Why Camping Will Always Have My Heart

This summer has felt like it came and went in a blink. I think it’s because we’ve spent so much of it doing what we love most — loading up the SUV with two kids, two dogs, far too many snacks, and heading out to a place where the bars on my phone disappear and life feels lighter.

We’ve had it all — sunshine so warm it makes your shoulders tingle, rain that sends us laughing under the canopy, quiet afternoons fishing, slow floats down the river, and moments where time just… stops. My favourite part of every trip happens in the morning, before anyone else is fully awake. I’m curled up in a blanket, coffee in hand, with my boys tucked in close beside me, and the smell of campfire lingering in the cool air. There’s something about that stillness — it feels like my soul exhales.

The kids spend their days running wild — off with cousins, making new friends, or somehow finding kids they know from school or hockey. From breakfast to supper, I might see them for an hour, usually for a snack run, before they’re off again. They come back dusty, happy, and buzzing with stories, and I silently hope these are the memories they’ll carry into adulthood.

I’ve always been happiest outside. Not deep in the backcountry, but somewhere I can be outside from sunrise to sunset. No screens. No noise. Just conversations around the fire, the rustle of leaves, and the sound of kids laughing in the distance. And yes — the Monday morning exhaustion after a weekend away is real. But so is the way my cup overflows when we get home.

Over the years, I’ve realized camping and designing a home have something in common — both are about creating spaces that make you feel. Whether it’s a campsite tucked between the trees or a living room filled with light, it’s about crafting an environment that supports the life you want to live. Camping teaches me that beauty isn’t just in the “stuff” — it’s in how the space makes you feel, the memories you make there, and the people you share it with.

Motherhood, design, running a business… they all pull at me in different ways. But camping reminds me of why I do it all — to build a life, and spaces, that feel full of warmth, connection, and meaning. Just like a home you love, a campsite you return to again and again becomes part of your story. And those are the places — and moments — worth investing in.