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There’s just something about Eva. My social media crush list is around the block. So why is it that with so many compelling lifestyle bloggers to follow I found myself actively seeking out Eva Amurri Martino's posts via Happily Eva After? After some reflection I realize I find her approach a little different from the other mommies sharing curated feeds that boast darling images of their kids or anecdotes about trying to juggle it all. Her posts are perfectly, imperfect and her refreshingly honest comments often resonating with me, another mom, wife, entreprenure, foodie, and style junkie. I find her a endearingly quirky. A free spirit who walks to her own beat, not in an odd ball sort of way, but with a trend setting sashay. With her glass half full attitude I often would pause to take a second look at my day and turn my frown upside down. I believe that constant glow we seeing in her posts, whether in her PJs or all dressed up with some place to go, are a reflection of her happy-go-Eva attitude derived from a well developed sense of self. When I learned she was pregnant I reached out to her to see if we could collaborate on the new nursery. She graciously let me know she had it covered. In our interview we learned that she is confident in her style vision as you will see below in the kid’s room reveal. Her love for being her own interior designer shows off not just in these kids rooms, but in every room in her home. Q&A WITH EVA AMURRI MARTINO'Prooving Style Lives on even After kids'  Q: What was going on in your life when you decided to take the plunge of pouring your heart and interest into a blog format? A: Blogging came at a time for me when I was feeling really frustrated with my career. I hadn’t been feeling passionate about acting for a long time, but I was having a hard time envisioning how a transition away from that world would be, or what I could do that would feel more fulfilling to me. Meanwhile, I had just become a Mom to my baby girl and I was going through all the growing pains that come with being a new parent. I was having such a hard time figuring out how to be everything that my daughter needed me to be, that my husband needed me to be, that my career needed me to be– while ALSO being true to my own identity as a woman. I wanted to do it all, and talk about how hard it was AND how fulfilling it was– the good, the bad, and the ugly. The blog was born out of a desire to create a community around these types of feelings and to promote the concept that we can find joy and humor despite the chaos, imperfection, or shortcomings of Parenthood.  Q: We love your refreshing, honest art of story telling from various perspectives of being a woman, wife, mom, daughter, creative, lover of life, etc. When did you realize sharing via your blog was as good for you as it was for others? A: Shortly after launching my blog in 2015, I experienced a devastating miscarriage. I decided to share my experience with my miscarriage on Happily Eva After in the hopes that my voice would shed some light on this rarely talked about but highly common experience. Not only was I shocked at how healing it was for me to write my truth, but I was really moved and blown away but how far reaching and deep the emotional response was to my post. It proved to me that people are really searching for openness and authenticity online, and it’s my continued goal to provide that type of community for my readers. Q: Was there a moment when you thought you might need to take a step-back in sharing personal anecdotes from your life or family’s life? A: There will always be Trolls and Bullies in the online space. I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of them, but I think it’s important to not let negative voices dim your light. All I can do is share of myself authentically– not everyone is going to like me. And that’s ok. That’s life! Q: You WERe going through two momentous, but exciting life happenings right now: remodeling a new home; and getting ready to have your second baby this fall. Which has proven more challenging as things progress? A: Yes– clearly I appreciate a challenge. Ha! I think both are challenging in different ways, and certainly both together are a little bit psychotic. I’m trying to just breathe through the process. We finished our remodel at the end of August– and I designed it all during my pregnancy. Luckily I’m pretty quick when it comes to decision making– I have a really strong sense of my likes and dislikes designwise– and that has helped tremendously. All the chaos has made this pregnancy a bit more challenging than my last, though. It’s been hard to really stop and enjoy it, which is a bit bittersweet since it’s going to be my last. But I’m really looking forward to meeting our son, and especially to seeing the interaction between him and his big sister. I get teary even thinking about it!
Q: While we have seen the initial remodel images on your blog, and will be stalking your site and social media for more eye-candy – can you describe what is WAS that you inherently lookED to accomplish in any given room at Maison Martino? Be that your living room, office, Kitchen or kid's bedroom. A: I’m a very emotional designer– it’s important to me to feel viscerally effected by a space, whether that feeling is cozy, energized, sexy, relaxed… Every space tells a story and I never want something in my house that I don’t love. I’m really drawn to patterns, textures, and colors– juxtaposed with restrained color palettes and a really fresh and clean aesthetic. “Cozy Modern” is what I like to call it! My worst nightmare is that people don’t feel at home at our house, or that anything feels like kids can’t be around or near it. At the end of the day, I believe that true elegance is a bit rumpled in nature.  Living room before  Living room after all fresh and awake with color  Rows and rows of built in kid's toy storage makes clean up quick and easy
Q: Who is your go-to home furnishing or décor brand when looking for pieces for the kids spaces? A: I’ve always adored Land Of Nod for children’s spaces– it has a great price point and a super charming aesthetic. Target can have some amazing finds for kids, too, particularly the Oh Joy! Line. Q: You have your own amazing style so we are curious to know if you are you working with a designer for your kids bedrooms or DIY’ing it? If yes, why? If no, why not? A: No, I do it all myself! Interior Design has always been one of my passions, and anyway it would feel strange to me to have design content on my blog that somebody else thought up! Q: Like us, you are a Pinterest lover for collecting inspiration for future projects big and small. Can you give us at least a verbal sneak-peek of your new little girls bedroom and baby boy’s nursery inspiration and style? A: Despite being “only” two years old, Marlowe is already super verbal and VERY opinionated! I made sure to discuss her room concept with her before making any decisions. She’s big in to water, mermaids, and sea life, so we decided on a Mermaid Theme together. I use the word “theme” loosely since I tend to find themed rooms a bit cheesy at times, but I wanted it to feel like a charming and cozy oasis fit for my own Little Mermaid. I focused on lavender, mint green, aqua, peach, magenta, and golds to evoke that Mermaid princess lifestyle, and added lots of underwater-eque textures and accents.  This reading nook has room for Marlowe and all her friends  Toddler bedroom before  Fresh and bright with pops of rich color (crushing on the hot purple, metallic bunny)  Books, glorious books
A: For the Nursery, I had such a clear idea of exactly what I wanted from the moment I knew he was a boy! I found a Flat Vernacular wallpaper that I’m obsessed with, and paired it with some awesome tonal prints and a tribal rug. The room feels whimsical, but masculine at the same time– and so not “babyish”. I wanted him to be able to grow in to it for years to come.  This nursery is "major". Major James Martino was born on October 19, 2016  Nursery before  A wildly popular color combo of black and brights  These animal heads take whimsy to another level
Q: As a mom who is working and will be raising two children along with your husband, how do you find peace with the quality time you spend on each – work, husband, kids and life? A: The short and real answer is that it’s always a struggle. I never feel like each of those categories is getting enough attention at any given moment. I like the word juggle instead of balance because it denotes a certain level of chaos that is always present when trying to lead a really full life. The upside is that full lives are really what living is all about. That should be my new mantra!  Mommy and Marlowe  Big sis, little fish. Q: Who’s your social media style crush and/or favorite blog?My social media style crush is Domino Magazine. I drool over their posts daily. Fave blogs right now are The Every Girl, A Beautiful Mess, and A House In The Hills. For more inspiration from Baby makes 3 Photos provide by Happily Eva After
All interior photographs by Stephanie Elliott Photography
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Lisa Janvrin
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