Style Matters

The interview you're about to hear ended up being very personal.  Not only does designer Beth Diana Smith talk with us about healing from the death of her mom and how she had to become a full fledged adult when most of us are still clueless 20-year-olds, but we also talk about her work with the Black Artists and Designers Guild, which opened up a candid conversation about being a black woman working in the field of interior design.  I really appreciate how  open Beth was about all of these things.  And along the way, we also talked about stuff we love, like mixing styles and fearless decorating.  So this is a good one, folks!  Let's get started with Beth.   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've probably heard of my guest this week, Cortney Novogratz because she and her family of 7 kids, alongside her husband and business partner, Robert Novogratz, have been in the spotlight for quite a long time.  Maybe you remember her from one of her TV shows, "Design By 9" on Bravo, or "Home By Novogratz" on HGTV.   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).

Have you wondered what it's like to renovate an old home?  Not just renovate, but actually live in an hold home while you're working on it?  And what about moving into an old home that needs work, where you're raising kids, AND that's on the National Register of Historic Places?  Any trepidation there?  I found today's guest on Instagram, where I've been completely swept up in her story.  Erica Swagler's account on Instagram is called Living_In_A_Landmark and if you scroll through her photos, I think you'll be just as enchanted. 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 the perfect example of someone who has taught herself how to train her eye and create a signature style.  Ariene Bethea is the owner of the antique shop, Dressing Rooms Interiors, in Charlotte, NC, which has been getting a lot of attention from interior designers and magazines.   But her home is just as compelling as the shopping experience she's created.  In fact, the way she so thoughtfully brings disparate objects together in beautiful ways is one of the reasons why she started offering in-person design services, in addition to curating her shop.  In this conversation, we talk about her use of color, her collections, and how, in the case of one client, she applied her maximalist style to a minimalist's home.  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).

When I first saw Philip Mitchell's book, "Collected Interiors: Rooms That Tell a Story," I knew I had found a master of the mix. He's created my very favorite kinds of homes... those where every detail is fully considered and every composition and pairing of objects tells an arresting or unexpected story.  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).

Melissa Penfold is a well-known Australian journalist in the field of interiors and she's just come out with her first book, "Living Well By Design."  We talk about developing your confidence, creating a sense of place, the missing wow factor ingredient in many homes... hint... it's about scale... and of course, why style matters. 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).

"On The Little Yellow Couch" where it's just you and me.  In other episodes like this, you've heard me go over the principles of Slow Style and the path or phases you'd go through to apply this approach to decoration and design.  Today, I'll give you some concrete ideas about what exactly a Slow Style home looks like.  There are 5 main elements that I've come up with that I think pretty much covers all homes created with Slow Style.   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).

  We're going to hear about the beauty of Cheryl's natural environment, feng shui, her artwork and the importance of art overall when it comes to creating a home that gives something back to us.  Here's Cheryl.   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've wanted to interview many Australian designers but haven't been able to make the difference in time zones work.  Until now!  You're about to hear my conversation with Jen Kingwell, fabric and pattern designer, quilter, and now author.  She's just written a book called Quilt Recipes, and I fell in love with the gorgeous photos showing how her quilts are used in interiors.  Not only can you follow her patterns and design ideas to make your own quilts from this book, she also includes recipes from her mom who was a terrific baker.  When you think about it, it's the perfect combination for a cozy winter day... curling up with a soft handmade quilt and a sweet treat.  You'll have to check out the photos on the show notes page of this episode to really get a sense of the feeling this book has inspired in me!  Ok, here's Jen. 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

I'm very happy to have Marian Parsons open up this new season of Style Matters for us.  You may also know her as Miss Mustard Seed, which is what she called herself when she started a blog over 10 years ago.  From the blog came other business pursuits such as creating a line of milk paint, creating fabric and product designs, and selling her original artwork.  She's just come out with a new book, "Feels Like Home: Transforming your home from uninspiring to uniquely yours," and her approach to design completely aligns with what we believe here at Style Matters.  And that is that your story is your style.  Let's hear from Marian.   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).

Melissa Parks is a hunter and seller of vintage goods just outside of Chicago, Illinois.  She's also a regular contributor to the digital magazine, Lived-In Style and wrote for the print publication Flea Market Style before that.  You may know her as "Megillicutti," which is the name she uses on Instagram where she has over 26k fans.  n this episode we talk about how she approaches the “hunt,” what makes the cut and what doesn’t and how she fills her own home with a rotation of collections.   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).

Jamala Wallace shares her many room and furniture transformations through her personal blog, Viva La Vintage.   In this conversation, we really zero in on the idea that beauty comes from the act of finding and creating it, rather than acquiring it. 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).

Emmy Ellison, founder of de Maroc.  Her mission is to bring the beauty of handmade woven rugs from Morocco into all of our homes.  I'll let her tell you her story, starting with her wandering around Morocco, following the trail of the centuries-old tradition of designing, weaving, and dying these beautiful, soulful pieces. 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).

People often ask me which episodes they should start with if they're new to the podcast. And so I thought an interesting way to answer that question would be to go over some of the best eye-opening perspectives that I have heard from my guests over the years. We'll cover a few things such as how do we really define a personal style in the first place, and why does it matter? We'll also get into why I've created the Slow Style approach to design. 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).

Today, I'm talking with designer Rachel Fowler who's out with a new book, "My Happy Place: healthy, sustainable and human design for life and work."  She's going to get the ball rolling here in that the bulk of what we talk about is the big picture of what's really going on with how we purchase, consume and dispose of home-related things.   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).

"House Story: Insider Secrets to the Perfect Home Renovation."  I talk with Jasmine on the Style Matters podcast about the questions, mis-steps and small victories won when going through a home renovation. 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 delighted to share this episode with you.  I'm having a conversation with one of my favorite fabric and wallpaper designers, Mally Skok.  And she's also a really fabulous interior designer.  Originally from South Africa and now living in the States, near me, in Boston, as it turns out, Mally has just written a gem of a book.  It's called "Mally's Little Handbook: A guide to finding your joy through my designer eyes."  Without knowing it was going to happen, what we talked about so closely aligned with my Slow Style approach, I feel like Mally could be the spirit animal of the Slow Style philosophy!   Let's get started and I think you'll see what I mean.   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 one of my favorite interiors photographers and she's also an accomplished, sought after designer. You'd never guess that her life was kind of in shambles a decade ago. I'll let Carley Summers tell her own story. Let me just say that I'm so happy to have met her and been introduced to her work. Along with her personal journey, we also talk about how to make sure you're making good decisions while you're thrifting and antiquing, why you can't have great style without having patience, and why we all deserve sacred spaces in our homes. 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).

Today I'm talking with Aldous Bertram about his first book called "Dragons & Pagodas: A Celebration of Chinoiserie."  He traces hundreds of years of the development of the Chinoiserie style, into what reads like a novel.  And then gorgeously illustrates all of the major motifs under the Chinoiserie umbrella.   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).

Several years ago, passionate philanthropists Kelly and Scott Meuller had a vision for expanding and sharing their private art collection with the public through an endowment to the Cleveland Museum of Art. They went to the firm Peter Pennoyer Architects with this idea.  What has emerged is Rowdy Meadow, a property that is both home and museum, as well as a 150 acre sculpture park with 30 pieces by some of the most renowned artists working today.  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).