Baby boy nursery in grey and orange, newborn photography, neutral, wild baby animals, industrial, vintage decorNursery design by Stone Textile Design. When Lauren and Chris purchased their East Austin home just four months before the due date of their son, style and orderliness might have been threatened. But thall shall not fear the dark of disorderliness. Lauren and Chris quietly and calmly (I imagine) called on Elizabeth Mollen of Stone Textile Studio to decorate their entire home before they moved in. What resulted was a cohesive combination of grit and polish. From the home's black exterior paint that resembles an old school chalkboard to the tiny office nestled in the back porch nook, every light fixture, accessory and color conveys a well-executed, edgy farmhouse, industrial schoolhouse charm with lots of cozy soft textures mixed in. It's an ironic take on decorating that I love. 

12042014Luscombe025 I had intended this to be the promised post about Chris, the Most Effective Dad. But as I started writing, it became clear that Chris' effectiveness is really about style--a perfectly executed, well thoughtout sense of style. Chris' nerd-chic glasses and his polished shoes don't just speak to his attention to detail--they kind of scream it. And that scream to my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants ears is like a siren song or, more likely, the hymn of heavenly angels. Behold the organizational chart on the kitchen wall and just take a moment. Take a moment to bathe in the lovely peace that order brings.

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So for those of us not in the corporate world, apparently this is a process organization strategy based on something called "Agile" project management. Note the Post it in the "Done" column that says "Pinterest board for Photographer." That's me! 

Though Chris was suffering some post-flu shot trauma the day I photographed, he hung in there like a champ and even followed up quickly with their designer's name post-session. And the next email I received from him read as follows: 

Ted talk link for the agile family: https://www.ted.com/talks/bruce_feiler_agile_programming_for_your_family

If you really want to nerd out on Agile and apply it to life, check out this book on Amazon. 

Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life by Tonianne DeMaria Barry http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004R1Q642/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_7hFGub1BP9FC4

I could not believe that Chris had taken the time to email me this information, but it is great information and coincidentally matches very closely to information I have been reading in a book called The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni. More on these things later...