“The sign of a talented designer is the ability to evoke feelings in a person just by walking into the room.”

I do love interesting shades of blue but if I am being honest living in Fairfield County I think the preppy button gets pushed too often. Do blue and white but make it interesting. When I first moved to Greenwich, I thought my house had to look a certain way. That is when I figured out it wasn’t who I am. Today I was really drawn to how colors make you feel. I love a cozy nubby ivory Rosemary Hallgarten fabric but I also love a crisp green velvet. When I am designing I tend not to do a lot of pale colors. I love textured neutrals and deep rich colors.

When I went to the hair salon a few weeks ago my hair colorist looked at me and said “You don’t do boring!” Yes, I wear fun earrings and clothes but I like to joke when everyone goes left I go right. I think I said that in reference to fashion when everyone started wearing No. 6 shoes but the same holds true for interior design. I think my style is sophisticated. Clean and classic but made modern through striking color pairings and bold patterns. If I love a particular wallpaper and it is on repeat on social media, I may use it on the ceiling instead or see if it comes in an unexpected color. Recently I was drawn to a pretty blue bold patterned wallpaper a local designer used in a powder room. When I tracked down the name of the vendor I discovered it also came in a black and white colorway. My client (my own family) remarked it was weird. To me, it was a twist on the expected. Like my clients, they were scared of the unexpected but now say it is awesome. I don’t have a “look” if that makes sense. Ever read a magazine or walk into a room and immediately know that a specific designer was involved in the project before you saw their name? The sign of a talented designer is the ability to evoke feelings in a person just by walking into the room.

Clients that rush the process. Nothing good happens from rushing the getting to know each other phase. Sometimes you don’t know that you don’t like patterned dining room walls until you dig deep. Faster and cheaper isn’t better. Good design takes time and good design is expensive. A few years back a client asked me why their house didn’t look like a specific project in my portfolio. The best projects are the ones where a relationship is formed, trust is given and the clients honor the ENTIRE process. That means not just having fun with the wallpaper and the coffee table. It is also dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s with personal touches and accessories and art. When a client asks their best friend, mother-in-law, and every stranger that enters their house their opinion, it isn’t about them anymore. Design is emotional. Design is passionate. Design is a gut decision. Trust yourself. Trust your designer.

Well besides the fact that furniture is taken 200x longer to arrive in your home. I think what we have learned from the pandemic is no more off-limits rooms. I want my clients to love every room of their house and to use every square inch. Growing up we only used our dining room on Thanksgiving and Christmas and living rooms weren’t for children. I love beautiful rooms but I also want LIVED IN rooms! Production of furniture is taking so long what happens if a year later we don’t love it? Take the time to figure out what you love and how you want to live in your space. Don’t settle as even West Elm and RH are delayed. Life is short. Have fun with your home.

Do podcasts on neighborhood walks with my dogs count? Travel is a huge source of inspiration for me. Staying in cool hotels. Living like the locals. Seeing the world is so much bigger than me. We have a summer home on Nantucket so I am definitely most relaxed and myself there swimming in the ocean with my three very active boys. Winter I am usually trying to keep up with them on the ski slopes. I love anything where I can be creative especially in the kitchen. I love cooking. It is my therapy at the end of the day.

I think anyone who knows me will attest to the fact I am the most annoying rule follower. You know the type A (maybe a little OCD), neat freak, first child variety. In design, I don’t believe there are rules. Symmetry is lovely but I like to push boundaries. I like different and everything a little off if that makes sense. I hate matchy-matchy. I like odd numbers. A living room doesn’t have to have a sofa and matching side tables. If you like it do it no matter what your friends say. I really try and listen to what my clients like and then like a stylist scour, edit and elevate. I love when clients later say I didn’t even realize I liked that and pushed them out of their comfort zone. Why else do you hire a designer?

Art! Art is an inspiration. Buy the art. I think clients feel pressure to spend a lot of money or to fill their walls. It can be art from an Upstate Art Fair or from a local artist in South Carolina that paints scenes from where you grew up. It could also be something inherited from your grandmother or from a flea market in Paris but it should always speak to you… even if it takes time to gather. Whatever you do, don’t put pictures of your kids on every wall in the house, and don’t go online and buy a quick fix from a big retailer if you don’t love it! If you look at my portfolio some of my most favorite projects are the ones where the clients have a mix of old and new, inherited and purchased. Pictures of their kids and pictures of the ocean. Modern and vintage. After all, it is all in the mix.