When you think of decorating your home, how does it make you feel?
Excited to dive in and choose the perfect aesthetic to make your home feel beautiful, colorful, or cozy? Overwhelmed by all of the decisions and inadequate that you will know how to do it “right”? Or maybe you just feel like you can’t be bothered with thinking too hard about stuff like decorating and you will grab some pillows from TJ Max and check it off your list.
Your knee-jerk reaction to the thought of beautifying your living space shows something about your values. If you strongly value beauty or creativity, this might be an exciting project for you. If you strongly value productivity, this might just be something to hurry and get done. Or if you strongly value frugality, this might feel a bit frivolous to you or maybe stressful because you know it will cost more than you are comfortable with.
If you’ve been listening to my podcast for a while, you probably know by now that VALUES are something that I think about and talk about a lot. Learning how to Voice your Values is the very first principle in my Self-Assured Motherhood framework, the SAM6, and it is fascinating for me to explore how different women can view the same task with such different feelings based on what they inherently value and what they are naturally good at.
Something that I emphasize in my SAM program is that values are morally neutral: it’s not “right” or “wrong” to care about certain things more than others. But as humans, we have a hard time believing that. We think that we “should” care more about certain things than other things, and we judge ourselves (and other people) through the lens of our values, and we don’t even know we are doing it!
So before we jump into today’s takeaways, I want to emphasize that however you feel when you think about decorating your home is A-okay, and I hope that these takeawys will give you a fresh perspective on how to embrace more of your values as you create a home and a space that feels good to you and your family based on what matters most to you.
Today, I am thrilled to interview a woman who has been part of my Self-Assured Motherhood community for over four years! Valerie Bradshaw is a costume designer turned color enthusiast who knows what it’s like to feel completely overwhelmed when it comes to decorating a home. With a degree in costume design and experience creating color palettes for the stage, she thought decorating her first home would come naturally. But when it came time to make real-life design choices with real-life money, she found herself paralyzed.
Determined to figure it out, Valerie dove deep into research—as she always does—and eventually discovered the work of Maria Killam. She completed Maria’s True Colour Expert training and has since gained confidence in making design decisions, both in her own home and for friends and family.
Valerie lives in Utah with her husband and their two spicy, adorable children. She loves helping others create a home they love to be in, and she taught a class about this at my recent retreat for the women in my SAM program, and we all loved it so much and gained so much from it, that I decided to ask her to bring her wisdom here on the podcast so we can all learn from her.
Okay, I’m so excited to introduce all of you to this longtime SAM Sister who is so wise and wonderful, so with no further ado, here are Valerie’s takeaways:
3 Takeaways to Decorate According to Your Values:
1. Choose an inspiration piece.
Instead of trying to decorate from a blank slate, start with one piece you love—something that makes you feel something. Maybe it’s a painting, a patterned rug, or a special piece of wallpaper. It could even be something sentimental, like an heirloom or a photograph. Use that as your anchor. Choose one that includes multiple colors and speaks to your story or values, and let it guide the style, color scheme, and overall tone of the room. This creates clarity from the beginning and helps ensure the space feels personal—not just pretty.
2. Repeat your accent colors in large, medium, and small ways.
Once you’ve chosen your inspiration piece, pull one to three accent colors from it—and intentionally echo them throughout the space. Use those colors in large pieces (like rugs, curtains, or artwork), medium pieces (like lamps, pillows, or furniture), and small accessories (like books, trays, or plants). This layering of color in different scales creates visual rhythm and harmony, making the room feel cohesive without being matchy-matchy. It’s a simple design strategy that makes a big impact—and reduces decision fatigue as you shop.
3. Create a simple mood board.
Before you start purchasing pieces, take time to create a mood board—a visual layout where you can see how your items work together. Valerie uses Google Slides to copy and paste photos of each potential piece: the couch, the rug, the artwork, the pillows. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does give you clarity. You can catch mismatches, spot what’s missing, and make thoughtful adjustments before you commit. Especially when buying bigger items, this one step can save you time, stress, and returns. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for your space.
What I loved about this conversation is how clearly it connects back to the heart of what we teach in the Self-Assured Motherhood program: when you let your values lead, your life begins to feel more aligned—more you.
That’s true in parenting, in daily routines, and yes, even in home design. When you know what matters most to you, your decisions become lighter and more confident. You’re not chasing trends or copying someone else’s style—you’re creating something rooted in what you love.
The doors to SAM will be opening again in just a few weeks, and this episode is a beautiful reminder of how much peace comes from living in alignment with your values, even in the smallest corners of your home.
If beauty is one of your values, I hope you’ll claim it. Not as something extra, but as something deeply worthy of your time, energy, and care. And if beauty isn’t one of your values, I hope you’ll still give yourself permission to decorate according to your values – to make your home yours.
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Are these tips from Valerie on decorating according to your values useful? Share in the comments below!
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About Our Guest:
Valerie Bradshaw is a costume designer turned color enthusiast who knows what it’s like to feel completely overwhelmed when it comes to decorating a home. With a degree in costume design and experience creating color palettes for the stage, she thought decorating her first home would come naturally. But when it came time to make real-life design choices with real-life money, she found herself paralyzed. Determined to figure it out, Valerie dove deep into research—as she always does—and eventually discovered the work of Maria Killam. She completed Maria’s True Colour Expert training and has since gained confidence in making design decisions, both in her own home and for friends and family. Valerie lives in Utah with her husband—her logical opposite—and their two spicy, adorable children. She loves helping others create a home they love to be in.
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