Life was pretty simple when I was in kindergarten. 

Here are 3 clear memories:

1. I remember my parents bought me a colorful pencil box before my very first day of school.  It was 'something from home' that I could carry back and forth.  I cherished it with my life, I personalized it with crayons and I felt 'at home' and safe venturing out into the world as long as it was with me.

2. I remember the red plaid jumper my mother made for me that year, and a matching tam to wear atop my braids.  After all I was a little french girl!  I loved that red plaid and to this day red makes me feel good.

3. I remember another kindergarten dress, coral with gold buttons, that my Aunt Bernardine sent for my birthday. I was all about the fashion!  Sometimes we had to put our heads down on our desks and rest. Those gold buttons always pressed into my little ribs when I had to put my head on my desk.  That really bothered me.

Did I tell you what I carried in that pencil box?  Home.

I believe home decorating should be more like my pencil box.  

15 home decorating lessons 

1. Style is more than a look, more than traditional or southwest or modern.

2. Style is personal and everyone interprets it differently.

3. Style is expressed in the details.

4. A room without the right details will never feel or appear finished.

5. Fabrics bring color and texture, are often lacking, and can transfrom the mood.

6. We are becoming more at ease with expressing our personal tastes and taking risks.

7. We have decided to no longer follow the dictates of fashion.

8. We are more aware of the principles of composition in our room arrangements.

8. We are thinking about balance and proportion in our spaces.

9. We make a room ours by adding objects we love.

10. Our homes have meaning and we are spending more time there.

11. We are listening to our inner voices in choosing what makes us feel comfortable in our homes.

12. We are working in our home offices, entertaining at home and planting our gardens. In the process, we are developing our own sense of style.

13. Now more than ever we are selecting, gathering and arranging things that we like in a way that suits our lifestyle.

14. Style and lifestyle have become one.

15. Life is too short for buttons that rub, and for living without red.

Take it from me.