Issue 13

www.seriouslifemagazine.com
 
The Nester
 
My first acquaintance with "The Nester" was when someone sent me a link and told me I should check out her blog.  I instantly loved what she was doing and wanted to know more... especially about the name.

"The Nester" turns out to have a very unusual, and beautiful, name which I'll not reveal here. If she wants people to know, she'll do that on her own blog. Here's what The Nester says about her own blog:

Hi there! I’m known as The Nester {my real name is quite unique and difficult to pronounce until you hear it} and I started Nesting Place in November of 2007. I’ve always had a love affair with my house, ok, with all houses, and this blog is a place for women to come and find decorating encouragement, creative ideas, and be reminded that “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.

I’m a design school drop out who took a week long course so I could be a certified home stager and redesigner. So I don’t have much training as far as schooling but, I’ve had lots of experience in real houses. My husband is an ambitious entrepreneur so we have had a few times of plenty and lots of lean times. We have lived in 13 different houses/apartments/condos some for only a month or two while waiting on a closing, some for years.

About five years ago my husband and I decided to save up a little cash every month to put towards furnishing our home. We sat down together and made a plan. I focused on one room at a time and committed myself to use the money wisely and purchase items that would serve our family well for years in any home. It was fun and scary and rewarding.
I do not advocate going into debt to furnish your home.

Nesting Place was the name of my little tassel making business and then my redesign business. A few years ago we moved to a new city. Instead of going back into clients homes, I have decided to write about what I love. It’s my dream job. Now, if the pay were only better…

I knew The Nester would be a great story for SeriousLife so I asked her if she would do an interview.  Enjoy! PAGEBREAKHERE
First, for people new to your blog, give us a summary of what the blog is all about, and readers will find there…

Nesting Place is a blog about real decorating for real women with real budgets.  You'll find quick, easy, applicable projects and methods that you can do right now, to make your home a more beautiful place.  I'm a wife, mom, sister, laundry slave and cook first, then a design school drop out who loves to mess around with her home decor who happens to have a blog.  We all want a pretty house but most of us cannot afford to hire a designer.  That's where Nesting Place comes in with the motto "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."



When did you start the blog? Why did you start the blog?

In 2005 I started a home decor, redesign and home staging business called Nesting Place.   Two years later, we moved to a new town and instead of pursuing design work I opted to home-school our 3 boys and not work outside of the home.  My sister and my dad, who are both exceptional writers and communicators, had both been bloggers for years so I knew what a blog was, but never thought I would have one because I didn't enjoy writing.  To me, blogs were for writers with deep thoughts--not for regular people like me.

However, I was lonely in a new town and had left my little redesign business behind.  I stumbled on a few design blogs and came to realize that blogs could be about anything.  There were no rules!  I realized that it was ok to have a blog that was less about using the perfect words and more about photos and documenting my decor dilemmas.  I started Nesting Place in November of 2007.

How has the blog changed from when it started, until now? 

For the first few months of blogging I actually worried that real designers would tell me off, have me arrested or laugh me off of the internet.   I was breaking all the design rules by not measuring stuff, hot gluing fabric, and spray painting side tables.  Oh the humanity.

I think Nesting Place has done more for me than for anyone else. It's given me confidence to believe what I preach, that it really, truly doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.  I used to be ashamed of my hot glued, no sew window "mis"treatments.  Now I show them off and encourage my friends that they can hot glue fabric too, saving hundreds of dollars and loads of time, and maybe even their sanity.  Talking and writing about my home so much has forced me to evaluate what the purpose of our home is, and make sure it's there to serve our ever changing needs as a family. 



I also find a great sense of satisfaction knowing that women are being encouraged and finding contentment in their home.  I believe that every woman can love the home she is in right now.  I want women to love coming home, and love having people over.  Our homes are there to serve us, they are the backdrop to our lives.  You can easily surround yourself with meaningful beauty in your home with just a little trial and error and creativity.  Oh and with Nesting Place and the Nester there to guide you.

Also, now because of Nesting Place the blog, I can live my dream life as a hermit and not have to go into the homes of strangers to do what I love.  I'm able to write about decor, help women with their homes and bring in some income through ad revenue and ebooks, all while sitting in my pj's.  It's too good to be true, an introvert's heaven.

What do you see as the future for the blog? What are you wanting to accomplish?

I have no idea, but I'm having a fantastic time.  I really should make some goals though, huh?  Any ideas?



Okay, I have to ask about your name… can you tell us about it? Does it have a meaning? A story behind it? (if you are not comfortable with this question, then skip it)

I have a very unique first name, one that I don't give away online.  When I meet people in person I always introduce myself by my real name but here, on the internet that is stuffed full of killers and the like, I use The Nester.  Lots of people know my real name but everyone's been good about not revealing it. Looking back, it probably would have been better if I just would have used my real name, being anonymous only makes people more curious.  Or maybe I'm an 80 year old bald man who lives in Canada.

Let’s role play… I’m a new reader, just discovered your blog… what do hope my first impression is? What would you point me to as a new reader to give me the best and most accurate first impression of your blog?

I hope when people somehow land on Nesting Place that  they have a sense of hope for their home and be freed from the myth of perfection.  I want women to look at a project or photo and think "well, I can do THAT," and then go shop their house, move a few things around and realize they love what they have.  It's ok if there is an extra nail hole in the wall.  It's good to try the sofa in a different spot.  You can paint the brick and whitewash the wood.  The quickest way to get a feel for Nesting Place is to click on The Best of the Nest and from there, My Philosophy of a Home.  Did you ever even think someone would have a philosophy for their home?  Well I do.



I see you have a “tassel making” and “redesign” business… tell us about those?

Six years ago I started making decorative tassels for fun and that somehow, despite my lack of people skills led to me selling them at shows and in cute boutiques and that somehow, despite my lack of computer skills, led to selling them online, and that somehow, despite my lack of business skills led to me wholesaling them and creating a tassel line for DaySpring a division of Hallmark, and then I wrote an ebook about how to make decorative tassels and somehow, despite my lack of writing skills it has sold over 400 copies in a month.  I have no idea how it happened.  All I know is that I kept doing what I loved to do and somehow it was successful. And fun.  And now I don't even have time to make tassels, the blog itself keeps me so busy.  I've found that I enjoy writing the blog even more than making tassels.   I would encourage everyone reading this to always make time to do what they love to do, you never know where it could lead.



I also spent some time as a home stager {for home that are for sale} and redesigner {using people's current decor and rearranging it so it works much better in their home}.  I think I'm gifted in both of these areas but I quickly realized that I was way out of my comfort zone going into stranger's homes.  Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not a big people person and my introverted self wished there was a way for me to be a stager who somehow stayed home and worked, a highly unlikely dream.

Your home décor photography is really nice… do you have any tips or tricks you can share about how to take nice photos inside your home?

At Nesting Place, photos are more than half of the information.  The majority of photos that you see are of my own home, that I took with my little Nikkon D40.  I am FAR from a professional when it comes to photos.  I have no idea what I'm doing and no right to tell anyone how to take photos inside their house but here goes:
  • Take advantage of every ounce of natural light
  • Turn on every other light source in the room
  • Take 3 times as many photos as you will think you need
  • Take photos from lots of different angles, high, low, over, under
  • Don't use the flash unless you are a professional with one of those fancy flashes
  • Don't try to remove the all the imperfections in your home for a photo--they make a room believable and relateable: a dish of cut up fruit, sneakers and some toys on the floor, a kid made bed--a home well loved is a beautiful home.


You’ve got everyone’s attention, and here’s the perfect chance to “market” what you are doing… what would you like to say to our readers?

If you have given up on the dream of having a pretty home, then Nesting Place is for you.  If you love to move your furniture and are always wanting to try the latest color out in your home, then Nesting Place is for you.  If you require that everything in your house be perfect, all furniture be high end from the classiest shops, and believe unlined drapes are a sin to be reckoned with, Nesting Place is NOT for you.  



Copyright 2010 | Serious.Life Magazine | Brent Riggs - Editor | brent@brentriggs.com