the mahoney's Profile

My husband and I live in a 890 SF house in seattle with our 2 and 4-year-old kids. I think that living in a small house, it is both unfair and impractical to keep all of the kids' things in their room in order to preserve our "style" throughout the rest of the house. Although, I am adamantly opposed to letting our house look like a preschool classroom, our kids are an integral part of our lives, so why wouldn't we want to design our house in a way that includes them in each room?

While most of their things are in their (shared) room, we have a kids table and chairs, art supplies, and some wood boxes with puzzles, in our living room. In the kitchen we have a small wood play kitchen and food, and dare I say, a potty chair in the bathroom.

The key for us has been purchasing toys that are both fun and attractive. We opt for mostly wooden toys, and we try not to buy too many things that are big and bulky. We also let the kids play with some of the non-toy things that are sitting around. For example, we have an old typewriter sitting on a shelf that the kids love to play with.

I will admit that there are times that I feel like pulling my hair out trying to keep everything in perfect order, then I realize that my kids are far more important to me than any of my "stuff."

We have a 3-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl that share a room. It's a bit of a challenge some nights, but most of the time it works just fine.

This is really striking!

Sooo cute, but the bear is my favorite!

mmm... ribs!!

nice!! so cozy.

I wanted to be a pilot. oh, and a detective.

I love method products!

I have a small place, two kids, and hardwood floors... it's perfect!