Mango Gold
From our DC apartment. It made itself at home there, so naturally, we invited it here.
ABOUT FAUSTKEEPING
A home should make life feel better.
FaustKeeping is what Faust has learned from making seven homes with his husband Glen, hosting more than 500 gatherings, and paying attention to what actually makes a place work.
It is home advice, table ideas, and everyday help for real people with real budgets. The goal is not perfection. The goal is a place that feels calmer, welcomes the people you love, and still feels like you.
For more than 20 years, Faust has worked in education. Every morning he wakes up thinking about how to support teachers and make their lives easier so they can make a greater impact on their students. His heart is in teacher and learner agency: more voice, choice, and ownership in how they teach and learn.
That same thoughtfulness is at the heart of FaustKeeping. Here that means useful ideas, confidence in your own voice and choices, and room to do things your own way.
The humor comes from my mom.
I get to share it with you.
When I think of my mom, I think of joy. I’m thankful every day for the sense of humor she gave me. Sharing it here is part of that joy.
HOW IT BEGAN
It started with someone asking for help.
More than 20 years ago, Faust and Glen’s best friends were growing their family. The decorating advice they had received did not fit their children, the people they welcomed in, or their real budget. So they asked Faust to help make their home work for the life ahead. He was working in education then, too.
They kept what worked and chose where the money would matter. A sofa they would use every day deserved more of the budget; a $75 end table could do its job beautifully. Friends and friends of friends began asking Faust for help with rooms, tables, gatherings, and the everyday choices that make home easier to live in.
Why FaustKeeping?
I asked Glen how I could share my ideas about home in a way that felt welcoming, fun, and possible on a real budget.
Our friends call me Faust, short for Faustino, so he tried a few names with Faust in them.
When he said “FaustKeeping,” I wasn’t sure at first.
A few days later, I thought: I can own this. Apparently, some names need a second showing. I may never hear the end of it from Glen.
To me, FaustKeeping isn’t about a perfect house. It’s about using what you have, welcoming people in, and making home better.
Always with good intent.
THE ACTUAL POINT
Friends and family are the point.
The rooms should work for you. Tables, lamps, and chairs should make space for the people you love.
They do not need to be perfect or expensive. They need to work for your life, welcome the people you love, and make that life a little easier to enjoy.
Better surroundings give the people and experiences that matter somewhere good to land.
FAMILY AND HOME
The people who make it home.
Always in our corner.
My mom was always up for an adventure and so supportive of my brother and me.
That spirit belongs here, too: making room for the people you love and enjoying life together.
These days, home is somewhere between the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and Miami, usually with Sidney nearby. Wine for Faust. Bourbon for Glen.
Faust notices what could work better. Glen lives with the results. Sidney remains head of perspective.
- HOME
- Between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Miami.
- POUR
- Wine for Faust. Bourbon for Glen.
- PRIORITY
- Friends, family, and a place they want to return to.
Our colors have a home.
Very Navy
From our living space in Virginia. Already part of our home. Now part of your Home Team.
Before these colors lived on a website, they lived with us.
A FEW STRONGLY HELD OPINIONS
What Faust believes.
They are points of view, not decorating commandments delivered from a tasteful cloud.
Style is for everyone.
Plain language, real budgets, and room for everyone. Sophisticated can still feel accessible.
Color is invited. Clutter is not.
Collected can be generous. Layered can be joyful. Clutter isn’t how many things are in the room. It’s whether any of them know why they’re there.
Lamps set the mood.
Overhead lighting can help you clean. Lamps at different heights get to host the evening and do the emotional work.
Inspiration does not have to be expensive.
Use what you have, spend where it matters, and skip what does not.
A LITTLE INTENTION EVERY DAY
One useful decision at a time.
The world is busy. A little intention goes a long way. FaustKeeping offers one small thing a person can notice, choose, move, use, serve, or enjoy today.
It might mean moving a lamp, clearing a surface, setting the table, adding color, or inviting someone over before everything feels finished.
Calm does not require an empty beige room. Sometimes it simply means knowing what matters and letting the rest leave quietly.
Humor helps. A useful idea is easier to remember when it makes you laugh before it asks you to move the sofa.
FROM FAUST
I do not want your home to look like mine.
I want it to feel unmistakably like yours.
We can use what you have, add color without fear, edit without mercy, and make the place feel like you. Most of FaustKeeping is free and always will be. The whole idea is that you can pull it off too.
That’s part of what FaustKeeping is all about: sharing something good. A laugh, a useful idea, a little more fun in the everyday. We have plenty to figure out. We may as well enjoy ourselves along the way.
If something has you thinking, bring me the room, the paint, the party, the dinner, the yard, or the question. We will figure it out together.
Always show up with good intent.
Faust