‘And they can sleep in my room,” my son told me as he clutched a clear plastic bin in his car seat as we made our way home from his school. The “they” he was referring to? Mealworms.

Earlier that day, his teacher texted to tell me that my son was begging to bring the remnants of the class bug experiment home to keep as long-term pets. Of course he was. “No pressure,” she told me. Proud of my son for his curiosity and love of animals—and, perhaps, feeling a little pressure despite the insistence that I not—I agreed. What’s one more pet?

As I have probably mentioned here before, in addition to the human residents, our house is also home to two senior dogs, two hermit crabs, a fish and, now, some worms. If it weren’t for my husband, we would likely have a litany of other animals, but someone has to be the voice of reason.

My childhood was filled with pets, from two very full fish tanks to a pair of hamsters to a cockatiel to six rescue dogs at one time. My dad once toyed with the idea of moving to the country to establish a refuge for shelter canines. And my mom once came home from a vet visit with an additional furry friend in tow—a chihuahua who had charmed her with his lazy eye.

They say love makes a house a home—or at least I think there’s some décor at one of those craft stores that lays out that theory. I contend that it goes one step further: it’s the unconditional love—aka the love provided by pets—that transforms a simple structure into so much more.

Am I saying that you need a pet? Well, I’m not not saying that.

I’m kidding, of course. But don’t you think the pup on this May’s cover really makes the space feel complete?

That sweet face is Pepper, the hound dog at the heart of the Davis family home, which makes up our cover story this month. This story is a special one, and it’s not just because of the dog. Homeowner, mom, writer and designer Jeanne Lyons Davis is sharing her insight firsthand. That’s right. You get to hear about the transformation of this University Gardens home straight from the source. But that’s not all. Davis is also laying out her family’s journey as they made a cross-country move from a San Francisco apartment to a cottage in our Capital City.

“There’s a particular kind of clarity that came from uprooting our lives and starting over somewhere unexpected,” Lyons writes. Click here to learn all about the Davis family’s leap of faith, their charming home renovation and how Pepper fits into it all.

Meanwhile, I’ll be here working to figure out how mealworms fit into my family’s story. Can worms provide unconditional love? I’m not sure. But my son sure thinks so. And that’s what matters. The beauty of worms, well, it’s in the eye of the 5-year-old beholder.

Don’t worry, though, the worms are not taking up residence in his bedroom. Instead, they have found their forever home in my hallway. I’m currently researching the proper aesthetically pleasing habitat for them. After all, if pets make a house a home, their home within my home must align design-wise. I’ll keep you all posted.

Looking forward,

Riley Bienvenu Bourgeois

Editor