A Volatile Business: When Circumstances Put Your Home At The Bottom Of Your Priority List

"Drops of Jupiter" gets stuck in my head anytime I hear it. I know, I know, the song came out seven YEARS ago. Well, that's about the time I started having kids and precisely the time my knowledge of top hits was replaced with "Itsy Bitsy Spider". 

When Your House Is Closing In On You: A Lesson In Decluttering

Space is one of those things that just about anybody would say they need more of. However, most of us can't buy bigger homes or build additions onto the homes we have to get it. We can't snap our fingers like Mary Poppins and make a closet appear or grab our back hoe and dig out a basement. So what can we do?

Bring On The Color: Fabric Is Your Friend

If you've never used it before, let me tell you, fabric is your friend. It can really bring together a room that lacks cohesiveness or assist you in developing an initial color scheme when decorating or redecorating.

It'll Do: Learning To Say No To Perfect

You know, sooner or later a person is bound to learn that everything can't be perfect.  This is an especially painful lesson for the perfectionist.  A famous line from my dad to me over the years has been, "Aim for progress, Melissa, not perfection."

Inspiration Nooks: Decor That Inspires

I love looking for little nooks and crannies in my home that can be turned into sources of inspiration.  One such place is above my kitchen sink. The kitchen is the place in my home where I am most easily discouraged.  It is the place where I am often in need of truth.  In need of reminders that God will provide and that God is in control.

Fresh Perspective For When You're Fresh Out Of Happy

Last summer I bought two pictures on sale at a local home store to spruce up the basement. One says, I choose to be happy.  The other says a whole host of beautiful things written in impeccably clever font that fills the canvas perfectly. Use kind words. Be nice. Be grateful. Relax. Eat healthy. Share. Love freely. Be happy. Both pictures are bright and cheery and brighten up our otherwise dark basement in a very inexpensive way. They inspire all that is good. I love looking at them....except when I don't.

First Things First: My Story

Hi. I’m Melissa Gilmour, the founder of Dwell Inspired.  I’m the one who wants you to love your home, improve your life, and dwell inspired.  But before I dive into all things home I want to put first things first and tell you about the most important thing in my life.  The thing that matters more than stylish houses and functional spaces. More than a clever pop of color or perfectly placed accessories.  Because even if I lived in the world’s most beautiful home I wouldn’t be living there forever.