Over the summer, while my husband was in China, I ordered a tee-pee for Pea and Coco to paint. We had a little party at the house, one night after camp, and several kids came over to join in the fun. And fun it was. The little ones, from 17-months old to 7-years, all donned my husband’s Hanes tee-shirts as stand-in artist’s smocks, and went to town. Cocktails for the mommies, paints for the kids and in the end? We were left with a pretty cool little ‘quiet’ place for the girls.

But the teepee? The teepee has since moved all around our yard and our home. From the backyard to the great room to the loft outside of the girls rooms to the playroom. But, really? A 7.5-foot teepee? What the heck would we do with it?

And then, inspiration hit. From my favorite web-shop for kid’s design… Bianca & Family, from… you guessed it… France. Remember? I ordered the four affiches scolaire from them? For Coco’s room? Well, periodically, they send me an email that they have new inventory, and I always check. Because they’ve had kid-size Bertoia chairs in the past, and I am determined to find one or two, for our playroom. They’re pretty hard to come by, and I’ve coveted one since before I was even pregnant with Pea. The closest I’ve come was about two years ago, three chairs in “pretty good” condition, priced at $250 a piece. Insane? It might seem so. But for a design nut, who thrills in the chase, it was a literal steal. These chairs are so tough to come by. But, I’m getting away from myself here. I took a day to “mull it over.” And the next day? Gone. Sold. Game on… (Although I should add here that there is no way I would ever spend 480 Euro on just one kid’s chair. No way. No, no, NO way… I mean that, dear husband… Really, I do.)

But as I was telling myself, “no way, Mel… no, no, NO way…” I saw it. The set-up. A safe little nook, to lie down, read some books, have a snack, meditate, whatever it is that little kids do when they are safely ensconced in a makeshift cave. When they have a teepee…

This.

And seriously, I secretly regret ever letting those kids paint the teepee, because I find the earthy and pristine appearance of the one on Bianca & Family’s website to be so aesthetically appealing that it hurts. But then I remember the joy, the revelry, the delight in the kids faces as they painted it, and I am quick to let it all go. It was so worth it. And I could work with it all. I really could. All I needed was that little sheepskin.

And here it is. On Etsy, of course. (You knew it would be Etsy, right?) Lush, soft, clean and bright. (I bought the single pelt version, but it looks like this particular shop is out of those.) It is so perfect. The girls love it. So does Lola, for that matter. But we’re working on that. In the meantime, an official ‘reading nook’ is in development. Teepee. Sheepskin. Book shelves. Books.

So perfect… Just wish there was room for me in that teepee.