HH Town House Living

Nothing beats Christmas time with kids in the house. and what better place than a 148 year old house! We practically feel like we’re in a Dickens Christmas novella. Sometimes, however the merger between 5 kids and an old Victorian home (or at least my vision for it) don’t perfectly meld. I see our grand staircase as the perfect photo opt for The Sound of Music “So Long, Farewell” scene, while my son sees it as the location to torment his favorite puppet.

I’m sure there are many parents who learned this sooner than me, but I’ve come not only to allow my children to be children in our home, but I’ve come to embrace some of their beloved toys as part of our decor, because, hey, this isn’t just my house! Especially around Christmas, some of our playful, and even tacky “moments” are my favorites.

LEGO is the best example of something I said I’d never let in my house that I have now whole heartily embraced. I remember our two eldest sons being babies and someone asking when they could start getting LEGOs and I leaned over to Tyler and forcefully whispered “we’re never getting LEGOs” and he just looked at me and laughed. Not the laugh of “you’re so cute and funny when you’re right,” but the laugh of “Dream on baby.” That was a scary moment for me. Visions of piles of LEGOs all over the floor! Well, they all came true. However, I didn’t anticipate how I would come to love LEGO. They are so clever, so humorous, and so truly encourage our kid’s imaginations. Though we do have too many of them about the house (and mommy is slowly boxing them while no one is looking) our kids actually take care of their sets and keep them together as special toys and displays.

So, cue the boy’s mantle. They have another stunning mantle in their room, only this time in our decor choice we are joining old with new. The mantle is again carved white marble with an intricate cast iron insert that appear in many of this era’s fireplaces. On the mantle, we have garland, lights, and some whimsical snowmen, snow birds, and mini trees, but I’ve added the seriously impressive Home Alone LEGO house. We watch Home Alone every Christmas season like so many other families. If you don’t know the movie the set looks like a beautiful Georgian-style colonial home in LEGO. Give it a closer look and you’ll see all the amazing details from the film that make it a cult classic. (I’m not selling LEGO, I just love LEGO! And for you laymen, LEGO is written in all caps. I’m not a snob or anything. I’m just afraid the LEGO police around every corner).

What I have learned time after time is that when I let go of “my vision” and include Tyler and the kids, even though interior design is “my thing,” the result we develop together as a family not only better suits our needs but actually creates a more interesting aesthetic that I couldn’t have created on my own.

Unique narrative portrait created by Julie Headland @julieheadland.