How to Balance Motherhood and a Designer's Career: 4 Stories

We asked designers Ksenia Mezentseva, Dasha Ukhlinova, Anastasia Kamen-skaya, and Galina Yurieva to tell us how they balance their career with motherhood. Our today's heroines have ten children between them. Each of them uses her own life hacks that allow them to manage everything and still keep a comfortable family environment.

Ksenia Mezentseva: «Getting inspiration from work, children learn in the family...»

Ksenia Mezentseva
Designer
Founder of Ksenia Mezentseva Interior Design Studio. Holds an MBA from Columbia University, graduated from the Interior Design School «Details»

I always spend morning time with my children - from 7:00 to 9:30. Then I take care of the youngest daughter, drop off the eldest to kindergarten, and work until 18:00. I also try to spend evenings with the kids.

After the girls go to sleep, social life begins - my favorite husband, events, and work if not all planned tasks are finished. I'm a control freak (a person who likes to keep everything under control). My kids have a strict routine from birth and live by schedule - sleep, eat, walk, do activities, and play. In this way, I try to eliminate unpredictability.

If life makes its adjustments and presents surprises, it's important to be flexible and quickly find creative solutions.
With corporate world experience, I strictly follow the rule - whatever you want to do, write it down in your daily planner and check off all completed tasks at the end of the day, and rewrite unfinished ones for the next day. It's essential to boost personal efficiency and use every free minute. For example, in the car I make a lot of calls and respond to emails.

Designer Ksenia Mezentseva with daughter Leya

I have two daughters - they are 2.5 years and almost a year old. But I didn't take a pause in my work. On the contrary, during my first pregnancy I actively worked on construction projects, including my own apartment, and during the second pregnancy I managed 3 projects simultaneously while finishing my studies at «Details».

I'm used to working a lot, and sleeping only 5 hours a day is not unusual for me. There was a time when I was the General Director of a large company in Moscow and received an MBA at Columbia University in New York. After that, nothing scares me anymore.

While Leya and Misha are too young to be interested in my work, it's something virtual that makes a mom leave for somewhere else instead of playing with them.

I really want my daughters to grow up understanding that a career is an important part of every person's life. I want them to get educated and choose a profession, job, or open their own business that inspires them, so they strive to become the best in what they decide to do. And this can only be learned at home and from parents.

Designer Ksenia Mezentseva with daughter Misha

Dasha Ukhlinova: «My office, where no one can enter while I'm working...»

Dasha Ukhlinova
Designer
Founder of Dasha Ukhlinova Studio. Graduated from the Modern School of Design, interned at Teplitskaya school

About a year and a half after the birth of my first child, I didn't handle full projects, only consultations. With the second child, I worked right up to the birth and almost immediately after. But it was possible in large part thanks to family support and help. My husband takes on a significant portion of childcare, housekeeping help keeps the home clean, and sometimes we use a nanny's assistance, for example, when we need to pick up the kids from kindergarten.

Despite working, I continued breastfeeding and gave my children enough quality time.

I have very independent daughters - they can entertain themselves and even have a snack if needed. Therefore, I manage to work even from home when they are around. My office, where no one can enter while I'm working, is a lifesaver.

It's not always easy to combine motherhood with working for oneself and managing one's own team. This is a big responsibility, and the schedule changes rapidly. Children also have their activities, kindergarten, additional courses, and they just want to go for walks.

With my first daughter, I often went to construction sites when she was very little. The ergonomic backpack helped here.

Now, sometimes I bring the kids with me on furniture store visits. The eldest daughter is already actively interested in painting, and she enjoys looking at beautiful and historical interiors - in this regard, it's easier for me with her.

One of the main life hacks that works not only for mothers and designers is planning. It's not always easy to plan time precisely, but I find lists of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks very helpful. I also try to get up early, although I always considered myself a true owl. But now I understand that it's all about habit. In the morning, you can get quite a lot of work done to lighten the evening for family.

Anastasia Kamen-skaya: «How do I compensate for lack of attention? I dedicate weekends and vacations to my children!»

Anastasia Kamen-skaya
Designer
Co-founder of Lavka-design Design Studio

During my professional career, I had two children with a two-year gap between them. During both pregnancies, I worked until the eighth month. When my firstborn son Sasha was born, I took a small break. After three months, I started going to work with him because I was breastfeeding.

With the second child, I didn't take maternity leave at all - I went to work with my daughter a month after the birth. While I'm in a meeting, the child walks with a nanny. This allowed me to continue breastfeeding for quite a long time.

The nature of the profession and having a nanny allow me to go back to work a month after giving birth.

Of course, my children don't get me as much as they need in their age. But I try to adjust the focus of attention on my children depending on the situation.

My partner Irina also has two children, so we can flexibly organize our working process. How do I compensate for lack of attention? I dedicate weekends and vacations entirely to my children! I'm happy I chose a career as a designer - the thought that I make people happier and the world more beautiful inspires me.

Galina Yurieva: «In our family, it's not acceptable to involve children in the «work» life...»

Galina Yurieva
Designer
Graduated from the Humanitarian and Applied Institute, Moscow Energy Institute, Technical University (GPI MЭI TU), Department of «Design»

With my first children, I almost didn't take a break - I just divided the work with a colleague. I mainly did drawings, various selections, requests - all that could be done remotely from home. My colleague met with clients and went on site visits, to salons.

When my sons got older, I started working independently, but only while they were in kindergarten and later in school. Sometimes on weekends, my husband stayed with the kids, and I went to meetings with clients or to sites, but not every weekend - I also wanted to spend time as a family.

In our family, it's not acceptable to involve children in the «work» life. The priority is the child's routine: sleep and activities for little ones, school, sports training, and languages for older children.

Now I don't take on new projects with the babies at all - twins need much more attention and effort, and a lot in their lives requires my personal presence and active participation.

While I occasionally write short notes and comments for interior sections, for example, the «Home/Interior» section of the «Liza» magazine, I consult with friends and give advice on space planning or specific solutions. I postponed professional success until the time when the girls grow up and don't need me as much.

Designer Galina Yurieva with her children