There is a resurgence in design for deeply personalized spaces. For awhile design has felt a little stale to me. Because of social media, rooms that look beautiful in a photo get translated to a formula that is replicated and no matter where you live or the architecture of your home, the interiors looks the same.
I love that now I’m seeing rooms filled with color and pattern and a sense of place. It is so exciting and inspiring! During the pandemic I think people felt a deeper connection to their homes and wanted to be surrounded by spaces that felt less like an RH showroom and more like a space that felt unique to them. I definitely felt this way during my own home renovation that we did in 2020 - 2022.
During our renovation, I really wanted to challenge myself to push past what I felt like I should do because of what felt safe, was trendy or for real estate returns, and push forward into my personal style and the lifestyle of my family. I wanted to create a family home that didn’t feel like it could be pinpointed to a certain year or period of time. As a designer, I help clients find their style but this was my first real opportunity to dive deep into what inspires me and brings me joy. And I discovered a few things about myself along the way.
During the pandemic as I was planning for the design of our house, I did a deep dive into fabric and tiles and ordered hundreds of samples to immerse myself in them and pay attention to what excited me. I held on to those samples and would go through them and sometimes some of the initial excitement for a pattern or color would wear off and others I felt better about the longer I was with them. I was surprised that a lot of what I was drawn to were large-scale botanicals and florals. This was not on my radar at all so it was exciting to think about trying something new. Some of these patterns even inspired an entire room.


I knew I wanted the laundry room to be cheery and playful and so this charming fabric lead the way for the design. It might be one of my favorite fabrics of all time and something I use in future homes as well. I don’t know why I love it so much - it just makes me smile and feels like a warm sunny day.
Personalization can be done with simple objects as well. I was working on a kitchen renovation for a client and I was inspired by her love of plants. She had a lot of pots and vases filled with plants she had been growing for awhile and some she was propagating. And since the kitchen was the brightest room in the house, it only felt natural to make a space for the plants in her life so we brought all of them together to make her love of plants a focal point of her new kitchen.
In another example, my husband and I have a love of Big Sur, CA. It holds a lot of very personal and emotional memories for us. A friend and local art dealer was selling a vintage piece of art that features that memorable landscape and so I bought it and gifted it to Andrew for our anniversary. I didn’t know where I was going to put it but I loved it so much. It founds its home in our master bathroom so we see it everyday.
I’d love to do a sort of “design prompt” if you are down for it! I want to challenge you to find a space in your home that you can personalize in a way that maybe you haven’t thought of before. Is there a family heirloom that you’ve been hiding in the corner? Make it a centerpiece! Whether it’s a color you love, an object or collection of objects, a poem, piece of furniture, or even some photos you’ve been meaning to frame, I’d love to see a snapshot of a personalized space in your home. It doesn’t need to be perfect or instagram-worthy - just something that makes your home feel like “you”.
Motivation to get my family photos hung!