Our house is typically most uncluttered after the kids go down for the night. Depending on how tired we are by evening, and if the kids don’t clean up before bedtime, the house may remain disheveled. Dishes, pots & pans may even get stacked up in the sink or on the counters.
Deep down what makes me most grateful isn’t a perfectly kept home, but rather a home with toys and books laying around the room, plush dolls tucked underneath a blanket on the couch, artwork on walls, and a variety of bread crumbs, cereal or rice on the floor from mealtimes hours before.
These visual reminders are ways of telling stories about the people who live there — nurturing kids who believe their dolls need rest, too.
Imaginative kids who role play with their favorite animals or Disney characters.
Artistic kids who think their depiction of the solar system is something to be proud of and something a small piece of paper can’t contain.
Then there’s the crumbs.
The food on the floor is a reminder of how blessed we are to even have food to eat.
Good food.
Enough food.
Food we enjoy.
Though it’s not easy every single day, I strive to remain grateful for these messes because it is in these moments I learn more about my own children. I learn about their personality, what they love to do and love to eat, books they enjoy most — all by the trails of messes they leave behind.
Before I am a designer, I am a mother. Creating a beautiful space for my family is important because I know the impact it can make — whether for inspiring, for gathering, for resting. A tidied home is important to me, too, but above all I believe what makes a home most beautiful is simply this: when you see it actually being lived in.
In a digital world where newsfeeds seem to be full of perfectly curated homes and scenes, perhaps it makes us feel less about ourselves when we put our phones down and stare at the current state of our own homes. Rather, let’s show ourselves grace and permission to let the stories within our walls speak for that moment, even if that sometimes means a mess, food on the floor, or with dishes in the sink. Only then does it allow our gratitude and resolution to tidy up more worthwhile.
This House You're Building 