You've likely seen Make It Cute's aesthetically pleasing cardboard playhouses all over Instagramor perhaps right smack in the middle of your cool mom friend's living room. The company, founded by three friends, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hoehn, and Maureen North, designs playful and whimsical children's toys you don't need to hide away when guests stop by. In fact, you can keep it displayed in plain sight and stuff your own items into them.House Beautiful. And guess what? No one's the wiser. The playhouses are made of recycled materials and free of plastica hit for anyone trying to run an environmentally conscious household. They come in different styles, like Modern Farmhouse and Cottage that feature the sweetest hand-drawn illustrations, such as door knockers and climbing vines. Adults may even find themselves getting in on the fun, too, especially when it comes to decorating the outside of the playhouse. (Its holiday-themed decor kits are super chic.) Make It Cute Cottage$220 at makeitcutekids.comMake It Cute appeals to design-forward parents, and Seyfried is certainly part of this group. The actress, who has a son, Thomas, and daughter, Nina, has an eye for creating beautiful spaces both for herself and her kidsSeyfried's dreamy New York City apartment and charming farmhouse upstate, designed in conjunction with Sarah Zames, founder of General Assembly, are evidence of this. Seyfried calls the playhouses a "compromise" between kids and parents. Her little ones, who are both under 10, get to have their fun and leave the playhouse out ("I don't clean up their stuff every night," she admits), and in turn, it doesn't become an eyesore, unlike so many children's toys out there. "Our home is a shared space, so I want them to feel like they have their own space," she says. "But when it comes to design [and how something looks], this is on my terms."Andrea Carson Styled by Greenwich PlayAhead, Seyfried opens up about about the difficulties and joy of navigating that space between building a beautiful home and embracing the messiness kids inevitably bring into it. Related StoryHouse Beautiful: Have your kids influenced your design aesthetic?Amanda Seyfried: Honestly, I was neutral, neutral and after I had kids, I knew I needed to go out of my comfort zone. I really, really love pinks and neons [now]. I love how [Make It Cute], and having kids in general, has inspired me to evolve [in my design choices]. I wear black, gray, and white. But in terms of what I want to surround myself with, its color and also smart ways of using color. It's been fun to dress up my very neutral apartment with my daughter's artwork [for example].Matthew WilliamsThe children's room in Seyfried's NYC apartment.HB: How do you navigate designing for your personal style while also creating a kid-friendly space?AS: It's been tricky. The rule is that I'm going to use the materials I want to use regardless of whether or not that theyre easily ruined. I like wood, I like plaster walls, I like marble. But I also know that having kids, they don't understand what goes into that and the care certain materials may need. I buy things that I love and if they get ruined, I'll wash or I'll fix it. That's important. I know a lot of people just want to get something that is not very costly because they know it's going to get ruined, and I totally get that. [But] I am so into architecture, design, and creating a space that I feel comfortable and cozy in so I won't compromise [on that].Matthew WilliamsThe powder room.HB: Speaking of not compromising your aesthetic for kids, can we talk about the artwork you have in your bedroom? AS: In my bedroom, I have a wall with four artwork pieces. My friend Aria got me this thing that she found: an embroidery piece that I did of...I don't know how to say this...I embroidered an STD, an abstract STD. I'm crocheting three purses right now, but when I embroider, I like to embroider things that seem ugly and try to make them beautiful. I made this beautiful, I think it's beautiful, pictures of STDs. Then I have this beautifully knitted 3D boob that comes out of a gold frame. [The artist] is someone I follow on Instagram and I just love her work. I support and buy from a lot of artists on Instagram. This other girl H.H. Hooks did a custom vagina above the boob. It's all different felt, embroidery, knit, and rug hooking, all on this wall surrounding my closet. I'm always like: "Oh, you need to see my wall upstairs. Please come." Joe FletcherSeyfrieds kitchen in her upstate home.HB: Whats the one thing youre particular about in the house? AS: There's one thing that makes me want to cry: if [the kids] scratch the cabinets or people touch them with their dirty hands. I'm like, "Get your filthy hands off my cabinets." If you drip spaghetti sauce on it or even water or coffee, you got to clean it up right away. But nobody is as focused on the cabinets as I am. And that's okay. I do not fault that, to each their own. Cabinets and rugs, I won't spare a penny. If I've earned my keep and worked this hard, I have to have clean, nice cabinets. Sorry, it's stressing me out thinking about it. And the rugs [need to be clean too]. I bought the rugs from abc carpet & home before I had my kids, these old gorgeous Turkish rugs that I spent too much money on because I didn't have anything else. I don't spend my money on a lot of things except art, rugs, and building my own houses. Matthew WilliamsThe actresss kitchen in her NYC apartment. Related StoryHB: Where do you shop for your children's furniture and decor pieces?AS: I just got a set of beds from West Elm for my daughters room because my son is going to move in there at some point. I do really like their take on sustainability and I like that neutral wood they have. Theres this company, Rice by Rice, where I get these little baskets that are toy bins. You'd have to look it up. It's very cute. They don't last forever with kids because they jump on these things when they're full of toys and the kids don't treat it very well. But, [they look] very sweet and beautiful around our house. Ive also been buying a lot of antique stuff for them to put their stuff away in, which is silly because antiques can be expensive, but its recycling and also I never feel guilty about buying them.Rice by Rice Raffia Storage Baskets Set with Animal Theme $400 at ricebyrice.usWest Elm Elora Bed$699 at West ElmRice by Rice Raffia Big Oval Basket$154 at ricebyrice.usHB: What is your favorite nook in your house upstate when you want to decompress?AS: My window box, its the size of a twin bed and is in the back of the living room, on the first floor. On the weekends, Ill wake up with the kids on Saturday mornings, I make them breakfast, and then I sit in the window box while the kids watch Bluey. Ill crochet there or just sit therethats me decompressing. It's everything. It's my happy place. When I'm not there, I've noticed my husband uses it. [Out the window] there's a giant birdhouse on a tall pole that I inherited from the previous owners, and [the window] looks back into the woods [so you can see] the deers and the fields out back. This is a sacred spot. HB: What is your favorite spot to hang out in as a family?AS: The living room for sure. I finally invested in those cloud couches from Restoration Hardware because I kept seeing them in people's homes. I'm like, "Okay, fine. I'm going to get it." I got it and it's got stains all over it, but that's why we cover it with all my blankets and it's just so... We have this pad that's on it that's like this faux shearling pad. It's just so cozy. The kids can fight on it, envision it as a boat. Everybody can fit on it. It's nine feet long. It's perfect.Joe FletcherSeyfried's living room in her upstate home.HB: What is your best advice for designing a space that the whole family will love, but that you don't lose yourself in it?AS: I think it's really important to have a place where you can throw all the clutter and the toys away at night to get some zen back. Stepping on cars in the kitchen and tripping over their little scooters, it gets old. As much as we want them to clean up after themselves, different ages come with different challenges. I think if you want to stay sane in a house full of kids, youve got to hopefully train yourself to let certain things go, too. Weve used the playhouse as a place where we throw extra stuff in to hide the items.Related StoryFollow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.