Style Matters

My guest this week is sooooo good.  Sean Leffers is a designer working out of Los Angeles and his breadth of knowledge and the insight he has on why style matters and how to make your home sing is truly inspiring.  And he's warm and entertaining and all of those other good things you want from this show.  In our conversation, we talk about art, antiques, storytelling, creativity, disposable decor... we cover so much.  But I'm pretty sure Sean has more to share so I'm guessing we're going to have him on more than once.  Oh, and I haven't even mentioned how gorgeous is work is!  You've got to visit the show notes page for this episode at littleyellowcouch.com to see the photos!

Michelle Rohrer-Lauer owns the design firm Michelle's Interiors in Chicago where she creates luxurious homes that meet her standards for sustainability, health, and wellbeing.

Chanae Richards is the design genius behind Oloro Interiors, and don't worry, we cover what that name means in the conversation!

My guest today is Kellie Sirna, co-founder of Studio 11 Design, which specializes in specialty hotel design.  Kellie has led global projects across boutique and renowned nameplates such as Caesars Entertainment, Hyatt, Starwood, Thompson Hotels, and many more and she oversaw the recent launch of two new side projects within Studio 11 Design, one about branding and the other, Lou Verne, which specializes in art installations.

In this episode, you're going to hear one of those stories where someone starts making something in their kitchen and turns it into a mini-empire.  These stories sometimes feel a little unbelievable in that...how many people have tried this thing, never to have it come to anything?  Chrissy Fitchl is the founder of Apotheke, a scent company making handmade soaps, lotions, and candles in her factory in Brooklyn.

Peter Walsh is the author of many books and a TV personality who on several hit design shows.  He takes a soul-searching, tough-love approach to getting rid of our clutter so that we can live a more abundant life. In this episode we talk about the particular challenges of downsizing for ourselves and our elderly parents.

If you've ever dreamed of what a perfect beach cottage, lake house or home in the woods would feel and look like, you're going to love this episode. I was delighted to see a book come out called "The Maine House" and it fulfilled all of my hopes and expectations for what beauty comes out of composing a home aligned with where it's situated. This conversation with Maura McEvoy, Basha Burwell and Kathleen Hackett, the women responsible for creating this stunning book, gave me such pleasure and I hope you'll feel the same.

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.

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.

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.