really really appreciate you!
Dawn may I suggest hanging the gallery wall a bit higher?
Like the gold! I added a brushed gold faucet to the kitchen sink and changed all the cabinet hardware to longer brushed gold handles as well. Along with a white sink and white backsplash it all really brightened the kitchen up. Gold has such a warm feel.
Awesome thank you. I bought more expensive quilt cover set and quilt in king size for a queen bed and I had purchased at the right time as it had discount. It feels so much better a love the colours but it covers the bed so much better. My son liked it a lot. I bought him one. The down side we match 😁.
I’ve been following Myq (like Mike-will-lynn) for YEARS and my house feels beautiful because of her grace-filled permission to let things not be perfect! I highly recommend people buy her book and listen to her podcast, House Rules!
I agree. Myq wrote in her first book I think it was that imperfection puts others at ease. So true.
It was fun to hear about color rules…..we have neutral walls furniture but everything else is colorful! Im an artist and my kids love to paint so artwork and colors everywhere is for us! I also feel like repeating greens in decor and houseplants can become almost like a neutral just blend in. Idk definitely not everyones cup of tea but we like it and seems to be enjoyed by visitors.
Sounds like colors everywhere is your 60 percent, neutrals on the walls and furniture is your 30 and your plants and greens are 10!
The best interior design rule that l use is trust your taste. If you really are drawn to a colour, pattern, texture, shape then use it.
Your wardrobe of clothing will give you a strong direction of the colour palette you like and the style of clothing will indicate the interior design.
For example my clothes are red, blue, green in different shades and neutrals of white, gray and black.
My furniture and decor pieces are in those colours with the main wall paint colour a warm white.
My clothes have streamlined shapes without bows and frills.
My furniture is also streamlined rather than ornate.
I enjoy colour. For me colour energises and inspires.
My DIL loves those tiles! She uses them in such a beautiful way! She changes out the pics as needed.
I love the brushed gold so much!!! When I painted my cabinets I painted them off white and spray painted the pulls brushed gold.
I am slowly embracing less. I have decluttering, cleaning, & organizing. These tips today are so helpful. I want my house to be more than just less stuff. I want it to be beautiful too.
I'm an artist, so I sometimes take a picture of a painting and convert it to black & white...boom instant Notan, and I "see" where the light is or isn't. The camera sees without bias, and has helped me spatially arrange my open concept living/dining/studio, and "see" if I have populated my accent color throughout. I have a track on my studio wall like a gallery to hang my paintings, so they can be moved and changed....you still have to "arrange", but it works for me.
Your beautiful home gives me Scandinavian vibes! So pretty & relaxing!
A MN gal! I love supporting people I find in MN. 😊 Great suggestions and I am downsizing and decluttering my home. It's a work in progress with ADD and depression. I do my best.
This is probably the most practical home decor / design video I have EVER seen, Dawn! Absolutely love it. Our little place has such a long way to go, but I'd like to make some real progress this year. Thank you for being you!
I have always had my curtains rods extend 4 - 6 inches away from the window frame and the curtains full looking. BUT after my small children would use the longer drapes for tents and the pets decided that the longer drapes make great places for sleeping, I shortened the expensive drapes so they are 5 - 6 inches from the floor. Sometimes desperate measures must be made that do not follow designer styles. LOL Great points made in the video. Thanks for sharing.
They aren't little for long. Before you know it, you can go back to the long length.
The brass color in your kitchen makes all the difference! It adds a touch of "glam" and shimmer that ✨️ really makes the blue look amazing 👏
Your home looks so much cozier than before. I love the golds, pinks and greens added. Beautiful ❤
I LOVE the one about contrasting vs blending. At our last home, we had a dark blue accent wall in our living room. It wasn't intentional, but I LOVED that the TV (big and ugly 😅) blended in with it. Our walls have otherwise been very light colors, but I'm keeping this in mind for when we settle down in a home. I definitely want my TV to blend in when not in use rather than to stand out so much. Great video! And I love your pinkish shirt!
Excellent tips. Thank you. I have antiques, ( my father’s high chair from 1921, then mid-century modern, then retro. Sooooo, my mind is spinning as I moved into my own apartment two weeks ago. I’m going to do, “ ME,” and use your advice , also. Thanks so much for still contributing great content for us viewers.🙌😇
Great video! I love watching you evolve and taking us on a journey every time. Life goes beyond decluttering and organizing! There are always going to be projects that continue to enhance our homes and lives.
I think this is one of your best videos! I love design principles that can be applied individually.
I learned about the “rule of three” several years ago. Similar to the zigzag rule, use 3 accent items and place in a triangle or zigzag. It really makes a difference, doesn’t it ❤
Design tip. Add more lights. Match lighting fixtures to other elements in the room. Diffuse your light sources. Use dimmers. Light your outdoor spaces. ✨️ ❤
FIESTAWARE!!!! Fiestaware pitcher on your table!! I have a collection. 😁
Great video!! I love having the same colored lamps and lamp shades throughout my house., even tho the lamps are different.
Dawn just wanted to say Hi
I liked tennis ball comment.
You have taught me:
When things are misplaced, put them back now.
If you have 15 mins between things, reorganize on area.
In daily living, my permanent habit now is to reassess items as I go through my days. It is not a conscious effort ( it is almost automatic from the training and practice you gave me) It always makes me happy and gives me a boost in mood to do so. My home is more functional and easy to maintain now. My motto is “Do small changes that can make a big difference.”
😊❤ thank you from the bottom of my heart.
BRILLIANT!
Such Wisdom!
I Love It!
Love your videos. You have taught me so much and inspired me to go thru my closet and kitchen and start letting stuff go. I come from humble beginnings and got into the habit of having so much stuff to make myself feel like I was successful. Now I'm realizing what a mistake that is and stuff doesn't make one successful. Now, if you'd tell me how to convince my husband to let things go, I would be forever in your debt. He has clothes he hasn't worn in 20 years but he won't get rid of them!! I think he's a secret hoarder.
I had the same with my father. First I promised him to never throw something away without him knowing. I told him I want to get rid of stuff because it is too much for him to wear up anyways, and I would love if someone else could get use out of it while it is still good. When he parts now it is still wearable, if he parts in ten years it might already be destined for the landfill.
With him knowing my intentions I asked if I could reorganize, and we look through it after. He agreed, and sure was surprised how many of things he had. And all those he actually likes but forgot because they were hidden. He let go of quite a lot that day!
In some categories he still was stuffed, so I asked to store some away so he can see if he misses it, or enjoyed the easier acces and so on.
But most important: be a good example and tell him all the time, all the advantages you have from living with less 🙂
Good luck!
I learned about scale, styling shelves, and hanging curtains from an online course called Design Genius. I will order this book too because I love decorating. I don't need any more anything so I need to adopt the idea of admire, not acquire.
Thank you, Daniel. This video helped me see more clearly the rule 10, 30, 60. Now I should finish my decoration in a cohesive way. ❤
Dawn, Our house is 1/2 the size of yours. Recently,my Hubby & I cleaned everything out of my sewing / craft room & he painted it a light color to make it brighter. We've only brought a few things back in because I love the empty look. I know the sewing / crafty stuff needs to come back in eventually, but right now I'm enjoying it empty. 😅 Great video. 😊
I want my sewing room to be emptier also. My FAMILY loves the shelves with the little decor that represents my life. I'm tired of it. Times past, but not forgotten. I'm keeping it as is FOR THEM. :(
I took pics of stuff I wanted to remember, but let go. I kept very few things to manage 😊
@@Rosa-kf6yy Find a High School that has sewing classes for their students, and donate.......
You, Dawn, and Myquillin combined have made the absolute BIGGEST impact on my home.
My home isn’t “done” yet but even with four little kids, my home doesn’t feel overwhelming and it’s a peaceful place to be in (most of the time 🤣). You helped with decluttering and she helped with LEARNING design! 👏🏼 what a power team
Same!
Yessssssss, this!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I have completely failed at a gallery wall! I loved seeing pics of my family everywhere but It made my house feel smaller and look more messy. It is definitely something that requires alot of planning to make it nice.
The pink and green pillows on your choice look so good !!!!
The new hardware and fixture look fabulous!
Thank you!!!!
Thank you for this great video! I use slipcovers on my living room furniture to change the look. My kitchen is all white with a few red accents.
I am so happy to see you have a regular refrigerator. I have a large one that came with the house and I am getting a regular refrigerator. I just don’t need the crazy large appliances. No shade to people who do but it is not necessary.
FWIW, the "large" refrigerators don't hold substantially more than the regular size. They are shallower and wider to blend into your cabinetry (they predate the deeper cabinets you can sometimes find now). We did this when we built our kitchen. Very pretty, VERY expensive, no real gain in utility. 😓 Now we're moving and I won't make that mistake again.
So many good tips have watched multiple times and still need to watch again to take notes 📝
So timely for me. I spent today painting frames for a gallery wall. I ordered the book. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much. This is such a helpful video for me. I know what I like but putting it all together never quite worked. I am going to tackle my living area again using your advice.
Loved the gallery wall, I did a similar one with Dollar Tree 8x10 frames and Dollar Tree double stick tape (alien tape dupe) I will never nail another hole in my walls again!
Or yard sale frames and a can of spray paint
I loved seeing these rules in action! I love Myquillyn and preordered her new book to add to her others in my library! I love the changes you have made so far and look forward to your video with all the changes put together! It was great seeing the flashback video including your kids, they were so small! It has been fun watching them grow up!
Love learning and being reminded of different design rules! I don't know if this is something I learned from a past video or if it just felt natural, but I have zig-zagged both colors and shape/weight. For instance, I have our tea pot, toaster, and rice cooker zig-zagging and matching baskets beside each. It brings great visual balance and feels less intrusive for this cricket living with a butterfly 😉
I love your green wallpaperered area, it always makes me feel inspired and happy.
Thank you for breaking this down. I finally understand color theory.
Just pretty much hushed the kitchen last night so new floors could be put in today. I have a good sized pile going bye bye! Thank you Dawn for all your inspiration!❤
I love your new light over the sink. The new pulls are pretty too. Very good video and very good advice.