Once Upon a Time There Was a Mom
Mom longing for a beautiful home
Once upon a time there was a mom who LONGED for a beautiful home. However, this is a story of a mother of 2 very rough, tough and DIRTY little boys. When I say dirty I mean DIRRRTY!! Seriously, their knees had caked on dirt on them every day. It's all about the stylish slide into home plate while playing a mean game of kickball or baseball, right?
The Design Dilemma
Mom's white shag rug
This mom was grateful to have active, healthy boys that love sports. The design dilemma she faced was she secretly longed for a WHITE shag rug along with a couple of mid-century Modern inspired leather chairs. She was full of fear that anything white would be destroyed in a matter of days. Plus, she had the ultimately sensible hubby by her side - all these things screamed NO, NO, NO to anything white. Surely she should fill the house with GREY, GREY, and more GREY. Ughh… the anguish she felt about putting more dark colors into her space was downright depressing.
The White Shag Rug
So what do you think she did? I'll give you a hint! She said, "Screw it! I'm getting a home I've always wanted." She forged ahead and ordered the tallest pile of shag she could find in WHITE! The day it delivered she was over the moon and jumped with glee. OK, maybe not literally... but she was VERY happy about it. As she rolled it out with excitement, she envisioned the rest of the space with the modern chairs, a cowhide bench, and a unique décor to top it all off.That same day both boys came running home after school with excitement shouting out "What's That, What's that?" The mother of these two crazy, loving boys calmly said to them, "It's our new shag rug, It's white and delicate like a newborn baby. We need to treat it with gentle hands and not walk on it with shoes."
Rules Are Rules
White Shag Rug is a kid and dog magnet
They both immediately took their shoes off and ran across it like a bat out of hell. The rule of no shoes and gentle hands went out the door pretty darn quickly. Nonetheless, the very busy mom of two LOVED her rug. Every time she walked into her home it brought a sense of calm from her busy, distracting everyday living. Fast forward 2 years later and an addition of a boxer puppy. (Yeah, that was not Mom's idea but Dad's.) The rug is still white, well, kind of. It's more like an off-white now, but who's comparing?The moral of this story? Life is not perfect and things aren't perfect, so it's ok to go with what you LOVE versus sacrificing feeling good about your space. Your home should feel lived in and comfortable. But most importantly your home should be a place where you can feel proud of having people over and feel good to come home to every day.As a designer, I have worked with lots of materials. Some of my favorites have stain resistant properties and easy to clean features. Manufacturers spend millions of dollars each year to develop better products for real people with real kids - this helps combat kids with caked on dirt that NEVER seem to get cleaned even after 2 baths! Don't get me wrong - nothing is kid or animal proof when you get into it, but there are products out there to give you a sense of relief that they have your back.If you're yearning to get your home to reflect your style, give me a shout out HERE and let's talk about solutions rather than being fearful of what can be damaged or stained. Yes, mom, you CAN love your home again!