I would love to say that my love of design started as a young girl growing up in a beautiful Mansion filled with priceless art, antiques, and furniture. I would love it – even more if I could say that my amazing taste were further refined by jet setting around the globe, experiencing the beautiful cities of Paris, London, and Rome with my fabulous Uncle Karl. But as luck would have it…I grew up poor – “my sweet young mother cooking on a hot plate poor.”

Needless to say my love of design grew from a very real and personal need for a home.

My first “home” was my parents’ window tinting shop – cinder block walls and fluorescent lights being the height of aesthetic choice. Of course now that I’m describing it in 2019 – It sounds kinda industrial loft chic… Our version of the freestanding tub was a kiddie pool we filled with a water hose. It sounds sad but my mothers love, strength, and creativity did make up for the lack of amenities! Plus I think I probably thought taking a bath in a waiting pool was much more fun than in a regular old bathtub because it was like perpetual Splash Day! !

When my parents had residential tint jobs, I would tag along to what seemed like grand mansions in South Lake and old Fort Worth.  To me, these houses didn’t just say money: they said safety, love and comfort. I loved imagining what it would be like to live in those homes and decorated them in my mind (with the help of the Spiegel catalogue).

Finally, when I was in the 4^th grade my parents were able to purchase our first real home – It was a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath house in North Richland Hills TX (which sounded very fancy to me). They decided to not only decorate my room first but to let me do the decorating! I carefully picked out 2nd-hand white Bassett furniture with dentil detailing and gold accents, a beautiful canopy bed dressed in a floral comforter and a bedskirt made of  Belgium lace. To complete the room, I opted for light blue walls with pink stenciled roses and a vintage brass vanity where I would perfectly stage all of my pretty little accessories I had collected from my grandmothers and garage sales. Think porcelain figurines, doilies, and vintage makeup compacts. Yes, my friends, I was the envy of every little girl.

Good design has the power to change not only your mood but how you feel about yourself.  Good design can heal. As a little girl, that bedroom made me feel beautiful. Every time I slept under that canopy bed I felt worthy, loved, safe, and like anything was possible.

As I grew older, my love of the home extended into a love for design and how it not only makes your eyeballs happy – but it can make your heart happy too.

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