A PORTRAIT OF MOTHERHOOD by ITHAKA RODDAM for POPLIN

A lazy Sunday Autumn afternoon with Beata Heuman at home with her little daughter Gurli and in the last few weeks of her second pregnancy with baby Alma.

House & Garden named Beata "Interior Designer of the Year" for 2018 so of course her West London home is inventive and creative with an infectious joie de vivre that her lucky visitors carry home with them.

I did most of the house just before I became a mother; being an interior designer I had a good idea already but having Gurli has taught me so much more.

A designated playroom is fantastic, if you can spare it, as the freedom to roam there allows you to have slightly better things around the rest of the house.

Rather than thinking everything has to be wipeable it’s better to try and be a bit relaxed about marks here and there and also teach your children to be careful with certain things. That may be easier said than done though

I think we have been quite lucky with Gurli as she’s naturally pretty considerate. Thank God with such pedantic parents!

Gurli : Classic childrens nightshirt £48
Beata : Bardot silk nightshirt £199

I used to be an owl but as most people who work and/or have babies I’ve become more of a lark of late. My husband is even more so and wakes up at 5 most mornings so he normally gets Gurli up, while I do the night feeds with our new baby Alma.

Gurli is a lark - she is never happier than when we put her to bed at 7 - she can’t wait to go get cosy with her soft toys and normally sleeps sweetly until about 630/7.

Beata : Bardot silk nightshirt £199

Current bedtime read...

Antonia Fraser’s biography of Marie-Antointte.

Gurli is really enjoying ‘I love you, Blue Kangaroo’ by my lovely next door neighbour Emma Chicester Clark.

Best breakfast...
I like a Swedish style smörgårdsbord of rye bread, cheese, yogurt, müsli, fruit, coffee - a bit of everything!

For Gurli, banana pancakes all the way. They are not actually proper pancakes, just oats, full fat milk and banana all mixed together and fried into little cakes. So simple and quick!

Gurli : Classic childrens nightshirt £48

For my bed I have it all- eiderdown and duvet at the same time! Eiderdowns are impossibly chic but a duvet, let’s be honest, is by far the snuggliest option.

Until I was 7 I shared a bedroom. I used to be jealous of some of my friend’s pink extravaganzas and Disney themed set ups, but now I see that my parents' charming mix of old furniture and simpler things from IKEA has better stood the test of time.

When I got my own room I spent so much time in there (away from my 3 siblings), constantly re-arranging and doing up my dolls house. I think a room of one’s own once you're a little older is a very nice thing to have.

Gurli : Classic childrens nightshirt £48
Beata : Bardot silk nightshirt £199