Style Matters

Today is for all of you who are thinking about hiring someone to help you furnish or decorate your home.  You might be considering a full on, top to bottom, in person interior designer, or someone who simply works with you online to give you some ideas and sources that you then implement yourself, or someone like me and some of my past guests who act as consultants to help give shape to your own vision.  In any of these cases, I thought it would be helpful to know what to look for when hiring someone because you're going to be plunking down some cash before you get the service.  So let's minimize the chances of disappointment!  My guest this week is Abbie Naber of A Naber Design and she's giving us her tips in how to best work with someone else, especially if you don't share the same language around style.  We then talk about her own home, which is outstanding, and her goal of seamless living between the outside and inside, which you really want to take advantage of if you live in Southern

My guest this week is Anthony D’Argenzio. He launched his art direction company Zio & Sons in New York City before moving to Hudson, NY where he’s now the owner of This Old Hudson, a work and living space open for photo shoots and travelers wishing to stay in a beautifully styled setting while visiting the Hudson Valley region. I talk with him about the renovation of the property, the aesthetic he’s created there and how he goes about mixing and layering texture, style and materials in a space. If you haven’t seen photos of This Old Hudson, you can do so on the Little Yellow Couch website. And believe me, you’re going to want to know what we’re referring to as we talk about his incredible kitchens! 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 author Shannon Ables.  Her newest book is called "Living The Simply Luxurious Life: Making Your Everydays Extraordinary and Discovering Your Best Self."  She covers a lot of ground in this book, talking about aspects of our lives such as money, our health, our careers.... and we don't have time to talk abou it all!  So in our conversation, we start with the big picture, talking about where luxury, true luxury, comes from and how to attain it.  And then, we zero in on the home, especially our kitchens, our rituals and finding the perfect pieces to furnish them.  Shannon is so warm and easy to talk with, I know you're going to love her. 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's interview is jam packed with information and inspiration.  I'm talking with Steve Schrenk, a sculptor and media director for Polycor, the largest natural stone quarrier in North America.  We cover a lot of ground, starting with Steve's training as a sculptor and then he teaches us about the different kinds of stone you might want to consider using in your own home, how to use stone as a design element, where to find it, what kinds of quarries it comes from and the environmental impact of extraction.  I'm pretty sure that at least half of you are going to want to start a kitchen renovation after this.  We wrap up with two of his favorite sources of inspiration, one of whom is an interior designer and the other is an installation you can  visit when in you're in New York City.   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

In this behind the scenes episode, I talk about the necessity of putting your true self out there so that you can achieve a life you love.  I then talk with designer Megan Pflug about how she recently did this and how it's changed her life.  We tie it all into making your home work for you as you challenge yourself and take risks. 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 Philadelphia based interior designer, Michelle Gage.   We talk about her obsession with floor plans, her time working at Anthropologie and her latest project, her dining room.  We actually talk a lot about this room because not only is it fabulous to look at, Michelle wrote about the costs associated with doing a makeover of this scale.  And I thought that it was so refreshing to hear honest talk about money.  Toward the end, Michelle also says a few things that I think make for great mantras when needing a little design inspiration.  Let me know if you can tell what I'm referring to!  Ok, let's go.    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).

Many of you have probably seen Shavonda Gardner's home on Instagram, on her blog or from the One Room Challenge.  Her bold, eclectic style has had a big influence on those of us who follow her on social media.  But today, we get to hear a more personal side of Shavonda.  I love how she and Naomi have really taken their family values into consideration when choosing where and how they want to live.  I think that's my favorite part of this interview.  But, of course, we also talk about lots of fun things like tile, wallpaper and color.  And, being a master gardener, she also gives us her top three house plants to start with if you're a beginner or just not having luck keeping those babies alive.  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).

Angela Bunt is an interior designer in London, known for her ability to find the perfect colors for anyone's home.  She shares her secrets with us, along with a joyful description of her long career.   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).

Hey y’all. I thought we had wrapped up the Style Matters podcast for 2018 last week. But then I started reflecting on the year and writing down a few thoughts about the biggest transition I’ve faced with Little Yellow Couch. Namely, becoming the sole owner/creator/chief bottle washer. And it got me thinking about trying to pull back the curtain a bit more than usual and share some of what goes on behind the scenes as an entrepreneur. I’ve never done an episode like this one. It’s personal. And it’s just me. No guests and no filter. I hope you can connect to it. And I wish you the very best end to your year and that you start 2019 with fresh eyes and an open heart. 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).

So for this installment of OTLYC (On the Little Yellow Couch), I have a very special guest... Karen Grant, my former co-host of this podcast, and dear friend, is back in the studio!  And when I say studio, I mean my living room.  Now, we're all in the thick of holiday season so Karen and I are going to be talking about holiday stuff. She’s doing something really creative out of town and I’m on a mission to embrace the pairing down of shopping, decorating and guilt. Ha! Yes! No more guilt when the expectations for the perfect holiday don’t yield the perfect holiday! I'm also already looking ahead to 2019 and want you all to know that I'll be offering another Style Retreat in Feb!  If you didn't know about the last one or just want to get a feel for what it was like, you can go to littleyellowcouch.com and click on Retreat News where you can see photos and hear what the participants had to say about our weekend away.  Honestly, I wasn't planning on doing one again so soon, but it was su

I have a lot of fun talking with my guest this week, Jewel Marlowe.  I've been dying to get to know her because I could tell from her style that she's someone who would probably make me laugh.  And she does not disappoint!  Jewel is the blogger behind Jeweled Interiors and also works as an interior designer.  She is a master of the mix, meaning she can take three objects that look like they have nothing in common and figure out how to make them all work in the same space using the magic of color, pattern and scale.  And luckily she's able to share how she does this during the episode.  Jewel has honed her talents over the 13 different homes that she's lived in as a military spouse.  So if any of you can relate to that, this one's for you!   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 guests this week are Sara & Rich Combs.  A few years ago, they transplanted themselves from the bustle of San Fransisco to the quiet of Joshua Tree, California. But in giving themselves time to slow down, they have left themselves open to experiencing an intense drama of living in close proximity to their natural environment. They are now the owners of three properties there, all of which can be rented out as creative retreat spaces.  Their book, “At Home in Joshua Tree: A Field Guide to Desert Living,” takes us through four lessons, or mantras, that they’ve incorporated into their work as designers since making the desert their home. In our conversation we talk about the mantras as well as the various environmental facts that have become entwined with their lifestyle and overall aesthetic.  I start by asking them how the decision to  move to Joshua Tree came about.   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 deci

This episode has a little bit of everything in it and that's because my guest, Liz Solms, is a multi-passionate person, to borrow a term from my friend, Desha Peacock.  She has built quite a rich and rewarding life for herself and I ask her about her career throughout our conversation.   I was interested in interviewing Liz because she has woven together food, hospitality and design in a way that we haven't talked about on the podcast before.  What I hope you come away with from this episode is the motivation to go look for creative inspiration from your travels, from sharing a beautiful meal with friends, or from taking the time to really notice the details in a historic building.  Because our ideas for decorating our homes can't just come from retailers!  They have to come from experiences.  Toward the end of the interview, we talk about her projects in Philadelphia and I had the absolute privilege of meeting Liz and staying in an apartment she designed while I was there. It's not just t

Clear and critical thinking.  You don’t always get that when talking about the world of interiors. It’s not just about a pretty picture, folks. Creative and thoughtful design can’t be underestimated and there isn’t enough of it these days. Sophie Donelson, former Editor-In-Chief of House Beautiful brought her keen eye to the pages of this magazine in a way that we all will miss. Luckily I got to talk with her before she left to pursue other things. And I can’t wait to see what she’s up to next! 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).

You might know Myquillyn Smith as “The Nester,” or as the author of “The Nesting Place,” her first book, and the name of her popular blog. She has long subscribed to the belief that “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful,” to which I say, Amen! Well, she’s just come out with her second book, “Cozy, Minimalist Home,” in which she promises that you can still have plenty of style, but with less stuff. You may already love how she writes, but once you hear her voice, you’ll instantly feel her warmth and generosity of spirit. We laugh a lot during this interview and I hope you’ll feel like you’re right here in the room with us! Myquillyn shares how she went from being a maximalist to a minimalist, but still kept her home from feeling slick, soul-less and cold. And, best of all, she gives us several of the guidelines she uses when making big decisions such as buying furniture, to small decisions, such as what to put on your mantel. So, after you get on board with the philosophy of embracing imperfection, ge

My guest this week is artist and rug designer Wendy Morrison.  I first learned of Wendy's rugs through Sarah Akwisombe, who we interviewed awhile ago.  Sarah is fearless when it comes to design and she's always looking to stretch herself beyond whatever's currently trending.  And Wendy's rugs certainly do push us to be bold and go for what speaks to us, personally.  Wendy shares how she got started with rugs, having no idea how they would change the direction of her life.  She also explains a little bit about how rugs are made and then we wrap up with Wendy taking us through the symbolism she uses in her designs that give her rugs  rich and layered narratives.  This episode in particular really needs to be seen as well as heard so that you can fully understand the impact that her rugs can have on a space.  So I highly encourage you to check out the photos on the show notes page.  Just go to the podcast section on the website, littleyellowcouch.com.  To use the Slow Style approach in your h

If Mad Men and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had a baby, and pitched it to Netflix for a new TV series, you’d have a handle on this week’s epsiode.  If you're not following me, let me explain.  My guest is Alessandra Wood and she is going to give us the most interesting history lesson you've heard in a long time!  Her dissertation for her PhD was essentially about the influence mid-20th century department stores have had on our personal style choices, for our homes and our clothing (think consumer psychology behind advertising in Mad Men) and pair that with the highly fashionable world of B. Altman in New York, circa 1950 (where Midge Maisel works) and that’s the intersection where today’s conversation resides!  We also touch on where we are today when it comes to interior design and how our style is a reflection of, and reaction to, broad cultural forces.  It's a great conversation and I hope you'll find it as fascinating as I have!  We start out talking about Alessandra's rather high-te

Are you a maverick when it comes to your home?  Or, to be more clear, does your home represent your soul and the life you’ve lived rather than a particular style category? Interior designer and author Miv Watts explores the homes of people who “decorate” in just this way. In her new book, “The Maverick Soul: Portraits of the Lives and Homes of Eccentric, Eclectic and Free-Spirited Bohemians,” Miv takes us through spaces that deeply reflect the creative lives of their owners. Miv herself started her career as a window dresser for Burberry before launching into set design for films, which took her all over the world. I have learned so much from talking with Miv. She can spark your creative imagination and commitment to being true to yourself like no one else. This episode is truly packed with so much goodness, I can’t wait for you to soak it up with me! 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

Have you ever wondered what exactly it is that a Prop Stylist does? My guest is Heather Bullard who does prop styling and art direction for a number of different magazines and brands. By the end of this interview, you'll have a better understanding of what that means! She talks with us about the importance of sometimes getting away from the very images she creates so that we can remain true to our own, individual tastes and not be quite so influenced by social media. She shares with us her own source of inspiration and how her style has evolved over the years. 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).

In this episode of the Style Matters podcast, I interview Donna Garlough, Style Director for Joss & Main and author of the new book,  "Your Home, Your Style: How to Find Your Look and Create Rooms You Love."  What I love about this book is how practical it is!  Donna is really good at breaking down some of the more "mysterious" aspects of creative design.  She does this by having you start with an inventory of sorts.  She refers to it as figuring out your design disposition. It takes into consideration how you approach things--how you tend to make decisions, how you take in and process information, where your comfort zone is--things like that.  After she takes you through the different design dispositions and outlines the 5 things you'll need to consider for every style decision you make, there are all of  these little "ah ha" moments sprinkled throughout the book. It's so helpful!   Ok, let's get started.   To use the Slow Style approach in your home, start wi