“I am going to make everything around me beautiful, that will be my life.” Elsie de Wolfe
My love for interior design began so long ago that I am not actually certain I can place it. Maybe it was the years of my childhood spent in England, passing quintessential English cottages on my walks to school or the castles and manors we visited on family outings. Maybe it was all the model homes I toured with my parents, who loved looking at houses of all kinds. Maybe it was when I married young and our homes were always fixer uppers that I fixed up on a tight, almost non-existent, budget – and every time we moved, we sold our house quickly and for top dollar. Or maybe it was all the times I wanted to decorate and rearrange my room as a teenager. Wherever and whenever it began, one thing is certain – I love to give homes new life. I love to make a house a home.
My philosophy of design is one that I developed over years and years of fixing up homes and designing spaces. It is this – good design endures. It endures life seasons, trend cycles, and the passing of time. It isn’t like fast fashion – in one minute, out the next and only made to last the season. It is intentional, authentic, timeless. It is classic, collected, and it endures.
There is a difference between something truly beautiful and something trendy. There is a difference between style and fashion. There is a difference between classic pieces and things made for endless consumption. Authentic, well-designed homes have this point of difference become a point of distinction. It really has nothing to do with what is popular or trending now. It has everything to do with what has come before you, what will outlive you, and what is authentically YOU.
The foundation of a well-designed home is all about creating a classic envelope. The walls and floors and tiles and everything nailed down, chosen with a discerning eye, creates a classic envelope, a timeless foundation. We look to history and to architecture, to great design that has passed the test of time, to rooms and homes that have lasting style. We start there and then we collect the layers. When a house is designed with intention, it remains relevant and beautiful year after year. When a house is collected and layered with an understanding of YOUR story and who YOU are, that house becomes a home. One that outlives every trend cycle, and one that is truly beautiful.
