redecorating

I'm a terrible interior decorator. I know what "feel" I want but am clueless as to how to get there. So I had my friend, come over and help. I just love her home. She recently moved and it was a second later that she had the place feeling so cozy and cottagy. My place still looks blank. Anyway, of course i'm going for a beachy feel. I guess white white white is the key. Which NONE of my stuff is. So paint is flying. I'm painting all my wood furniture, covering my throw pillows, putting sheer white curtains all over the place, and finding white stuff at yard sales. So far, I've painted a side table and my picture frames that I will make a picture collage out of. Unfortunately, I'm out of spray paint, so I brush painted all these frames...more to come too...with no patience I'm afraid. They look okay, but i'm sure they could have looked better. I finally noticed that the homes I've gone to that I just love always have family pictures scatter through out. I think that's what makes a home feel like home. So, I've been gathering picture frames at yard sales. I can't wait to fill them with family photos! I'll post pictures of how my stuff turns out as a i go. This is taking a lot longer than i expected. With 2 kids who are pretty rambunctious it's no wonder I can even get the laundry done around here. How do mom's of 3 or more kids do it? I wonder this all the time. 2 kids have me at my absolute end. Man, they're fun though!