How To Create A Welcoming Home That Tells Your Story
A storied home begins with thoughtful decorating that reflects who you are and what you love. Here’s how to create a welcoming home that tells your story.
Did you know that you have been composing a story your whole life? Everyone’s story is unique and helps shape who you are. And your story should shape the way you decorate your home. Let’s talk about decorating from our ever-composing story instead of what we read and see in a magazine and on a computer screen.
What Is Your Story?
Today, we are off-roading a bit from a decorating post I had planned. We are still talking about decorating, but in a more personal and organic way. Let’s talk about how the way we decorate should pay homage to the things that make up our story.
Our story- your story, so far in life, is the sum total of your experiences. Both the highs and the lows. The important and the minutely insignificant. What you see and what you hear and smell and taste and feel create a sensory thread running through your life’s story! Experiences that are alike and pleasing can be big shapers of your story, but the juxtaposition of opposites can be too.
Your story is a part of you. So, don’t you think it is important to make it a big part of your home? Might you want to tell your story through what you choose to live with? We all have beauty in our stories. Pull from those parts of your story to decorate your home.
What Is A Storied Home?
Have you ever walked into someone’s home and, in five minutes, gotten an idea about who they are and what they cherish? That is an example of a storied home!
This home is more than just well-decorated; it’s meaningful. It reflects your life, your values, and the things you love most. Instead of filling a room with trends or perfectly matched pieces, a storied home is layered with personal treasures, heirlooms, and collected finds. Every room quietly tells your story. It’s the kind of home that welcomes others in, not just with comfort, but with a sense of who lives there.
You can tell your story by decorating your home with subtle layers of personal and collected items, or by filling it with lots of layers. It’s your story to tell. At the heart of it, we all want to create a home that reflects our style and the things that make us… us.
My family didn’t have many things to pass down, but the few I have are deeply cherished. Even in our open concept home, each one has found a special place. Much of the other decor in our home is newer, but every piece has been chosen with care. Whether old or new, each item adds to the layered look and feel of our storied home.
Finding Inspiration
Start by noticing what you already love. Look around your home; you probably have already collected things that speak to you. Let those favorites inspire your decorating. Choose colors you enjoy living with and use them to create a palette that feels good every day. Fill your spaces with things that breathe life into your soul and make you smile each time you see them.
Ask Yourself:
- What are the things in my home that I never tire of?
- Which colors make me feel calm, happy, or inspired?
- Are there objects I’ve saved because they hold a special memory?
Let these answers guide you. They’re the beginning of your storied home.
The Curlacue chest in our living room is a storied piece to me. I found it about fifteen years ago, and I love it even more than the first day it came to live at StoneGable. I often feel that if I were a piece of furniture, I’d be the chest, pearls included!
Color And Our Experiences
When I was a freshman in college, I had a kilt-style mini skirt in a soft winter white with a brown windowpane design. I wore it with a brown turtleneck body suit and brown opaque tights. I loved this outfit! My second favorite outfit was a brown and black herringbone mini skirt that I wore with a black turtleneck bodysuit and black opaque tights. I have been drawn to brown, black, and white ever since! Maybe it’s because these colors remind me of my first taste of freedom, beautiful fall weather, and the exhilaration of first love. No wonder tortoise shells, camel leather sofas, and the rug in our living room hold such fascination for me.
Ballet pink, more of a whisper of salmon trending just a smidgen toward pink, holds precious memories for me. It makes me think of my daughter’s tiny ballet slippers and toe shoes. That’s why, when I saw ballet pink linen dinner napkins, I grabbed them up, and now they are my favorites.
I love the colors of sea glass and chicken eggs, and I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate these colors with black, brown, and white in our home.
Lately, the color green has made its way into the color story of our home. It’s what I see outside most of the year, living on a golf course. So adding splashes of green to our warm neutral home brings the outdoors inside.
What color stories from your past give you joy and comfort, and could be incorporated into your home?
Places We Have Been
We all have attachments to colors born out of memories that strongly tug on our heartstrings. They are part of our story and should be part of our homes. As a decorator, I’m keenly aware of the colors I love to be around. After decades and decades of following trendy colors and making so many mistakes, I found a home in neutrals. I must admit the white trend gave me permission to use light colors in our home when I would probably have been too timid to use them. However, I’m not jumping on another trend wagon. I’ll stick with my neutral classics. I think they are beautiful.
The places we have lived are also a huge part of our story, as are vacations and places we visit and revisit again.
How Places I Have Been Are Featured In Our Home
I’ve lived in Deleware, Pennsylvania, California, Pennsylvania, Scotland, England, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Pennsylvania. These places are all big parts of my story. And I can see some of the places I’ve lived reflected in my decor.
Tartan blankets from Scotland are just small examples of how part of my story spills over into my decor. I tend to repeat what I love. My tartan collection is getting out of hand! My mother gifted me two blue tartan blankets that she bought for the foot of my brother’s beds decades ago when we lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, as children. They have a few holes in them and are a bit worse for wear, but I will never get rid of them. They get displayed just as proudly (and maybe more) than the Antique Buchanan tartan that is from my husband’s clan.
My mother gifted me horse brass she collected when we lived in England. I have always loved these little pieces of my childhood! I’m planning to frame them and display them somewhere in our home so I can enjoy them every day!
Lancaster County has molded and shaped my story more than any other place I have lived. Not because I have lived here for over forty years, but because the farmland and culture of this beautiful spot on God’s good earth feel like home. I knew it the day I moved here as a bride.
The straw hats and market basket hanging on the hooks in the foyer, and the burlap runner on the dining room table are small ways my love story with Lancaster is reflected in our home. The pots of herbs growing in my kitchen and the picture over the mantel are tributes to where I live.
Are you living with things that tell a story about the places you have lived and been? Collections often are ways of translating our journeys into decor we surround ourselves with at home.
How Collections Tell Our Story
Truth be told, I am not much of a collector in the traditional sense of the word. Like collecting art or things from our travels. But I have way too many dishes, mason jars, baskets, tote bags, and kitchen gadgets. They parallel my story of loving to cook and gather. I guess I’m a bit of a utilitarian collector! Right now, I’m collecting more pictures of our family to display. I used to think and say that many collections like Hummels and other tchotchkes don’t have room in a well-decorated home. Hmmm, maybe not in a well-decorated home, but they are cherished in a well-curated home! Live with things you love.
Collections show off the pages of our stories! They help us remember. We feel warmth and affection for them because they are a bridge of sorts to a time in our past. And they hold part of our story in them.
Decorating With Things You Love
You have developed your style and decorating personality from your life’s story. Your personality should be celebrated, along with the personalities of your family, in how you live and the things you live with.
Creating a storied home doesn’t happen all at once. It grows over time as you live in it and fill it with the things you love. Here are a few thoughtful ways to start adding your own story to your home.
- Display a meaningful object in a place of honor. Maybe it’s a bowl from your mother’s kitchen or a souvenir from a favorite trip.
- Add a framed photo where it will be seen every day. Choose one that makes you smile.
- Use a handwritten recipe, note, or letter as art. Tuck it in a small frame and set it on a nightstand or shelf.
- Style a vignette using items with a shared memory. Group together things that remind you of a person, place, or season of life.
- Write down your home’s story. Keep a small notebook with dates, memories, and even photos of the rooms you’ve decorated and why you made those choices.
- Rotate meaningful items throughout the year. Bring out seasonal decor that holds family significance or a tradition.
- Books you love and read are easy to display in a bookshelf or on a coffee table.
Each little addition doesn’t have to be big or bold—it just needs to mean something to you. That’s how a home becomes storied.
A Home That Tells Your Story Is Not Cluttered
There’s a big difference between a storied home and a cluttered home. A storied home is filled with the things that matter most—things that reflect your life, your memories, and your style. Clutter, on the other hand, often comes from holding on to too much or not being intentional about what stays.
The key is to be thoughtful. Choose pieces that are meaningful, useful, or beautiful to you. Let your home breathe. Give your favorite things space to be noticed and appreciated. Editing what you have doesn’t mean removing the soul from your home—it’s just making room for it to shine.
If everything has a story, nothing really stands out. So let the most special pieces tell your story, and tuck away what no longer fits. A storied home is not about quantity—it’s about connection.
Today’s post encourages you to think about your story. Are you living with things you love? If I came to your home, would I see a glimpse of who you are? One of the best decorating tips I can give you, friend, is to work on your storied home! Just a little food for decorating thought.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start creating a storied home if I’m just beginning to decorate?
Like all good things, creating a storied home takes time. Start small and meaningful. Add a favorite picture to a vignette on a coffee table or hang plates you love on a wall. As you continue, layer in more items that resonate with you. Remember, a storied home evolves over time; it’s about curating, not trying to hurry the process.
How can I make my home feel personal without it looking cluttered?
Think of your home as a gallery of your life. Select pieces that truly speak to you and give them room to shine. Instead of displaying every keepsake, rotate your precious items. For instance, a tray on your coffee table can hold a candle, a small stack of beloved books, and a decorative item with personal meaning. This approach keeps your space feeling intentional and uncluttered.
What if I don’t have heirlooms or antiques to decorate with?
A storied home isn’t solely about antiques. It’s about items that tell your story. Create new traditions by framing a recipe you love or showcasing a piece of art that resonates with you. If you want an antique or vintage look, start collecting items you love. They will become part of your story. Your home should reflect who you are and what you love, regardless of the age of your decor.
Related Posts
If you loved this post, here are more helpful ideas to inspire you as you decorate your home with meaning and purpose…
Simple Decorating: How To Decorate With Less
This post shares how less can truly be more when you intentionally decorate. Learn to pare down your decor so the things that matter most can shine.
Use What You Have To Decorate Your Home
Sometimes the best decor is already in your home. This post will help you see everyday items in a new way and use them to tell your story.
8 Brilliant And Easy Ways To Shop Your House
Before buying something new, try shopping your home. You’ll find inspiration and hidden treasures that help create a layered, storied look.
Layering Decor: The Art Of Decorating A Room
One of the best ways to make your home look curated is by layering decor. This post gives you tips on how to do it beautifully.
5 Steps For Finding Your Unique Decor Style And How To Use It
Your decor style is part of your story. Use this step-by-step guide to identify what you love and how to make it work in your home.
10 Essential Decorating Tips To Make Your House Feel Like Home
This helpful list is filled with decorating wisdom to help your home feel warm, personal, and welcoming.
Happy decorating, friends…
Our homes should be havens where we are at our happiest and most comfortable. They should reflect what we love, not what the current design trend is. I see many pictures of rooms that could be juxtaposed with each other and no one would notice. Who wants to live in a motel where all the rooms are alike?
Yvonne,
As I have said before I really think our homes should reflect who we are not the latest trend. I love to look at beautiful homes in magazines and books as well as on the internet and often pick up ideas but my home tells guests that I am a lover of nature reflected in my decorating colors , an avid gardener, traveler,reader, bird watcher, cook, animal lover, collector of thrift, vintage and antiques.Love to decorate my home for the holidays and seasons and most important I am child of God, a wife of 55 yrs to my wonderful husband, a grandmother of 10, soon to become a great grandmother. My God, family and home are very important to me and I hope anyone coming to visit will feel the love.
Finally. Decorating food for thought for real people. Thanks, Yvonne. You nailed it. Again. ??
Yvonne – so loved your post today! I heartily agree. I look around and see objects that reflect my loves and my life. You are an inspiration. Thank you for the time and thought you put into your blog. I’m always encouraged. Blessings to you and your family. Donnie
You are so welcome, Donnie!
I love this particular post. And I love YOUR story! How fascinating that you have lived in all those places! I have never lived in Europe, but I have Scotch-Irish heritage and love to incorporate that into my home! Thanks for sharing! Maybe one day you could tell more of your story!
Oh, you should be so proud you are American with a Scottish background.
I love and am inspired by all your posts. We have a 3 yr old granddaughter that we have one to two days each week. Need I say our home is mostly devoted to her needs and possessions. But besides the playhouse, easel, and baskets, around the house containing all her toys, I am getting there with becoming a minimalist and heading toward a neutral pallet. She brings so much joy, I am ok with not having a perfect home right now. There will be time for that; probably too soon.
I have beautiful embroidered tablecloths from Syria, a sea glass pendant from
Israel, pashminas used as decor and alabaster pieces from Egypt, a silk scarf from Italy that I use in my living room, all from travels and living abroad. I have two bronze rabbits that I bought in Colorado while living there. They add a bit of whimsy and remind me of motorcycle trips with friends. I have a few of my mother’s things (framed picture of a seascape, berry bowls that are very old and an old mantel clock) to remind me of home in Nova Scotia, even though I am now a west coast girl. Yes, a home tells a story and makes for an interesting story of your travels. I have a few antiques but none inherited. I think they add character to a more recently furnished room,
What a fun and interesting home you must have, Joanna!
Love the idea of our homes telling a story. On another note, love that that you have put drapery panels on both sides of your windows in your living room. I am Cuckoo symmetry person. They look very nice.
Thanks, Carolyn! Happy May!