It’s Super Bowl weekend, and since we live in Atlanta, it’s got us locked down in our neighborhood. Much to my husband’s chagrin, this means I’m contemplating projects.

I’ve been working on making our daughters’ rooms more functional spaces for them. We’re living in a rental, and while I can’t paint the walls and do some of the things I would do if it were our own home, I can do things to make it “ours”. As I’ve been doing this for the last few months, it’s occurred to me that there are so many of you out there, trying to style a place that probably feels less your style than you’d like, or more sterile than you’d prefer.

This is the first in a series of how to make a new place feel like home. I’ve done this 12 times, and with each move, I’ve gotten better and better at making a house a home, or a flat a home. This doesn’t just apply to rentals, but I just wanted to make sure you renters realize that these are all rental friendly fixes.

We’re going to start with shelving. We’ve had so many different kind of shelving situations. The infamous “cube” shelving from Ikea, standard bookshelves, traditional built-ins, and modern built ins.

People get really bent out of shape about styling shelves. Let’s stop for a minute. Take a breath. Think about things that you really love. You could Maria Kondo this and think of ‘what sparks joy’. Now, think of things that make sense paired together. We have items from our travels on our living room built ins, as well as coffee table books that we’ve collected from our favorite places. We also have some beautiful children’s books.

I think most people have some beautiful things that they’re proud to showcase, but have zero idea how to style it. First, let’s start with the rule of 3. I typically follow the rule of 3. This isn’t a hard rule, but it’s a healthy places to start. Take three things that make sense, for instance, pottery in the same color scheme, three books of similar theme, a row of 3 shelves such as the ones we have, where there are three strong, balanced items, similar in height. Trust your initial reaction. If things appear too busy, they are.

Height is a big thing for me. It’s okay to do things in a wave- low, high, low. Just make sure that when you look at your shelves- and I don’t mean stare and overthink them- they feel balanced. Look at the diagonal. Does it have a good flow?

Lastly, you may have a lot of beautiful things, I know we do! I like to put things on our IKEA cube shelves in our storage room where I can see, them, so I can easily change out what’s in our living room, or in other areas of the house. It keeps things fresh. I’ve been to so many homes where it looks like the shelves have been thrown up on, and if they were just willing to switch things out from time to time, rather than have 800 things out at a time, they’d really enjoy their home more.

Most of all, trust yourself. Whether you’re renting or not, it is your home. Make it yours! Don’t allow yourself to get frustrated, and just keep the shelves empty. Unpack, try some different configurations, and do what feels right.

Almost two years ago, my family and I moved to Zurich, Switzerland from Atlanta, Georgia. I was 32 weeks pregnant, moving pregnant and internationally for the second time. Excitement ran through my veins, curiosity enveloped my brain, and hope for a great life in our new home consumed many of my thoughts.

I know, there are a lot of blogs out there about being an expat. This is not one of those. Sure, I’ll occasionally take you along for the ride of my expat adventures and experiences, but above all else, this site has been born out of a desire to share that the world is a truly amazing place, filled with good things and fantastic people doing great things. I am the mother of three gorgeous girls, the wife of a global businessman, and the friend to people that live in and are from all pockets of the world. I am also an avid traveler, lover of international food, and I have learned that the global perspective, the global lifestyle we lead is something that could start a conversation, connect people, and inspire new thoughts, ideas, and even skills.

Earlier on in this journey, I wrote a food blog for many years (if you’d like to take a trip down my memory lane, it’s still online here). During the majority of that experience, I was a young, first-time mother who was moving every 6 months to 1 year. I was intensely curious about cooking the food of each place we lived in the healthiest way possible for our little girl. I immersed myself in the cultures and local cuisine of each place, taking as many cooking and baking courses as I could find. Eventually however, after becoming pregnant with our second child, my passion started to move in a new direction.

One of our early moves was to Florence, Italy. It was hands down the most influential move of my life. It was also what made me slowly drift away from writing a food blog. For Italians, food is not something to be Instagrammed; it’s important for their culture, family, and sense of place. I began thinking about things more broadly than before – my love for great food and fantastic restaurants was still there, but how could I incorporate it into something greater?

Living in a culture hub like Florence reignited my desire to chase after some of the dreams I’d been ignoring for fear of failure. I dreamt of learning about art, interior design, antiquing, and wine and I was in the perfect place for it! I went to so many markets, exhibitions, and pop up shops, learning about antiques and artisanal goods, and came to find (through a dear friend) that I have an eye for design and things that people want but aren’t sure how to access. By the time we left Italy, I felt I’d finally found that what I loved were things I could do for a living when I was ready.

Now that our youngest is almost 2, I’m finally pulling the rip-cord and am chasing my dream - Bow and Branch. I’m so excited for monthly features of business owners, artisans, and taste makers as well as frequent posts of my family’s adventures, fun finds, classes I’ve taken, and team building events I’ve hosted. Stay tuned here for more, and also check out my Instagram and Pinterest for an extra helping of “the good stuff”!!

Appreciating the beauty and peacefulness of the Temple of Debod in Madrid.