Top Blog Posts of 2017 and Why they were the Top

2017, you were a good one! As I went to write this blog post all about my “Top Blog Posts of 2017” I thought I would also share the WHY. Why I think or know what made them successful. Blogs are kind of a mystery and interesting at the same time, so I thought some might want to know a little more of the details. These top blog posts are not just what I liked the most or what I think should on the top. They were taken right from Google Anyalitcs, some were a surprise and some I knew would make the Top Ten. 

I define success in so many ways. A lot is based off of happiness. What does not show here is the readers, YOU. I met Ali at a store I used to work at. She was so dang cute, she said ” I know everything you post and are doing, I love it all.” WHAT??! I like to pretend that no one reads my blog posts and see’s the typos or the mistakes and the not perfect home or photos. But when I get your emails of encouragement or you stop me when you see me to tell me you like what I share…THAT keeps me going and cancels any negative feedback I get. 

One of my personal favorite things I started in August of this year is my “Ask a Designer Series”. I started this series as a way to give back to my loyal Email Subscribers. I think it is HUGE when one of you sign up to get an email when I share a new blog post. To me that is a true fan. So when anyone signs up to join my Email Subscriber Community they can ask me one FREE design question! This year I answered over 175 of your design questions! Now that is success!

I also started an online community in July of this year, our Private Facebook Group, with over 800 members! This is the best community because everyone helps each other. You can pop in and ask the community what color to paint your front door or for ideas on your master bedroom. I limit this to only my Email Subscribers, as a perk for joining my community. And to keep the spammers and Debbie downers out. I went live in the group and plan on going live once a week to answer questions, show more of my home too. (You can join the group after you subscribe to my blog HERE).

And I am very excited to be joining Cami from Tidbits and 32 other bloggers who are also sharing their Top Blog Posts of 2017 too. I would love to hear from you at the end, what was your favorite post of the year? Alright let’s take a look at the Top Blog Post of 2017!

#1- How I Survive Whole 30 and Paleo Diet

This post is what the internet would label as a “Viral” post (I think:)) One day I checked my Google Anaylics and I had a huge jump in page views, it was all attributed to this blog post. I mean it has close to 300k page views in just a year!  It continued to sky rocket all year long. I love the Page Views I received from it, but it can be tricky because this is not the type of post I do all the time. I am not a food blogger, but I do like to share my passions and eating healthy is one of them. On this post I shared a favorite drink that curbs my sweet tooth, favorite Paleo Pot Pie Recipe, Protein Bites and a few other hacks! I think it did so well because everyone is looking for a tip or a secret to help them on their journey to healthy eating!  (Find post HERE)

#2- Whole30 and Paleo Meal Prep

Again this blog post did awesome, not “Viral” but really up there on the page views. One reason I think it was in the top and had really high page views is that readers keep coming back to this post to reference the recipes. It has over 5 of our most favorite healthy family recipes that we make week after week. It isn’t fancy or complicated. Just simple healthy meals and how they can be frozen too. Kevin travels a lot for work, one month out of the year and these simple freezer meals save me! I just snapped pictures as I was making all these recipes. I am happy that so many of you appreciated this post too. (Find post HERE).

#3- Hanging Chair

Well this was one of the favorite changes we made to our home this past year. The addition of the double hanging chair. I was not surprised to see that it was a top blog post because it is one of my most shared images on social media and one of my top pins on Pinterest. Also Serena & Lily shared this image and it was their TOP Instagram post for 2017, getting over 6,700 likes! I have since changed the rug in this room but other than that not much else has changed, when you get it right the first time it sure make it easy! (Find post HERE).

#4- Christmas In Our Small Kitchen Started with Garland

Th Garland I hung over our kitchen sink was well received and liked by so many of you that you duplicated it in your home. I had over 100 readers send me images of how you duplicated this look with garland over your kitchen sink. I have to say THAT is how I define success. Even if this blog post was not in my top ten it would have been wildly successful to me because of how it influenced others and made YOU happier in your kitchen. I was also part of a new blogging group this year, called Seasons of Home hosted by Kristen from Ella Claire Inspired. Kristen actually asked me to join this group as a guest for just one blog post. I said YES!! and then I asked her if there was any chance I could join the group for the entire series. She came back to me and sad yes. I was very excited. There are really big bloggers in this series with so much experience and talent that I knew I would be pushed and become better because of it. And I did. (Find post HERE).

#5- Christmas on our Main Floor with Holiday Housewalk

Christmas posts are always in my top blog posts. As everyone knows Christmas decor is work, but so rewarding when your family enjoys it and creates those warm memories. I know this post was in my top because I joined a big blogging group for the Holiday Housewalk. This was my second year being apart of this group of over 25 bloggers who link to each other creating an easy way for readers to get a lot of great Christmas Decor ideas and to visit other homes! I originally asked the host Jennifer Rizzo if I could join this group, the first year she fit me in as a surprise guest then the year after that I got a spot that I have filled for two years now. On this Christmas post I shared just our main floor, but tried to show it as if you were walking through it…showing the halls and areas I don’t typically show. (Find post HERE).

#6- Spring Home Tour

This post had A TON of photos- showing a lot of ways to add some Spring decor into your homes. It also features our entire home. Blog posts like this take a lot of time, but are really worth it because I get a lot of comments from readers saying that they took at least one idea from it. And honestly that is all I want. I also joined a blog group on this post hosted by Marty from A Stroll Thru Life another reason for it’s success. (Find post HERE).

#7- Are you Funny Enough to Own a Letterboard?

Letterboards are pretty trendy right now, but I think they are a trend that will stick around. I had just gotten a new Letterboard and was thinking “ugh, I am not funny or witty enough to own a Letterboard”. So I compiled 15 of my favorite Letterboard Quotes into one blog post, why try to invent the wheel?! I also shared what I put on our Letterboard and three different spots I put them in our home. This post did well because it is something that people are searching for ideas for over on Pinterest and all social media channels. (Find post HERE).

#8- Banquette Reveal in our Kitchen 

We LOVE this banquette that we added to our kitchen this past year. I had been sharing the idea and the process of it over on Instagram. I think everyone was just as excited to see it finished, as we were. I received a lot of questions on how it was built, the paint etc. I didn’t do a full tutorial (I have a window seat tutorial coming out this week!) but I did share tips that I think everyone needs to read before building a banquette in their kitchen. This post also did so well because I had an ugly before photo:) I think we are naturally intrigued and want to see the after! We all like to see a good before and after! This post was also featured on Home Talk, they reached out to me asking if they could post it on their Facebook that has over 7 million readers and it was also shared on their website that had over 550k views. (Find post HERE).

#9- Summer Home Tour 

On this blog post I shared most of the rooms in our home, again a lot of photos. Looking at it now it looks SO different! Maybe not to most, but I notice a lot of changes. I think that is why my seasonal blog tours do well is that I try really hard to make our home look fresh without buying a lot of new things to give you ideas. I move pillows around and art. Simple ideas that anyone can do. I also joined A Stroll Thru Life for another blog tour. As you can see these do really well. (Find post HERE).

#10 – Christmas Tour Upstairs

First of all I want to point out on this post I took all the pictures with my new camera! I can totally see a difference in the picture quality. I use THIS camera now and have gotten better at editing my photos. This post covers our upstairs in our little cape. Again this was another blog group that I joined hosted by Marty from A Stroll Thru Life. I shared a lot of photos, I personally like to see more so I like to give my readers more! I always share the entire room and some upclose shots and try to tell a story and give tips. Along with this post I did a tour over on my Instagram Stories, so once my readers read the post they could go see our home “live” and get a better feel of the space, I think that helped to make this blog post in the top ten! (Find post HERE).

I also wanted to share my top Instagram Photos from 2017! You can follow me on Instagram HERE. 

I want to make sure that my loyal readers know how thankful I am to them for coming back post after post. You are the reason I have continued to blog and share here religiously three to four times a week. Thank YOU! Excited to share more ideas with you in 2018!

Stop by the bloggers to see the best of the best! I am excited to check out their top posts!
 

TIDBITS | Finding Silver Pennies | Stacy Risenmay | Julie Blanner | Live Laugh Rowe

Maison De Pax | House by Hoff | Town and Country Living | Summer Adams | Unskinny Boppy

Zevy Joy | Decor Gold Designs | A Burst of Beautiful | Shabbyfufu | Seeking Lavendar Lane

Nina Hendrick Design Co. | Shades of Blue Interiors | Bless’er House | ZDesign at Home | Life on Virginia Street

The Wicker House | Cherished Bliss | Nesting with Grace | Place of my Taste | Simply Designing

AKA Design | Rooms FOR Rent | So Much Better with Age | French Country Cottage | Thistlewood Farms

Designthusiasm | Love Grows Wild | The Happy Housie

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