Style Matters

My guest today is Danielle Postel-Vinay, author of "Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home," which gives you a pretty good clue as to what we'll be talking about.  In Danielle's book, she encourages us to embrace the idea that our homes are our sanctuaries and a visual representation of who we are, which makes them very special places.  I'm so excited to share this conversation with you today!  Here's Danielle.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

My guest today is Bea Pila, who, for over 25 years has been making the connection between design and the spiritual, emotional aspects of our well being.  We talk about her book, "Sacred Spaces" where she lays out the principles of she calls "design enlightenment."  Her creative process starts with functionality, specifically making sure that the furniture placement encourages a flow of energy between people and then she moves on to interpreting her clients' lifestyle into tangible design elements.  Let's dig in.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

Chrissie Rucker is the founder of London's The White Company, which sells affordable luxury linens, accessories and furniture, all in neutral colors.  She's just written her first book, For The Love Of White, showcasing people's homes where the predominant color palate is a mix of creams, whites and soft greys.  The rooms are not only beautiful and peaceful, they are full of personality.  We talk about how to achieve this by looking at all of the elements that go into the perfect mix of texture.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

Well, it's still January and I don't know about you, but I'm still bathing the glow of a new year, clean slate and my own motivation to make changes and follow through on some resolutions, before I lose steam!  In the spirit of setting goals for the year, I thought it might be helpful to walk you through my free worksheet on creating a Style Manifesto for yourself and your home.  If you don't already have a copy, you can grab it by going to the show notes page for this episode, or just going to the homepage, which is littleyellowcouch.com, and clicking on "Your Style Manifesto" at the top.  The purpose of the Style Manifesto is to figure out how your home can help you with your life goals.  We're going to look at how your home is currently serving you, or not, and then figure out what changes you can make in your home to  encourage you, uplift you, inspire you and all of those good things.  Let's get started.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with thi

Monica Leed of Simply Spaced, a pro organizer and author of the new book, also called Simply Spaced, said to me that organization is not a once and done kind of thing.  And I think I've been kind of assuming it was.  In other words, I've been telling myself that if I set up the Right system, with the Right tools and the Right bins, file folders and compartmentalized drawer inserts, I'll never have to organize or declutter anything ever again.  And if I do, that means the system I've set up must be wrong.  But Monica reminded me that there's this thing called Life that happens.  Unexpected paperwork, gifts we may or may not want, tools for  project we didn't plan on having to do... and so we didn't know we needed to create a space for them.  So of course we're going to have to revisit our organizational systems.  And that's ok.  Permission given to go back to the drawing board and re-do stuff.   In the rest of the episode we cover things such as how a good declutter

FW8KIH3FhUMtEzwvklZ3Well, everyone, this is the last episode of the season!  And we're going out with Rebecca Gardner, owner of the interiors and event planning company Houses & Parties.   She's known for her over-the-top events and her signature style of mixing high-end, top-of-the-line decor with a funny, unexpected playfulness that allows everyone to relax, even in the most formal of settings.  Her work has been featured in Vogue, Harpers Bazzar, Town & Country, Southern Living and Architectural Digest.  I found her when I was flipping through the latest issue of Veranda Magazine and I could tell right from her photo that she must be the most gracious, fun-loving host.  Given the holiday season we're all about to enter, I thought having her on the show to talk about parties would be helpful and inspiring.  Now like said, earlier, this is my last episode of 2019.  I'll be back with all new interviews starting January 6th!  Ok, back to today, on our call, Rebecca and I got right t

I am delighted to introduce you to the woman behind the rug and linen brands Dash & Albert and Pinecone Hill.  Annie Selke is a true powerhouse of an entrepreneur and she's also a lovely human being.  I remember when I first started seeing her quintessential Dash & Albert rugs in the speciality home shops I was poking around years ago in Maine.  And I thought to myself, wow, those are not only really fun and they make me smile, I bet they will also stand the test of time.  And I was right!  Annie's aesthetic is classic and timeless, it's elegant but also has this playfulness to it that you'll never get tired of.  Fast forward to this interview, which led to spending time with Annie and her staff, who by the way love her, at her offices, warehouse and beautiful 8 bedroom historic inn in the Berkshire mountains.  You'll see all kinds of videos of my trip there on Instagram so I hope you check that out.  Oh, and one note, Dash & Albert, the company, was named after her two be

I was introduced to this week's guest by my friend Susan Brinson of House of Brinson.  I had Susan and her husband Will on the show several seasons ago and their episode is definitely one to check out if you haven't already.  Anyway, I was talking to Susan about finding a venue for my next style retreat in NY and she said I absolutely had to get in touch with Eliza Clark of Foxfire Mountain House, and I am so grateful for the introduction!  Eliza and her husband, Tim Trojian, have created a truly magical, 11 room inn and restaurant in the Catskill mountains.  If you were to see her photos (which you can do on the show notes page), you'd understand why Eliza and I immediately hit it off and why I think you're going to be swept away, too.  She is a master at mixing old and new, elegance and comfort.  She and Tim have just released their book, "Foxfire Living" full of design inspiration, recipes and stories of how they restored the old inn.  Today I talk with Eliza about the major r

I spend a lot of time in my retreats and on this podcast talking about how to be creative.  And I'm a big proponent of an expanded definition of creativity to include creative thinking and problem solving so that we stop thinking of creativity as solely belong to artists and crafty people who emulate Martha Stewart.  My guest on the show today, architect Donald Rattner, takes us way beyond the who and what definitions of creativity and focuses on the where.  As in, where are we most creative and how can we set up our spaces to encourage the flow of creative thinking.  In particular, he argues that our homes are actually the spaces that are most conducive to creativity.  Way more than the kinds of utilitarian spaces where we've traditionally done our professional work.  Donald Rattner has done a ton of research, combing through academic journals, studies and experiments that support this idea of how our built environments affect our moods, our health and ultimately, our ability to be creative.   And

Windy Chien is an artist with several past lives which means she's one of those people you can relate to because her path in life hasn't been a straight line.  She's done many things, tried many things, had ups and downs, all before landing where she is today.  And speaking of straight lines, her medium as an artist has everything to do with lines... and more specifically, with the knots she creates out of those lines.  Windy Chen has just come out with a book, The Year Of Knots, detailing her 365 day long project where she challenged herself to learn and perfect one new knot a day and record her progress on Instagram.  I was blown away by the end result when I saw a video of her final art installation.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

I'm opening up the second half of this season with a dynamic woman. Toma Clark Haines, otherwise known as The Antiques Diva, has literally built an empire. Over a decade ago, living in Paris, she started helping other ex-pats furnish their homes from the flea markets and brocantes around the city. The thrill of the hunt was her hobby and her passion and soon it became her business. A global business because there are treasures to be unearthed in every corner of the world. She has a wonderful story and even better, she's a great storyteller. She's so generous in the way she shares it I know you're going to feel like you've got a new friend. I know I do. To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

This week I’m answering questions from the audience! All summer I offered free design & decor advice to anyone who wrote in. I loved all of the back & forth conversations we had about your homes. For this episode, I talk about a couple of big picture issues that came up over and over again. And then I dive into some specific questions that you can apply to your own situations. I hope this is helpful… let me know! To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

My guest this week is Ben Soleimani.  You may have come across his work through years of collaboration he's done with Restoration Hardware.  We talk about why they wanted him to elevate their rug collection to the highest quality it's known for today.  But Ben has recently moved on and has opened his own studio creating rugs and furniture to be sold direct to the public.  Ben's designs continue to be full of layered texture, color and a mix of references to the natural and built environments.  He's got a great analogy for us about how his brain is like a slide show to explain his creative process.  But I start by asking him about his background and his family business, the famed Mansour rug company.  Let's jump in.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

Ok, this one is juicy.  Emily Henson is back on the show after writing her 4 book.  I often say, your home is your autobiography.  Or at least, it's your chance to create one.  A visual autobiography that reflects who you are, where you've been and your aspirations for who you want to become.  And this is where Emily and I start our conversation.  Emily is a stylist and author of 4 books, her most recent called "Be Bold: Interiors for the Brave of Heart."  And in it, she talks a lot about this idea of using your home as a canvas the way an artist might paint something that reflects both what she sees and how she comprehends the world around her.  We cover a lot of ground in this episode so let's just dig in.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

My guest is Tracy Kinnally and she has the really interesting job of advising people on how to start and build private art collections.  Her clients are looking for both great monetary investments as well as the acquisition of some stellar pieces of culture to adorn their homes.  I thought it would be interesting to hear about her background, her work and her thoughts on why art is such an important piece of creating a meaningful home, no matter your budget.  And with that in mind, I want to take a minute to tell you about two articles I've written related to buying art that you can find on the show notes page of this episode.  One is my personal take on why art is such a critical component of any home, where to find it and how to get started.  It's called "How Not To Be Afraid Of Art Galleries."  And the second is a photo guide called "17 Ways To Hang Art," because once you get it home, you gotta know how it fits into the rest of your living space.  I share 17 examples of intere

Creativity is elusive.  Where inspiration comes from is sometimes a mystery.  This week, artist Caroline Cecil take us through her creative proces and shares the story of the many jobs and many hats she's worn  before landing in her sweet spot as a designer, working for herself.  Since the opening of her eponymous textile and wallpaper company, she uses every aspect of her past lives. I love a good life story and Caroline's is so interesting!   I don't want to give away any more.  Let's get started.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

Kim Gordon is a designer, an artist, a businesswoman, and best of all, she's incredibly intuitive when it comes to creating dream homes.  Not the kinds of dream homes that are filled with expensive luxury items.  But the kinds that really fulfill us in an emotional, creative and even spiritual way.  Kim doesn't shy away from honoring the mystical.  And what I mean by that is she connects our deepest desires with our intentions for our homes, and then, sort of magically, other areas of our lives get better.  To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

When Karen Grant was co-hosting the podcast with me, we both fell in love with Erica Tanov and her book, Design By Nature:  Creating Layered, Lived In Spaces, Inspired By the Natural World.  I knew this episode was one that I'd want to re-release and now is the perfect time because I'm excited to say that Erica has generously given me copies of her book to give everyone who comes to the Glamping Design Camp in Tulsa this October.  Since that retreat is all about using nature as inspiration in our homes, I'm using her book as a jumping off point for the entire premise of the retreat.  What I love about Erica is that she goes beyond just copying natural motifs in her designs.  While she does have some literal things like fern leaves in her wallpaper, she also looks to natural objects for abstract inspiration. Tree bark, seed pods, rippling water and even weeds are re-imagined as color palates, textures and patterns.  And that's what we're going to be working on during the Glamping Desig

This interview with Melinda McCoy of House 214 Design was originally aired in Oct of 2016.  What we so appreciated about Melinda was her understanding that just saying "your home should tell your story," isn't clear enough.  What does telling your story mean and how does that show up in your home and design choices.  Since then, Melinda has created a course and membership site that you should definitely check out.  But her core principles remain the same, making this interview just as helpful today as it was 3 years ago.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).

This week I'm sharing our interview with Maxwell Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy and author of several books on home and design.  We recorded this interview in 2015 when he was on a tour for his most recent book, Apartment Therapy Complete and Happy Home.  Even though this was several years ago, it's still one of our best interviews ever and I think you're going to get a lot out of it.  In this re-release from our archives, Karen Grant is co-hosting with me and she just asked Maxwell to tell us about his overall approach to design and making a home.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start with this free guide on how to create a vision that sets you up for every design decision you'll need to make!Sign up here to receive the free guide (and lots of suppport along the way).