Behind the Name

I’ve gotten a few comments recently on where I got my name for the blog on Instagram and my latest Periscope clip. So I figured while I’m still on crutches and can’t do much in the project department, I would take the time to answer this, because after all when you are following someone, it’s nice to at least understand the name. If you’ve been around from the beginning, than you probably already know this. When the idea of starting a blog first started swirling around in my head, we had recently moved into our first home. I had all sorts of ideas for what projects I was going to share on how we were making our mark on our new home, but struggled for awhile on coming up with a name. Of course when you are starting a blog you are so excited and inspired to start, but then all these feelings of insecurity can overwhelm you to the point of not wanting to start. Because there are so many amazing blogs already out there, and aren’t I going to look like I’m just copying everyone else? I mean how many times can you really share a tutorial or a project that hasn’t already been done a dozen times before you?

You’re wrong! Just like I was wrong. Thankfully those thoughts didn’t stay around for too long, and after about a 2 months of going back and forth I took the plunge, and hit publish on my first blog post. Which can I just tell you, it was nothing really. I didn’t post a project right away, it was more of a glorified paragraph of me saying hello to the world wide web of bloggers, and nothing more. Here’s the thing though. If I hadn’t of done that silly little paragraph, who know when I would have started. Hitting the publish button put a little fire under my butt to get things in motion. It gave me a reason to come back and publish something else because I couldn’t just let that be my only post. If I hadn’t of done that, than the next wave of insecurity could have set in, and who knows if I would have even started. You may be caught in the cycle right now. Of wanting to start, not knowing when to start, doubting if you should start, because you are one tiny fish in a sea of seasoned bloggers. But we all started somewhere, and if you truly have a burning desire to start, then by all means START! Because we each have our own unique voice, and flavor to contribute. You may be that breath of fresh air that someone is waiting for, but you will never know unless you take the plunge. So here is how I came up with my name. I was sitting in my living room, brainstorming and pondering on names, and putting words together. But no matter how many times I re-worded the words “cottage”, “market”, “farmhouse”, “barn”,”living”, “design”, “white”, “simple”, “country”, “something flower” it just wasn’t flowing, because I felt like there were already so many of those combinations of those names. I began to look around my living room for inspiration. Pieces I decorated with, anything that I found inspiring or could make a name from. I started thinking about why I wanted to blog in the first place. I wanted to show others that anyone can have a pretty space, that it doesn’t matter what your budget looks like. That re-purposing items, the thrill of hunting clearance items, and mixing and matching pieces can give you a space you love. My eyes landed on this sign (which now hangs in our bedroom) I found hunting through the clearance section of Pottery Barn a few year before. I remember when I first saw this wood sign in the catalogue I loved it. The old general store feeling, and planked wood, with painted lettering. Then one day, I found it in clearance marked down from $149 to $39.99! HELLO! I could afford that, and this sign was everything I loved about wooden signs. I never thought I would ever be able to afford anything from PotteryBarn for my home, but finding that sign gave me a empowered me to know that with a little bit of thriftiness, anyone can find nice things for their home. The sign says “Rooms For Rent”, and the feeling I got receiving that PotteryBarn box in the mail for the first time, for a fraction of the cost, was what I wanted to empower my readers with. I wanted to show them pretty “Rooms” that they could “Rent” ideas from to create their own beautiful spaces. And in that a name was born. 

I had so much fun that day. A great photographer friend of mine came over, and my husband helped me carry some furniture outside. And we set up a mini photo shoot with our shed as the backdrop. It incorporated all the things I wanted to express – decor, barnwood, white slipcoveres, a little bit rustic, totally relaxed, casual but put together all at the same time. If you’ve been reading the blog for awhile, than you remember this as my cover photo for the first few years. I still love this photo, but as the blog grew, and of course when we switched over to wordpress, I was feeling the need to finally have more of a professional logo. 

Creating the look we have now was a process, we all start somewhere. No one’s beginning looks like someone else’s middle or established end. If I compared myself to every blogger out there when I first started, I never would have started. But something in me just had to come out and be expressed. And I’m so thankful for each and everyone of you that allows me to express my creativity, and joins me on that journey! I have some exciting news coming in the next couple weeks that I can’t wait to share with you all, because without you, this wouldn’t be possible. So stay tuned for that!

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