Here’s a fun little game for today: What is your favorite purchase for your home? Was it an impulse or planned? It can be anything, from a vase you thrifted for $1 to a swimming pool you added for $50,000+. Are you the only one in your home who enjoys it, or do others too?
My Favorite Purchases for My Home
Hmmmn… a few things come to mind right away, although I’m sure the commenters will inspire more thoughts…
Blue vases. A while ago I saw an estate auction for a lot that included a ton of small blue vases. I really like blue so I bid on and bought the lot for about $30, figuring it would be a win if I kept a few of the vases and then Goodwill’d the rest. But instead I really like all of them and have them scattered around Casa Griffin, often displayed on windows or in groupings.
There was even a blue glass mantlepiece clock that I didn’t even focus on while purchasing it that turns out to look absolutely gorgeous when the sun reflects through it.
(I did have to buy a new clockpiece for it on Amazon for about $20 because the older clock didn’t work, but it was worth it!)
Paint. This is going to sound weird but in recent years I’ve never regretted painting walls, even though I still feel like my baseline is white walls. We even painted the ceiling in one room a medium blue and it makes me so happy!
It wasn’t always thus — in my very first apartment after college, my roommate and I put up a fake wall to create a second bedroom, and we decided to paint the fake wall a “bright, cheerful yellow” so it didn’t feel too dark in the kitchen/shared area. Let me tell you: Finding the right yellow is very difficult, and it still makes me wince to think of what a yuck yellow it was.
I’m always incredibly wary of wallpaper, having grown up in homes with peeling and/or gross wallpaper, but we’re going to try to wallpaper our powder room soon — I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
Top down, bottom up window shades. We got these for a number of windows and I really love them — they bring privacy but a ton of natural light. I keep the ones in our bedroom entirely closed but for the top quarter or so of the window, and I love it because I can wake up with gentle natural light. (I also like that I can sometimes see the moon.)
Smart lights. I’ve always thought that overhead lights aren’t great — they’re just way too bright in the evening — but walking around and turning on a bunch of lamps can be a pain in the butt. (Yes, I am incredibly lazy.) So I really love being able to put smart lights in, set up automations so they go on just before sunset and mostly turn off before my youngest’s bedtime. It makes our home feel intentionally lit but cozy also.
I mostly buy Hue these days, but I’ve tried a bunch of different lights — they all work well but it’s a bit like food storage containers in that you should pick one brand and stick with it. (Otherwise you’ll end up with a billion apps that need updates and maintenance.)
Plug-in sconces for above our bedside tables. I’m one of those people who keeps way too much stuff on my bedside table, and it eventually felt really crowded to have a lamp on the table. So we bought some gorgeous plug-in sconces from Rejuvenation a few years ago, and they still make me happy. (As do the warm Edison lights we have in the sconces.)
Readers, how about you — what have been your favorite purchases for your home?
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!