Within These Walls: A Story of Home, Family, and Apartment Life

And there I was, watching my living room become less of me and more of my baby. It’s been eight years since I became a mom, and I’ve lived in the same apartment for seven years. So much has changed within the walls of our space. We added more kids and evolved right along with them. My husband and I are currently living in our creative era. He's also an artist and you’ll notice that his work is found all over our space. But that wasn’t always the case. And I’ll be honest, before kids, I’m not sure I cared enough to decorate my apartment. If it wasn’t really mine, why make the investment? Yet, when I found out I was pregnant with my first baby, I started reimagining what could be of their space. So I added a photo collage near his crib and eventually that transitioned over to the rest of the apartment. Our plain gray walls went from gloom to bright joy.

So much changes when you become a parent, and I don’t think we talk enough about how hard that can be. The small subtle changes can take over. If it wasn’t the plastic covers for the stove knobs, it was the potty seat covering my toilet. Or the random crayon marks on my plain gray walls… but really the biggest change was the crib that stood right next to my bed and the cries I heard at night that echoed around the walls in our room.

No matter how much you try to keep things the same—even yourself—the walls within your home say a lot about who you were, what season you’re in, and who you are right now.

The name Within These Walls captures the heart of our family's story: building a home in the middle of New York City’s chaos. It speaks to the quiet work of parenting with intention; shaping a small apartment into a space where our boys feel safe, seen, and deeply loved. Which is something every parent desires to do.

It’s about everything that happens behind closed doors—the routines, the mess, the growth, the grace—all held within the four walls we call home.

So stick around, you’ve joined at a wonderful time because we’re in the middle of transforming our space again and it’s never been brighter and more joyful than before.

Until next time on Within These Walls,

Rosdaly