Why we host home tours, and what they can teach us about beauty in the home

It didn’t take long after the social distancing protocols were enacted for our mama hearts to ache over the situational impossibility of filling our homes with friends and family. We all missed hosting playdates and book clubs and throwing open our doors for last minute dinner parties. 

So, we got to thinking. If we couldn’t host large gatherings in person, then maybe we could host them online. 

At that moment the Everyday Mama Home Tours were born.

Over the last several months, we had the honor of hosting wonderful mamas from all over the country on our Instagram Stories. And although we’ve had the privilege of presenting our readers with some absolutely fantastic home tours in the past, we felt that an increase in the frequency of these tours could help curb the tide of loneliness and isolation that came creeping in as the social distancing protocols dragged on. 

As we’ve progressed through these uncertain times, the Home Tours have become a cornerstone of our content. After all, our core belief here at Everyday Mamas is that love begins at home; touring the beautiful, functional, and unique spaces of moms from all over the country fit within our mission. And though we started hosting home tours to mitigate quarantine life loneliness, we’ve kept them going because the canon of these tours highlights a beautiful truth.

By colorcasting the incredible uniqueness of each mom, family, and home, we’ve come to see that beauty in a home is not limited to one single style, nor dictated by a certain square footage. The truth that emerged is this: homes are beautiful when they are crafted with intention, meaning, and love. 

Each mama talked us through the way she used her own unique style, budget, and preferences to craft a functional home for her family. Every home echoed with intention and thoughtful consideration, and reflected the individuality, variety, and complexity of the lives lived within them. 

This is what makes homes beautiful. 

It’s been a joy to follow other mamas as they take us through their homes, detailing their decorating choices, remodels, updates, and plans for the future. The homes we’ve featured are as unique as the mothers giving the tours, and each woman’s singular style, family structure, geographic location, and stage in life has been so beautifully reflected and celebrated through this virtual home tour process. 

We’re also learning something else of value in this variety: there is no one way to make a home. 

The process of taking a house and curating a home for our particular families is a trade we are all engaged in. It’s an endeavor we can support each other in accomplishing because it does not find its end in materialism, nor is it oriented toward comparison or envy. This deeply meaningful work is done in the true spirit of charity, and includes and extends beyond the way we physically compose the rooms in our houses to create and maintain that intangible magic that turns houses into homes. 

Often we are presented with a singular standard of beauty online. Trends dictate this standard to a certain extent, and it is easy to scroll through social media feeling like our everyday homes aren’t measuring up to the filtered and edited photos jumping off of our screens. It’s easy to compare.

We host these home tours to show that homemaking is not a one-size-fits-all comparison operation. When you look at the scope of the tours as a whole, what becomes clear that it doesn’t matter what homes have on trend decor or name-brand furniture, or for that matter, which homes reflect the current trends or personal styles of the viewers. What matters is the marriage of form and function, the way the tangible things, like furniture, paint, DIY projects and decor can be chosen and arranged to suit the family’s needs, somehow making the whole of the home greater than the sum of its parts. 

Our tours give us front row seats to this living and creative process in houses all around the country. They’ve shown that there is no singular norm for decor or style, and that there’s a depth of meaning and responsibility in curating a home that functions for your family and reflects your unique preferences.

The home tours have given life to a beautifully inviting thought: your home is yours. You can make it whatever you want it to be. You can serve your family through the expression of your own tastes. We are here to support, inspire, and encourage each other in this universally shared, but individually realized mission of making home. Because in the end, you have the power to make your home a place where love can grow.

And that is what makes a home beautiful. 

Find all our tours in the highlights of our Instagram page, and look for new tours in our stories every week!