Today is the second episode in my series about the Slow Style Framework, a method I use to teach people how to create meaningful, beautiful homes one room at a time. The first episode covered step one, Envision, and today's episode focuses on step two, Experiment. This episode emphasizes the valuable lessons learned from experimenting with items you already own before making new purchases. By rearranging and repurposing existing furniture and decor, you can save money and gain confidence in your design decisions. Through examples from bedrooms and living rooms, I illustrate how paying attention to your needs and experimenting helps you identify functional and aesthetic elements that align with your vision. I also provide tips on conducting a home audit and recognizing what truly enhances your space. The goal is to develop a personal, meaningful style without rushing into purchases, ensuring each design choice is thoughtful and intentional.

Listen to the first episode in the Slow Style Home Framework series HERE

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In this episode, I interviewed Liz Bell Young, the author of 'Let There Be Havens.' Liz is a multi-talented individual whose work spans across essays, poetry, and creative thinking, all aimed at fostering deeply felt human connections. We discussed the concept of 'havens,' not just as physical spaces but also as any place or interaction that provides comfort and support.
 
Liz shared her diverse professional journey, including her memoir 'In The Wide Country Of Love,' her creation of Haven Magazine for Anthropologie, and her writings in various prestigious journals. She has also worked with prominent clients like Procter and Gamble and Stan Smith Events. We talked about her personal experiences, including her ambitious side, her aspiration to be a mother, and her various living situations that shaped her understanding of creating comfortable home environments. 

She emphasized the importance of authenticity and accessibility in creating havens. The conversation also covered Liz's unique mapping exercises and creative events like a dinner for 500 women and an indoor tent installation. Throughout, Liz highlights the importance of collaboration, genuine self-expression, and making havens accessible to everyone, regardless of resources.

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In this episode of the Slow Style Home podcast, I discuss listener Josie's challenge of decorating large, double-story walls in her home’s entryway to reflect her family's love for nature, travel, and craftsmanship. We explore ways to create a meaningful and personal space including creating a gallery wall with found objects, using diverse materials, considering wallpaper, and incorporating moulding. Josie shared her vision of integrating family photos, travel mementos, and handmade items to achieve a welcoming entryway. I guided Josey on how to start small, such as beginning with a core group of art pieces at eye level, and the importance of taking a slow, collected approach to decorating. 
www.slowstylehome.com/episodes/josey-qanda

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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!

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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. 

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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.

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"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.  

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  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.  

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 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.

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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.  

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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On this episode of the Slow Style Home Podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Trevor Fulmer, a Boston-based designer launching a new line of eco-friendly hand-knotted rugs. We discuss the importance of sustainable design, the impact of rugs on a room, the art of combining contemporary and antique pieces, and the exciting trends in the world of design like sculptural elements and innovative lighting. Trevor emphasizes the significance of storytelling in interior design and the sense of community and collaboration within the design industry.
www.slowstylehome.com/trevor-fulmer

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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.

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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.  

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"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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.  

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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. 

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Today I'm talking with cookbook author Elizabeth Van Lierde. We talk about several different types of gatherings with her eye on creating experiences inside her home that make for the best kinds of parties... the ones where everyone, including the host is relaxed.

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My guest is Margie Grace, founder of Grace Design, a landscape design company in southern California and we're talking all about our outdoor spaces today.  Margie tells it like it is when it comes to residential backyards and gardening in terms of what you should and shouldn't plant and why being honest with yourself about maintenance is so important. 

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Today I'm talking with N'Ckyola Green, founder of eXtraordinary By Design.  Nikki is passionate about many things having to do with creating a home, from rolling up her sleeves and doing her own projects to eco-conscious lifestyle choices and natural beauty regimes, to gardening, cooking, and honoring the benefits of an interdependent community.  

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In this episode, I chat with Marie Cloud, the founder of Indigo Pruitt, a design firm dedicated to creating emotionally supportive and visually appealing environments. We discuss her unique approach to design, which combines aesthetics with emotional well-being, and the role of family and heritage in her work.  Additionally, Marie shares her involvement in community projects aimed at aiding those transitioning out of homelessness and her efforts to increase visibility for black and brown designers in the industry.
https://www.slowstylehome.com/episodes/marie-cloud

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My guests today are Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry, founders of Pulp Design Studios.  For this episode, I chose one of the rooms they've worked on and break it down into its component parts...color, scale, pattern, flow, materials... and explain to us how all of these elements come together to create what I consider to be a beautifully designed room.

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My guests today are Sarah Karakaian and Annette Grant, founders of Thanks For Visiting, which includes a podcast, a membership and a free introductory course on how to start and maintain a successful short-term rental business.  They give us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a Superhost on Airbnb and why putting the guests first is critical to the bottom line. 

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Rebecca Haskins is the founder of the online shop NOMA Collective which is a collection of handmade goods for the home made in collaboration with the artisans themselves. She has developed such wonderful relationships with people across the globe to create modern iterations of ancient designs and the results are not only beautiful, but incredibly meaningful. 

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 My guest today is Nicole Jackson-Bertrand. She is blowing up on Instagram because of her beautiful projects. Herself, along with her wife, Diane had been doing for years, everything, themselves, just from the vision to the execution. It's pretty amazing. They live in Florida. So there's a lot of attention they'd paid to their outdoor living spaces. I just want to encourage you to think about while she's talking is what are your plans? What is your vision for your outdoor spaces and how do you want to live in them? And what's on your dream list.

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I'm delighted to have Sharon Santoni back on the show again.  I first met her when her book, "My Stylish French Girlfriends" came out.  And she has put together a life that embodies all of the components that I admire: beauty, inspiration and the company of great friends.  Her blog, My French Country Home," has turned into a multifaceted business, including antiquing tours in Paris and Normandy, two books a magazine and more.  And today, she's going to take us to France.  

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Today I'm doing a solo show talking about the idea of a dream home and how to not put off having one!  I'll walk you through the Slow Style approach that allows you to create your dream home, right now, no matter your circumstances.  And then, I'll give you a few ideas you can try out to get started on that dream home today.  

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I am honored to introduce today's guest, the one and only, Annie Sloan, creator of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Annie has been called a leader in the design scene by the UK Telegraph, Elle Decor and the venerable World Of Interiors magazine. 

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My guest is Anitra Terrell, founder of Reflektion Design, an online shop that sells handcrafted art, textiles and serving ware all made from artisans Anitra has sought out in several African countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Uganda.  In this conversation, we talk about how she first started collecting textiles, the stories behind some of the objects she sells, and the impact you can have when you know where things come from.  

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Christina Fluegge of Greige Design has turned her focus specifically toward pattern design for fabrics and wallpaper, which you can find at Greige Textiles.  I was really drawn to these products because of her points of inspiration, which are mainly travel and nature.  Today, we're talking all about her wide range of work as well as how she mixes in art and antiques into her own home.

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My guest today is Philadelphia based interior designer Maria Viola.  She's been heading up her own team for about 15 years and her award winning firm, Viola Interior Design, while being active on several boards in the city.   We dive into lots of reasons why good design is essential... in other words, why style matters!  

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Today we’re talking cleaning products. Specifically, the process of developing and manufacturing eco-friendly, safe-for-our-skin cleaning products, with Kristi Lord and Lindsay Droz, co-founders of L’Avant Collective. Like many of us, they wanted a plant based alternative that actually worked as well as the chemical laden products we’ve been using. So they decided to do something about it! We also talk about the power of scent when it comes to motivating us to deep clean our homes and the ways in which you can use their multipurpose cleaner for unusual spring cleaning tasks. Even though I clearly love what they’re doing and would personally recommend trying out their products, it’s not an ad, it’s real! 
www.slowstylehome.com/episodes/lavant-collective

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My guest today is Bari J Ackerman, artist, maximalist, floral enthusiast, and now, author.  Her first book, Bloom Wild, A Free Spirited Guide To Decorating with Floral Patterns showcases Bari's own work on walls, fabric and furniture while teaching us how to mix patterns, even crazy, wild patterns, in ways that are joyous rather than chaotic.  

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 My guest today is the General Manager of The Spruce, Melanie Berliet and we're going to talk about her perspective on how we've been living in and using our homes over the past year and thinking about what we can look forward to for the rest of 2021. 

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My guest is Geraldine James, a prolific author of design books, including the very popular "Creative Walls" and "#shelfie."  These are the two books I wanted to talk about with her in particular because buying art as well as displaying collections are two things I think we should all be embracing.   

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Heather Ross is my guest this week and she's been living a multi-passionate life, for sure.  She's an artist in several mediums, she's been a boutique owner, and the author of a gorgeous and thoughtful design book, The Natural Eclectic.  In our conversation today, we  re-examine what we mean when we say we're decorating with nature, or that we're "eclectic" in our style, as well as taking apart words we see all the time these days such as beauty and authenticity.   

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My guest this week is Debbie Mathews, a well established antiques dealer in Nashville, who has also moved into the design arena because so many of her customers have recognized her exquisite taste, her eye for detail and her ability to mix antique pieces with contemporary ones in ways that make a room feel relaxed and welcoming. 

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Maxwell Humphrey is out with his first book. It's called Modern Americana and in it, Max takes us through all of the pieces that signify his particular outlook, which tend to be classic, nostalgic, and very American. Think vintage boy scout handbooks, Teddy Roosevelt on horseback and Hollywood's wild west. His aesthetic is laid back, very comfortable and livable, but he pays very close attention to detail, composition and environment. 

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Cara is the woman, the carpenter, the visionary behind Never Skip Brunch where she is on a mission to empower women to hold a drill as easily as you hold a handbag.

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My guest is Carmen Rene of Aquilo Interiors. She's baed in Oakland, CA and has worked on everything from hotels, restaurants and bars to private homes all across the Bay area. Carmen's aesthetic is pretty wild, very bold and unlike a lot of other work done by traditional designers, which is what drew me to her in the first place. Be sure to take a look at the show notes page for this episode on the little yellow couch website and you'll see photos of what I'm talking about. But what I really loved about digging in to Carmen's mind during this conversation is that she isn't afraid to go deep and talk about the substance and reasons behind why we want to live in beautiful spaces and how you have to get real with yourself about who you are if you ever want to create a home you love. 

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Ki Nassauer is a repeat guest on the Style Matters podcast and I'm so happy to have her back.  Ki has been rolling up her sleeves and digging in to all things vintage for many years.  This time, I wanted to talk with her about her newest venture, an online magazine called Lived-In Style.  When I first met Ki, she was the editor in chief of Flea Market Style, a print publication and was the founder of one of the best antiques shows in the country, Junk Bonanza.  She's still producing that show in Minneapolis... or, she will be again, as soon as the pandemic allows, but I was curious about her transition from print to online when it came to the shelter magazine arena.  And of course, we also talk a lot about vintage in this conversation!  Let's jump in.

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I'm talking with the one-and-only Marlo Thomas.  She has recently collaborated with Williams Sonoma on a 10 piece entertaining collection.  We talk about how this all came about and the inspiration behind it, but of course, I had to also ask her about her acting career and her work as an activist. 

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“Break the rules on purpose because we believe the room will look better. Not because we don't know better.” That's the premise of Myquillyn Smith’s new book, “House Rules.” In my conversation with her we pull apart some of these key rules and why they’re so useful, across the board. I love her examples of balancing casual and formal elements, the value of antiques and art, and how decorating with meaningful objects is better than decorating with diamonds. The Slow Style philosophy regarding intentionality, contrast, and patience in home decor comes through loud and clear.  I’m so happy to have Myquillyn back on the show! 
www.slowstylehome.com/episodes/myquillyn-smith

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You may know my guest this week from the seemingly boundless energy she shares on her HGTV show, Good Bones.  Mina Starsiak Hawk is the real deal when it comes to construction and renovation.  With her mom, she started the Two Chicks & A Hammer construction company.   Mina has continued to be an integral part of the communities in which she lives and works and has used that platform for all kinds of initiatives.  

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How do YOU define your style?  Today on the show, I'm going to dig into our new Style Mash Up guide where you can finally, once and for all, forever put to bed that annoyingly difficult question to answer: What is your style???  Download the guide.  Play the game.  Have some fun and hopefully a lightbulb will go off when you need some direction for your next project! 

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Michelle Ogundehin is a leader in the interior design world.  Most recently, her first book, called "Happy Inside: How to Harness the Power of Home for Health and Happiness" has just been published.  The  interview you're about to hear is one of the most substantial conversations I've ever had about design, on a personal scale.  How design affects real people, in real homes.  

Want to finally define your style? Grab your free worksheet and uncover your personal aesthetic!