Seven years married.
Two babies under two.
And a husband finally home after five weeks away.
We celebrated our wedding anniversary just two days ago, and while it was a quiet one (as most celebrations are in this little-kid season), it felt like a big milestone in its own quiet way. A marker of how far we've come - not just as a couple, but as a family, as parents, as people navigating the unknowns of growth, business, and big love in small moments.
This season hasn’t left much room for painting. I’ve been deep in the everyday… nappies, snacks, tiny hands pulling at my clothes… and with my husband overseas for work, it’s been full-on. The kind of full that fills you and depletes you all at once. But even in the creative pause, I’ve been thinking about how much life we’re building. How many layers we’ve added to our home and our story in just a few short years.
Our home tells that story.
There’s the artwork I painted during my first pregnancy, and the print I hung next to our cot - soft greens and grounded brushstrokes, a sense of calm. There are the scuffed-up floorboards where we danced with the babies when he came back through the door last Sunday, and the corner of the kitchen where we stand every morning, tired but grateful.
Like a canvas built up over time, home happens in layers.
Not all at once. Not always planned.
But meaningful, textured, and uniquely ours.
And it’s this philosophy that inspires everything I create at Terri Madden Studio - the idea that art doesn’t just decorate your home, it becomes part of your family’s story. That each piece you bring into your space can represent a chapter: a beginning, a return, a celebration, a memory of someone or something you love.
As I slowly return to the studio this month, I’m thinking of you, the women building layered lives too. With kids and careers and kitchens filled with crumbs and colour. Whether you’re styling your first home or refreshing your space after years of change, I hope you’ll choose art that means something to you.
Because the best homes aren’t perfect. They’re personal.
What stories are layered into your home right now?
And what’s the next layer you’re ready to add?
Terri xx