Interior Design through "Slow Style" w/ Zandra Zuraw!

Hello hello, welcome to Episode 83 of Life On the Brink!

I’m so excited about today’s episode, as I’m welcoming a very special guest. Today I’m chatting with Zandra Zuraw, an interior design coach and host of the Style Matters podcast. She has taken decades of creative thinking and journeying through home design and made it into a program to help others become their own interior designers through a process she calls "Slow Style."

*Find Zandra, her resources, and the Style Matters podcast at Little Yellow Couch*

Currently, I have just moved into my first real house and am very much in the middle of a new home design process, so this has come at the perfect time!

In this episode we'll delve into topics like:
-how to find your personal home style
-managing the overwhelming level of options
-how to know when your home is "finished"
-what "slow style" is, and how to practice it
-how our homes and environments can affect our mental health
...and so so much more.

Plus, Zandra shares not one, but TWO Little Joys, and an album of music that is classic, timeless, and perfect for hosting.

For the complete show notes, click here!
For full transcript, click here!


Site: lifeonthebrink.live
Social: @anna_on_the_keys

Transcript

Unknown: 0:07

Welcome to Life on the brink, a lovely little place filled with inspiration and creativity that is dedicated to enjoying life one day at a time. I'm Ana, and together, we're exploring the beautiful things in this world that fascinate us, and often discovering something new. Hello, hello, welcome to episode 83 of life on the brink. Today we have a very, very exciting episode, it was definitely worth the weight. We took a break last week, and the move has been ongoing. So by the time that you hear this, most likely I will be living in the new house, which is crazy to think of. But it's all happening. It's all good. And today we're talking all about homes and interior design. And I have a very, very special guest that I can't wait to introduce you to. But first, I'll invite you of course to make yourself a cup of tea. Get yourself some comfy cozy clothes or blanket. You know me I've been on the the black tea train for the past month or so by black tea with cream and honey has been my my winter comfort drink. So whatever that is for you. Just sit back and relax and allow me to introduce today's guest. It's none other than Zandra Zahra. And if that isn't the coolest name you've ever heard, she lives up to such a name. She is an interior design coach. She coaches through her business called Little yellow couch. How cool is that. And she also has had a podcast much longer than I called the style matters podcast in which she interviews lots of different people and how their particular design journey and style has influenced their home. It's a fascinating podcast, I highly recommend listening to that if you find today's episode inspiring. Today we're talking about homes about developing your style about what Xandra calls slow style as a means of really creating a very special home that reflects yourself. We also talk about mental health and our home we talk about art and color, and how and where to draw inspiration and to just make your home a place that is not only inviting and comforting, but also energizing and inspiring. And an environment where you can live your life freely. Which is exactly what I like to share in this podcast just a way of elevating your everyday life and drawing inspiration to create something new. There's definitely an ongoing an unfinished newness to home making and Xandra touches on that as well. So I won't fill up any more time with me. Without further ado, this is Andrew Zahra and our conversation all about interior design. All right. Well, welcome Zandra Welcome to Life on the brink. You are an interior design coach. Yes, I understand. And you have your own podcast, the style matters podcast. And so welcome. Welcome to the show. Thank you, Ana. I'm so happy to be here. It's gonna be a really fun conversation. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So I'm curious. How did you find yourself in the interior design? Business? Yeah. Or how did you how did you get there? Well, I'll try to make this this concise because it's definitely been a meandering path. But my my, my passion for my environments, my built environment and my understanding of how much it affected me emotionally, mentally, in terms of my mood, all that kind of thing. It's always kind of been in the background. I've pursued a quite a few other careers actually, I'm just one of those people that never knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. And so it took me a while to realize that oh, wait a minute, this this thing that I'm always doing in the background, which is working on my space, playing with it, reimagining it, and then really using it for not just comfort but also for inspiration in these other areas of my life. This thing is something that I Want to put in the forefront? So? In 20? Oh, I don't know, 13 or so I partnered with a friend, who's a very creative person, we weren't sure what we're gonna do this is really before podcasting took off. And so we thought, okay, well, we'll just start a blog, about style in all its different forms, not just houses, but fashion, all that kind of thing. But from a really meaningful perspective and why it mattered to us so much. And, and anyway, it, it didn't really take off. I think blogging was so saturated at that point. And we didn't really have a good focus and all that. But anyway, we sort of stumbled into podcasting. And because we, at this point, narrowed down to just wanting to talk about interiors. We thought we resisted podcasting for a long time because we thought, well, how how do you interiors or visual, you know, why would anybody listen, listen to a podcast, but interiors, and then we realized, well, what we really want to do is talk about the substance underneath the style, what does it do for us? What is living inside of beauty? That's, that's personal and meaningful, you know, not someone else's idea of beauty, but what what does that do for someone? And so then we thought, okay, well, we're just going to interview designers on why style matters to them. And, and, and, again, it was sort of this was the pot, I don't even know if there were any other design podcasts at that point, maybe one or two. And they were about the business of design. So we were really in the very beginning, which was good for us, because it it helped us grow, actually, very quickly. And now there's plenty of design podcasts similar to mine. So anyway, we just kind of hit that at the right point. But what that did for me, my partner then left, shortly after, and what it did for me is it got me thinking about my own process, how have I over the past 25 years living in all these different types of homes, doing a lot of my own renovations, how, how have I done it, because I don't have formal training. And so for the past couple of years, I've really looked at my process and really tried to pull up out part, how did I teach myself because it's all come from passion, it was never, I never sat down and said, Okay, now I'm going to learn what I would learn. If I were in design school. It's just been about following my curiosity. And so over the past couple of years, I've kind of pulled that apart. And I've come up with this, this step by step framework that I can use to teach other people my process. And instead of taking them 25 years to do it that you know, it's still slow. I call it slow style. But it is something that I finally feel like I have gotten to the point where yes, it's repeatable, it's teachable, and I just love helping people feel so good about themselves because of the spaces they've created to live within. Wow, yeah, that's beautiful. I can definitely tell from the pictures, I've seen that your home is very reflective of an individual. Thank you. Yeah. And that's my hope. That's my goal. I love when I love hosting in general. And so when people come over, I feel like there's a sense of This Is Us, this is an extension of me of my husband. And so that can be such a tricky thing to figure out. How do I get the essence of me into the space around me and I definitely agree with what you said about how it affects us like internally because being in this sort of in between right now I've been preparing myself bracing myself for having just chaos and right not having a space to that feels reflective of me, but how different that is, especially I found during quarantine and all of that time at home. how special it was to have a place that really like felt like a sanctuary. Yes. And so how you lived in your apartment at that point, right. In your new home. Yeah. Okay. So it was like really you at that point? And now you're sort of the blank slate kind of? Yeah, yeah. Meaning again. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It's now entering Okay, what does it look like now? What does it and also trying to? It's a completely different space. The main living and dining space has some very high ceilings, and that's a completely different challenge. And yeah, so it's trying to figure out how what do we look like in a different? Yeah, base, right. So how do you I mean, your style being so eclectic, and how would you go about trying to pinpoint what your style is or combinations thereof to try and start there? Right. Okay. Well, so and it's so We'll find that you're just moving in, because we can definitely talk about what to do when you're just moving in. Yeah, of course. Yeah. And I'm not a big fan of rules, but I do have some some tips on what not to do too. But anyway, let me answer your style question. I am not a fan at all of style categories. So categories are really great for marketers and for manufacturers. So, you know, a store, for example, wants to be known for a particular style, like screen barrel is, has a lot of mid century modern going on with it. And, you know, Pottery Barn is sort of French Country farmhouse kind of thing, right. And I think that that's really helpful when you're doing a Google search. And you know, you want a French Country farmhouse dining room table, then you've got your key words that you can put in. But unfortunately, a lot of us stop there. And we try so hard to, you know, we take quizzes, we try to figure out, what's my style, and then you try to fit into a box. And the problem with that is we're we are multi-dimensional humans, and we are naturally, most likely most of us going to like more than one style. And also our tastes are going to evolve and change. And so if you kind of get sucked into the rabbit hole of buying, you know, you got your style defined, are you going to buy everything within that niche, you're going to outgrow it quickly. And then it's going to it's going to make you feel a little bit trapped. Not you know, certainly because you've maybe invested some money into a certain style trapped in that way, but also just trapped in terms of, wow, there's this this one look that that's supposed to represent me, but I don't what if I don't always feel like modern farmhouse, what if I don't always feel boho? You know, so I really try to encourage people to think very differently about their style. And there's lots of exercises that you can do. And I certainly take my students through these and some of them work better for other people. I'm a very abstract thinker. And so it's kind of easy for me to like answer questions like, you know, what if my room is a is a scene from my favorite novel? How would I translate that into design decisions that that that's not easy for everybody to do, especially if you're naturally more of a concrete thinker. So I guess it's it's really about sitting with questions like that, how do I want to feel in the room? What do I want to experience in the room, try to think about, then, you know, come up with some words, then try to think about moments in your life, times in your life, places you've been, where that feeling was very present for you, or you had a particular experience like you said, you loved hosting. So you know, let's say you were at an intimate dinner at this cozy restaurant, beautiful, candlelight, wallpaper, the colors were dark and saturate saturated. The food was was presented beautifully, the copper mugs, you know, you're starting to get this vibe, this feeling and you think, okay, that's what I want to create in my dining room. Then you start realizing, oh, there's a color palette there, there's a texture and material palette there. And then you can start bringing those things in that that's your style for that particular room. You can have a whole house style, but it's going to be much more general because different rooms have different purposes, different feelings, different moods, different experiences. So I think it's hard to, to it's almost like your overall aesthetic will reveal itself to you as you work on individual rooms, because it's only then when you start to connect the dots and go, Oh, wow, I guess I really am drawn to, you know, old Crickety things that are worn like, you know, old boxes that have labels torn off or, you know, a chair that has some paint chipped on it, because I've got something like that in every room of my house. Oh, I guess that's part of my aesthetic. But I think starting at that big picture, like what is my whole style, like I think is it's very difficult and I don't just don't think it's very helpful. So I'd be entering a little bit of my answering your question. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, it seems almost like flipping it on its head that not trying to it can be very overwhelming to try to, you know, define yourself quote, unquote. But I love what you said about trying to envision times when you have felt what you want to feel in your home. And it's funny you said that because at least the color palette and some of the things I'm definitely basing off of a particular restaurant. Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah. There's this French bistro that my husband and I go to in Colonial Williamsburg. And I liked it because the color palette is very rich, but it never felt closed in it always felt open. Yeah. And so I was interested in that. I think I started because all of the appliances are black. And our couch is also black. And so I was trying to think, Okay, what richness could I bring to help make these things make sense? Yeah. And the wood and the tile that already exists in the house that we are keeping is also very rich. And so I go with those high ceilings, like, what can we do with this? So I've been sort of drawing inspiration from that place. And so trying to find some, I found a dining set that was used that has this cane detail on the back. And it was very, it felt very French to me. Yeah. Warm. And so I think it's all coming together. And I also really love house plants. That's like, one of the things I collect. And so I have this huge Bird of Paradise Palm. And so it's been waiting to just grow in these high ceilings. So yes, I know that that's going to really bring a sort of almost like a greenhouse element to it that sort of bring it to life. And so I like what you said about taking things room by room, and then just sort of observing. Because I do agree that I have found that at least in like bedroom spaces, I tend to like the colors a bit more muted. Okay, which I find just more calming. Yeah. And then in the kitchen, it's usually like all out. Right, right. Yeah, that's, that's another good point is that you are aware of what different colors have how different colors kind of make you feel. And I think that that's, that's a really important step. And you can keep going with that in terms of how the different textures make you feel. You know, how do you want a cup to feel in your hand? You know, do you if it's got like some dimpling? Because it was it was thrown on a wheel, and it was very handmade, or do you like a very smooth, crisp porcelain that feels kind of cool to the touch are very delicate. And you can do the same thing with your throws, your blankets, your bedding, your pillows, your rugs, like everything that we touch? You know, they have palettes as well. And again, different rooms are going to need different things. But that you know, muted color versus going all out. You know? Yeah, again, it's it's different rooms need different things. And certainly, I'd love that you're embracing that. And not worrying like oh, well, you know, don't all my rooms kind of have to flow together and they do there. And there is that that idea of flow, but it really has to do with your visual sight line, like the room that I can see from wherever I'm sitting, those two rooms kind of do need to work together. That doesn't mean they can't have contrast. It just means that it needs to kind of visually make sense. And if you want the contrast, that's great if you don't want contrast, and you're going to want to try to find two colors that are closer on the color wheel. So that they they flow a little bit more, but then if downstairs you can have a completely different color palette, you know? Yeah, very cool. So in this design process, one of the things that I have found sort of overwhelming is just the sheer number of possibilities. Yes. And that can be good and bad. Because many of us have access to way more than we would have 100 years ago, right? To really personalize a space. But how do you go about I personally love to look at used things, and there's just so many different kinds of just possibilities. And there's it's sort of overwhelming at time. So do you have any way that you like to sort of go about it, too? I do. Yes. I believe and I do a free workshop called the number one reason your home doesn't look and feel how you want it to. And in it I talk about the fact that we've been only really shown a product centered approach to designing our homes. And by product centered I mean, we start with the products. We think okay, I need I need a bed and two side tables and a dresser and then you know what you can't you can't put that into Google or Amazon or even Crate and Barrel I mean you're gonna get a gazillion things right because yeah, results So then you think, Okay, well then then then I gotta pick my style, right and my boho my farmhouse, which is where those style categories come in for search engines. And so then you try to do that, and then even then it's still a little bit overwhelming. And then, of course, it's very easy to get boxed into that everything matches, everything's the same, there's no dimension, there's no layering, it doesn't look like it's been a home collected over time, all of those things I think a lot of us really want, we just don't know how to put the words to it. So I say, don't even start with the products, like scrap that whole, that whole order in which things are done. Instead, start with a vision for what you want. Start with like you're saying, like you got this idea for this French bistro, use what you have, bring it in, get the furniture arrangement, right? Get the flow, right, really figure out what your focal point is going to be. Sometimes the focal points are a given because they're architectural, like a bay window or a fireplace. If there isn't, sometimes the rooms are really awkward, and they've got like, you know, three different entryways and all of these windows. And so there's hardly any wall space, and it's a long room, and you don't even know where to put the couch, right? Like sometimes sometimes you really have to work hard to find your focal point. But what your focal point does is orients the conversation that's going to happen in the room, get those things right, first, use what you have live in it for a little bit. And then you'll start to see where the holes are, you'll start you'll be in your living room, you go, Oh, I need a side table to put a drink down on. You know it, don't start with buying a side table live in it first, see, oh, I need it. And then use something already have. Take a big huge flowerpot, turn it on its head and set your drink on that for a little while. Get a crate and turn that up and put put your drink on there for a little while, get a stack of books, and put your drink on that for a little while. And you'll start to you'll start to get a sense of what's missing. What where are the holes? And how do I want to fill them. And then you're going to be you know, you're going to be out and about especially if you'd like to buy older things, you know, you're out and about and you see a stool and you didn't know you needed a stool. You weren't thinking I needed extra seating, but you go oh my gosh, that would be such a great side table. And I think it'd be so much better than the stack of books because of the space that I have the stack of books, the hard corners of them, I keep running into them. And the books fall over whatever, I need something round there. And so a stool would be perfect. And now it's got this character to it. And nobody else has a side table like that. Next to their couch. Yeah. And so it's just it's it's slow. Again, I call it slow style. But it is a way to really help you save money, because you're not going to be making mistakes you're taking the time to live with and think about how you want to live. And it's more fun. I think it's way more fun than like spending an hour on the internet doing a search for a side table. Yeah. And that's I think it's very meaningful and fulfilling. You're like, oh, man, I know I got this, right. Because I I've spent the time thinking about it. And then the beauty of it is you are starting to trust yourself that you know what you love. And that builds confidence to become more and more creative with your choices. Wow. Yeah, that is so true. I love that idea. And I guess my follow up question to that. This term of slow style. How? For me, I know that I have this sort of, like, goal centered mentality of like, okay, I move into this house and now done. I wanted to Yeah, make it make it house now. Right. So how do you sort of not deal with but go along that thought process of things feeling unfinished? Or have you found that it it continually feels finished and unfinished, like simultaneously? That's a good way to put it. Um, my house feels finished for now, I guess is how I always think of it. It is like my living room right now. I, I love my living room. It's probably my favorite room in the house. That's going to change which room is my favorite will change from time to time. But I know that that the living room I've got it just the way I want it for who I am right now. And the things I care about. Now the things I'm really passionate about the things I really want my eyeballs to kind of rest on in the room. That's going to change because I'm going to change and my interests will change my passions will change. And so I know that room is is not done forever. It's definitely going to change. But but that one is done for now. How do we live with that idea of things aren't a thing. So I'd love that question, too. Knee that is interesting. I think if it is interesting that, oh, I'm not quite happy with that corner over there, what am I going to be on the lookout for next, it could be a different piece of artwork, it could be a new plant that needs more height instead of width, right? Oh, I can't wait to go to the plan, store and buy a new plan. And I've already you know, I know what shape I want it to be. And all of that I'm gonna do a little research and figure out which tall skinny plant with will work with the kind of natural light I happen to have in that corner. And you know, to me, it's, it's a form of creativity, it gets me out of the house, it gets me thinking about things that are inspirational to me that I want to then bring back in. So the process of being incomplete is interesting to me, I think being done feels kind of boring. Usually, although for some reason, like I said, I'm really happy in my living room right now, I don't usually feel that way. I don't usually feel so 100%. I love this room. And in my hand, my house, actually, I usually am always like, oh, like, what can I do differently. But I want to also comment on the fact that you said, you know, you're goal oriented, and I am I'm actually an incredibly impatient person. And I'm one of those people that it's about the, it's about the destination, not the journey, like I want to get there, I want to you know, so it's funny that I have come up with this term, slow style. I guess I've come up with it. Because I've realized that even though I can go crazy over a period of a week, and completely gut and renovate and redo a room in a week, my overall process of figuring out who I am, and how I want to show up in my home has been slow. It's been 2530 years in the making. And so I think when you realize that it is a process, it's not about a finish line. It's about a continuing evolution of discovering who you are and who you're going to become that you realize, oh, it's slow. It's slow. It's it's, it's we're talking about lifetime here, right? Yeah. And so it's, and I think that takes the pressure off, it takes the pressure off of having to make all those decisions at once, especially when you're just moving into a house. Or let's say you're building a house. Well, that's even more more decisions you have to make on every little doorknob, it really takes the pressure off, I think trying to make a bunch of decisions all at once is the hardest thing to do. And it's also the most, I don't want us dangerous. It's not like your cliff diving. But it's, it's your most likely you're going to regret your choices, when you have to do it all at once, you just aren't taking the time to think about what you want to really explore to. And also to be really open to serendipity, you know, you said you'd like to find old things. And even that can sometimes be overwhelming. I think it is particularly hard to find old things online. I mean, I have definitely bought things off of Craigslist, my entire outdoor furniture set came from Craigslist, and then I read it all the covers. My dining room came from DESeq came from either that or Facebook marketplace. So I'm not saying you can't use those things. But older things, you know, they have a history to them, they have kind of a vibe not to get too woowoo. But they have a story that kind of is embedded in them. And I think you get so much more out of shopping at antique stores and thrift stores and antique malls and antique shows and all that kind of stuff. In person. I think it's hard to do that it's hard to get that vibe online. And it's hard to really look at the cracks and the crevices and see, is this really is this well made. It's just has a story or is it actually kind of falling apart? And it's not very well made, right? I mean, I just think those kinds of things you do kind of have to do in person. And I think when you're first moving into a house, you are going to want to see some dramatic changes all at once. And that's fine. That's totally great. That's exciting embrace that. Just know that you might change your mind in a year. And that's okay. Yeah, and I love what you said. You said that the unfinished pneus is what made it interesting. Yes. Timely. That's so nice, because I like I said, I like to host but I don't. I feel a little bit of pressure that I want to get rid of to feel like I want it to look a certain way before I have people over but it's not going to be complete, really. And so why wait until some nebulous, perfect. Yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah. That's beautiful. So I wanted to ask you little bit about the connection between our home environments and mental health, as you have observed over many years of doing this, how adjusting your space can alter the way you feel, as we've touched on a little bit, and I was just wondering if you have any other experiences or things that you've learned? Yeah, I think there's, there's now a whole bunch of research going on scientific research into neurobiology, that is making this connection between our environments and our mental health. And it makes sense. I mean, you know, going back to when we were hunter gatherers, and I mean, we really, for survival, had to seek out certain types of shelters, and also, VISTAs, you know, to be able to see, for long distances as much as possible if the enemy is coming, or an animal to attack us or whatever. So, so VISTAs have always been kind of important to humans, probably to all creatures, as well as a sense of shelter and making sure that, you know, nobody's gonna sneak up behind you that that kind of thing. So I think that's all hardwired into our brains. And I think that there's a lot of research now about all of that. And it definitely goes deeper than that. There's also some research, you mentioned, houseplants showing a very clear connection between surrounding ourselves with elements from the natural world. And that is really, really good for our moods. And I think it also has something to do with with just the act of caretaking. You know, plants can be finicky. And they need certain things, they have certain requirements. And what's cool about them is that they don't use language to tell you what they need, they tell us through how their leaves are, what their soil feels like. And so just the act of having to pay attention to that, and try things out and move things around a little bit, try more water, try less water, gets us out of ourselves, and gets our focus off of whatever it is that is really stressing us out or bringing us down. I personally happen to have been diagnosed with clinical depression for I don't know, since I was like 18 years old. So I am not saying that, Oh, get a plant, you'll be happy. I mean, I take mental health very seriously. But I but I, I do think that one of the one of the hardest parts of dealing with depression is is that you are in your own head, you are in your own way. It's very hard to see outside of yourself. And so anything that gets you out of that the kind of just breaks the thought pattern that just breaks that negative that that recurring loop of negativity that we're giving ourselves that we're telling ourselves about ourselves, that little movie we play in front of our eyes about your life, that you only can see the bad things. To kind of break that even from a neurological perspective to kind of re wire the synapses. You have to get outside of yourself. And so I think our environments are sort of the first layer of that, you know, before you even leave your room and get out into the whole house. And then before you leave the house and get out into the whole world, your immediate environment makes a difference. So that's why color is important. That's why color in different rooms is important if you're if you're in a bedroom, and your issue is insomnia, and you don't have a good, easy way of falling asleep every night or you get up in the middle of the night a lot and then you can't get back to sleep, you're going to want to have a very different color and different feeling in your room than if your problem is dragging yourself out of bed every morning. Then you're gonna want a very different feeling in that room a much brighter wake up feeling than a nighttime feeling right? And color is the easiest place to start with that there are other things besides color, but color is the most obvious one. And so thinking about what you want to surround yourself with, I think beige walls you know, builder grade, even builder grade whites sometimes are like the worst white because they are cold. There isn't the warmth to them, but sometimes if they're trying to be a little bit warmer than they get this kind of muddy undertone. I love muddy colors, but not on whites, I guess. Yeah, I don't know. It's why it's tricky, right? You gotta find kind of the right balance. And yeah, so much of it has to do with the natural light in your house. Absolutely. Yeah. But anyway, I think if you've just decided that you're just gonna leave the walls as is and never think about color. You're really missing an opportunity to kind of feed your brain stimulus that could actually be good for you. Wow, yeah. So I, so there's that then there is surrounding what are you putting on your walls. I'm a huge, huge passionate fan of, of art and not the mass produced art that you can buy everywhere. But but actual art that's made by artists is kind of one of a client, it doesn't have to be expensive, it can be expensive, you can start to invest in it, which my husband and I have certainly done because we've, we've realized it's a passion of ours to collect art. But I mean, you know, I know this is audio only. But you and I are looking at each other. And you know, you mentioned the artwork that's not behind my walls, there's a thrift store art, I mean, it's cost, like less than 20 bucks a piece. But it makes me happy. It makes me laugh, it makes me smile. It's all done by amateurs. And so there's quirks to it. It reminds me that creativity is a process, that you don't have to be perfect. And in order to put something on a canvas and just try things out. And I think that goes for every aspect of our lives, not just not just if you're in the fine arts, but just trying things out getting better at something like all of those things. That's what my that's what my house, that's the information my house is giving me that's information my house is reminded me of on a pretty, you know, on a subconscious level. And therefore, I feel like that getting through my day when I'm feeling depression coming on is a little bit easier in a place. That is give me those that kind of stimulus rather than I don't know, for me, the worst would be like a hospital setting or a doctor's office where it's just everything is just sort of blah. That makes me feel blocked. Yeah. But other people might need that kind of serenity, they might need that very calm, peaceful, Monica, Monica monochrome kind of setting. So there's no right or wrong. It's just about getting very clear about yourself and and what you need. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I, I find, I like what you said about just sort of observing outside of yourself. And that goes right in line with what you were saying about slow style, and just noticing what you need. I think it's a really great way to just consistently be present with yourself and in your home. To create just like a, an observational awareness around you. Right. Yeah, that I think is, is really a great practice. And I know what you said about colors, absolutely. Spot on, I grew up with a very, very colorful house. So it continues to be where the walls are either orange, or yellow, or green or blue, and it's alternating on each. And there's plants everywhere and it's there's like wrought iron. It's very like hacienda. Okay and it's it's very easy to just feel like happy and lively and hardy and that really reflects the house and the life within and so I learned very early on how color can just completely change the environment and growing up I was given the opportunity to pick whatever crazy one and yeah and so that helped. I look back and think gosh, I could never not not today All right, it was a great exercise and yeah, like sometimes it's overlooked or people are afraid to try crazy things but I feel like paint is the easiest thing to do. It's funny how people are so they are so think that a pink color has to last for 20 years. I guess it's because I mean it is kind of a pain in the neck to put your you know to put your blankets down your sheets or whatever cover things up to prep for it it is but it's so worth it. Oh my gosh, for you know $40 Or whatever a gallon costs gallons actually ranged quite all over the place. Now we have so many different paint companies to choose from. But for a gallon of paint, you know, you can transform a room for $40 I mean, it's it's so worth it. And I don't know I've never been intimidated by repainting a room I think okay, no big deal. Yeah, I completely agree. I I love messing with paint and I also I am prone to wallpaper. I love it and to that cozy feeling it has Yes. Yeah. Well, I just wanted to as I was perusing through your site and everything I found a quote that I just really love. I feel it encapsulates the best of interior design. It says I know how important it is to create a space that nurtures you when you need care. inspires you when you need motivation and welcomes others when you need to celebrate. That's just so beautiful. I felt like that. That encapsulates everything that a home should be somewhere that's invigorating, but comforting and makes room for celebration. I so good. I just want to say One quick thing about that is that I am sort of very subtly pushing against the cozy home kind of ethos that I feel like is being shorter sort of shoved down our throats. But I don't know if it's the design books that are coming out of the magazines or what but everybody, if you ask them what they want their home to be, it's either comfortable, or cozy. Yeah, nothing wrong with that. But our homes can do so much more. If they can also inspire and motivate and celebrate like all of these action oriented things. Our homes can do that too. And I just don't want to forget that. And so I'd love that you said you'd love to host. I think hosting is so gratifying. And it is, I think when you when your home is set up for really meaningful conversation, it is, it'll happen. And then those are the most memorable evenings that you'll have. You might remember if the food if it's fabulous, or maybe the decor if it's fabulous, but what you're really going to remember is the connection that you feel with other humans. And I think when you open yourself up and share a little bit of yourself, that gives them permission to then open themselves up, and then your conversations get deeper and more meaningful. And so I think hosting is a much overlooked area of what it means to own a home and why owning a home is so great. It's having people in. Yeah, yeah, I can't wait. I'm so excited for you. Yes. Um, well, thank you so much for joining. And I am curious if you have anything more you'd like to share or where people can find you. i I'll link for sure the podcast and your website. But if you'd like to share any shares epic? Well, thank you so much for having me, it's been really an honor to have this conversation with you. Everything you can you need to know about me. And what I do is that little yellow couch.com I have a free guide on there right now that you can download. It's called Dream Home action plan. And it's it's really about kind of shifting your mindset away from the bells and whistles, features that you want into the benefits that you actually want to get out of your home and what a dream home would actually feel like to you. If you once you get past, you know, the drooling over the fabulous dog washing station or whatever it is that you're you know that you're coveting. So anyway, you can download that free guide at your little yellow couch.com and find the podcast there and all that kind of stuff. And then I would like to ask you as I ask all my guests, if you have a little joy, something that has brightened up your week, just a normal everyday thing. Yeah, yeah. Well, I can I share too, of course, those are kind of connected. So for those of you who have Trader Joe's in your area, absolutely. They're fabulous flower selection, right? Oh, yes, yes. So I do treat myself to fresh flowers almost every week. And I really recommend that for everyone because you deserve it. There is something it feels like such a luxury to buy something that's so beautiful that you know, it's not going to last, it's it's really about capturing that moment of beauty. Right before the buds open and then watching them open over a couple of days. And then they start to drift a little bit and then you eventually do you know, get rid of them. But so So anyway, I just arranged some weed people over the weekend. So I always have fresh flowers if I'm gonna have people over for sure. But the buds opened yesterday. And I took a picture of them on my table with my coffee table book and everything and the light was coming in and just a certain way and I just I just said okay, hold on, hold on, I'm not going to jump up from the couch and go do go to my to do list and cross things up. I'm just gonna sit here for just a minute. And just look even more closely at those buds that have just opened because there's so much going on in a flower you know, there's so many shades of the same color or textures or whatever. And so just taking that moment and that's why you should buy yourself fresh flowers, but just taking that moment. It's so helpful. It's so simple, and it's so helpful. And then the second story I want to share is that when I'm in Trader Joe's This often happens you're standing in line and you just somebody who just happens to say one little thing oh my gosh the price of eggs or or what I forget to Trader Joe's is Oh what is that in your bag? I haven't tried that what's that you know because the foods are so changeable at Trader Joe's and so interesting. And that little human connection where someone is kind and nice and doesn't just stay in their own little world and keep mom and you know decides I'm not gonna talk about a stranger's, you know, they actually just reach out they say one little thing Hang, I cannot tell you how long I go on that little high like hours. When I have that little interaction that often happens in the grocery store standing in line. You just turn and you just say one thing to somebody, and you have maybe a three or four sentence exchange. You go, oh, humans are kind. You know, humans are, we're open, we're approachable. It's it humanity can be uplifting. And so anyway, I just recommend those little grocery store moments. I love that. That's beautiful. And I Yes, I also love Trader Joe's. And they should pay us they should really pay, right? Yes. Right for mentioning them. And I fresh flowers is also a priority that I have. It's been a little dicey here with the move. But Right, right. I back when I was in college, it was part of my like, weekly or bi weekly ritual. I would go in and get some and all now my husband, the first time he met me, he brought me flowers, because he was coming to a concert and he didn't know that I love flowers. So much. So now it's his job forever. Oh, I love it. I love it. I love the first house we ever owned, had a tiny garden. I'd never had a garden. I'd lived in cities before. And this was this was a city that was a row home and had a little tiny garden. And then I didn't know anything about flowers and gardening at this point. And these huge peonies were blooming in the backyard. I know. And so it was the first day we moved in. And we I don't even know if we had any furniture and I cut a blossom and I put it in a glass of drinking glass of water and set it on the windowsill and it was I thought I've died and gone to heaven. This is all I need. I Peony a single bed makes me so happy. Yeah, peonies will do that. I think yeah, they're pretty spectacular. Yeah. Oh, gosh. Well, thank you so much. Those are both so joyful. I love that. I'm glad. And now if you'd like I would give you the opportunity if you'd like to share an album of music or a playlist that either you feel encapsulates this or is just what you're listening to lately. Oh my gosh, well, this is really hard for me because I can't ever remember it's just like, I can't remember the names of books movies or or album. I mean, I have so many that I absolutely love that are sort of the playlist from college that still goes on in my mind. So there's a lot that makes me you know, want to dance like prints. Or you know, go back a little bit to you know, my husband loves Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and all that kind of stuff, which I rolled my eyes out and now I get it like but I guess what I want to say for this interview is I think the the playlist that comes to mind is sort of the, the Frank Sinatra crooners. Our wedding dance was to fly me to the moon Frank Sinatra and I picked it because it's a class. It's a classic, right? I thought, Oh, well, five years from now, I'm not going to be rolling my eyes going, oh my god, that's so out of date. But there's something about that music in the background. When you have people over. It's just the right tone. It's just it's not to upbeat, that it's kind of frenetic. It but it's also very singable, you know you tap your toes, you snap your fingers, but then it can really fade into the background when you know while people are talking. It's just It's fabulous. Hosting music. So and we've been talking about hosting a lot. So yeah, that's what kind of comes to mind for this conversation. I agree. I completely agree. I know probably exactly the perfect album of his Oh, good to share. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Sandra for coming on the podcast. This has been delightful. Thank you. It's been really, really nice for me to thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. And there you have it. I hope that this episode has provided some new thoughts, some new ways of looking at things and maybe some new things to inspire you. Whether you're moving like me, or maybe you just want to revitalize your space a little bit. I definitely have a lot of things to consider a lot of cool techniques and ideas that I'm going to incorporate as I'm building this house. For those that are following I will take some time at the end of next week's episode to sort of update on where the house is. Because it's changing week by week, and it's exciting. Be sure to head over to little yellow couch.com And I'm also going to tag the social media and the style matters podcast in the show notes. You can find pictures and all of that at life on the brink dot live and I'll link all of her stuff over there. This was such a fun conversation. I hope that everyone goes and buys flowers for themselves this week. And I do have the perfect Frank Sinatra album linked in the show notes as well. It's a compilation album called nothing but the best. It's been one that I've loved listening to over the years Frank Sinatra is one of the main reasons I play jazz today. So it holds a special place in my heart, and I'll leave a link to that as well. I will be back next week with a new episode. If you have not yet feel free to leave a star rating or have a review over on Apple podcast. And like I said, be sure to check out the style matters podcast as well. Thank you so much for listening, and have a wonderful week. Thank you for tuning into this episode of Life on the brink. If you're enjoying these episodes, please feel free to leave a star rating or even better leave a review on Apple podcasts to help spread the word. For podcast show notes and extra inspirational posts throughout the week. Head to the blog at life on the brink dot live. And if you'd like a little extra dose of inspiration in your life, sign up for the monthly newsletter, which lights up your inbox the first Friday of each month. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, friends you have a lovely week. Bye bye