The Best of 2020|Open Doors Open Hearts

2020 has been full of so many trials. But I think if we take a closer look we can find beauty and successes that were birthed from 2020. Today I wanted to say thank you for the success we’ve experienced. You, yes YOU, are a huge part of our successes at Open Doors Open Hearts.

I’m so excited to share this post with you all. It feels surreal to think that I’ve been blogging for nearly 1 year! Just a little over 1 month until I reach the 1-year anniversary! So, I thought it would be fun to wrap the year up with a best of 2020 post.

This was hard for me because while I know not everything I published was AMAZING I can see growth and change with every post I created. But for now, I’ll share the posts that I’m most proud of and posts that I received the best feedback from you guys. So let’s get started on this best of 2020 roundup!

The Best of 2020

My First Milk Paint Experience

This was the first time I ever painted a piece of furniture. It was so much fun! Honestly, I can’t believe I haven’t done another milk paint project since this. So many things to do and not enough time I suppose. I do have my eye on another piece of furniture in our living room for a milk paint project. Who knows, maybe that will be on the best of 2021 roundup.

This project really helped push me out of my comfort zone. It was simple and the risk was low, but the outcome encouraged me. It showed me that there is more inside of myself. That being afraid isn’t ever an excuse for not trying. I learned that even if I mess up and make a mistake this doesn’t mean the whole project is a failure.

I also learned that my fears could keep me from discovering new aspects of myself. Have you ever taken a step out into your fear and discovered you find so much joy in the thing you were terrified to try?

I added some links from my milk paint post in this post for one reason. If you’re considering doing this, but you’re afraid like I was, I want to make it as easy as possible for you to take that first step. So, if you’re setting goals for 2021, and one of them is to breathe new life into a piece of furniture, here you go! Get whatever you need, and then start! Accomplish that goal!

DIY Wall Rack| Storage for Pots & Pans

This is on the best of 2020 list because it has become one of your favorite views in my dining room! Don’t worry, it’s one of my favorite views too! When I decided to do this it was not to create this beautifully styled rack for the blog. It was to create a more functional way to store our new copper pots and pans. I wanted it to look pretty don’t get me wrong, but the goal was function, with aesthetics on the side.

Turned out I had a happy accident! I created a focal point in the dining room that everyone who has walked into my house since has commented on! It was one of the first times I felt like I made a really good design decision for our house. The reassuring thing about it was I did it unintentionally. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time I put a ton of thought into the aesthetics of these decisions that I make haha!

I also love that I don’t have to hear the banging and clanging of all my pots and pans when I walk over to grab one and cook dinner. I’m becoming a little bit obsessed with the concept of not having to open a cabinet door when I’m working in the kitchen! (Que open shelves!! I can’t wait to show you all more of those in 2021!!)

Barn Finds-How to Style Vintage Glass Bottles

This was fun because I saw so much growth in my photography skills for this post. What you all don’t know is I literally had my camera out and did 5 separate photoshoots for this post until I finally had images I was proud of. It was early on in my DSLR camera journey. Lets be honest, I’m still early in this journey. But I learned a lot about my camera working on this post.

I bought presets, and thought they would solve all that my photography skills were lacking. But I learned quickly that I was wrong. I needed to spend hours studying my camera and learning about lighting. Shutter Speed. Aperture. ISO. I’m still learning so much about my camera. If I didn’t have wonderful friends from starting this blog, I might not have ever worked this hard to figure it out. But when I was ready to quit, I got a message with so much encouragement and direction from someone I would have never met otherwise.

DIY Boho Pallet Table

If you’ve been following along, you know that we LOVE this pallet table, and eating picnics in the garden is one of our favorite things to do! I mean, as excited as I am for January and February (the 2 months that we rest as much as we can) I cannot wait to get back outside and start having garden picnics again. So adding this to the best of 2020 list was a no brainer!

If I’m being perfectly honest, we’ve actually been planning a winter picnic that I can’t wait to share with you. As I look out the window in front of my computer in my office space I see 3-5inches of snow on the ground. At the exact same moment the little voices beside me are asking to go outside and have a picnic in the snow.

This pallet table made it so simple and easy to do dinners outside and it also made the dinners cozy. I loved the romantic dinner date my husband and I did out here on one of our date nights this past summer! Such a simple & easy DIY that has enhanced our outdoor living experience.

My husband and I talk about redoing the patio area and putting a big table under a pergola, but I have a sneaking hunch that even if that happens, as long as Justin and I can get up and down we will continue to have little picnics in the garden with this little table.

Dining Room Refresh: Mixing Vintage with New

The final post that I’m putting on the best of 2020 list is the Dining Room Refresh. I put it on the list for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that with 2 little girls I basically live in the kitchen and dining room. Since we completed this refresh I have been more excited to come into this space and do all the things. We made it more functional, and more aesthetically pleasing.

The other reason I chose to add this post to the best of 2020 list, is because you all loved the images from this post the most on Pinterest. Turns out my favorite spaces in our home are your favorite too. Now, I wonder is that coincidence, or could it be that my favorite spaces have more heart and meaning which is reflected in what I create? I suppose that’s a good question to ask myself regarding all the areas of my life, not just the blog.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me. You have no idea how grateful I am that you have joined me on this journey. You guys!! We are nearly 1 year into this journey and I can’t believe all the growth that’s happened!

I’d love to hear about your best of 2020 list. All the lessons you learned and the goals you accomplished. You have encouraged me so much in my accomplishments and I’d love nothing more than to be able to do the same for you.

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Thanks so much for stopping by! Don’t forget to follow along on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram so we can continue to encourage each other in between posts. Also, join the mailing list and never miss a thing that happens here! Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Doors,
Aliya