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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Cluttered?

Tiny. Minuscule. Full to the brim. Stuffed? Overdone. Uh huh. I know that these terms were used when we tried to sell our house a year ago. Bill was working in Virginia and we had decided to go there and join him. I say this with all sincerity, thank goodness it did NOT sell! A few months after that difficult decision TO move was made, Bill was offered the job here and we are all thrilled that we would stay put. Rabbit Run Cottage remained in our family as it should be. So, some say our home is cluttered. Hmmm....I say "cozy". Okay, so I would love to have a few more square feet in the living room but hey. It's ours, it keeps us warm and dry, safe and sheltered and I love it. The living room couch is down filled and so soft to sink into. The perfect spot for movie viewing and cuddling. And we are surrounded with things that mean so much to us. Treasures bright home from our travels and from the many places where we have lived. Each item contains a story patiently awaiting an audience. We have bathrooms and a kitchen in which to cook and beds in which to sleep. What else could we possibly need? I have a list 436 miles long of things that I want to add to this home or change about this sweet place. Still, it IS home in every sense of the word. Children run in and out of the back door, banging it each time they enter and leave. Dogs drool and cats shed. Friends leave muddy footprints in the foyer and husbands toss their coats across the kitchen table. Sometimes those lovely sofa pillows are used to further the fine art of fort constructing and trampoline practice. Showers have been given for new babies and brides. Birthday parties have been thrown for the very young and the, well, not so young. This cottage has listened to gales of laughter and sharp cries of sorrow. Sweet words of love and grumpy morning quarrels. Baby's wails and dogs that howl. Newspapers have been strewn about, lamp shades knocked askew. Puppy nose prints have been left on the windows along with little girl's condensation art. Stray weeds pop up in the yard and grass pushes it's way into the brick walk cracks. Dishwashers have overflowed and bathroom drains clogged. Our home has smelled of cinnamon, cabbage, pizza baking, coffee brewing and fresh paint. It has weathered a tornado, flooding rains, high winds, blizzards, jungle heat and arctic cold. It is, in short, a home. In every sense of the word.

29 comments:

Mockingbird Hill said...

"When there is room in the heart, there is room in the house." Your heart is nowhere near being full, dear Sue...

Thanks so much for stopping by to check in on my Mom..we are so glad she is home!

Cassie

Wendster said...

Dear dear dear Sue Z Q,
How I love your blog! I just got all caught up. I hadn't read it since the 11th! All the good stuff I had missed. I see I was tagged for seven interesting facts. OF course I will play, sorry I didn't notice sooner. I loved yours! I had no idea you had to draw little fat men. I have a model for you at my house, if that helps. (ohh! that was wicked of me) My poor hubby ... he just gets a little rounder every year. Loves his yummies. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE your house! WOW! So nicely put together, such fabulous touches! I mean I love it love it! I know that a terrible neighbor made you feel like your house wasn't "all that" ... but I think it's all that and a ride in a limo. Really nice.
And Kipper with his bandana with his name on it. I love it! And your little holiday touches. Fabulous!
Sorry I got behind.
I love ya'!
Wendy
p.s. I plan to post my seven interesting facts tomorrow. As soon as I think of them. ha.

smilnsigh said...

Don't you *dare* to change one teeny, tiny thing about your precious house... until and unless you really want to do so, _yourself_.

Never you mind about what realtors say or what anyone but you, says. We each live in our own homes and we can do with them, what feels best to us. {Just like our own blogs!!!}

Ok, sure... If some day you really do want to sell it... I suppose you have to do all that stuff they say about... sort of make it a blank slate, on which the buyer can project their own personal ideas. While just walking through..

But not till then! Not one minute sooner than then. :-)

Personally, I'd so much rather come into YOUR home and plunk down for a visit, than into those *sterilize* homes they show on tv. So there. :-)

Mari-Nanci

Anonymous said...

I love your home and your out look. Wish i could be so easy going as your.

PAT said...

I love every bit of your home, Sue! It's absolutely beautiful and each and everything you've used is wonderful! Don't change a thing.

Pat

Rosie's Whimsy said...

Great post! I love your home....it is a home....and it looks great! :-) Rosie

Anonymous said...

Oh Sue! Don't listen to those knuckleheads! Everytime you post pictures around your house it always reminds me of those cozy, warm family filled houses that Maeve Binchy and Rosamunde Pilcher write about. You have made a home, not a museum and it is a place where love blossoms and grows. How could anything be wrong with THAT!
Hugs! Bramble
PS...I thought of you the other day there was a BD movie on!

Rue said...

It's also the reason I met you ;) You know just how much I love your cottage....
I love the other posts and that song is cracking me up!
Have a great night sweet friend with the wonderful home,
Rue :)

Gretchen said...

Love your cupcakes on the previous post! Very cute.

I don't think you look cluttered at all because everything GOES together. OTOH, myyyy house...

clutter.

Beautiful home and great post of appreciation and contentment.

xxxooogretchen

robin c. said...

I think your home is wonderful!! How could anyone want a sterile home. I love, love, love to have my favorite "stuff" all around me. I think it is so much more important to have a "home" rather than a "house."

Have a wonderful Easter! Loved the cupcakes...where do you get such great ideas???

Hugs to you!

robin c.

Brenda@CoffeeTeaBooks said...

I love your home!

My realtor kept telling me the same thing a few years ago when we sold our much bigger home.

There was no clutter like one finds on those HGTV shows. It was just like yours, full of much loved items that made our home... us.

Andi said...

Home Sweet Home...and it's just perfect. I love all your wonderful things and enjoy seeing how you decorate...very inviting and lovely Sue.

Wendy/TheCozyYellowHouse said...

I love your cottage it is so homey!! You have a beautiful way with words! I pray you and your family will have many more Blessed years of memories in your home!!~Wendy

Sandi McBride said...

It's cozy. I agree wholeheartedly. I'm the same way. Things settle where they will, Susie, it's just the way of the world with those of us in love with beauty. I love your home, so glad you didn't sell it, too
hugs
Sandi

Anonymous said...

Congrats on getting to stay put. I love all the decor and the little vignettes at every turn.

Even your hallway has character and personality.

Everything looks so beautiful and cozy at the same time.

It's wonderful you don't have to try to re-create this in a new home when you have everything just the way you love it here.

Barbara Jacksier said...

Not cluttered at all. Looks ready for a photo shoot to me! So glad you could stay.

Brown English Muffin said...

I absolutely love this description of your house....I love the picture of the suitcases with the lamp...I want to come and visit!!!

Jill LaFaye said...

Cluttered? I don't think so..your home looks beautiful and cozy:)

Janet said...

You know I just love your home. Whenever you post pictures of it it makes me happy. I love all your "things" and the talent you have for putting them together "just so".

Raining/sleeting here and I am so. ready. for. spring.

XOX,
Janet

Anonymous said...

Love your attitude and I think your home is welcoming and pretty! Doesn't look cluttered to me? I love it when you post pictures of your home!

Manuela

Wild Lady Slippers said...

You have a beautiful cottage...just my style and not cluttered at all .Love the suitcase display, my next mission is to fined a set of suitcases.

Have a great day! Paula

Sugar Bear said...

I absolutely do not see clutter anywhere. I see inspiration, warmth, love, cozy. Yours was one of the very first blogs I started reading and one of the reasons I love it so much is for the gorgeous photos of your home.
Karla

Kathleen Grace said...

Dear Sue, Your home is NOT cluttered, it is warm, inviting, beautiful, and I love everything you have done! It is a beautiful home and I am glad along with you that it did not sell, or we wouldnt be able to enjoy it with you!

Cherdecor said...

Thanks for the tour through your house! I absolutely love looking through people's homes. While my husband drives at night, I am looking in as many windows of homes that I can. I am constantly looking for new ideas to tuck away in my right brain.

I love your corner cupboard with the light inside! I bet you have a lot of admirers of that. I also like the little chest inside the door. Where do you find that stuff? It is all so, so cute, comfortable and inviting. I understand when you say that you like your home. It is lovely!

Pamela said...

It's terribly inviting.
I was raised (one of 8 kids) in a smaller house. yup.

I don't think people were as conscious of space back in the 40's and 50's.

Of course there wasn't near as much stuff in the closets either. There weren't closets.

Sheila said...

Susie, your home is beautiful, I could move right in.
No?
Well visit for tea then?
It looks about the same size and layout as mine, but your's is far cosier.
That's it, I'm inspired, tomorrow might be a holiday, but guess what I'll be doing..!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

I adore your house, it truly looks like HOME. I'd have bought it myself had I seen it (and needed a house there!). Good thing (for you) that I didn't!

Happy Easter Weekend,

Melissa

Anonymous said...

your house is sooo PERFECT! Love it! I'd be afraid to bring my monsters into it, LOL

Sue said...

Clutter? What clutter, all I see is lovelyness. So glad you got to stay in your home and every thing worked out for the best.