Craig Melvin’s House Rules—You’re Welcome to Come Over, but Don’t Stay Too Late

Craig Melvin is a busy guy: He’s a constant on NBC’s Today, he’s gearing up to head to Paris for the Summer Olympics in July, and he’s the author of a new picture book. At home, he’s husband to sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak and dad to Delano, 10, and Sybil, 7. He recently welcomed a new puppy, Myles, to the family. He’s even taken on a few cozy hobbies (more on that later). Amid all this, Melvin has turned his attention to making his home a sanctuary—and part of that is the rules, written or unwritten, that keep his house running.

While strictly enforced house rules aren’t Melvin’s style, he and his close-knit family do live by a few guidelines that prioritize time together—and typically lead to plenty of time spent laughing, too.

Ahead of the release of Melvin’s new book, I’m Proud of You, on May 7, he spoke with Better Homes & Gardens about his house rules while he’s at home, with his family, and on the road.

First of all, we are a shoes-on house.

Part of my reason why we’re a shoes-on house: We have a puppy. I have a 10-year-old. I have a seven-and-a-half-year-old. Dirt and mud coming in the house—that’s the least of our worries. In fact, I’ve always thought that’s a sign that a house is being lived in, you know, you’ve got a little dirt on the floor. It’s a good sign these people are having fun, they’re going out.

Most of these are probably unspoken. We don’t have a list of houses rules—you know what, that’s actually not true. [There’s] a sign that we do have in our mudroom as you come in, but it’s one of those 'Love often, laugh'… It’s one of those signs. We have said those are the house rules, but we don’t really enforce those.

We eat together every night. When we’re all there, it’s understood that we sit at the