Welcome Home

Welcome to my first official posting!

Every time I have sat down to start this blog I have written a few sentences and then immediately hit "delete." There is something ridiculously intimidating about putting your ideas out there to be judged by the general public. And then I laugh at the irony - isn't that what I do for a living as a designer?! But then it hit me - right now, writing this entry, I am just like my potential client.

Let me back up a little. One of my goals in starting Home & Haven Designs is to work alongside the young professional, the person just starting out or getting to where they want to be going. The person that perhaps has it together in one part of their life, but when they come home doesn't feel like their home is a place of peace, a refuge, a haven. And what is stopping them from having that place? Yes, perhaps it is time or money, two very often cited reasons (both of which I truly understand and believe are true). But also, I think it is a bit of not knowing what to do, where to start.

You see it in the magazines, you see your friends' homes, and somehow it seems like they have figured it out! It can't be that hard, right? But you go to the hardware store, are faced with all of those color swatches, which all start to look the same (especially under the fluorescent lights) and you wonder, how am I supposed to know how it will look in my home from this 1" swatch?! And it is easy to give up right there.

But that is where I come in and try to make it less overwhelming.

Sometimes you need someone to guide you a bit in figuring out exactly what you want or how to make it happen. And that is how I feel in starting this blog. So my hope is you, dear reader, will help me in this endeavor. I will do my best to pick inspiration and topics that I think you may find helpful, but if there is anything you want to see more or less of, hear more about, or questions you want answered, I hope you will contact me! Design is a collaborative effort and inspiration and knowledge comes from many people and sources.

I like to believe that great design is everywhere (and at every price point) - it is how you look at things, how you put it together that makes it all come to life.