House Reveal [via Instagram]

I've been hesitant to share pictures of my home since the beginning.  I'm OK with snippets and vignettes - it's like a skirt with a nice slit up the leg versus a micro-mini.  So I walked around taking some Instagrams of my spaces today and with a big, deep breath, I decided I'd push myself to share them.  I'd like to be able to show you the spaces I always reference and the projects we work on.  It will be a good exercise for me. 

dining room

I get so hung up on the details.  It's not like I'm afraid of rejection, I'm in sales for goodness sakes.  But in actuality, I am scared of it.  Terrified.  You see, my ultimate goal of getting published is a bit of a pipe dream.  But I've always dreamed big.  My home is only 1100 square feet; I look at it as the perfect canvas to decorate and concentrate on ad nauseum.  We will most likely move in five years or so, and this is the time where I'd be able to get every room dressed and ready to go in a reasonable amount of time.  The next home will be more long-term, if not forever, so I imagine there won't be a rush. 

living room

Mom and I love our redecorating, rearranging, redo-ing and client projects, for sure.  But when it comes to putting my own home out there, my knees knock.  I am afraid of what people would say.  I'm afraid that if I put too much out there, I am doing what I despise most about social media… passive-aggressive bragging.  I am afraid that it's not pulled together enough.  What if my clients see my home and think that I will do the same thing to their spaces.  Or worse, not like my personal style. Wait, did you know this was really one of those 'Things I'm Afraid to Tell You' posts in disguise?  I'm afraid that it's not quite complete and I still need to switch my hideous track lighting out in my kitchen, add a banquette and wall art to my dining area, install new upper kitchen cabinets, paint my bedroom and the list goes on and on.  It will always be somewhat of a work-in-progress so there's never a good time.

living room as it is today, with the Fig front and center of
the window for a rare moment of sun!

But I found a way that I could be comfortable in taking this first step.  All hail Instagram thumbnails.  By blurring the edges and giving you a squinty eye view, I can finally show you "a little more leg." And why should I be so scared?  It's not like I'm Mary freaking MacDonald over here and everyone will be scrutinizing the heck outta my stuff, right? 

my office.  wish you could see the wallpaper
and rug in more detail

mom and I recently made a larger headboard for my master
bedroom and used a vintage fuchsia tapestry as a cover

but then I changed my mind on the fabric and
recovered it in this indie peacock fabric

I realize these Instagram pics are grainy and blurry, that's partly why I was able to hit 'publish' on this post.  However, we are looking at photographers to bring in and get a little Blue Steel out of our homes.  Finding a good match will also buy us some time to tie up loose ends. Not being able to take a decent photo myself hinders us quite a bit. 

guest bathroom which is currently gutted for all new
appliances and tile. go figure.

Bet you didn't think you were gonna get a full on confessional when you saw this title.  But thank you, dear readers, for letting me express all of my fear attached to posting pics on our blog.  This little exercise will do one of two things.  Either I get a tremendous amount of confidence in posting pictures after taking this first leap, OR, I make it a bigger priority to take photography classes!  Or Option C - Xanax.

BTW - if you're on Instagram - let's link up!  I'm at Bethany327.

-Bethany