Survey Results, Thoughts and A Winner!

First off, I want to thank each and every one of you that took the time to complete my survey a few weeks back. I honestly expected to get back 20-30 responses and was blown away when I received over 250 responses with such great feedback! So thank you very much. I’ve ultimately decided that my readers are all amazing and beyond kind. Which I really did know, but it was great to hear from so many that said they have never commented before, but took the time to do the survey.

With that, I thought I would share some high level recommendations, feedback, etc. that you offered and my plans for moving forward with the blog.

Common themes and questions:

• You all asked for more DIY projects, but were also incredibly supportive knowing that I work a full-time job and know I have limits.  Again, you guys are awesome!
• As far as travel posts go, it seems like the majority want to see/hear more about our travels as they occur. Some actually preferred less of the travel but mentioned you do like the variety of all my posts so they aren’t bad mixed in with the regular DIY/home decor/lifestyle posts.
• I received comment after comment that you love the variety and balance of my posts. Which is great, because it can be really hard to talk about a DIY project in every single post. I love that you all seem to share most of my interests as well so thank you for the feedback!
• I received numerous questions about where I purchase my fabric. The answer: a little of everywhere. I can pretty much guarantee you are never going to find a steal on the exact fabric you are wanting at the exact moment in time {and if you do, share with me your tips!} Rather, I take more of a ‘strike while you can’ even if it means I don’t have an immediate use for the fabric. If I find an incredible sale, I buy a lot more than I need. On sites like eBay, I sometimes have to buy 5-10x more fabric than I need to get a good deal – but know I can then share the balance of the fabric with all of you! I hope this helps, but mainly I shop on eBay, various online fabric stores, and local fabric stores.
• I received numerous requests {not just on the survey} about possibly offering design services. I honestly would love to but at this point I don’t see it being a reality. Honestly, most days I can’t keep up with my day job or home projects {let alone the blog} but this is something I would consider in the future if things change. I think it would be amazing to work with you all in this capacity!
• Multiple people asked for a ‘day in the life of’ post. I’m contemplating doing one, but i’m concerned I’ll bore you all with the details 😉
• Several people mentioned they didn’t like the email sign-up box at the top of the blog {I think these are mostly mobile users?} or the sliding image carousel on the home page. I listened {because they have occasionally bothered me in the past as well} and I shrunk the email sign-up box as much as possible and removed the image slider entirely! I hope the new format works better!
• I was actually surprised by the number of commenters requesting more personal finance/savings/investment suggestions since I’m in the industry. I’ve done a few posts like this quite a ways back, but this is something I’ll think about further and how I could best incorporate into t his blog. I love that this came up because it definitely wasn’t expected!
• It sounds like you all love home tours {doesn’t everyone?!} so I finally updated our Home Tour tab to be a little more current. You’ll notice there are still some areas that need newer photos, but it is definitely a much more accurate representation of our home now!

Immediate action steps I plan to take in the near future:

• Start a ‘Look for Less’ series. You may have seen my first installment already {the lighting edition} and it seemed like a hit, so thank you! I figure if I can’t buy every single deal I find, I may as well pass along the finds to you!
• Start a ‘Get the Look’ series. This would be where I find an inspiration photo I love and then try to find similar pieces if you want to try and mimic the space in your own homes. Similar to a design board, but it would be mirrored after a specific room.
• Several readers recommended doing posts that features some of the fabrics for sale in my fabric store or making style boards for a space around a particular fabric in the store. I love this idea and will definite plan to incorporate soon!
• I really do plan to do better travel summaries once we return from trips. I’ll typically just do it as one post, so if the travel stuff isn’t your thing, you can easily skip over the post for that day.
• See bullet in the section above about incorporating personal finance topics. I’m still determining the best way to fit these types of post in, but this is obviously something I’m also passionate about and would love to begin adding posts like this in occasionally.
• I want to incorporate as many of your suggestions as possible, while still keeping the blog “me”. I don’t want this blog to feel like just another blog and I have found your recommendations so very helpful! It’s great to read what you love and hear the encouragement to continue along the path I’m going. So thank you!

Lastly, the winner of either the $25 Target or Amazon giftcard is Cindy Trobaugh! Check your email and let me know which gift card you would prefer.

Thanks again everyone! I truly appreciate your time, feedback and readership!

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