Making Home Fun

I've talked before about making home a fun place and it occurred to me that one of the things we do on weekends falls into this category. Last weekend the weather was gorgeous, so we had breakfast out on the deck. It was wonderful. Don't forget that making your home fun is as simple as turning the everyday into something special. It doesn't have to be a big deal.


As you can see, we didn't do anything more than head outside, but it was so nice. Birds chirping, the fountain burbling, and the morning breeze. That is was I call fun. Do you have any ideas for making things fun with older kids? I'd love to hear them.

So, Here is the Family Room...

...also known as the Macaroni and Cheese Room for obvious reasons. The redecorating of this room started more than a year ago when we ripped up a hearth that took up all the room that is not tiled (floor to ceiling!)--it was four feet deep and it was all for that little gas-that-looks-like-wood-burning stove. Then Superman had to travel a lot for work and we stopped. I shoved the shelves in place before he got to finish the drywall and it remained that way until very recently. Now, we've added the price of orange paint to our cost, so we're still doing pretty well. Next, we'll add ceramic tile to finish up the floor. (We debated replacing the flooring with something else, but the great flood quickly changed our minds...ceramic tile came through just fine!) After that, I think we'll be done.

This is where we are so far:

This is the view from the doorway and I think I'm pretty pleased (finally) with the furniture layout. To your left is the desk from upstairs and it is my desk. (This kids used to have a desk that ran along the left wall, but we shifted everything to get my desk into this room.) The couch is where the television used to be.


My desk still has piles of stuff on it and around it that I need to a) find a place for or b) get rid of. I'm hoping I'll be able to go with b) get rid of and I've committed to myself that there will be no stashing or stuffing. I must touch the stuff and consciously deal with it.

The television was moved to the corner and placed on the corner unit that lived in our bedroom (even though we no longer had a television in there). As you can see, Superman never painted behind the shelves, so he'll need to finish the drywall and paint the newly exposed wall. While they don't look too bad in this photo, these shelves are cluttered! Seriously cluttered, so I've begun dealing with that. Same thing: a) put it where it belongs or b) get rid of it. I'm hoping to come up with some clever ways to deal with my craft stuff, while keeping it accessible. Fabric is tough! (notice the pile on the floor to the right of the shelf--all my stuff).

Finally, this is now the kids' school desk (the couch used to be on this wall and the television was where the couch is now). I love the way their school books and their computer CPUs fit inside the bathroom vanities (!) we used to hold the melamine desk top up. This desk used to be in Buttercup's room and the desktop needs to be longer for the two of them to share. For now, however, they just need to deal.

So far, I am liking the way this room is evolving. I love that the stove and television are no longer the focal points of the room. I love the way the kids can really truly clean up their school work at the end of each day. I love the way we can all be in the same room doing different things and still feel together.

I know I talked a lot about fabrics, but I decided that really wasn't the problem (which is why I couldn't make myself sew anything...I guess I knew better). Red, black, and white go really well in this macaroni and cheese room. The blinds, which came with the house, set the stage and I like red, as is evidenced by the red rug and the red accessories on the shelves, the red sewing machine covers I've made over the years, and the red throw. Now that the furniture arrangement flows, the colors seem just right. The black adds a bit of drama and the white keeps it crisp. So, what do you think? (Oh, I know many of you could live in a macaroni and cheese room, but how do you think it is coming together?)

Making Your Own Home Fun...

One of my frugal blogs (I read a lot of them and I can't, for the life of me, find the blogger who had the link), had a link to a blog called A Mother in Israel. I thought it was an interesting connection/link for a frugal blogger and I clicked on over out of curiosity. Boy, am I glad I did. I really like the blog over all, but the post that it was originally linked to was fabulous. The topic of the blog post was Frugal Strategies for Young Families and it was terrific. One of the things that spoke to me was this: Make home a fun place to be. (Her entire post was fantastic...I urge you to check it out.)

Think about it...roll it around...do you find yourself heading out of the house for entertainment? Why? Shouldn't our homes be a source of entertainment as well as sheltering us? We know so many families that drop big dollars heading to the movie theater or restaurants, even as they worry about their financial situation. Despite having more entertainment possibilities than ever in our own homes, home doesn't seem to be the place to be. Why is that? (I don't know the answer...I'm thinking out loud here.)

When Amy at the Mother Load did a No-Spend Challenge a few months back, she quickly realized that she spent money as a form of entertainment...as she put it, her "social engagements revolved around spending money". When the Nagle5 embarked on the 30 Days of No Fast Food challenge, we quickly discovered that our fast-food habit was actually how we entertained ourselves when we got bored. Definitely not frugal, I can tell you that for sure.

So, what do you do to make your home fun? To make your home a desirable destination? You already know we have Game Night as a way to "stay in" and have our friends "stay in", but what else can we do to make home fun?

The American Homemaker did a "fast food night" at her house, dressing up the home-made stuff in fast-food like holders and paper wrappers and serving it in plastic baskets and disposabe cups. It turned out really well and I'll be her kids thought it was a treat even though it was the same food she always serves.


As for us, we're still working on it. One of the things we did was to buy a small fire pit last year when the home stores were clearing out their patio stuff to put the Christmas stuff in (in September!). Our thinking was, "Why wait until we're camping? Why can't we have fire-roasted hot dogs and s'mores at home? "Why can't we get all bundled up and head outside to enjoy the crisp nights of spring and fall?" No reason, really...we just have to think about it. I'm thinking of having a sleep-over in our trailer one night...the kids would think it was a great treat and I wouldn't be far from my shower. There are just so many ways we can make our homes fun, if we just start thinking about it.

So, what about you guys? Is there something you do to make your home fun? I need ideas.

A Disclaimer: I read a lot. I mean, seriously, a lot. Sometimes I don't remember where I read something or who got me to clicking on a link, but I know I didn't think of it on my own. So, if I mention something that I can't remember the source of and you know the source, please let me know...I really want to say thank-you.