I wrote this one year ago and wanted to share what we’ve been able to change so far, here’s what I wrote last year, I’ll add an update below..

A year ago, Hurricane Helene took down about a third of the beautiful established trees in our yard. Then this summer, we lost three more trees that we didn’t realize had also been damaged from the hurricane. We were so lucky that we only had yard damage.

But it completely changed our backyard from a finished, private, shady galley, to an exposed, sunny, bigger feeling yard because of all the missing trees. Plus, it’s just torn up and bare because of all the machinery.

It’s time for us to figure out our backyard.

before

Yes. I’m tempted to go out and buy all the pretty flowers and focus on that, because ultimately, I long to be surrounded by beauty and a bunch of blooms. But that’s the equivalent of having a room you’re not happy with and going out and buying a cute vase, throw pillows and new candle. 

This is exactly how I used to try to “decorate” my house. I know this never works because it doesn’t solve the real problem.

Which brings us to the next issue: What is the actual problem anyway?

You have to define the problem before you can solve it.

30 days after Helene

I’ve found that putting the literal problems into words is the most helpful way to find actual solutions. Even with something as creative as figuring out a backyard or a family room.

For our backyard, we’ve lost lots of our boundaries. Which feels like we have a room without any walls. We also have patchy grass, and desperately need mulch and some pathways. Basically we need to work on the “floor” of our yard.

Beyond that, I want zones. Chad and I sit on the front porch a lot, but we don’t have a place to sit in the backyard. I want a designated place to sit and eat dinner close to the back door, a place to sit around the fire pit where we aren’t exposed to all our neighbors and don’t have to look at our cars. We want some privacy.

NOW I know what problems I need to solve (and, of course, I want it to look pretty, too).

I love solving problems beautifully. Whether it’s in the yard or in the house.

If you are feeling stuck, unmotivated or frustrated with your home, it’s my greatest joy to help you. You don’t need to know WHY you’re stuck, I can help you with that! 

But whatever you do, DO NOT believe the lie that you have to wait for perfect circumstances to get started. 

You don’t need a dream house to create a home you’re proud of.

Join me for a free, live masterclass, 
September 22, 2026 at noon EST (replay provided). 

One year later… an update

We ended up having a deadline of March 28th of this year because we hosted our son’s wedding. Chad married Gavin and Sarah on our front porch, then we all went to the backyard for the reception. I took the photo above out our kitchen window yesterday morning.

The backyard the morning of the wedding.

The backyard right before the reception.

The back patio this morning.

Same spot before Helene, we just had steps to nowhere. but we do miss the big black walnut and the zillions of trees we lost.

Look how huge that tree was next to our house!

Now we have a nice patio and fire pit area. We’ve created zones, we have grass and stone and some structure. We still have lots to do, but it’s coming along and the yard doesn’t make me as sad as it used to right after the hurricane.

For the wedding, we emptied the patio and there was enough room for a DJ and dance floor.

Read more about the wedding here,
click here or the graphic below for links to our patio items, and 
here’s where I ordered the little white structure in the middle of the backyard.

The post The Backyard Project appeared first on Nesting Place.

Transitioning my life and my home from summer into autumn, sadly, isn’t as much about the change in temperature as it is about the change of daily rhythms, commitments, and expectations. 

Even though our boys (men), are done with their back to school days, this time of year still feels like a fresh start for me as a maker of the home, and in my work.

I’m writing this on September 1st and I’m ready to read some cozy books, I’m burning an autumn candle, and last week I bought a sweater that I won’t get to wear for at least a month.

I’m also thinking about my home and the slow transition from a humid, hazy summer to a crisp fall where we can open the windows and finally eat dinner on the back patio again.

As always, I want my house to feel like it’s in keeping with the seasons – and this year, as I’ve been talking about House Hushing, I have that familiar sense of wanting to add some fall feels into my home without it becoming overwhelming.

Before you decorate for the season, decide how you want to experience it.

Consider what this particular autumn holds for you.

Are you hosting something, starting a new project, adding more responsibilities? Maybe you had an intense summer and you need some recovery time. 

What do you want more of?
What do you want to protect?

How do you want your home—and your days—to feel?

In the Living Seasonally section of House Hushing, I share four steps to take to move from one season to the next in your home and life. 

Edit, Audit, Plan and Pick

You do want to work through them in order (the word work makes it sound hard, it’s actually fun and quick!), but today I want to talk about the Picking part.

Pick three words that set your intention of the kind of autumn you need, crave and hope to experience this year. 

I thought I had my three words picked last week, but they weren’t quite right. Here’s where I landed:

These words help guide me as I’m considering what to add to my calendar, as I’m in the glorious halls of Hobby Lobby and see the most adorable scarecrow, as I think about buying a new cookbook.

I can ask myself, does this help me be unhurried, is it homemade or can I make it? Does it support me tending to my family, home or myself? 

Since I already know that’s what I want, I can be picky with scheduling extra things, say no to the robot made scarecrow, and say yes to a new cookbook that will have me making yummy foods.

I shared this on Instagram last week and here are some of the three words people are picking:

If you need more simple seasonal ideas, there’s an entire section on Living Seasonally in the House Hushing book. It’s less about how to decorate, and more about creating a seasonal home that serves you during whatever your unique season of life is right now. I think you’re going to love it!

The post Before You Decorate for Fall appeared first on Nesting Place.

• For the Love with Jen Hatmaker: Your House is Talking to You with Myquillyn Smith
• Depth with Jodi Snowdon – Episode 260: House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith
• The Organized Coach – Episode 182: House Hushing…for the win! with Myquillyn Smith
• Millennial Minimalists – Hush Your House with Myquillyn Smith
• Wanna Be Clutter Free – Episode 323: The 12 Minute Method That Quiets Any Room
• Moms Overcoming Overwhelm – Episode 251: House Hushing: The Key to a Simple, Peaceful Home – with Myquillyn Smith
• The Alli Worthington Show: How to Declutter Without Losing What You Love with Myquillyn Smith
• 1000 Hours Outside – Episode 898: Putting Mouth Tape On Your House | Myquillyn Smith, House Hushing
• Clutterbug – Episode 340: The Secret Minimalists Won’t Tell You (because it’s not minimalism!)
• Restoration Home – Making a Decluttered Home Effortless with Myquillyn Smith
• Minimalist Moms – Episode 462: [How To] Declutter Without Losing Your Style | Myquillyn Smith
• All Mom Does – House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith
• Simple Purposeful Living: Want a Home That Feels Peaceful Instead of Cluttered? Myquillyn Smith’s House Hushing Method
• Design Curious – Episode 205: House Hushing Framework for Beautiful, Soulful Homes with Myquillyn Smith
• These Are the Good Days – Episode 200: House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith
• Paring Down – Episode 201: Declutter by House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith
• The Mary Marantz Show: How to SHOW UP In the Hushed Seasons with Myquillyn Smith
• Minimal-ish – Episode 301: Hushing Your Home with Myquillyn Smith (The Nester)
• Tried and Truth Podcast: What Is Your Home Saying to You? How to Hush Your House Without Losing the Beauty
• Slow Style Home: Does Your House Need Hushing? Backwards Decluttering with Myquillyn Smith

The post Podcast Interviews with The Nester, 2026 appeared first on Nesting Place.

When my boys were in diapers, I always kept a little shallow container with diapers, wipes, lotions and a few toys under the sofa so I could change them without moving far from the sofa.

We haven’t needed diapers in 23 years, but I loved the convenience of having a stash of stuff right at my fingertips, especially under the sofa.

My sofa tray currently holds hair ties, lotions, a nail file, chapstick, pens, sticky notes, cuticle oil, notecards, a journal, highlighters, reading glasses and even a tiny jewelry box – because I find myself wanting to take off any jewelry the moment I sit down.

I make sure to use a tray that is slick on the bottom so it easily glides on the rug under the sofa. It lives under the sofa, I reach down and pull it out if I’m sitting and need something, then I push it right back under. It’s like a secret drawer.

If you’re standing up you don’t even see the tray. Here’s what it looks like if you’re sitting on the floor. I love that the inlay design is like a fun little surprise if someone happens to catch a glimpse.

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post The Sofa Tray appeared first on Nesting Place.

each section below is clickable if you want more information

PS, this is my current favorite puzzle.

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post 10 Ordinary Things I’m Loving This Summer appeared first on Nesting Place.

There are days when it feels like my house starts talking the moment I walk through the door.

Put me away.

Return me.

Clean me.

Fix me.

Use me.

Don’t forget me.

A basket of laundry, an Amazon return, fingerprints on the refrigerator (somehow all mine?), a stack of mail, a plant that needs watering, dishes in the sink. 

None of those things are a problem on their own. They are the basic stuff of life. 

The problem is that they’re all speaking at once along with everything else I own.

That’s what overwhelm often feels like—not one loud voice, but a hundred quiet voices competing for your attention.

before hushing

Your brain is remarkably good at noticing unfinished tasks and competing demands. 

When every room is asking something from you, your attention gets pulled in a dozen directions before you’ve even taken your shoes off.

No wonder you feel exhausted before you’ve started dinner.

One of the ideas at the heart of House Hushing is learning to listen to what your home is saying instead of feeling bullied by it.

after hushing

Our homes are constantly communicating. 

The question isn’t whether they’re speaking. It’s whether we choose to do something about it. You don’t have to try to listen (or ignore) everything your house is saying.

The beautiful thing is that as your house becomes more hushed, the conversation changes.

The everyday voices don’t disappear. There will always be dishes to wash, counters to wipe, groceries to put away, and a package to return.

But instead of fifty things asking for your attention all at once, there might only be three.

before hushing

Your nervous system can handle life. 

It struggles when every object in your home competes for your attention at the same time.  

And when you’ve decided to allow every room to have 50,000 items on display, sitting out, whether decorative, or a hoard, they all want your eyeball’s attention and take a toll on your nervous system.

House Hushing doesn’t eliminate the work of maintaining a home—it simply lowers the visual volume. 

Suddenly, everything is calm and easier.

When the visual noise quiets, the ordinary tasks of daily life no longer feel like they’re shouting over one another.

after hushing

A hushed home isn’t a home where nothing needs to be done.

It’s a home where the important voices can finally be heard.

And that’s why House Hushing isn’t about creating a perfect home.

 It’s about creating a home that no longer shouts over your life.

hushed

You deserve to feel more at peace in the home you already have.

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post Wait. Is Your House an Extrovert?! appeared first on Nesting Place.

There are women who have stopped waiting for permission to love the home they already have.

They aren’t waiting for the renovation, a bigger budget, the kids to grow up, or a different house.

They buy flowers from the grocery store because Tuesday deserves flowers.

They read on the porch for twenty minutes without apologizing.

They notice the afternoon light moving across the table (because it’s not covered in stuff!)

They host a game night before waiting to have matching chairs.

They’ve stopped believing that life begins later – when the house is finished, when they have more time, when they finally figure out their style.

I’ve spent the last thirty years moving into fifteen different homes with my husband while raising our three boys. Every move was another chance to create a beautiful home.

For a long time, I thought that was the goal.

If I wanted a prettier house, I just needed to add more. More pillows, art, charm!

But after living in a few homes long enough to settle in, I noticed something surprising.

Beautiful wasn’t the same as quiet.

A room could be beautiful…
…and still feel busy.

It could be beautiful…
…and still give me the job of moving styled stuff every time I needed to use a surface.

It could be beautiful…
…and still whisper, “straighten me, dust me…”

So I assumed I had a decorating problem.

Maybe I needed better furniture or I hadn’t found my style. Maybe I just needed another house.

But I wasn’t longing for more beauty.

I was longing for a home that gave something back.

Decorated without being demanding.

Cozy without feeling crowded.

Full of soul without being full of stuff.

Quiet enough to hear myself think.

I desperately wanted a home I could walk into and exhale.

I’d been solving the wrong problem.

I didn’t need another house.

I needed a different relationship with the one I already had.

And that’s when I started hushing my house.

It didn’t happen overnight.

It happened one quiet decision at a time.

I wrote House Hushing for women who are tired of waiting for life to begin after the next project.

Women who want enough room to leave a puzzle on the table, enough margin to bring flowers in from the yard, enough peace to start dinner without first clearing a landing spot.

Women who are ready to love the home they already have.

You deserve to feel more at peace in the home you already have.

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post Decorated, But Not Demanding appeared first on Nesting Place.

If you’ve decluttered the same room three times…

If you’ve bought baskets, bins and organizers…

If you’ve watched every Netflix show and every YouTube video and your house still feels overwhelming…

It probably isn’t because you lack discipline.

We’ve been taught to start in the hardest place.

Most decluttering advice starts with decisions.

Do I keep it?
Donate it?
Sell it?
What if I regret it?
What if I need it?

No wonder we’re exhausted before we even begin.

The first thing most methods ask us to do is the hardest thing.

Your brain needs proof before it makes decisions.

Instead of starting with a bunch of permanent decisions about whether or not to keep beautiful things you love, wouldn’t it be easier if you could first prove that your room is still going to look and feel great (actually, even better) with less stuff?

You experience the peace first.

You learn what you actually miss. (Spoiler, it’s gonna be a lot less than you think!)

You get the reward before you do the hard work.

That changes everything.

The real goal isn’t less stuff.

The goal isn’t owning less.

The goal is creating a home that asks less of you.

A home where you can find the scissors.
Where the counters are ready for dinner.
Where you can invite someone over.
Where doing the dishes feels quietly luxurious.
Where you actually want to stay.

That’s what a house that’s been hushed provides.

Imagine walking through your front door 

and feeling relief instead of responsibility.

Your home should restore your energy instead of requiring it.

That’s why I wrote House Hushing.

Not because I think you should own less.

But because I believe you deserve to feel more at peace in the home you already have. 

lots of pictures & even a couple blank pages in House Hushing, keep your head above water

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post Why Decluttering Hasn’t Worked appeared first on Nesting Place.

There have been times I’ve walked into my kitchen from the grocery store, arms so full you’d think I’m competing on Survivor.

I go to set the bags on the island but it’s covered in mail, dishes, Amazon returns, crumbs, my basil plant, and something sticky.

So I head for the counter by the sink.

Nope.

A pretty vintage riser holds paper towels, salt and pepper, and a tiny terrarium. Beside the sink are flowers from the yard that need tossing, dishes drying on a towel, my mixer, a cookbook stand.

There’s nowhere to land.

I end up setting the groceries on the floor.

And suddenly putting away groceries feels like twelve separate jobs.

Can we just order takeout?

Then I walk into the family room.

It’s clean. Vacuumed, even.

But every surface is occupied.

Books. Candles. Plants. Chargers. Coffee cups. Magazines. Blankets. Decorative objects.

Can you relate?

My house won’t let me have a moment’s peace.

It’s overflowing with the beautiful.

The functional.

The meaningful.

The gifted.

And all the things I haven’t quite figured out what to do with.

My house is visually loud.

Visual noise doesn’t just clutter your home.

It clutters your mind.

Even if you’ve technically decluttered.

Even if everything you own is “good stuff.”

Even if your home is beautifully decorated.

If every surface is full,
if every corner is working overtime,
if your eyes don’t know where to land…

…your home is still noisy.

And noise—even visual noise—is exhausting.

When you walk into a visually loud room, your brain doesn’t think,

“How beautiful.”

It starts working.

Do these flowers need to go?

Why are there three remotes?

Should I finally donate that basket?

Why do I own twelve candles?

Visual noise quietly activates your brain when what you really need is for your home to help you deactivate.

That’s why visual noise is so depleting.

But here’s the tension.

I don’t want quiet at the expense of soul.

And I don’t want soul at the expense of peace.

I want both.

I want a home that can handle real life—groceries, projects, guests, and ordinary Tuesday afternoons.

I want a home filled with beauty and meaning.

And I want enough margin to actually live inside it.

That’s soulful simplicity.

I spent years trying to declutter my house.

It turns out I wasn’t trying to own less.

I was trying to feel more at peace.

Those are two very different goals.

That’s why I wrote House Hushing.

Not because I think you should own less.

But because I believe you deserve to feel more at peace in the home you already have. 

Preorder any version of House Hushing from anywhere before its release and claim your 2 free gifts:

1. The Audiobook
2. The 30 Minute Style Solution: find your style, train your eye, shop anywhere with confidence (watch instantly!)

The post When your home won’t let you relax appeared first on Nesting Place.

I used to think finding wall art (anything that hangs on a wall) was my biggest decorating weakness.

Maybe it still is.

It’s really difficult for me to find wall art I truly love. If you came to my house and paid attention to my walls, you’d notice there isn’t much hanging on them for the size of our house.

And yet…it still feels finished. Cozy. Complete.

So when I find something I’m drawn to, I pay attention.

For months, I walked past this silver-and-black candle sconce at my local antique mall. Then one day it was marked down to $29, and I brought it home.

I loved the metalwork. The flowers and leaves remind me of my bedroom chandelier. 

And bonus—it holds candles. I love wall art that can shapeshift depending on the season or the room.

I moved my huge plant off the column while the sconce auditioned

But once I got the sconce home…

I didn’t love it.

With candles.
Without candles.

It was waaaaaay too busy. Too bossy. Too loud.

But, I still loved the piece.

So instead of getting rid of it, I painted it the same color as the walls in the snug (Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green).

Immediately it felt calmer. But it still wasn’t right. I put it in the basement while I worked through the Order of Decor in some other rooms.

I tried it in the guest room. Nope. Back to the basement.

Almost a year later, I hung it in the snug.

And suddenly…

it was home.

Because the sconce was the exact same color as the walls and trim, it no longer begged for attention.

Instead, it quietly became part of the room.

One of my House Rules says:

Contrast is queen…if you want to be seen.

Most people stop after the word queen.

They assume contrast is always the answer.

But contrast has one job:

To attract your attention.

Don’t be mad at me, but not everything in a room should try to get your attention. 

Some pieces are meant to anchor a room.
Some soften it.
Some simply support everything else.

This sconce didn’t become less beautiful when I painted it.

It just stopped trying to be the main character.

And I think our homes need more pieces like that.

Sometimes a room that asks less of your attention gives you so much more in return.

PS, Painting this sconce the same color as the wall is just one small example of Quiet Decorating, one of the four methods I teach in House Hushing, releasing in August. If you’d like a sneak peek, you can read the first two chapters here.

The post How to Turn Down the Contrast appeared first on Nesting Place.