How To Decorate A Room Step By Step With “Feels Like Home” by Marian Parsons

It pays to have a great reference book with simple and easy ideas to guide you when you are trying to decorate your space. “Feels Like Home” by Marion Parsons aka, “Miss Mustard Seed” does just that. Easy to understand and easy to follow, this book will give you the confidence to decorate your home in no time at all! (I was asked to review this book but receive no financial benefits from doing so.)

I have arranged these steps in the order they appear in the book without spoiling the info you will gain from reading its pages. So no spoiler alert. Just the great things you can expect from reading this book. Marian tells it best so you will want to read her book. Here we go! (I don’t benefit if you buy this book but I can tell you that I love it! Marion’s ideas are unique, helpful and doable.)

Step 1: Determine what home means to you in the space you are decorating.

Step 2: Your home is like your story so tell your story by adding character to your room.

Step 3: Find a statement piece.

Step 4: Create a focal point in your space.

Step 5: Layer your room.

Step 6: Display your personality.

Step 7: Put something unexpected in your room.

Step 8: Experiment with color in your room.

Step 9: Don’t think about how you want your room to look instead consider what life will you be living in your space?

Step 10: Start with what you have. Arrange your existing furniture on paper or actually move it around in your space.

Step 11: Listen to your room. Observe what you do in that room. Make notes of what works and what does not.

Step 12: Add architectural elements to your room.

Step 13: Make your room livable no matter what season of life you are in.

Step 14: Be thoughtful about the pieces you put in your space.

Step 15: Try some DIY projects such as painting a simple mural on your wall.

Step 16: Add storage containers.

Step 17: Beautiful textiles finish your room.

Step 18: Consider what lighting will be best in your space.

Step 19: Customize your walls.

Step 20: Be mindful of the scale of your room.

Step 21: Don’t be afraid to be creative.

Step 22: Spend time in your room envisioning what works best and what doesn’t work before finalizing your room.

Step 23: Add needed accessories.

Step 24: Loving what you have in your space.

I love it when a room I am decorating comes together! When I had the chance to review Feels Like Home, I jumped at the chance because Marian Parson’s style is beginner friendly, comfortable, beautiful, and the instructions on how to are easy to understand. It all starts with what you have and you branch out from there. It gives you the confidence to decorate a room your way! I totally identified with Marian’s style of decorating and enjoyed this book front to back! I have followed Marion Parson’s aka “Little Mustard Seed” for many years and am so impressed with her DIY attitude. She makes it pretty clear one size does not fit all. YOU find what works best for you in your space!

Step 1: Home Isn’t Just A Place

Marian has you start by defining what home means to you. She has you ask yourself some questions that will help you discover who and what you are in your space. Then you will know better what home design to follow when decorating a room in your home. Take some time to figure this out. What you put in that space matters. What do you picture that room to look like when you are done?

Step 2: Tell Your Story

Little Miss Mustard Seed does a masterful job of teaching you how to tell your story in a home. Your is the key here. Don’t compare yourself to instagram perfect pictures! Do your thing in your home. You can tell your story as you define your space.

Step 3: Statement Piece

Start by choosing a statement piece for your room. Wondering what a statement piece is? Anything that inspires you that you would want to put in your space.

Step 4: Determine Your Focal Point

In her book, Feels Like Home Marian helps you figure out a focal point for your room. You learn what that is and how to figure out where to put it. This is crucial because it determines the whole look of your room. It isn’t hard just may take you a little while to decide. You don’t have to rush and be open to lots of possibilities!

Step 5: Layering

You hear this word a lot in design. Layer your room. Marian walks you through layering explaining how to use texture, colors, and patterns. It really makes a room look homey and comfy. She is so expert at helping explain these terms and steps in ways that a beginner can understand and beautiful pictures to show you how to achieve it. You can refer to her book over and over again to achieve the right mix of layering in your room.

Step 6: Show Off Your Personality

This is one of my favorite concepts presented in Marian’s book. She encourages you to showcase your personality in your space. There are so many ways to do this and this is what makes your space uniquely yours and beautiful. Marian makes it fun giving you an assignment to create ways to showcase your own personality. I love a touch of whimsical so I totally welcome this step in designing a room in my home.

Step 7: Adding The Unexpected

Putting something unexpected in the room you are decorating, adds a welcome element of surprise to all who visit your space. For example, some vintage snowshoes or maybe a painting you did when you were in the 5th grade might work. Whatever fits in your room and adds that special touch to make it a fun space to be in. This is again a component of Feels Like Home and making it a place you want to be in.

Step 8: Color In Your Room

Marian explains the way around this tricky subject. Color can make or break a room. It pays to have a bit of helpful advice if you plan to paint your room. She is an expert having painted murals on walls for people and in her own home. Don’t get discouraged though. She will walk you through paint samples and how to choose the right color. for your space. She also teaches you how to paint a mural. So courage take for goodness sake!

Step 9: What Is Your Room’s Purpose

As you look at the room you are going to be putting together, what will you be doing in that room? Is it a family gathering place, a place to eat, sleep, play games? What is the essential purpose of this space? Something to consider as Marian guides you through this step. It really does effect the way you will design your room. So it is an important piece of the puzzle so to speak.

Step 10: Start By Using What You Have

Take stock of what you currently have to decorate with include furniture pieces and accessories. This makes so much sense! Miss Mustard Seed as Marian Parsons is called on her blog, gives you plenty of ideas for doing this very thing. Start there and you may surprise yourself how much money you can save by making over your existing furniture and redoing or using accessories you already have in your home. Possibly by moving something from one room to the room that you are decorating you will have just what you need.

Step 11: What Works? What Doesn’t In Your Space

This subject gets visited in the book while you are planning your room. Have you ever wanted to move your furniture to a certain spot and then you make a lot of effort to move it to a spot you thought would be great and it just doesn’t work. Not enough space for the layout or not enough light? Marian has already thought that through and gives you advice on this step.

Step 12: Architectural Elements How To

This book is simply amazing! The steps for several DIY projects are shown and explained in such simple terms that with a little know how you can do your own architectural elements that will take your room from ordinary to outstanding! Love the pictures and the useful instructions of each tutorial. A list of supplies is given to help you prepare for your DIY project.

Step 13: When Decorating A Room, Consider The Season Of Life You Are In

If you have young children at home, you may need to figure out a place to put toys if you keep them in a main room of your home. It”s ok if you have to work around toys in your space. It won’t be forever. You might need some creative containers to hold the toys. Where are you at in your life? You can make your space grow with you no matter the season.

Step 14: DIY Projects

DIYers rejoice! From wall papering to painting walls, and repurposing furniture, this book is chock full of DIY projects and how tos that will inspire your creativity to finish the room you are decorating from start to finish. It’s refreshing to have tutorials shared and shown that give you the confidence to try new things.

Step 15: Storage Containers

Storage containers help keep your clutter under control. You can think outside the box when finding storage containers for your needs. Look around your home first. You may have baskets, galvanized containers, buckets, even drawers can be considered storage containers. Marian Parsons can get you organized in no time with her ideas and pictures.

Step 16:Textiles Finish Your Room

Marian is expert at decorating with textiles. Whether you use beautiful textiles in your curtains, furniture, rugs, on walls, table linens, or on beds, wherever, this gives your space a finished look that makes it comfortable and stunning. She guides you through the process of choosing textiles and how to display them.

Step 17: Lighting

Another important topic is lighting. Where should you put it and what kind of lights should you put in your space. Lighting changes the look of the room. It affects paint colors on walls, and just how warm and welcoming your room appears to be. No worries. Marian can help you with this element of decor too.

Step 18: Customize Your Walls

There are many ways to decorate your walls other than using the simplest way of all which is painting. There are many ways to paint your walls too and many types of paint. Marian gives a lot of options and guides for doing this in her book Feels Like Home.

Step 19: Scale In Your Room

You want to make sure everything fits in your room. Furniture and accessories should be fit to scale which means not too big and not too small for your space. Once again, this book will teach you the ins and outs.

Step 20: Be Confident In Your Creativity

When you decorate, your room should speak to you. It should feel like you and your style. I love how Marian encourages those who read the book to not be afraid of using their own creativity. Your room doesn’t have to look Pinterest perfect or Instagram beautiful. It is like she gives you license to decorate your space using what you think will look great and feel great in the space.

Step 21: What Works And What Doesn’t Work

Once you have started putting your room together, take a good look around. What is working? Is there anything that doesn’t work? Feels Like Home serves as a great reference, one that I found hard to put down because of all the little and all the big details written by Marian like what is working in your space and what needs to be changed.

Step 22: Accessorize

Accessories are like frosting on the cake and make a house look like a home. Marian’s photographs show you how to accessorize a room along with explanations of successful ways to do this in your space.

Step 23: Loving What You Have In Your Space

Once your room is decorated following Marian’s ideas for creating a room with your own creativity, the unexpected, lighting, textiles, etc…you will be able to love what you have. I live in a 50 year old home. We are renovating a little at at time. I love her example of always apologizing to people for what she hadn’t done in her home yet. (Something I am guilty of) until she decided that she needed to cherish the home she had. Love that you can be proud of your home and fill your spaces with what sings to you and on your own time frame. Maybe you will add some new things as well. It is your call.

Feels Like Home can help you decorate your home in a way that does just that, feels like home! It can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.