Have you ever felt like your home is working against you? You’re trying to cook, but the fridge is too far from the prep space. You can’t open the closet fully without bumping into the bed. You’re constantly squeezing around furniture or stepping over shoes near the front door.

Here’s a little secret most people don’t talk about after buying a home: There’s always something you didn’t budget for.

You’ve signed the papers, picked up the keys, and crossed the threshold into your new home. But something still feels… off. You know it’s yours, but it doesn’t feel like it. Not yet.

It’s not the couch. It’s not the backsplash. It’s not even the perfect light fixture that took three weeks to arrive. What really makes a house feel like home?

So, how do you decorate a home with someone else… and still feel like you in the space? That’s a question I hear all the time from couples.

Let me tell you a secret that most designers know, but not everyone says out loud: Not everything you see on Pinterest will work in your home. And that’s okay.

Have you ever stopped yourself from decorating your space because someone told you, “You shouldn’t do that,” or “That won’t look right”? Well, guess what? A lot of those “rules” in interior design aren’t true at all.

As an interior designer, one of my favorite challenges is this: How can we make one room feel brand new—without tearing anything down or spending a fortune?