Before I was a home-schooling mama, I was an interior designer. I loved my job bringing beauty to people’s homes through good design! I do miss the creative outlet that working with clients afforded me but I have been very content at home knowing that my ‘job’ has a much larger meaning than just superficially giving homes a facelift. To be honest the walls in my home have been a little too bare for far too long. We live in a 1920’s Victorian home that we have completely restored over the past 10 years. And we are at the point were some finishing touches need to be made, mainly in the way of wall art. Through this blog post series on Catholic Sistas, I hope to bring you a little peek into the Catholic home design process that I will be doing in different areas of my own home as well as sharing inspiring images of what our sisters in Christ are doing with their homes as well.
First, I will take you back to one of my most vivid design school memories. Our professor asked our group of fresh faced design students what the first step in designing a space should be.
…. crickets…
We were baffled. Not a single hand was raised.
He then went on to explain that we needed to research our ideas.
… crickets again…
Finally he explained what he meant by research. Research should be the sourcing of other projects of similar scope to get ideas from. In order to add to, and perfect, our own ideas.
This was a novel concept to us because we all had an ego that that told us we already know how to put a room together. But alas, research! How it truly can make a good project better and even more so make a novice look like they hired a designer!!! So here I am to help you make your home look a little more Catholic with true design elements.
Step 1) Print out this PDF I made to share with you all on these projects.
Step 2) Define the area that you would like to work on.
Step 3) Establish a budget.
Step 4) Research!
Pinterest is your friend! Check out the Catholic Sistas board Domestic Church
And my boards: Faith and Religious Art
Step 5) Identify the materials you need to complete your project.
Step 6) Begin to execute the project and keep track of expenses.
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You may remember I asked readers to submit images from their homes to share with you all last month. Here are several inspiring vignettes of readers’ homes for you to get started with your research!
April sent me her stunning display of the stations and I had to write back and ask her if these were on permanent display! Her reply was, “We leave them up year round right in our entry way. My husband found the pictures online and printed them. We then modge podged them and framed them. Thank you for your comments. We like to remember the stations.”
Dana has a gorgeous bookcase at work that she shared with us…
Denise has several areas of inspiring Catholic art…
This gorgeous Fatima sets above the TV in Elise’s living room…
Genie has several great quotes for wall art as well as sacred images…
The Ten Commandments are nicely mixed in to family photos in Julie’s home…
(I personally LOVE the Michelangelo print of the Creation of Man… at one point I considered painting it on the ceiling of our dining room!)
Rosaries are always handy by the door…
Keeping faith and family central…
And I really was struck by this vignette. It is simple. And small. How often do we think to use a small image from our wedding for display? Right now there is some cultural idea that all major events need to be poster sized on our walls. But this works better than a wall print in my opinion because it draws the viewer into it. We can see Julie and her husband’s wedding candle, a keepsake (possibly a cake topper?) and then a photo of her and her husband at the Alter of our Lord. We can’t even see their faces! *gasp* But we are drawn into this image because we see it as a viewer almost as if we were there. This is a fantastic way to share the sacrament of marriage with our children in our homes and to keep the focus on the sacrament!
And two beautiful mosaics made by Julie herself!
Kathleen has crosses on the wall above the TV…
A beautiful crucifix with the Our Father above…
Another crucifix…
And a place to pray…
Laura’s home is rich in seasonal decor! (We may have to do another reader image series that go along with the Liturgical year as well!)
I love the section of the tree that serves as a base in this vignette!
I love a great way to involve the children…
I spy the ‘log’ again on the base of this table. Gorgeous!
A very moving way to remember His sufferings…
Tina’s home is vibrant with flowers…
A Sacred Heart made by Tina’s hubby!
Our Lady in the Kitchen…
And a statue in the Laundry room…
A beautiful wall hanging of Mary and baby Jesus in the Dining room…
And a special table combining faith and family in the Living room…
Robyn sent me a stunning vignette of her dresser…
And another beautiful mantle…
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My next post will cover the transformation of the landing at the top of my stairs into a small sacred area. I can’t wait to share the before images, the process, and the complete space with you all!
If you have a Pinterest board that our readers might find useful on the topic of Catholic art/home decor please leave a comment so we all can share with one another!
