Perfection. Is a myth. I’ll just put that out there first-off. Pretty to look at, in showrooms and movie sets and other places only occasionally frequented by actual humanity. But ridiculously impossible to maintain in a home (because, kids and critters and careers and all that). Lovely and inspiring – but completely lacking the livability factor.

 

Beauty, on the other hand, is quite doable. And in the end, far more real-life everyday enjoyable. Limitless in its interpretation, beauty refuses to be confined to a single iteration. It rises to the occasion, adapting to your personal style and embracing the way you live. Beauty is a home full of rooms that reflect your personal likes – with all kinds of things you love, everywhere you look. The spaces all relate and flow and connect to one another, and even your fancier rooms have a comfortable-ness about them. It’s the kind of beauty that feels polished, yet easygoing and effortless, even though an inordinate amount of thought and chasing down of just-the-right-things actually went into getting it there.

 

I approach design as a together-thing that typically starts with a long conversation – with me occasionally asking, but mostly you answering (…still answering…annnnd more answering). It’s an open forum for articulating what you’re thinking – how you envision using each space, if you’ve got a thing for a particular era, and how you want your home to feel to everyone who walks through the door. Maybe you’re thinking something more respite-like, serene and still, with chunky knit throws, thick, soft rugs and stacks of firewood. Or more open and airy, all stark white gallery walls and floor-to-ceiling shelves – more of a showplace for art pieces, rare objects and other conversation-starters you’ve gathered over time and love having on display. Or something more beehive-y, with kids’ crafts pinned up, and a mudroom full of soccer shin guards, lacrosse sticks, and that croquet set your parents insisted you take when they downsized.

 

Sometimes it’s a simple style edit. Other times, it’s a full-on do-over. But we’ll start at the same point, defining a look and feel that’s driven by purpose. So ultimately, there’s rhyme and a surprising amount of reason behind the design.

 

I tend to gravitate toward a sophisticated, layered approach, highlighting elements of the traditional and a sense of the familiar, but presented in a way that creates intrigue and invites a second look. I like to bring in hints of heritage – offering a solid nod to the past, while feeling fully in the present. It’s a well-curated, collected look, blending finds from global travels with treasures you’ve inherited from Great Aunt Hilda (who was cool before cool was cool), with newer things you simply like because, well – you just do. I bring all of that together in a way that makes sense and doesn’t feel mish-mashy. It’s beauty, defined and expressed in a way that’s reflective of you, your family, the things you love, the way you live. And when we achieve it, you’ll feel it. It’s as much something you sense as something you see.