Balancing Motherhood and Business, with Whitney Port

Famous for starring in the popular US reality series, The Hills, Whitney Port is so much more than a reality TV star. Sweet in nature and a creative at heart, she has embraced her new role of being a mum to Sonny, and is passionate about helping others navigate this scary and exciting adventure that is motherhood.

Racing home, from what we can only imagine, was a day filled with appointments and meetings (being creative director of two companies), we jumped on a call and casually chatted about the joys, and with a minor interruption by Sonny, the challenges of motherhood. Moving house a few months before Sonny was born, Whitney recently had the exciting job of styling and decorating her dream home. Read on below and see how she styled pieces from our latest collection in her California home.

You juggle mum life along with your youtube channel, multiple business collaborations and your new business 'Bloom 2 Bloom', how do you find the time for both work and everyday life?

It’s really hard; it's constantly like a seasaw. For a few hours a day, you are devoted to your baby, and for the next few hours it's your work, and then it's self care, so everyday is different. I'm really lucky to be able to work from home, so I can kind of manage my routine and be here to watch Sonny when I have to, but also have the flexibility to work here, too. It's definitely a challenge, and I don’t feel like you're ever finding the perfect balance because you can't be everything, to everyone, at all times, so sometimes something has to suffer a little bit, you know?

Tell us a little more about your businesses and where the inspiration came from.

I'm creative director for two different companies. Bloom 2 Bloom, is a give back flower company. Lauren, (my business partner) was looking for someone to come on creatively and help her rebrand the site, create new product and design the bouquets. She asked if it was something I’d be interested in doing, and honestly, I never thought that I would be in the flower industry, and I really didn't have much experience with them, but I figured that I could just jump in and let my creativity flow. It wasn’t something that I necessarily needed to go to school for, so that’s just been fun since I don’t have my clothing line anymore. It's been fun to focus my creativity toward that effort.

I'm also creative director for Bundle Organics, which is a juice and tea company for nursing and pregnant women, and that’s been really fun for me, too. Obviously I was pregnant and had my baby 9 months ago, so it's been rewarding to help pregnant and nursing women find resources and get them the nutrients they need through these juices and teas. I've also put my creativity to use with the branding and the website and helping modernise the overall look and feel of the brand.

You have a beautiful home in California that you moved into just before Sonny was born. what’s your favourite part about where you live?

The outdoor area. We are lucky to have a pool with a yard and a deck that has some views of the valley. It's starting to get warm here now, so it's nice to have the outdoor space. It's like our own little sanctuary, and we don’t have to leave to go anywhere on the weekends, which is really lovely.

How would you describe your overall style for your home and where do you draw your styling inspiration from?

Honestly, I got a lot of inspiration off Pinterest. I love Pinterest and have been pulling interior design pictures onto my home design boards for years. I also drew inspiration from the actual space. It's long and it's one story, and mostly each room looks out to the outside, so I wanted it to look really natural and neutral. The floors area light wood, and all the walls are white, and the furniture is a mix of creams and woods. Because you can see the outside from the inside; like the aqua from the pool, and the green from the grass, all the colours on the inside are that same colour story.

What’s your favourite room in the house and why?

My favourite room is probably our breakfast room. I just love the open area. We knocked down walls so the kitchen and the living room, and the breakfast room are basically all one room. I love the breakfast room because it has this really cool hand painted wallpaper that we put in, with these forest green leaves and little hummingbirds and it feels like you’re in a pretty enchanted forest when you’re working in the breakfast room, so it's incredibly peaceful.

Do you have a morning and night routine you like to stick to?

Not really. When I get up in the morning, I try not to look at my phone right away, and usually it will be spent getting Sonny situated and then a nanny will come and I'll be able to work out and get some work done. But there's not really a set routine that I have every morning that’s the same, and the same with nighttime. At nighttime I'll definitely wash my face and do my nighttime skincare routine and get into bed and watch a little TV with my husband, but I don’t have a very elaborate routine with like meditation and working out; every day is always different.

What do you love most about being a mum?

I think my most exciting moment of my day of being a mum, is probably when he wakes up in the morning or gets up from a nap... just seeing his excitement and zest for life and just how fun it is to view life through a new person's eyes. Everything is new and exciting and funny and I don’t know, I think it just puts a positive spin on life that’s needed sometimes.

What do you find the most challenging about being a mum?

I think the most challenging thing is probably just the guilt of being a working mum. I think sometimes you know, we work so hard in order to provide for our kids and we can lose out on precious time with them, and I think that sometimes just that guilt of not being there for every moment and really being the one who’s raising their kid solely, can be really challenging.

What advice would you give to new mothers? 

I think it's important to have your own identity, too. I think it's really important for us to not just be mums, in order for us to be full and fulfilled, to be able to get other stuff done and to be proud of it, and so I think it's okay to do both. That it's also good for your child to be in other environments, around other people, and not be solely dependent on you... that’s at least what I tell myself.

Whitney styled her California home with our Beach and Home products. Shop Whitney's favourites below for your home.