style vs. practicality at home {how do you do it?}

About 14 years ago, my husband and I got married and moved into our first apartment together. As undergraduate students, we furnished the place with hand-me-down and scratch-and-dent furniture, which served us well for a looong time. In fact, when we moved to Iowa last summer for a one-year fellowship, we finally got rid of some of that furniture (good riddance!). And after 14 years of living on loans and stipends, I'm looking forward to finding and decorating my dream house in the near future. I've been watching Nate Burkus religiously, filling up my Houzz.com style boards, and pinning room ideas on Pinterest like crazy. In my head it is bea-u-tiful!

Source: inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com via Mandy on Pinterest

Then I remember that I have three BOYS. Boys who love to jump off furniture, boys who sneak snacks out of the kitchen, boys who throw remote control helicopters off the upstairs landing to the family room below. Rethinking some of those accessories about now. . .

Hopefully that doesn't mean I can't have my beautiful house, I just have to find some balance between style and practicality. (I think I can, I think I can.) I'll just be making removable slip covers for my decorative pillows, buying secondhand pieces and refinishing them, and putting in stain-proof carpet. Yes, you read that right. It's a real thing! Stain-proof carpet and rugs. I just heard about Resista from CarpetOne, and it is definitely on my wish list. Hooray! Nate Burkus, here I come!!

I'm curious to know, in your home, how do you balance your practical needs with your style wants?
You live your life on carpet. Make sure you have carpet that lets you live your life! For more information on Resista Carpet visit www.carpetone.com

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf ofCarpetOne. The opinions and text are all mine.