When Empty Walls Tell Stories: Finding Home in the In-Between

January always brings this familiar feeling – you know the one? That moment when the holiday decorations eventually come down, and our homes sit in this state of possibility. There's always that immediate urge to fill every newly bare space, to quickly replace the festive fullness with something new.

I've been thinking about this lately while looking at our breakfast nook, particularly at the gold-framed floral painting that hangs on our wallpapered wall. It's a piece that lived in my childhood home for as long as I can remember – simple white flowers that might not catch your eye in an antique store, but carry generations of meaning in every brushstroke.

Creating a home is about so much more than decorating - it's about crafting spaces that support the life you want to live and the stories you want to tell. I didn't always understand this. When we first moved into our builder-grade house, I felt almost frantic about filling it up. I'd scroll through Pinterest late at night, adding things to my cart, trying to replicate that done-and-decorated look I thought I was supposed to have. Have you ever found yourself there?

Everything shifted after my dad passed away. My mom started sharing pieces of our family's art collection with me, and suddenly those empty walls didn't feel like a problem to solve anymore – they felt like spaces waiting for the right story.

Among the pieces was a delicate line drawing of my grandmother's childhood home in Jackson, Mississippi. Though I never had the chance to meet her, this simple sketch connects me to a piece of our family's story that existed before I did. Each carefully drawn line of that front porch speaks to a time I can only imagine - Sunday afternoons and summer evenings, conversations and laughter that would become family lore.

Then there was the watercolor of my childhood home – the one my father built with his own hands. Every detail captures the place where I grew up, where I watched him pour his heart into creating something lasting for our family. Now that he's gone, this painting means even more. It's not just a house on paper; it's every memory of him there. Looking at it now, hanging in our own home, it's like having a piece of him, of all of us, still here - a small reminder of the care he put into making spaces matter.

These pieces changed how I see our home. Against our new blue and cream wallpaper, that childhood floral painting feels both timeless and fresh, proof that sometimes the perfect piece has been waiting to be seen in a new light.

Whether through my design projects or our own spaces, I've learned that the most beautiful rooms are those that evolve with intention and meaning. Our breakfast nook embodies this perfectly. The traditional painting found its perfect spot above the table, where it surprisingly comes alive against the modern wallpaper. The natural rattan pendant light and French bistro chairs bring everything into the present, creating a space that feels both rooted and relevant. It's become more than just a place to eat – it's where my kids do homework, where we have our morning devotionals, where countless family conversations unfold over coffee and toast.

Here's what I'm learning: our homes don't need to be "finished" to be beautiful. Sometimes the empty spaces are making room for something we haven't discovered yet. Sometimes the perfect piece is already in our family's collection, waiting to be seen with fresh eyes. And sometimes the most sophisticated thing we can do is simply wait, letting our spaces evolve naturally.

I'm excited to share more with you this year - how we're thoughtfully choosing each element and letting spaces tell our story. In the coming weeks, I'll be taking you through our home, showing how we're mixing cherished pieces with fresh elements to create rooms that feel both meaningful and current. Whether you're just beginning or reimagining your space, I hope you'll join me in creating homes that matter.

I'll be sharing more of these stories - both from our home and the wonderful families I work with - and I'd love for you to be part of this community of thoughtful home creators. What piece in your home carries special meaning for you? Maybe it's something passed down through generations, or something that just speaks to your heart. How has it shaped the way you think about creating your space?

Sincerely,
Janie

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*Today's photos capture our breakfast nook with its blend of old and new – how the traditional floral painting from my childhood home takes on new life against the modern wallpaper, and the way heritage pieces can feel completely at home alongside contemporary elements. It's about the stories these pieces help us tell and the new memories we're making every day.*