This is our first year not home for the holidays. And after also being away for Thanksgiving, the extent of our fall decorating amounted to one green pumpkin. But December brings a different kind of decorating guilt. The nights grow long and dark, and there’s a pull toward coziness – candles, dim lights, a blanket …
Tag Archives: ohihomestyle
A Forged Holiday
It’s a good thing the kids emptied their closets before heading off to college, because their rooms have become the perfect holding pens for drying my foraged treasures – hydrangeas, specifically, snipped from a friend’s next-door neighbor. I even invented my own drying method: I tie the stems with twine, loop the bundle over a …
Dispatch from the Empty Nest: Sending Their Things, and Your Love
That moment has arrived: the children have officially left the nest. Matson just graduated from high school, and the hallway outside his bedroom has been overtaken by boxes, duffel bags, and suitcases, all prepped for packing. The challenge was his tight summer schedule—camp counseling, followed directly by his college move-in. So, we sorted everything into …
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LIVE WITH WHAT YOU LOVE
The walls of a home quietly tell the story of the people who live within them. Every painting, photograph, or memento is a clue—carefully chosen or lovingly placed—revealing layers of identity, memory, and longing. We buy things that speak to our aesthetic, find objects that stir something familiar or wild within us, and receive gifts …
Transform Your Mood with Dopamine Decor and Color Drenching
I read an article in Architectural Digest a few years ago about “dopamine décor” and wrote about it in an Instagram post. Since then, bold color has continued to emerge in interior design. The creamy, neutral palettes of years past are now being punctuated with vibrant hues. Daring shades of hot pink, emerald green, bright orange, vibrant …
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The Art of the Themed Holiday Party: Après Ski Edition
The best holiday parties include a fun theme, a great guest list, thoughtful details, delicious food, inventive cocktails, and elements of surprise. We throw many events in our home during the holidays – benefits for our local art foundation, school gatherings and of course parties for family and friends. Unfortunately for me, a communal party-planning …
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Create Your Home’s Story
The Architectural Home When we stage an empty home, we are creating a story for an otherwise empty space. We ask ourselves questions like “Who lives here? What type of person would this kind of home appeal to?” In Ojai, as a stager and designer, I see many styles of homes. I have always been …
Valentines Day Celebration
Where love meets style or how to create a tasteful but fun celebration for those you love. It is my 25th year celebrating Valentines Day with my husband, baby daddy, business partner and best friend Dines. For years we have marked this occasion with style! I still remember our first Valentines Dinner as a married …
Summer CoLoR
When summer begins I always feel a drawn to more splashes of color around the home. The fragrance from citrus trees in the Ojai Valley over takes our senses and suddenly I find myself pulling out colorful outdoor pillows for our patio. With the citrus trees ready to pick and the flowers in full bloom …
The Bedroom Escape
If we’ve learned anything during our home stay this past year, it’s been that personal retreat space is important WITHIN the confines of home. We have added chairs, desks and sofa’s to client’s bedrooms this year, creating additional areas for personal workspace or retreat. It is possible to identify additional areas of productivity and calm …
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