Happy New Year friends! Are you a person who makes New Year’s resolutions, or looks back over the year as a whole? I do love the idea of taking a look at the past year ~ an inventory of sorts ~ both personally and professionally. Not just to make resolutions (though I do that, too), but also to see what worked and what didn’t here at Maison de Cinq. When it comes to the blog, I have the advantage of being able to look at analytics and see what you all liked best. And to be honest, my Top Ten Posts always surprise me – at least a little!
As has been the case before, my top ten posts of 2019 have some expected results, but also some I wasn’t expecting (for instance, you really like organizing! 😉 ) One thing I’d love to hear from you all is what you want to see here on the blog. If you could take the time to leave a comment, it would be super helpful to me when planning content going forward. I want what I publish to be helpful, or inspiring, or both! And by hearing from you directly, I’ll be able to give you more of what you really want.
So without further ado, here are my Top Ten Posts of 2019! If you are new here or a recent subscriber, this is a great chance for you to see some of the posts you might have missed! You can get to any of the full posts by clicking on the title.
Top Ten Posts of 2019!
10. French Farmhouse Summer Decorating Ideas
My seasonal posts always seem to end up in the top ten somewhere, and this summer living room tour landed in the tenth most popular spot for the year. I must admit, I’m still totally crushing on blue and white so this is a personal favorite!
9. Romantic Fall Living Room
Another seasonal post, and this one is all about fall. I decorated in a decidedly softer version of the season, featuring soft browns, blush and faded rust, which I loved. Looks like you did, too!
8. French Farmhouse Master Bedroom Makeover Reveal
We waited years and years to finally do a refresh on our very dated bedroom. This French-farmhouse inspired reveal ended up being everything I’d hoped it would be. Headboard still to come, haha!
7. Best Restoration Hardware Style Dining Tables – For Less!
Well, this is one of those surprises. This post was actually written in 2018 – and landed in the fourth most popular spot in last year’s top ten posts! It’s wonderful that it’s still resonating. And, I finally did find a table so I’m going to be not only updating this post with the result, but also dedicating a post to the new table! 😉
6. French-Inspired Christmas Tour with Touches of Blue
One thing I can always count on is at least one of my Christmas tours making the top ten posts list, and this year is no exception. My Christmas decor took on a slightly different look this year with the addition of soft French blue, and it seems you liked it, too! 😉
5. Ten Stunning Rustic French Country Chandeliers
I shared some of my absolute favorite rustic French country style chandeliers in this post, and it landed at the 5th most popular post spot for the year!
4. 40+ Fabulous French Country Finds at Walmart
I’m always striving to find great French-inspired items for you at great prices, and this post all about the fabulous things you can find at Walmart (yes, Walmart!) really resonated!
3. My Favorite (and Less So!) Paint Colors: What I Have in My Home and What I’ve Learned!
I had a feeling you all would respond to this post, and you did! I love reading about other designers and/or bloggers experiences with different paint colors, especially when it’s an honest review. And apparently, you do too!
2. Tips for Winter Decorating and How to Beat the Decor Blues!
I must admit, this one was quite a surprise for me! I always expect a Christmas or summer or spring decor post to make the cut, but winter?! I was shocked that so many of you wanted tips on this! But this is what I love about looking at the analytics! Now I’m planning on talking about this again next week, with some additional tips and tricks.
And drumroll please….. the top post for the whole year was….
1. 5 Easy Tips for Organizing Cabinets
Wow, this post literally blew every other one out of the water! Not only did it take the number one spot, but if you take away all the seasonal decorating posts, it was almost double the traffic of any other post! I’m not sure if it’s because everyone really is obsessed with organizing, or if it’s because it also had a video included, but either way, plan on seeing a few more organizing/storage posts for 2020!
For me, it’s been a difficult year on a personal level, with a lot of sadness, death, and disease in friends and those close to me. However, Maison de Cinq has really been a light during a trying year. I’ve so enjoyed hearing from so many of you this year ~ I really have the best readers!
You’ve lifted me up and made me feel like this little blog makes a difference. It may only be decor, but making your home comfortable, and cozy, and safe, is such a basic need. And as a mother to three, something that is very important to me. Home, and all that it encompasses, is my passion and I’m thankful every day that I’ve found a little corner of the internet where I can express my creativity and inspire others. So thank you. You all make it possible, and so worthwhile.
And Happy New Year~ I wish you all the very best in 2020!
Sheila
xo
Marjorie says
Sheila, I absolutely love your blog. You decorate with such class and it is never over stated. I always look for sources so continue providing that. I like to look for things that are classy looking but with a reasonable cost. It may be helpful to do a post on how to go about decorating a space. Sometimes it looks easy but gets overwhelming once you start. Example: How to decorate shelves. Also maybe doing something on core decorative pieces. Love your french style! Thanks so much. Marjorie
Sheila says
Thank you so much Marjorie! I really appreciate the feedback and will definitely be thinking about some of your suggestions (especially core decorative pieces). And I did do a shelf styling piece – last year! You can find that here: https://maisondecinq.com/style-book-shelves/
Thanks again for your input, and Happy New Year!
Sheila
Rebecca says
Sheila – “It may only be decor…” No! It’s NOT “only” decor, but about so much more. Being surrounded with beauty and balance is something people don’t even realize they crave and need until thy have it, until it is introduced to them. I’m sure you’ve had many people tell you that they had no idea the difference it would make in their lives and how they FELT being in their rooms until you rearranged their furniture for them, re-hung pictures, placed a lamp here or…drum roll again….made their shelves feel balanced, organized, “right.” It brings such calm, coziness, and PEACE to a space and, therefore, to the soul.
Showing us how to do that – and people who are really good at decorating are still often not very good at shelf display and organizing cabinet spaces – is a great service. You are adding richness to people’s lives, and that is a big thing.
As for suggestions, I believe your look is so rich that many are possibly inhibited from signing up because they think they can’t afford to get the look. Your Walmart post was brilliant and a winner for that reason – people need to get a rich look for less. So the more often you can do posts about where to find great stuff – for instance, a post about a day at the flea market, a day thrift store hunting, or a special low-cost search for certain items (like just lamps with pics of all the great ones you come across that could fit in a French country room, or just tables, or just re-purposing this or that thing you come across at a junk store,… how to get YOUR incredible look from that, the more and more readers you’ll pick up.
The thing I like so much about your blog is that it isn’t cheap-looking junk or the repurposed wrong thing that creates your farmhouse or country French look. We see this in a lot in other places. It’s quality and rich. How do people achieve that when they can’t afford to shop at high end stores and antiques stores with big price tags? THAT is really entertaining and informative at the same time.
Sheila says
Oh wow Rebecca, what a comment!! Thank YOU – you totally understand the way that I feel, too. A home is more than four walls and comfort and beauty add so much to life. So thank you so much for your kindness and for following along. And I love your suggestions! I’ll be implementing them for sure!
Happy New Year!
Sheila
Karen Wozniak says
I love your blog, and I love that you always link sources for decor. A fun one to do might be your favorite Etsy shops for decor. Also, I’d love to see your favorite sources for art. And, I do love your seasonal changes posts! I always look to you for inspiration. Thanks for all you share!
Sheila says
Thanks so much Karen! I love your suggestions (in fact, it’s on my list already to share some of my favorite Etsy stores!) But I also love the idea of sharing art sources – I’ll add that one for sure!
Sheila
Laurie says
Hi! I love your posts and homey home! Thank you for all the inspiration and ideas! I would love to see some posts about organizing not just stuff, but about organizing our time….our daily routines to incorporate eating healthy, keeping our homes nice, making time for exercise etc. how to structure our days to fit in all the important things. I know this is a little different than just decor….anyhow just a thought! Happy new year!
Sheila says
Thank you Laurie! I so love that you feel my home is “homey”! That’s about the nicest compliment someone can say. And thank you for all the different organizing suggestions, I will definitely think about doing some of those (though I also need help in that department, haha!)
Thanks so much for your comment!
Sheila