Heart & Home: Holly Everett

Our mom for this edition of Heart & Home is no stranger to RSMB.  You may remember her lovely backyard chickens and her words of encouragement to get our own! You may also have seen her beautiful calligraphy or adorable, new clothing line popping up on your social media.  Today, we are chatting with Holly Everett of Maison Everett blog and shop.  Let’s just start by saying that she is one very talented lady, but even more importantly, she has the sweetest of hearts.  I knew taking a peek inside her home would be nothing short of inspirational.  I hope you enjoy today’s tour of this beautiful home and hearing the very thoughtful words of the momma behind it!

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Q: Tell us a little about you and your family who live here.

I’m Holly, a Baton Rouge native, and I married a boy from Nashville so I never thought we’d end up back here. Greg and I met through mutual friends and dated long distance until we got engaged. I moved to Nashville, and we lived there for 3 years – Greg worked in the music industry and I started my photography business. Once Greg decided to make a huge career change, we chose to move to New Orleans for an interim year because most of my photography clients were there. We had Remy (our first child) in New Orleans, we moved to Baton Rouge 5 days after he was born, and then Greg started law school two weeks later! Now Remy is nearly 2, and he romps around everyday with Greta, our golden doodle pup, whom we consider our ‘first child’:) She’s as much a part of our family as the rest of us. Oh, and we have a few chickens in the backyard!

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Q: What do you love about living in Baton Rouge?

We chose the area of town we’re in because we’re a one car family (my husband bikes to the law school everyday), and I’ve absolutely loved being near the campus. This city is truly so beautiful. We love to get out and walk to the lakes almost everyday. And I love our downtown Farmers Market. I’m honored to buy our produce from the hard working farms local to us. Its become a Saturday ritual to go with Remy to get our week’s worth of groceries. It’s changed much of the way we eat in our home, for example, eating what’s in season and learning to get creative in the kitchen.

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Q: What is a typical day like for you?

I wake around 6:15am, lay in bed or read a few articles online before I hear ‘’Mama, I’m right here!” from the other room signaling that little man is up and ready to start the day. We let the chickens out of the coop, feed the pup and then cook breakfast, which is usually oatmeal or fresh eggs with seasonal fruit. The mornings are my time to spend with Remy before our babysitter arrives at 8:30am. She takes him out and about while I get to work. Work looks different for me every day. I may have a photo shoot, emails to write, orders to fulfill, or calligraphy projects to complete. I work from 8:30-11:30, I break for lunch to eat with Remy and then put him down for a nap at 12:00. He sleeps until 2:30 nearly everyday so that gives me more time to check things off my work to do. He wakes, and then we usually play outside the rest of the afternoon. These days its typically him playing in the hose while I work in the garden. We eat dinner around 5:30, have bath time, go on an evening walk and then he’s in bed for 7:00. I pour myself a glass of wine, take a break to peruse Pinterest and let my mind unwind, and then I get back to work! I’m in the office to wrap up the day’s work or simply use that time to create/work on designs while listening to music until around 10:00. (*Greg is working in Houston for the summer so that’s why he’s absent from our daily routine) Then off to sleep to start again…

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Q: We want to know more about your online shop! How did it all begin and where are you now?

It kind of came to being on its own over the past year. I started calligraphy when my husband started law school because I needed something to do in the evenings while he was studying all the time, and I was home by myself with our newborn. I started doing custom calligraphy projects and then realized that there just isn’t enough time in the day to only be doing custom work on top of my current photography projects I was doing (I have been a photographer full time until this past year when I slowly transitioned out of it). I always had a dream of owning my own product line but the timing and the product was never right. I started to come up with designs for kid’s tees and then it slowly developed into both tees and art prints, which are now available in my online shop! I created a brand, a website, a business plan and had all the pieces made in exactly 3 months. It was a little crazy but sometimes my work ethic thrives in the chaos;)

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Q: Where do you find inspiration for your products?

My childhood, being the mom of a little boy, spending everyday with my son and realizing there’s so much adventure to be had starting in the home — my brand stems from the idea that we have the ability to make everyday beautiful and full of love, regardless of how simple it may be. Beauty shows up in the most simplistic of ways I’ve found since becoming a mom. I have my son to thank for that. He makes me slow down and appreciate things that otherwise I would let slip by. And I can be silly and adventure with him. It’s some of the best forms of inspiration. Peter Pan and the Adventures of Neverland were always a favorite in my home growing up. It’s all come back full circle now that I have my own little ‘lost boy’ to adventure with at home:)

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Q: Baton Rouge won’t be your home for much longer. Tell us about your newest adventure!

It’s so bittersweet, but yes, its true! We are moving to Israel in August. My husband is a law student at LSU, and he’ll complete his 3rd year of studies abroad. We’ll be living in Tel Aviv in the old Yemenite quarters for the school year and will return in time for him to graduate from LSU.

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Q: What will your goals be for creating a home-away-from home for your family and especially your son?

I’m a firm believer that you can make a home out of wherever you are living. We’ll be in a furnished flat but we’ll carry many of our regular everyday traditions with us that’ll make it feel like home. For example, we’ll purposefully chose the area of town we’ll be living in because its couple of blocks from the open air market, which means we can walk down to get our food for the week and come back to our kitchen where Remy ‘helps me’ with cooking our meals. And, I’m already planning on a few art projects we’ll do as soon as we get settled in to our new home so that we can have pieces that means something to us on our walls. All the pieces hanging on our walls now have meaning to us – either made by a dear friend or come from a time that is sentimental.

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Q: Give us your number one tip for creating a beautiful home.

Make it your own. I think sometimes we’re afraid of doing something in our home because it may not be the norm or what is ‘in style’ but if you feel a certain way about how you desire to design a space, go with it. Its what makes the personality of a home come alive and, to me, that’s where the true beauty lies. A beautiful home tells the story of the people who live in it.

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Q: What do you hope your son remembers most about this Baton Rouge home? 

He’ll be just over two when we leave so I don’t know if he’ll remember this home. But I know he’s enjoyed the space to roam freely, inside and out, with our dog and the chickens learning and exploring. We’ve been so thankful to have this little home for our season in Baton Rouge. Its hard to say goodbye to her.

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Q: What is the greatest lesson you have learned since becoming a mom?

That little people are capable of so much, both in learning things themselves and in teaching us (older people) about what life is really all about. I’ve learned to slow down and taste the sweetness of life’s daily happenings. And in doing so, I get to see all that my son is learning and figuring out as he grows into his own unique personality. Being a mom is the most rewarding task I’ll ever have.

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Thank you, Holly, for opening up your home and sharing such sweet words with us.  I absolutely love what you say about “making everyday beautiful” and how our children are such amazing teachers of that. I also just love how light and bright this home is! What a breath of fresh air. Moms, I hope you enjoyed this tour and getting to know this sweet momma. Be sure to stop by her shop, Maison Everett to see all the lovelies over there!

To see all our Heart & Home posts, click right here. And if you or someone you know would like to share your home right here on the blog, email [email protected] for more info!

Angela
Angela is a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom to 4 children. She and her husband, Josh, were born and raised in Louisiana and love raising their kids around family and friends. They love exploring the outdoors, traveling, and playing sports. Angela loves to encourage other homeschooling moms and loves to advocate for getting kids off screens and outside.

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