The world is in crisis. For many or most of you, daily life looks drastically different right now. Your kids are home from school (indefinitely); you’re working from home (or trying to); restaurants are shut down, grocery store shelves are empty, and toilet paper is sold out everywhere. Fear is trying to take hold. During [...]
We’ve been working on a mystery project for a few months now. Can you guess what it is? Here are a few clues: We’ve never done this type of project before. It’s not a home renovation. It’s not in Jersey City! {Even though JC is our current hub for renovation projects!} It’s a space where [...]
I first discovered the power of claiming my space when I was 18. I had always promised myself that I would leave home as soon as I became an adult. But when I graduated high school, I decided to take a gap year to travel. Even though I was living in my parents’ house for [...]
And it's a winding road I've been walking for a long time I still don't know Where it goes And it's a long way home I've been searching for a long time I still have hope I'm gonna find my way home -Bonnie Somerville, “Winding Road” Isn’t it funny and strange and beautiful how winding [...]
The popular wisdom, if you want to get into a certain neighborhood, is to buy a fixer-upper (at a lower price) and fix it up. But here’s the truth: buying a fixer-upper is never going to save you money unless you do all the work yourself. Recently, a couple called me about a homebuyer support [...]
Having a beautiful place to rest my eyes is essential to my happiness at home. And since I have three school-age kids, I’ve had to come up with some creative ways to carve out spaces that are free from clutter. I find it challenging to walk through the house and encounter chaos in every single [...]
There is nothing more profound than creating something out of nothing. - Rainbow Rowell My favorite thing about our work here at Houseplay is the process of taking a space that’s outdated, non-functional or awkward and transforming it into a space that is beautiful, functional and thoughtfully designed. It all starts with an idea. A [...]
We are conditioned to “make do” with what we have. We are conditioned to live with “good enough.” To choose function over form. To spend our money on practicalities, instead of on beauty. Many of us are taught that spending money on beauty - on beautiful clothes, on a beautiful space - is “frivolous.” We [...]
In September I went horse whispering in California with my wonderful coach, Katherine North. I caught sight of one horse, and I walked over to him and laid my hand on his forehead, right between his eyes. The horse pressed his head into my hand as I pressed my hand into his head. Time stopped. [...]
When was the last time you played? In our culture, we tend to think that as an adult, “play” means to lie inert on a beach towel drinking a margarita. Besides the fact that most of us can only access this kind of vacation vibe once a year at most, we are missing out on [...]
