Living With Kids: Paige Posladek

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

This Living With Kids feature was the tour that almost never happened. The photos were prepped, the interview was sent…and then a family sadness took over Paige’s process. Sadness has a way of doing that, doesn’t it?

So I’d check in every so often. July, then September, and then once more in November, but it wasn’t until this month that she was ready to take us on a tour. Better late than never, I say, because Paige – her words and her home – were worth the wait. You’ll see.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

LIVING WITH KIDS: PAIGE WHITMORE

Welcome, Paige! We’ve been waiting for you.

Hello! My name is Paige. I live in this home with my husband Carter, our daughter Marlow, and boxer pup, Louie. We live in Kansas City.

My husband, Carter, is a 10/10. He is the best person I have ever known. He is consistent, even-keeled, and is the same person in every situation. He’s one of those people who is good at everything he does, but he doesn’t know it – or doesn’t care. I love that about him.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

He is loved by everyone. I get stopped in the supermarket by women who tell me they wished their daughters would have dated or married him, and how lucky I am to have scooped him up. It’s really sweet. And, of course, very true. 

We met in college when we were 19. I asked him to a Regina Spektor concert at the Greek Theatre. After our first date, there wasn’t really a question in my mind about him, about us. He was it. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

I am Paige. I’m a KC transplant. I grew up in California and moved here four years ago. It took a few years to understand how to do winter. My mother-in-law had to remind me to wear socks when it was snowing outside. It’s safe to say I’ve built up my winter coat collection. I also wear socks now. 

I love to read and create. I committed to reading a book a week last year, and I loved it all. Before starting our current home project, I ran a small letterpress business out of my garage. The press is still in my garage since it isn’t easy to move; it weighs 2500 pounds. I still love it. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Marlow Mae is 18 months old. We are convinced she is the best human to ever live. She has a very chill, laid back demeanor, and is so curious about everything around her. She has taught me so much about going with the flow and exploring the world around me. She would spend all day outside if she could.

She certainly has characteristics and features that came from Carter and me, but she is very much her own person already. I love when she shows us something new about herself. She just started blowing kisses, which shatters our hearts into a million pieces every time.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Louie, our boxer, is very much a member of our family. Marlow and Louie are inseparable; they eat together, sit together, play together…they are quite the pair. No one can make Marlow laugh like Louie can, and no one can get Louie to be as attentive and tender as he is with Marlow. I was hesitant at first to get a dog since we move so often, but now I can’t imagine our family without him.

We live in the Kansas City metro area. Kansas City is unique because it’s one city in two states (Kansas and Missouri), split right down the middle by State Line. In some ways, it’s one large city, but each side has distinct differences that set them apart. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

For instance, the Kansas side of the metro area is full of suburbs, great schools, and family-friendly activities, with more basic architecture and newer builds. The Missouri side has older homes loaded with charm and the best food in town, but less-than-stellar schools.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

It’s always interesting to see where people choose to live because there are clear pros and cons to both. Learning where someone chooses to live in town can tell you a lot about them. The first time I visited Kansas City, I was struck by how much pride the locals had for their town. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. Kansas Citians are so proud of their city, and it’s really neat to see how everyone rallies around local businesses. Locals truly love where they live and want to make their city better.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Right now we live in a neighborhood called Old Leawood, which is on the Kansas side. We have lived all over town and on both sides of State Line, and every neighborhood has its own culture and experience. Old Leawood is a neighborhood with large lots and ranch style homes. The homes were built in the 50’s, so many still belong to the original owners. We are only the second owners of our home and we just purchased it eight months ago.

KC’s real estate market is booming, but it is still a very affordable place to live. On average, a single family home costs $200,000-300,000. It allows young families to buy, upgrade, or renovate. I grew up in California, and I am still shocked by the affordability of the Kansas market. It seems like such a luxury to me to own a home in my twenties, but here it’s very common. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

We bought this home eight months ago as an investment property. We committed to the flip in January, which is kind of nuts to think about since Marlow was only three months old at the time. She spent a lot of time in the Ergo for the first six months of her life, while we peeled wallpaper and picked up supplies. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

We were living in a loft downtown but we ended up moving in for the renovation so I could work on the house during naps. Everyone thought we were crazy for moving into a house just for the renovation, and then plan to move again once we sell it.

Moving in wasn’t hard for us, though. We loved working on this home and it worked for us in this season of life. We get to spend time together doing something that matters, and we work really well together. Moving in seemed like the only option at the time anyway, since we wouldn’t have been able to carry rent and a mortgage.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Our current home belonged to Carter’s grandfather, who was the original owner. When we heard it may get torn down or renovated in a way that wouldn’t be true to the history of the home, we gave that a big NOPE and swooped in. 

There is so much history here. Carter’s grandfather was a TWA pilot, and many of the pieces we have in our home are souvenirs he collected during his travels. The architect for this house lived right next door. We wrote a letter to the future owners, sharing with them the history of the home and the people that lived here. We won’t be able to do that with every project in the future, but I think it is really special when we can. Every home has a story; we just want to bring it back to life.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

This home was well-cared for, but it was all original. Lots of dark paneling, little natural light. Ranches typically have small rooms with lots of wall dividers, so we took those all down and opened up the space. 

We converted the sun-room into a dining room, and now it adds so much light to the home. We opened up the kitchen and made it white and bright. The formal dining room became a mudroom, and the dark den became a bright family room, open to the kitchen. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Our goal with this house was to make it functional for the modern family while respecting the original style of the home.

It is a mid-century ranch built by East-Coasters, so I tried to tie that into my own design style, which is more traditional-meets-Lake-Tahoe-cabin. We found shiplap in one room, so we exposed it and added it to the rest of the room. Shiplap is having a major moment right now – thanks, JoJo – so it was fun to try. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Six weeks into the renovations, we got an offer above our asking price. We were excited, obviously, but also shocked at how quickly it happened; and how aggressive the market was. I mean, we didn’t even have all the drywall up!

That’s an accurate picture of the Kansas City market right now: people want in and things fly. If a property is on the market for more than a week, you can assume something is majorly wrong with it. One week! 

We didn’t accept that offer for a number of reasons, but largely because of Capital Gains Tax. We formed an LLC for future projects, which will allow us to buy and sell properties quickly without giving a huge chunk of the profits to taxes. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

We recently had the home appraised, and during the six-month renovation process, the value of the home increased by a hundred grand. It was the first time I’ve done something I have loved and thought, “Whoa, I can actually make money doing this.” Once we learned that, we decided to sit on the equity for a bit while we look into flipping other properties.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

This home also has sentimental value, so we are happy to stay here for a while. We just purchased another flip so we’ll get to pour our creative juices into that for a while.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Working on the home was a family effort. Our family business, a home service company, helped with all the behind the scenes (behind the walls) stuff. My Dad did the landscaping and is our resident trouble shooter. Carter’s parents and my mom spent time with Marlow so I could work for a few hours here and there. Our good friend, Connor, answered one million questions and helped with a bunch of projects. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Carter and I did work on a lot of projects together. Carter pokes fun at me because I legit fell in love with the nail gun and miter saw. Using power tools is so satisfying. There is inherently nothing masculine about power tools. I had no idea how easy it was to learn.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

If there is a building project you want to try, go for it! If you can lift a baby and can do basic math, you can use power tools.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

I’m a chronic re-arranger and project-doer. I’ve lost track of the number of times my husband has found me painting a wall at 2:00 am. He has stopped asking why and goes back to bed. We’ve lived here for eight months and our living room has already been four colors. I can’t help it! I nest the heck out of everything. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

I thought I needed to figure everything out before I had a family. I had to lock in my career path, load up our savings account, and essentially get it out of my system. I thought becoming a parent would stifle my creativity and motivation. Literally, the opposite happened. Having a daughter ignited a passion and creativity in me I hadn’t accessed before. She gave me the confidence in myself to take risks. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

We recently bought a new flip, and the excitement of a new project collided with the heartbreak of our recent miscarriage. It hit me so hard. It is a brutal experience. I had already pictured Marlow with a sibling, exactly two years apart. The loss of the child and the loss of those dreams struck us deep. Pain and loss and hurt all lead, if we let it, to something much more beautiful than we could have planned.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Have you ever heard of kintsugi? It’s a Japanese art form that melds broken ceramics back together with gold. That’s what I think a mother’s hurting heart looks like. A piece of art, more beautiful than it was in the beginning when it was untethered.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design MomLiving With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Anyway, miscarriage sucks. It sucks. Really. But if you have gone through it, you aren’t alone. And you have a beautiful soul melded back together with gold. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design MomLiving With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

I hope Marlow remembers how much fun Carter and I have working on projects together. I hope she remembers how much Carter believed in me, and how he pushed me to take on projects I thought were too difficult to handle. 

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

I hope she remembers that we took risks, took a nontraditional path, and worked really hard. I hope she remembers that life is full of beauty and hurt and you usually have to experience them at the same time.

Living With Kids: Paige Posladek featured by popular lifestyle blogger, Design Mom

Mostly, I want her to remember that we take great pride in who she is and who she is becoming. 

–-

Well, I just about melted when Paige described her husband. May we all have someone in our lives to describe as a 10/10. Also? That mudroom. May we all have a mudroom like that in our lives, as well. Hah!

P.S. – Are you living with your own kids in a unique way? Are you interested in sharing your home and experiences with us? Let me know! We love to be inspired! And it’s a lot of fun…I promise! I should also mention, I have a goal to bring more diverse points of view to Design Mom this year. So if you don’t see yourself or your community reflected here, let’s make it happen — send in your details, or recommend a friend! Take a peek at all the homes in my Living With Kids series here.

 


Photo credits: Sarah Sweeney and Kaley Cornett.

54 thoughts on “Living With Kids: Paige Posladek”

  1. Wow. “I thought I needed to figure everything out before I had a family. I had to lock in my career path, load up our savings account, and essentially get it out of my system … Having a daughter ignited a passion and creativity in me I hadn’t accessed before. She gave me the confidence in myself to take risks. ” Thank you for this. I’m not a mother, but hope to be one day, and often think about the need to have it all together first. It’s great to be reassured that that’s not true.

    Also: “[Kintsugi] is a Japanese art form that melds broken ceramics back together with gold. That’s what I think a mother’s hurting heart looks like. A piece of art, more beautiful than it was in the beginning when it was untethered.”

    What a beautiful picture! It’s so true, that pain and beauty can go together. I love Glennon Melton’s similar concept of “brutiful” – beautiful + brutal. Life hurts, but often beauty accompanies the pain. Hurting + healing.

    Thank you for your words. Kudos for taking risks and being brave and seeing beauty through pain!

  2. I had to check out this 10/10 on Paige’s Instagram. He’s even got dimples, people–major dimples! Thanks for sharing, Paige. Enjoyed your house and your words very much.

  3. I want to go buy a kintsugi ceramic now for my new home…that description beautifully sums up my heart as a mother who suffered with infertility. Years of a broken heart put back together with my beautiful “gold” miracle daughter. Thank you for sharing.

  4. I love when Paige said, “If you can lift a baby and can do basic math, you can use power tools.” Those are empowering words to me. I have plenty of home improvement projects I want to do, but I always feel like I have to wait for my husband to help me. I think I am going to take her advice and just, “go for it!”

  5. Traci Barr Segal

    Ah, a family with a boxer has my heart🐶💓! They are so loving with children.
    Cheers, from rural Northern California.

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  7. Paige I loved the words and feelings expressed about your miscarriage. I myself have not had one but my daughter has had 2 and struggled with infertility for 3 years. Our son and his wife were devastated when their first daughter was stillborn, as were we all. I have learned so much from my kids and the grief they have born at such young ages. It has opened my eyes to a form a grief that many bear each day. There is beauty to discover as we pass through trials, share each others pain and learn to lift and serve. Our son and his wife now have a rainbow baby girl named Violet and our daughter is 12 weeks and counting pregnant!! Thanks for sharing your story!

  8. Hannah Beth Reid

    I love the little corner nook with the cushions and the pom pom garland!

    Her descriptions of people and places and her miscarriage experience are beautiful as well.

    Thank you for sharing with us Paige and Gabrielle!

  9. I’m single and often find friends marveling over my abilities to hang shelves, install lighting, and do any other handiwork around the house. I tell them all the time is is SO satisfying to work with your hands and they can do it too! Once I’m out of an apartment I cannot wait to try power tools.

  10. What a beautiful home and even more precious story. I DO know what kintsugi is and I run a non profit that features it on our products! Unshattered.org helps women in recovery from addiction maintain their sobriety and build a path forward. We make handbags out of donated repurposed materials (military uniforms, manufacturing scrap…) and incorporate a gold seam throughout our product line to represent kintsugi – broken lives made whole.

    Keep up the great, beautiful work!

  11. That green wall is perfection. I am also from California where every home costs close to a million dollars. House flipping sounds fun. You have done an amazing job! Thank you for sharing.

  12. Paige- I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Heartbreaking. My first son died at four days old so I appreciated you sharing the kintsugi analogy. I had never heard of that but it resonates so much.

    1. Paige Whitmore Posladek

      Robin, I am so sorry for your loss. I can only imagine the pain you experience. You are so brave. Thank you for sharing with us.

  13. Everyone always tries to minimize the heartache of a miscarriage. Often replying, “oh, I had one….” or something like that. I too experienced deep and profound loss at a ten week miscarriage after loosing our first child as a stillborn. Thank you for giving the pain and heartache importance.

    1. Paige Whitmore Posladek

      Yes! I painted the wall with green chalk paint, then took a piece of chalk on its side and ran it all over the wall. Then I took a damp towel in a circular motion and it created the pattern above. It was super easy to do. I hope that helps!

  14. I love that you wrote the history of the home to give to the future owners. Every home has a unique history and it’s so fascinating to learn about it. I wish everyone did that. Your home is beautiful.

  15. “Have you ever heard of kintsugi? It’s a Japanese art form that melds broken ceramics back together with gold. That’s what I think a mother’s hurting heart looks like. A piece of art, more beautiful than it was in the beginning when it was untethered.”

    I think that’s exactly what my heart looks like. Thank you for capturing it so succinctly. A miscarried baby, four foster littles who reunited with their families, and my heart is certainly melded together with gold. Thank you for that beautiful turn of phrase.

  16. Shannon Kiswani

    Gaaah! You, your darling daughter, the inspiring love you have for your husband, your beautifully written words, ridiculously gorgeous home….need I say more? Thank you for sharing your heart with us, Paige. You are wonderful!

  17. Oh my, what a beautiful soul you are! I loved reading every word of this and seeing inside your beautiful home. Your daughter is adorable and she is so lucky to have such a compassionate mommy.

    If you would be willing to share the paint color in the mushroom I would be very grateful! Love it!

    1. paige whitmore posladek

      Hi Jen! Thanks so much for your kind words. The mudroom is Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball but I got it color matched at Home Depot. It is the same rich blue without costing a million dollars :)

  18. Your house is so beautiful. We love many of the same interior colors and style, except yours is totally elegant/cozy and my version…well, let’s just say I struggle with restraint. I have to hang pictures on every open wall space, and add too many things to the mantle and too many pillows on the couch, etc. So thank you for showing me a gorgeous version of many of the things I like that isn’t stuffed to the brim. I can see I have some editing to do. I loved your words and your home. :)

  19. I know people talk about spirit animals…. But I think this is my spirit house. So carefully curated and beautiful. and the light. #Allthehearteyes.

    My favorite part is when she says “I hope she remembers that life is full of beauty and hurt and you usually have to experience them at the same time.” YES. YES. YES.

  20. Such a beautiful story & a beautiful home. Thanks for sharing.
    On a design note, is your nursery glider the Sutton glider? I’ve been *slightly* stalking it, and would love a firsthand review. Thanks!

    1. Thank you for your kind words, Lanise!

      I’m not sure if it’s the Sutton glider. We got it from Nebraska Furniture Mart. It’s a great chair and has held up extremely well, although it is not a glider (like it was marked). It’s definitely a rocker base, so that was a little disappointing. Outside of that, it was a great value. It’s held up against all the wear and tear very well. I hope that helps! xx

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  22. What a great role model for her daughter!

    Can you tell me where the floor pillow in the baby’s room is from?

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  25. I just love the green chalkboard walls! Do you happen to have the color code (Pantone or NCS) for this color?

  26. Paige,

    your comparison of kintsugi and a mother’s broken heart is beautiful and moving. Thank you so much for sharing your story as well as your beautiful home!
    I have to say that I am absolutely obsessed with the green wall in the cozy corner! I was surprised by the difference in the two photos of the same wall as the first has so many colors and a sheen that reminds me of a deep pool of water. The second is equally beautiful but does not share the effect. I’m guessing the first is some wonderous play of light, but wanted to ask (just in case) is there some sort of glaze over the chalk paint and chalk? I have been to multiple paint stores and showed the first photo asking how to recreate it. Every time I am told: 1. how much they love the wall, 2. they have no idea how to recreate it and 3. to make sure I come back and tell them if I figure it out :) If you (or anyone else reading this) would be willing to share any thoughts I would be so grateful!

    1. Hi Gia!

      I’m sorry my response is so delayed! Thank you for your comments on the wall in my daughter’s room. I’m happy to share with you how I did it! Both pictures are accurate representations of the wall–one has direct light on it, the other is shadowed.

      I used standard green chalkboard paint (not chalk paint that is used on furniture), which you can buy for a few bucks at your local hardware store. Take a white piece of chalk and rub the side of it all over the wall. Then, take a lightly damp washcloth and lightly brush the wall in circular motions. That is how to get the effect on there.

      I hope this helps! Please ask more questions if you have them! Good luck! xo

  27. Paige! Love love your house. Maybe you don’t follow this post anymore, but if you do would love to get in touch. My husband and I are looking to move to KC with our two children. Have you sold the home already?

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