For nearly twenty years, I have been unknowingly writing this book in the back of my mind. Somewhere in my subconscious I’ve been filing away every design failure and every win. Going to school to learn this profession could have been quicker and less painful, but the upside to learning it the hard way is that these lessons won’t ever be just ideas on a page to me. Every hard-won piece of knowledge feels like gold because I remember what that lesson cost. It’s made me infinitely more passionate about this work that I get to do every day, and I hope I can communicate that same level of passion and purpose to you in this book. What you hold in your hands is the culmination of all that I’ve learned through the hundreds of homes I’ve designed over the years.
When I was deciding what I wanted this book to be about, there was discussion about filling its pages with beautiful, aspirational images, and I knew right away that that wasn’t what I wanted. In fact, there’s nothing I want less than for you to look wistfully at other people’s “perfect” homes and feel defeated or wish that they were yours. From the beginning, I wanted this book to be a practical and useful guide that would empower and motivate you to create a home that communicates the soul and substance of the people who live within its walls.
I’m a homebody. There’s really no other way to say it. The world can feel overwhelming with its pace and noise, its chaos and expectations. Home for me is like the eye of a hurricane. There’s a certain calm I experience there no matter what is swirling about on the outside. Home is where I feel safe, it’s the place where I am most known and most loved. If you were to ask my family, I’m pretty sure they would tell you the same thing about themselves: there is nowhere they would rather be than home. I think it’s because our story is all around us there. When you walk in, you begin to see and experience the journey of us. Our home is layered with family photos, artwork, and objects that weren’t chosen simply to make a design statement, but rather to tell the story of who lives there. I believe that what we surround ourselves with—the colors, the materials, the things—can be random and meaningless or they can convey some of the most important truths if we let them.
Throughout this book, you’ll notice a theme of “telling your story” within your home. What I mean is that I want you to approach the design of your home with intention, to surround yourself with items that mean something to you, and choose furnishings and details that make you happy or inspired or contented. There is a certain skill all of us can hone, which is seeing the everyday items that we already own with fresh eyes. Look again at the unique pieces that you’ve collected over the years. Is there a story or memory associated with any of them? Maybe you find yourself drawn to the simplicity and clean lines of a modern chair or a hand-thrown vase from a favorite potter. Small details resonate with us for a reason, and I encourage you not to ignore them. They are how I learned to create a home that I genuinely loved. One that looked and felt distinct from any other because it looked and felt like us. We surrounded ourselves with meaningful pieces, mementos, and gathered treasures—some family heirlooms that point to our history, some flea-market finds that we couldn’t leave without—all equally lovely to us.
I’ve come to realize that it’s not uncommon for people to feel immobilized when they try to make their home a place that feels significant and unique to them. We can get so bogged down with design rules and comparisons that we forget to focus on the simplicity of choosing things that we love for our homes. It’s not about sticking to a specific, prescribed style. It’s about story. And the moment you make that subtle mind-set shift, all of a sudden you’re set into motion. It becomes fun, freeing even. If nothing else, the one thing that I really want you to take away from this book is this: Rather than following arbitrary guidelines, try to focus on incorporating the things that matter to you and the people who share your home.
Sure, some people may have a knack for decorating and design, but here’s the thing: it’s not rocket science. Just like in all of life, you try and fail and then try again, and eventually you figure out what works for you. So allow yourself the freedom to mess up, whatever that means, or simply change your mind. Go ahead and paint the room a color other than beige. Even if you decide you were too bold and you don’t actually love how it looks, you can repaint it later. It is not the end of the world. You tried, you risked, you learned—and hopefully you had fun with it. Buy the rug you’ve been eyeing and see how it fits. If it doesn’t work, return it. Rearrange your furniture. Twice. Or three times. Don’t worry about it being perfect the first time. In fact, never stop rearranging. It helps keep your home alive and evolving. Let’s not take ourselves so seriously. There’s enough truly hard stuff in life, and creating your home should not be one of them. I believe that intentionality with a dose of creativity goes much further than money and flawless taste when it comes to making a house a home.
My hope is that wherever you are, you find a way to love the home you’re in. Create a space where everyone who lives there feels at home. Again, more than anything, I hope that when you put this book down you feel encouraged and emboldened to thoughtfully design a home that tells a story without regard for perfection. It’s a story worth telling because it’s yours. That is how you create spaces you’ll never want to leave.
Cheering you on,
