My mom is amazing.  She was my Skylarks and Orioles leader, and Den Mother for my brother.  She taught Sunday school and led the junior church.  She cooked a sit down meal for us every night and made breakfast almost every morning. While we waited for the bus she read Uncle Arthur bedtime stories so we would have a good dose of values before school. She formed a family worship group where we would gather in homes with other families and have child centered Bible lessons. She sewed all of my clothes and did craft shows and had garage sales to bring in extra money.  She made sure I could cook and sew and clean and care for children before I left home.  And took time to really listen to me.

She was so busy giving us the best childhood ever that home decor wasn’t high on her priority list. Who can blame her?  It took awhile to realize that I was interested in interior design. I would visit well done spaces and wish I could put something together like that.  Everything I attempted looked like a different hot mess than the one I started with.

Decorating disaster circa 2009

I remember the first time I ever painted a room.  I had 2 kids under the age of 3 and could only paint in 10 minute spurts while I cared for them.  I used ziplock baggies to keep everything fresh for the weeks it took me to finish one room.  But the feeling of accomplishment and freshness from that experience germinated an interest in interior design that has grown larger and larger.

I had to experience a lot of decorating failures before I figured out the things that I like.  Things like light and bright neutral walls that allow accessories to take the spotlight.  White trim! Fewer, larger pieces of art and a minimalistic style.  I spent years devouring home decor blogs, magazines and books.  Even after those years of following the experts, no room in my house felt quite right.

When the Nester announced her Cozy Minimalist decorating class, I wanted to sign up right away.  I’ve learned more from her blog over the years than all my other sources put together.  I paused at the $89 price tag.  Then I realized if I was going to keep working on my fixer-upper, room by room, this class could save me from wasting money on the wrong things.  If I only learned one new thing that averted a buying disaster, the class would pay for itself.  So I signed up.  YES! My frugal self paid $89 for a virtual class and admitted it publicly.

It was the best decision ever.  For one thing, it gave me the courage and steps I needed to turn my master bedroom disaster into a serene space.  I did the whole thing with cash I gathered from selling clutter around the house. The space isn’t done, because spaces are never done.   There will always be tweaking and changes to make, but I don’t have that feeling that something is “off” like before.

I didn’t spend less on decorating stuff before I took the class, and when I was done I still had a space I didn’t love. The class changed the types of things I shop for and ultimately saved me from buying the wrong things.  It paid for itself by showing me how to use what I have and then focus my shopping in the right direction.

That $89 class is now available as a self-study course for just $39.  PLUS you can get $10 off if you follow this link and use Angela Coffman in the referral box.

Here are more pictures of what other students in the class were able to do.

If home decor isn’t your thing, but you need to do your own decorating anyway, you need this class.  It’s 4 sessions of step by step how to go from hot mess to cozy and well put together.  This class taught me more in 4 weeks than 4 years of research did previously. It sure beat trying to figure out the decorating thing on my own.