Mother Knows Best… or Does She?
In a Modern World of Mommy Mayhem, the One She Could Use Most May Be an Interior Designer!
November 15, 2010
The almost unrealistic demands made of the modern mother require countless women to play the defining roles of wife, sister, daughter, aunt, parent, employee and confidant as well as to juggle tasks ranging from housekeeping and bookkeeping to shopping, cooking, academic counseling and sports coaching, among others. With so much to do, how do these matriarchal saints make time for themselves while posing for their own portrait of Madonna and Child?
Whether a married mother or a single mom, anyway you spin it, raising children is a full time job! So where does the role of interior designer come into play? Who paints the nursery and makes it picture perfect for baby’s arrival? Who updates the kitchen and the bathrooms so that they are also suitable for adult living during the 18-20 years of child rearing? Is the expense of hiring a professional worth it? The better question might be: Do the increasing costs of school clothes, lunch money and haircuts really outweigh the cost of your sanity?
Professional interior designers are not just for the rich and famous. An interior designer understands that just because you have children, it doesn't mean you can't have a nice environment to enjoy after satisfying everyone from the kids to the boss. We do not just design rooms for magazine covers; we are trained and licensed to incorporate our clients’ health, welfare and safety into comfortable and inviting spaces that will help them make family memories to last a lifetime. We organize lives, focus on short- and long-term family goals, educate people on how to get the most out of their hard-earned dollars, make home improvements and repairs that most families do not have time to do themselves, and – in the process – often build lifelong relationships with our clients as extensions of their immediate family.
Some practical examples of the help we can offer: A basic laundry room can be redesigned to put everything at your fingertips and cut down on countless hours of washing, drying, ironing, folding and sorting. A house full of organized closets will save precious time searching for little Cindy’s Easter dress. A well-planned kitchen with proper storage – a designated place for absolutely everything – can make lunch and dinnertime a breeze. What about a living room that is so professionally planned and well thought-out around longevity that every initial purchase of upholstery, carpet and furniture was chosen based on wear-and-tear, traffic patterns, spills, stains and the ease of hiding messy Johnny’s toys on a moments notice? Looking at the bigger picture, how about a modern, open floor plan that encompasses the entire kitchen, dining room, living room and snack bar that is designed to be conducive to the lives of an active household with children, rather than individual rooms with walls that hide unsupervised children and are filled with sharp corners?
Interior designers sit amongst the ranks of the hundreds of professionals we employ every day to assist with our overwhelming daily lives. We hire attorneys for legal counsel; doctors to care for our health; stock brokers, analysts and financial advisors to help us grow and protect our wealth and plan for retirement; accountants to assist with taxes; drycleaners to maintain our clothes; grocers and restaurateurs to provide food; aestheticians and stylists to cut hair and do our nails; and many other individuals to do everything from washing windows to cutting grass, cleaning gutters, trimming shrubs, and even walking dogs. With all that we do every day to help ourselves in so many ways, why wouldn't we call upon those who have the skill set and passion to improve the interiors of our homes, when this is where we spend so much precious personal time with our families and friends, conquering our misfortunes and celebrating our successes?
So, mothers, after sending the children off to school today, grab a cup of coffee and reflect for a minute on whether an interior designer could benefit you and your family. While pondering, keep in mind that while your children slowly morph into the adults of the future over the next several years, your home will also require transformation. Your son’s well-designed toy room today could become the perfect “man cave” for his father tomorrow, and with proper planning, your baby daughter's nursery adjacent to the master bedroom could very easily be transformed into a new walk-in closet for her mother someday!
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