January 30, 2017 11:50 am Meet Lauren Cuneo of LC Home Interiors and Mother of 3 Boys
What do you love to do with your children? How old are they? And what is your greatest wish for them?
Honestly, just being silly together in a way that each of their personalities shine at the beach, at the movies, playing board games or mostly throwing a ball around (I do have three boys!). So our lives are filled with a lot of excitement and a lot of weekend sports. Any opportunity we get to just relax without stress, work or electronics is perfect. My boys love to read so we are happiest at night all snuggled into bed, and fighting over who gets to lie next to “mom.”
My children are almost 10 (4th grade), 6 and a half (1st grade) and 4. My greatest wish for my boys is to do what makes them happy and always show compassion and kindness to others. They shouldn’t be like their mom and try to please everyone. Life is too short for regrets. My kids would say I am a stickler for manners – being kind to everyone from the mailman and the crossing guard and most especially to each other. Life can be stressful but we are blessed so I hope they find happiness in the little things and live a life they love.
Who has had the biggest influence upon you?
That is an easy one, my parents! I had an amazing childhood with loving parents, a great brother and so many vivid memories of pool parties and Carvel birthday cakes with my entire family. My parents were a little bit strict but totally loving and always very honest and sarcastic. They never sugar–coated life, which today I can appreciate. My dad has his own business so he would drive us to school, make our lunches, and definitely spoiled us over the years. He didn’t have a big family growing up so to him our family was everything. I think he single handedly kept the Hallmark store in business with his love of sending and receiving greeting cards, a habit which made us a little crazy but now I see he looked for every opportunity to show us how much he loved us. My mom is the oldest of six children and really instilled in me the value of hard work. She never complained about being tired after driving one hour each way every day to teach in her classroom. She is way more laid back and patient than I am – especially with my kids. We were close to my grandparents growing up and now my boys love and adore my parents and they constantly make an effort to be there for them.
What quality do you most admire in a mother?
Patience, patience, patience. I guess we always admire traits in others that we don’t possess. I am a high energy, type A personality and although I love my boys I am known to lose my temper (there I said it out-loud!). Of course I regret yelling immediately. Truth be told, my expectations of myself, and others (my kids included) are too high.
Besides motherhood, what other careers/opportunities have you enjoyed? And what are your strongest qualities?
For most of my life I worked in public relations and corporate communications in the fashion industry for style icons such as Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and DeVries Public Relations. I was fortunate to work with some strong, smart and chic women. When we moved to Connecticut from NYC five years ago, I shifted my focus to interior design. Honestly it just organically happened. I always had a good eye for style, color and accessories so a local mom approached me about helping her and my business grew from there. I officially created LC Home in 2014 and besides the constant struggle for balance (being there for my kids vs. being there for my clients) I have no regrets. I think having a creative outlet for my passion keeps me focused and maybe a better mom. Anyone who knows me knows I can’t sit still for long.
My strongest qualities: Friends and family call me the town mayor since I am quite affable and know a lot of people but I just like being a good friend. I am creative. I am a good cook, I am very honest and highly astute to my surroundings (both of those get me in trouble!) and lastly I am very driven — be it helping at my kids’ schools, getting up and exercising at 5 am or in my business.
Were you happiest in elementary, middle high school or college? Please explain why.
I would have to say high school. I met my husband and some of my dearest friends there and although you couldn’t pay me to take AP Calculus again, I learned a lot and had fun trying. I guess you could say I grew into my own in high school.
What do you like to do for fun and what is your idea of a perfect day?
For fun, I like to meet friends for breakfast, find a fun new restaurant with my husband, ride bikes or just be outdoors with my kids. What’s really fun is doing something for myself. Exercising is my daily sanity so you can usually find me at CST50 or SoulCycle at 9 am (sometimes 5:45 am). So my perfect day would start in my favorite place, our house on Nantucket, with a class or a bike ride before it gets too hot. Then it’s breakfast at Downyflake with my kids followed by the beach and swimming. It ends with dinner outside with my husband, a glass of wine (both equally important) and watching my kids run around with no shirts on and ice cream on their faces.
What is one of your favorite books? Movies?
Maybe The Year of Magical Thinking or Lovely Bones. I just read The Wave and I loved it. Movies how can I pick one? Almost Famous, Something’s Gotta Give, Life is Beautiful? I just saw Manchester by the Sea and cried my eyes out.
What is your favorite type of food and what do you love to cook?
Italian food without a doubt. I married someone with an Italian last name so I guess I take that seriously. My four year old asks me to cook Bolognese every day. I also love Mexican food and any kind of fish. I love to cook anything and everything. Cooking is very relaxing to me. After a long day of kids and work and life, it is my therapy. I love to experiment and now my kids enjoy lots of exotic foods so I guess something is working.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
In my dream world – Back to Italy probably on the coast in Positano where the surroundings and language are beautiful and the food is delicious. There is something to be said for how the Italians live their lives lentamente (slowly). Life is enjoyed there. Or back to Africa where we went on our honeymoon but this time with my kids. In my real world – I would be on Nantucket where I seem to calm down and don’t get stressed.
Where is your favorite place to Party with Moms and what’s your drink of choice?
You can usually find me at Boxcar Cantina on a Friday night when soccer practice doesn’t get in the way, with margarita in hand. Other than that I really only drink red wine and gin gimlets. We also love Le Penquin and Inn at Pound Ridge.
See more of Lauren’s beautiful work below…
