Joanna Goddard, Cup of Jo

When Joslyn Taylor was growing up in northern California, she figured she'd always live there, among the mountains and greenery. But then she went to college in Texas, fell in love, and the rest (as they say) was history. Joslyn now lives in Dallas with her husband and daughters--four-year-old Audrey and 10-month-old Amelia. They've spent the last year renovating a "groovy" ranch that that family loves so much, Joslyn calls it their "forever house." So much for California dreaming!

How did you and your husband decide on your daughters' names?
For our first daughter Audrey, we were struggling; every name I liked, my husband didn't. One day, I was glancing through a magazine and saw the actress Audrey Tatou, whom we both love. We had just seen Amelie!

My second daughter's name, Amelia, sounds like a strong, independent, female figure. We call her "Milly" almost exclusively, although our older daughter refuses to call her anything but Amelia. Maybe she feels like, "If I don't get a nickname, she doesn't get a nickname!"

What's it like to raise a family in Dallas?
People are very, very nice. We live in an amazing neighborhood where all the kids play together. And it's hot! Kids can eat and play outside all the time.

How would you describe the feel of your home?
Our neighborhood is very groovy. I call our 1970s house "Boogie-Nights-meets-Brady-Bunch." When we bought it, it had white shag carpets and foil paper; we tried to modernize it but keep the fun parts.

Can you tell us about this pretty dining area?
When we moved in, this was the most traditional room. The fancy-lady chandelier was the first thing we took down. We decided to paint the whole house white with accent colors. Here, we did the little enclave in yellow. The silver candlesticks are from IKEA; the glass candlesticks are from CB2.

The lighting scheme is great.
We custom-made the big light fixture. I googled a million places to find a place that would do a custom lamp without being crazy expensive. We finally found Moon Shine. I drew the lamp and they made it in two weeks.

What about the fun lanterns?
When I was pregnant last year, three of my friends were also pregnant. In fact, we all had babies within ten days of each other! So I threw three baby showers in a row, and I hung the lanterns. Everyone loved them, so we kept them up.

Do you often eat dinner at this table?
We have friends over about four times a month, and we always eat in the dining room. Plus, every few weeks, our family eats in there for a "special meal," which our daughter likes. We light the candles and clink glasses.

Do you cook Southern food?
We make things like bean and sausage, but we also grow tons of vegetables since the weather's so nice. We have close friends without kids, and they're maaajor foodies. Every week, they bring everything over and cook at our house. I always say, you should have friends who don't have kids. They remind you that people do other things than have kids and talk about them all the time!

How did you approach the girls' bedrooms?
With our first daughter, we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl. In our old house, her nursery had giant orange dots on the wall--not really feminine. In the new house, we wanted her room to feel more feminine, so we chose chocolate and pink.

How did you decide on the furnishings?
I hardly ever buy kids' stuff because I don't think it grows well. The art is from Urban Outfitters, which is awesome for kids' rooms. The rug is from Anthropologie. The bedding is from John Robshaw.

Was the pink tent Audrey's idea?
We actually used the tent to lure her out of her crib. She slept in her crib until she was almost three since she never climbed out, and I figured, why take her out? When we created her little sister's nursery and had to move Audrey out, we bought her that special pink tent. She reads inside it. She really likes her room; she's a good sport.

What are Audrey's hobbies?
She's a reading nut. Olivia is probably her favorite fiction character--a funny, spunky, naughty pig. Audrey is very similar to Olivia and is smitten with her. But she'll read anything. The child is a book-a-holic. I couldn't have wished for a better quality.

What's happening in this photo?
It's Saturday morning. Audrey's playing with her mini ukelele on an IKEA rocking chair. We had just moved her absolute favorite rocking chair into the baby's room, so even though Audrey's a little old for a rocking chair, I figured she should have one, too.

Was Audrey jealous when her sister was born?
Audrey had the rule of the roost for 3+ years, so when a new baby arrived on the scene, she was like, "What's the deal?" But now she's really enamored of Amelia. Little things show that she's kind of jealous, but overall she's a great big sis.

What ambiance did you try to create in Amelia's nursery?
Bright and soft, but not pink. We did fun Urban Outfitters wall decals and pinwheel bedding. The sheep rocker is from babystyle. The rocking chair is from Potterybarn Kids. The yellow rug is from the Land of Nod.

This room's lighting scheme is great, too. You have a way with lighting!
The hanging light and funnel floor lamp are from IKEA.

IKEA is fabulous.
I can see an IKEA from my office window. It's dangerous.

Do you think the furniture, like the rocking chair and dresser, will grow with Amelia?
Well, my ultimate dream is to turn this room into a sleeping room for the girls--with stars on the ceiling and piles of blankets. Then I'll turn the other room into their playroom. So I didn't want to spend a lot on furnishings; I just used hand-me-downs, good bedding and IKEA pieces, such as the wooden dresser.

A sleeping room would be so cozy, almost like a fort!
I thought it would be fun for the girls to sleep together and stay up and tell stories and, you know, just be sisters. So I figure I'd try to force it on them by making a groovy sleeping room!

Do your daughters share a bathroom?
Yes, it's between their bedrooms. They each have their own vanity with a sink and mirror, which will come in handy when they're older.

Many people disregard bathroom art. Can you tell us about the art you have?
I found the-girl-with-a-bird print at an antique store. A friend found the framed lion print. I found the "A" at a sample sale.

Do you find most of your art at thrift shops?
Yes. I especially love getting art from estate sales. If you can stumble on a good 60s/70s estate sale, you can find great pieces on the border between cute and "eeee, I'm scared of that."

When you moved in, was it hard to modernize such a traditional house?
We actually didn't buy much stuff; there are still drawers with just a hair brush or nothing in them. I think that's awesome. You grow into a house as you grow as a family. I think of this as "our forever house."

What advice would you give new decorators?
Do the hardwood floors and painting before you move your family in. Don't be in a rush to do everything else right away. Most of all, have fun with it. It's not a showplace, it's your family's house. Audrey loves our house. Nothing's off limits; she just runs around and plays.

Definitely, your house seems really kid-friendly.
My whole mission in life is to have the house everyone comes to. If the neighborhood kids are at your house, you always know what they're up to. I want to lure them in...if I have to hang five hundred more Chinese lanterns from the ceiling, I'll do it.

See more of Joslyn's house here, or visit her aptly-named blog Simple Lovely.