A busy woman with many talents, Danika is an ER Doctor, mother of 3 beautiful children under the age of 8, a loving wife, and after seeing her beautifully decorated home, we think she should add interior designer to that list! Her family of 5 moved into their 1950s ranch in Fort Worth, Texas a little over a year ago. Using her stylish design eye, love for antiques, and affinity for decorating kid’s spaces, Danika has been making it their own ever since. She has made a home that is beautiful, comfortable, and kid-friendly all wrapped into one, – which isn’t an easy feat. Danika stays true to her stylish aesthetic while ensuring that their home is a lovely environment for her family to grow, play, learn, and share quality time together. How did she do it you ask? Check out our interview where she gives us all the details:
We love your home! Have you always had an interest in interior decorating?
I have always loved design thanks to my Mom. She hails from a long line of artists, but dedicated her career and the left side of her brain to air-traffic control. Growing up, we exercised the right side of our brains on the weekends by designing our home and rearranging furniture.
I absolutely love creating beautiful spaces. It stems from a deep rooted need for community and gathering. All design inspiration for me begins with an idea of how I want to gather with others in our home, or how I want the kids to experience their spaces.
How would you describe your home style?
My style interests have evolved as I get older. Our first home was straight lines and edges in every corner and filled with new, modern/contemporary furniture with bold colors. As I get older, I have fallen in love with curves and textures. Several years ago, I started antique shopping. I may or may not have a problem with hoarding my finds. I am now fully immersed in mixing the old with the new. This home was built in the 1950s and with a good remodel, it would be perfect to really bring to life that era with some great mid-century modern styling. However, the interior was built more traditional, so I’ve had fun pulling out all those cool purchases that have just been waiting for their chance in the limelight.
One thing that has stayed consistent in my design, is my love for wood. The warmth and texture of wood is a grounding, centralizing element for me. It reminds me of my childhood in Germany and Michigan, home of some of the most beautiful forests in the world.
What was your vision when decorating your home? What were your top priorities?
With this move, the priority was to downsize and simplify. We moved from a 4100 sq. ft. home into a 3400 sq. ft. home and in doing so lost two bedrooms. We grew our family in the old home from 1 to 3 kids, but we never really completely utilized all of the space. I liked the idea of living smaller and closer as a young family, so we embraced the idea of the kiddos sharing bedrooms. First priority was to get them comfortable and right back to their work of playing. We purchased bunk beds from the Land of Nod. Initially we put my oldest two in the room (boy and girl) so we went with a gender neutral theme. We have since placed the youngest two in the room, and have went slightly overboard with florals and pink! The girls’ room is one of my favorites in the home as it gets the best afternoon sun. Their work of play is so inspiring during that time of day. Endless hours of twirls and giggles (interspersed with screams and wailing).
The rest of the house was a giant re-configuration of furniture. We actually gained an entire new look just by juggling the pieces that we had around. The front of the house is flanked with gigantic windows, and gets amazing golden afternoon sun. I took the opportunity to go a little darker on the paint color in the front living space, and went with a gorgeous shade of indigo by Sherwin Williams. I love the smoky feel, and how it instantly makes you want to settle in to the room. I have previously been a white walls only kind of girl, mainly out of a need for a sense of freshness and a blank slate to serve my unending need to constantly change things up. I had these amazing bonnet chairs that I found a few years back in an antique store that needed a showcase spot in the home. This house has a formal dining space and I thought what better way to formalize the space than with these chairs? I wanted the dining space to be colorful and warm, so we painted the walls a warm shade of white (Navajo, Sherwin Williams) and went with gold accents.
Paloma Dining Table from Crate & Barrel.
Can you talk to us a little bit about decorating the children’s rooms?
Children’s décor is my jam. I mean seriously, I find the greatest joy out of designing their little spaces. My children have bold, outgoing personalities, and I find that bold color best suits their style and play.
Prior to having girls, I was anti-pink for some really odd reason. Since becoming a girl mom, I have been liberated from my pink protest. I chose a cherry pink rug from nuLOOM, purchased on zulily as the inspiration for the room. The gorgeous vintage floral design on the rug set the tone for a floral explosion in the room. I found the grey patterned dresser at HomeGoods, and some sweet floral garland from Target to compliment the design on the rug. The light is the best feature in the room, so I chose sheers with pom fringe for window coverings to not block a single ounce of that light. I love to buy toys that inspire imagination and support the design of the room. The IKEA kitchen is now on its third kiddo and going strong, and it has looked fab in whatever space I put it in. Most wooden toys do, so I have invested in some quality pieces for the kids that have inspired great play and kept me sane with the design of the room. This is the perfect room for sharing as the bunk bed sits in an alcove in the room designed just for that feature. It gives the girls ample room to build, dance, flip and pretend all over that gorgeous rug.
My son’s room is still a work in progress. We left the original wall color up and will be freshening that up soon. His new room design is focusing on his transition to being an older kiddo. We have blended the old cars and action figures with his new love for all things sports and his growing trophy selection. He is still inspired by bright bold color and pattern so we have a vast array of colors demonstrated in the room. However, if you asked him what his favorite thing in the room is, he would tell you the door, so that he can shut his little sisters out and get a little peace and quiet!
What change did you make to your home that made the biggest impact?
I gave myself the freedom to actually live in my home and to curate the home to promote that. The home that we have should support our lifestyle, and not just be a showpiece.
Since I live with 4 other humans, it needs to support all of our needs. Not featured here is the full fledged gymnastics room that is situated in our formal living room, because we have a budding gymnast developing in this home. She needs that space to nurture her talents, so its featured smack-dab in the middle of our home, front and center. Featured in this shoot is my husband’s prized 13 lb bass replica (and two others in the same room). I mean…enough said, I clearly love this man. No man cave in this house.
Which space in your home is your Modern Sanctuary – a space that brings you joy, comfort and peace?
In this stage of life, for this time, my favorite space is the girl’s room. I really enjoy their work of play in that space. And personally, it allows me to relive a treasured time in my own girl-hood. I also really love that outdoor swing. The anecdote to the craze of being an ER physician, wife, and momma to three little humans is nature and rocking. Its just that simple.
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