Photo by Ahmet Yüksek
I have spent years working in and around interior design, and yet, I do not love my own couches. They are not the right shape or color, but with young kids and a move around the corner, I find it is not worth replacing them yet. And while I dislike the couches, every week our extended family gathers and we spend time together on them.
I choose to live with these couches for now because I firmly believe a home, just like a life, can be beautiful enough as it is. Our homes do not need to be picture perfect to serve us well.
Pinterest and Instagram perfect homes and lives are exhausting and unrealistic, and we’ve become too hard on ourselves because our homes never measure up to somebody else’s highlight reel. We’re probably all familiar with this concept, yet how many of us still strive for it? I know that I catch myself falling into this trap sometimes.
A few years ago, I created a manifesto to help me nail down my beliefs about home. I started with the concept that a home does not need to be perfectly put together like a showroom to be complete. Rather, a home needs to be focused more on the people within it and what they need, rather than the latest design trend or color palette.
With that at the core of my beliefs, I created this manifesto.
The Beautifully Enough Manifesto
by Marcie Dennis
I believe that home is not a showroom.
It’s a place to be fully known and deeply loved.
A place to gather, rest, and grow.
I believe that the best homes are not the most put together.
They are the ones where meaning matters more than matching.
The ones that make space for calm, connection, and everyday delight.
I believe in curating spaces that serve your life—not add stress to it.
Where things work for your stage in life, right now – not someday.
You should be able to focus on the heart of your home: the people in it.
I believe delight lives in the details,
when there is a bit of whimsy in your home.
A cozy chair, a fantastical art piece, a funny little plant holder,
Light that dances across your walls at just the right hour.
I believe your home should be designed for connection:
For family meals, laughter with friends, tears shed with a loved one.
I believe your home is allowed to evolve with you.
To hold your grief and your joy, your chaos and your calm.
I believe in the quiet beauty of a home,
welcoming others in even when things are unfinished,
and in honoring what is already good.
I believe your home should not look like anyone else’s.
It just needs to feel like yours.
And I believe that is more than enough.
Beautifully enough.
There is beauty in our homes when we offer peace, comfort, and hospitality. A good seating placement allows a space to crash at the end of the day to just breathe and restore sanity. It offers people the chance to gather with friends and catch up for a few hours because they are comfortable. There is beauty in the mismatched family heirloom piece because of the story it holds. It invites the opportunity to share the memory of a loved one.
My home is an embodiment of this. It is warm and welcoming and hosts many kinds of gatherings between family and friends. And yet, I have unfinished projects on my porch and in my bathroom which are just waiting for a weekend when I have the desire and impulse to complete them. My furniture is not as cohesive as I would like, yet nobody ever walks in and comments on it. Instead, they tell me they feel comfortable and welcome in my home. So, for now, it is beautiful enough.
We want to fill our lives with things that are beautiful and good for our souls, good for our mental health, and good for our relationships and goals in life. We can be honest and mindful of our budgets, time constraints and season of life so that we are living true to what God has called us to at each different stage. We can fill our lives with things that uplift, heal, and restore instead of things that distract, destroy, and drag us down. These could be things of beauty like art, music, literature, healthy relationships, faith, and loving others. There are many options open to us.
It is important to remember though, we will never be perfect and complete this side of heaven, and we are beautiful enough as we are. What our lives and our homes need more than the perfect color palette or artwork is grace. Grace is looking at our lives and our homes and saying, “This could be different and it could be better, but it is beautiful enough as it is and I am going to stop striving for perfection because I know that God has given me grace for my home and my life.” It does not mean that we stop growing, it just means we can see the beauty where we are now and celebrate that!
God gives us grace when we mess up repeatedly. He gives us grace when we focus more on the image our home presents than we do on the people within it. God’s grace comes from his great love for us, and it helps us live with the imperfections of life.
Remember my couches? I did not want to always think about how I dislike them, so I spent time researching what I would want instead, for when the timing is right. This way, each time I use a couch, I remember what it will be like one day, and I pause to appreciate the work they do now to serve my family well. My home will never be perfect, but it is filled with grace and love for my family so for me, that is beautiful enough.
