One of our guilty pleasures during nap time is to catch up on all of our favorite magazines or scroll through Instagram for design inspiration. There’s so much goodness out there sometimes it gets overwhelming, right? Without fail, the pages I always flag first are the ones of dreamy living spaces with inviting nooks for chatting and white couches. Gosh, I love a nice white couch. Upon further inspection though, is that baby puke in the corner of that cushion? Black dog hair from the lab who’s claimed the spot for a nice afternoon siesta? No, you don’t see it?! Oh, must just be my house. Right. I can’t have a white couch and probably never will because we have dogs, a baby, a love of wine, snacking on the sofa, a zest for life.  And you know what else? I don’t see a TV on that page. Not only can this family have white couches, they don’t watch television? That can’t be real life. And that’s my point. You can pin all the decor inspo you like from your favorite designers, but most of them don’t design for real life. They design for clients who don’t have time to watch television, have a clean up crew for the inevitable wine spillage, OK, let’s face it they probably don’t even live there.  Here’s what we want you to be honest about when you start pinning:

1. What does a day look like spent in your living space? This is not a fantasy day. This is real deal Holyfield. Toys strewn all over the floor, popcorn between the seat cushions, no one has a place to get comfy kind of day. That will tell us so many things. Do you need some built in shelving around the fireplace? Gold-trimmed rattan containers that look oh so fab but double as great toy storage? See, you can still be fancy and practical. Do you like to watch your favorite Food Network show while prepping dinner but can’t see the TV from it’s current position?
2. Pet Friendly. What kind of animals do you have? That impacts everything. Are they allowed on the furniture? Do they have a sneaky little spot they like to pee in? Do they have a lot of toys or special dog beds? All of that plays into your design. Having five dogs, and not being great at enforcing the rules, the Pack really does rule the roost in our home. And having designed for us and not them has actually cost us big time as the years have gone by. Do you know how many area rugs we’ve gone through? How many unsuspecting couches have landed in the alley on garbage day? The right material on your furniture is everything since I most definitely cannot put my name behind plastic covers on the couch. Tip: microfiber, never linen. 
3. Entertainment. How many people take up space in your living room? I’m not talking Thanksgiving or your annual Super Bowl party…though we can talk options for company later. But how many people do you want to fit on the sofa? Do you have snugglers who would love an oversized sectional or older emo kids who like their own space? Do you prefer reading in a recliner or something more stately? Taking all of that into consideration will help you develop a seating arrangement that works for everyone to really get the maximum out of the relaximum, you know what I mean?

What does your “white couch” look like? Share your dream design with us in the comments below!