— Heart for Decorating —

Is your home as perfect as it looks?

The other day, I posted this picture on Instagram. I try to post once a day because the “experts” say in order to keep your account active, you have to post often. Anyway, I didn’t have a new picture of any decor, but I had recently gone to Homegoods and picked up this pretty soap/lotion set. It even came with the pretty little white towel. It was sitting on my bathroom counter and I thought, “Hey, surely I can make this look good for a picture!” So I lit a candle, placed the soap dispenser set in front and snapped a photo using the portrait setting in my phone. (By the way, that portrait setting really makes your photos look great. I have a iPhone 7+. ) The photo turned out really pretty. I posted it on Instagram and felt like my day was off to a good start.

Picture Perfect?

This photo reminds me of my life. You see, this picture shows a pretty little set of soap and lotion, but if you could’ve seen the rest of what was on the counter….oh my! It certainly wasn’t picture-worthy. Hair products, makeup containers, toothpaste, grunge covered the counter…you get the picture.

It’s not always what it appears

I think we are all guilty of just showing our “pretty side” so often in life.  I show up at school and my life looks pretty fabulous. My car is nice. I live in a beautiful home. One might think that I’ve got it all together. However, if you could look at the “bathroom counter” of my life, you might see disappointment, an argument with my husband, a heart that had hateful thoughts towards someone, or guilt over a past decision in life. My life is NOT perfect, but just like that pretty picture in the messy bathroom, I often try to make things look perfect.

Comparison is the thief of joy

Recently in the blogging world, many have accused people on Instagram of being fake because people just post the beautiful pictures of their lives and not the messy, everyday life. Some people say that it creates a place where we are always comparing  ourselves to someone who is perfect and we just can’t live up to that.

I’m here to tell you, no one is perfect. No family is perfect. There is no perfect job. Plus there is no marriage that is perfect. And no home is perfect. However, we can always look around and find beauty. Beauty is found in a sink full of dirty dishes because you know you had a great meal. Another place beauty is found is in a pile of dirty laundry because you know you have plenty to wear. Beauty is found in a husband’s dirty foot prints on the kitchen floor because he worked hard for your family.

I want to encourage you to look for beauty today. You might even find it on your bathroom counter that is covered in hair products, makeup containers, toothpaste and grunge.

Be blessed,

34 thoughts on “Is your home as perfect as it looks?”

  2. Wow, Vickie, great blog. You just said what everyone else thinks/knows. You just gave me inspiration…maybe I’ll start posting pictures of the *gringe side of my bathroom counter*.

    1. Thank you for your feedback! I hope you will continue to look through the blog and see if any other posts touch you. I’ll check out your blog as well!

  3. Very well-written. I loved it. This is so true…my bathroom counter of life is sooooo cluttered. I need to do better. Thanks for the insight, Vickie! Glad to know I am not alone.

    1. Thank you for stopping by and reading. You are definitely not alone!!!

    1. Thank you, Agnes. I’m looking forward to what God lays on my heart to write about!

  5. A great perspective and more people should have it!

    I do agree with the comments about Instagram and the “pretty” side of life. I think it would be better and more realistic if we shared (not everything, of course) the pretty and not so pretty. Maybe, then, people would feel like they weren’t alone and that there are others going through or feeling the same.

    I think, inherently, people know that they aren’t alone, but seeing only the pretty outweighs the thoughts of knowing. It’s visual, in your face, much easier to believe than thinking others aren’t having better lives and that we’re all going through something.

    Showing only the pretty also seems disingenuous which is part of why I don’t post on social media any longer. I know the truth behind some of my friend’s posts. People should post more of the dirty dishes in the sink because they were thankful a great meal was made, not a staged picture of a beautiful meal. Show a messy kid’s bedroom, because they were playing with friend and not on a smartphone.

    I hope this makes sense and that I didn’t offend anyone. I agree with you and I agree with what is said about social media.

    Sorry for the long response. ?
    Full disclosure: I live in Southern California where people are always trying to keep up with the Joneses!

    1. Great thinking! I appreciate your long post. Your words are certainly something to think about. All of us are going through something.

  7. I love seeing your posts on Instagram and i think your pictures and your blog are real! Keep it up!

  9. Thank you for this reminder of that nobody’s life is always pretty. This reminder helps me in so many ways!

  10. I really enjoyed this post! Sometimes I find myself feeling bad because my house isn’t as big or pretty as some I see on IG but I reel my thoughts in and remind myself I have it all because I have a roof over my head! Great post! ❤️

  12. I gravitated toward Instagram precisely because it is mostly a place of beauty, at least because those are the types of accounts I follow. I know where to look if I want to see the bathroom counters of peoples’ lives … lol… great analogy by the way! I choose to look instead where people are sharing beauty, such as the simple arrangement of pretty soap and lotion:) I know there is likely some chaos behind it, because I know there’s chaos behind my own beauty.

    1. Thank you, Regan! I really appreciate that! Hope you, Brock and the girls are doing well. We miss you guys!

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