Podcast Episode 4: Designing for Down Syndrome and other special needs

Podcast Episode 4: Designing for Down Syndrome and other special needs

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Welcome to Creating Your Happy Place! A podcast that explores how our spaces support (or sabotage) our happiness and make it easier (or harder) to reach our goals, then empowers you to do whatever it takes to get happy at home. 😊🏡

Today, we’re chatting with special guest Shelly Rosenberg!

Shelly Rosenberg is an interior designer and a mother of three. When her youngest son was born with Down Syndrome, she discovered that her specific talent and experience was much needed within her community. Her specialty is coaching families living with special needs and disabilities on how to adapt their homes to empower their amazing kids. She practices what she calls adaptive design, but the larger goal is to promote Universal Design, where every environment is built for maximum inclusivity. Follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/acornandoakbyshellyrosenberg/

If you would rather read the episode than listen, we have provided a full transcription of the episode below. Enjoy!

Rebecca: Welcome to creating your happy place, a podcast that explores how our spaces, support or sometimes sabotage happiness and empowers you to do whatever it takes to get happy at home. I’m Rebecca West posted, creating your happy place and author of the book happy starts at home. I am so glad you’re here today.

On today’s episode of creating your happy place I am so excited to chat with a gal who has somehow figured it out, how to create a beautiful and practical home. Now that is something we all have to figure out, but it becomes especially important when there’s somebody in your family who has special needs like a child who really likes to put upholstery and dishware to the test.

If there are any parents listening in today who are trying to navigate the balance between having a beautiful home and a still proof, and unbreakable home. You’re going to enjoy this conversation. So let me welcome to the show interior inclusion specialist and founder of Acorn and Oak- Shelly Rosenberg. Welcome Shelly.

Shelly: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Rebecca:  I’m so glad we’re going to have this conversation today. I really think it’s going to really touch on that practical side of living beautifully. Now I understand that you live with your husband Barry. One of your two daughters is still at home, along with your son, along with two dogs all down in Dallas, Texas, right?

Shelly: That’s right. That’s right.

Rebecca: And on your Instagram feed, you have a fantastic feed, but you have some photos, especially this one that I love of your son sitting in at this gorgeous blue velvet upholstered chair, eating straight from a jar of peanut butter. And somehow that doesn’t freak you out because your design choices have made that okay.

So I’d like to start this conversation by you telling us about that chair, your son, and what it means to be an interior inclusion specialist and how all of that came to be part of your family story.

Shelly: Wow. Well, it’s a big and fun story. Ronan is just seven years old. He was born with down syndrome and I learned immediately that he had even more unique challenges than regular typical kids do. And so it was just really important to me to make sure that the house could withstand his energy and his limitations. But even more than that, I realized that if I could meet my child where he was. And take away the consistent, “Oh no, no, no. Don’t sit there” or “you can’t use this room” or “let me do this for you.”

If I could empower my child through the lens of interior design, by adapting my home, to make sure that I met him, where he was, then we’d have so much less stress and a much happier home. So that beautiful chair is covered in an outdoor velvet. That is a solution dyed acrylic, and you can pour bleach on that beautiful velvet. You can’t hurt it.

And that way my son Ronan feels that he is free within his own home to be himself. And I just, I really love that, that whole aspect of design.

Rebecca: That’s really fantastic. And I always say that if anybody’s watching the video of this, they can see, I’ve got a cat right next to me. Right. We have to work with the realities of our lives.

And a lot of people will come to an interior designer and say, you know, how should I design my home? Or what kind of storage solutions should I come up with? And I’m going, okay, well, first we have to figure out, you know, what are you trying to store? What do you need to access? Who’s accessing it because if we don’t work with the habits and reality of our family, then we’re just going to be creating things that are more work and more maintenance, no matter what’s in our lives that we’re trying to accommodate.

Shelly: That’s right. And we, you really delay your happiness. I’ve, I’ve met so many clients that say, you know, we really don’t want to invest in anything new. We don’t want to recover that sofa. We don’t want to get this new furniture because we have kids and pets and they’re just going to ruin everything. And so we’re going to delay our satisfaction and our you know, to be gratified in our own homes and that’s just not necessary. I don’t know that it ever was, but especially isn’t today, we have so many amazing fabrics and tools that we can use to make sure that we can have what we want right now. Yeah, it’s a mind shift.

Rebecca: Now, some of those fabrics  and some of the solutions I know can cost a little bit more money. So I assume there’s a balance between sometimes spending less money on something that might be throwaway, something spending money on something that might be really, really, really durable, but, you know, you have to decide, is this something I want to live with for 20 years? So I assume that’s part of the conversation too?

Shelly: Yes, absolutely. I do. You do pay a little bit more upfront, you will definitely save on, you know, if you use an outdoor fabric or an outdoor rug, you’re not going to have to have expensive or a professional cleaning, dentist, something you can do yourself. I’ll usually encourage a client to spend the money on the pieces that they do want to keep. Their investment pieces.

You know, and there’s so many fun trendy pieces too, that come with slip covers that aren’t expensive and you really can go with just natural cottons, as long as you, you know, know how to take care of them. That can, that can be easy and economical.

Rebecca: Sure. So in thinking about your place and the journey that you went on, creating your home, which is so beautiful, what, what did you learn along the way? What surprised you as you kind of found your own path and your own solutions and what are things you’re still struggling with?

Shelly: Wow. There, there’s so many different ways to adapt to your specific family needs and, you know, it’s important for us to kind of get still and realize that a family is composed of many different personalities.

So we all have different preferences. We all have different needs and wants. And so that’s where I think an interior designer can really help you come in and translate what everyone’s needs are. And then put that together in like a cohesive way. Right? So that everyone feels acknowledged and everyone’s-

Rebecca: Ya if you’re too close, we tend to be too close to our own family and our own stories and it can be really hard to get that more objective viewpoint that does involve everybody.

Shelly: And also small children or children that might be nonverbal or have special needs, can’t even articulate what it is that is maybe bothering them, or doesn’t make them feel comfortable or what they, what they really want.

So, that’s a fun part of, you know, coming in and working with a family is sort of translating that. Yeah. So I feel like as far as, what we can do. It’s more than just looking at, say how a space flows. It’s more than just how your furniture is placed. It’s more than just what fabrics you use. I also think that we need, I need to kind of think about psychologically how designed and affects us as well.

I know you talk about that some. I like to kind of think about it through our five senses. So we have a, you know, sight sound, smell, taste, and touch. water quality is super important. The air quality. The temperature that your rooms are, how much natural light you’re getting or not getting. These are all different things that I like to look at as far as interior design and how we can best meet the needs of the people who live there.

Rebecca: Yeah. So you, did it build your home from the ground up?

Shelly: I did, and it was really, it was the first time that I had done it for myself. And I have to admit with the building company that I used, they suggested that I use one of their resident designers for a little bit of an extra fee, so that I would have someone to bounce ideas off of, and to help with the final selections and then measuring.

And so I found that extremely helpful and really fun to be on the client side where I can really drive the design direction. And also I taught them a lot about inclusive design and design for special needs. But, but I was also helped. One thing that was really fun. A project that I did that I haven’t posted yet is I have a very pretty steep stairwell and it’s a stairwell without a runner.

And it is in between my son’s room and my master bedroom. And I really wanted to make sure that in the middle of the night, when he comes in, which he often does, that there wouldn’t be any accidents. And so we created this gorgeous stainless steel, Like child gate or safety gate at the top of that, the stairs that match the stair railing coming up.

And, you know, that’s not as typical. It is custom and it was a little unusual, but we have really enjoyed that. Even for pets to keep them either upstairs or downstairs. It’s been great.

Rebecca: Yeah, because you know, the baby gate that you’re only going to have for maybe nine months of your life, because you have a, having a standard upbringing can be plastic and whatever, you can not worry about it aesthetically. Although it’s nice if you’re able to invest, even for those nine months and something that’s beautiful, but when you have something that’s going to be mean to be a longer term solution than think, giving that some thoughtfulness so that it is, it’s also beautiful.

It feels integrated into your home. You know, sometimes when people talk about aging in place. For example, one of the big problems. Right. And nobody wants to look like they’re living in a medical situation or, or have it be sterile, you know? So whether you’re aging or you have special needs, you still have taste and aesthetic preferences and in a beautiful place, but not all the solutions out there are built beautifully and functionally.

Shelly: They are getting better, I will say. And you know, that safety gate really, I thought about it for the elderly as well, because there are so many people that get super disoriented in the evenings and falls are the number one cause of serious injury for people that are, you know, that are aging in place, but you’re right.

Design should be dignified and there are so many new, beautiful ways to create safety and support for those that need it without it looking clinical. I think there are several companies. In fact, it’s an ebook that I’m thinking of putting together. It’s just this big resource for people that want to start to add some support.

Even if you’re, you weren’t born with a challenge or you’re not elderly, maybe you’re pregnant with twins and you might need a little help getting in and out of the shower. Do you know what I mean? There’s a, there’s a disability, right? Rights activist, Irving Zola, who I love. And his quote is that “we are all only temporarily abled.”

All of us will experience something in our lifetime where we can kind of see that we might need a little bit of extra support. So my main goal really would be to look at building universally and inclusively from the beginning so that we wouldn’t have to go back and consistently adapt, but that it would be built already, or at least some structure would be in place for that, for the future.

Rebecca: Well, I think right now, because we’re recording this in the time of COVID right. Other people are becoming very hyper aware of how sometimes our homes are going to have to adapt for our new needs. So you kind of globally, we’re discovering that our homes have to do things for us right now that they never had to do before.

Where, you know, in normal, everyday existence before COVID, we all experienced this, but not all at the same time. I know we are all at the same time going, huh? How is my home supporting me? What do I need to change to make sure that I can still live my life on a day to day basis, given this new reality?

Shelly: That’s right. And it’s an exciting time for interior designers so that we can really shine with what we do best, which, which is what I think we do is translate needs and help create solutions. And like you’re saying, During this time of COVID people are realizing that home is not just a place to hang your hat.

Home is a psychological sanctuary. It’s where hopefully we feel the most safe and where we can take that game face off and really relax. And so now that we’re spending so much time at home, if it’s not doing that for you, then you can make a change. That’s right.

Rebecca: Exactly. So going back to some of your favorite solutions, so you have that outdoor velvet, honestly, I didn’t even know they had outdoor velvet, so that’s awesome.

So you have a bleachable outdoor, velvet. You mentioned this beautiful safety gate that you designed and installed. Tell us two or three of your other favorite solutions that you’ve come up with over the years.

Shelly:  Oh, well I love plants and fresh flowers and they make me so happy. In fact, there is so much scientific proof out there now about how nature and plants make us so happy.

And I want my son to be a part of that. So what I found was at, a fun furniture store or garden store, I got  metal canisters that are normally like kitchen canisters. And I use those as vases because that way my son Ronan can help me cut flowers and do arrangements. And we can pot plants all over the house, but he can’t break them.

Another thing too, on that note is, you know, family time for us. Sitting around the dinner table. Even if it’s takeout. I want everyone to sit together and look at each other in the eye and have a conversation. My girls were always wonderful to help set the table. And when they’re little, they really want to help. They want to be a part of the family. With my son, he, he struggles with finger dexterity.

He really has a hard time not fumbling or breaking things. So I went to again, a big box store and found this beautiful melamine dishware so that he could help set the table. Right. Feel empowered, be a part of the family. I feel like these little things sometimes psychologically create barriers for, for a child.

So it’s not just physical barriers that kids with disability or special needs or even adults are dealing with. There’s a lot of psychological barriers too. And I just want to set my home up so that he knows that he can participate in everything that everybody else is doing.

Rebecca: That’s really marvelous. I love it. And there is, there really isn’t gorgeous melamine dishware out there. You know, if we look for the solutions they exist, it doesn’t have to be unpleasant things to live with.

Shelly: It doesn’t have to be expensive either. You know? I mean, even if you, you know, even if you do paper plates and just once a week, or, you know, just looking at how we can empower our family members to feel acknowledged to be a part of the group, that’s what really promotes, I think the most happiness and fosters harmony in a, in a home.

Rebecca: So when you were growing up was, was all of this part of your home story and did it inform, did your childhood home inform what you know now or did you have to teach this to yourself over the years?

Shelly: As far as design, creating happiness, it was definitely something that I grew up with. My mother was very creative. She ended up actually becoming an interior designer late in life. I remember being little and we, my dad was in the Navy. We moved around a lot and we lived in a lot of dark, little dingy, you know, Navy housing, apartments, sometimes even mobile homes.

And I remember that my mom always would decorate these spaces and try to make them cheerful. I had a little canopy bed when I was little. And I remember my mother repurposing that fabric into cafe curtains for a kitchen in another home. She always made, it feels special. And so even though there was so much change and new places, new friends, new schools, I could count on having a sweet and cheerful, steadfast place to come home to. I think that made all the difference.

Rebecca: It’s really interesting that you say that because we share that in common. I grew up in the army and I know that my, my parents were so good about making sure that you know, about two weeks after we’d move anywhere that the house was set up and there was the couch and there was the old Winchester rifle over above the couch, you know, like it just always felt like home.

So even though we’d gone to a new city and to a new dwelling and new physical dwelling, home had come with us and it was part of what really made my life feel very stable as we moved from place to place.

I think that’s why

Shelly: people get attached to things because they do sort of represent who we are, our memories, and what creates our homes. so it is very special. and you, you mentioned the word dwelling, which mean, it made me think of a fantastic, philanthropy that I’ve worked with in Dallas in the past, which is Dwell with Dignity. And  it’s been incredibly moving and profound for me.

In, including what I’ve experienced within my own home life to see this philanthropy support families who are moving out of homelessness into their new dwellings. And often these, you know, these apartments are just white boxes. They’re very uninspiring and this beautiful philanthropy comes in and, and decorates and gives this family things to own.

And it’s not about materialism. It’s about dignity and it’s about, you know, feeling like you have a place in this world and a place to share with others, creating community is really what it’s about. And that’s. So so important.

Rebecca: And I think that sense of permanence, you know, because we know nothing in life is permanent. So obviously it’s not a forever thing. Nothing is forever. There is, you can feel too untethered. You can feel too unanchored. And by having that feeling of permanence, just having an address, having a place to call home and the things that mark it as your home, not some hotel room or something, it has a psychological impact.

Absolutely. It does, what rules do you think people think they have to follow when it comes to home? Or what rules did you once think you had to follow when it came to home that you’ve realized are not true rules?

Shelly: Oh, I think that I’ll love looking through a shelter, publications or Pinterest and that your home isn’t special, unless it looks like a magazine or a professional did it. R eally what, what home is about, or what I want to give people  permission to hear- is at home is about how you feel. And it’s okay whether it looks pretty to others or not. It’s really about what supports you. And it’s just, okay. And also I love that homes can evolve over time.

You don’t,  have a living room look perfect, and you know, a few months time let it evolve. And as your needs evolve, you know, you can, you can add, you can subtract, but it really is about the way it supports you and just not to feel so pressured. I love how interior design has sort of exploded onto mainstream media and HGTV and all these different shows.

There are, some fallacy sometimes in these shows, but what I love about it, this is it’s really teaching people that it’s okay to want to have a beautiful home and that home can be whatever you want it to be.

Rebecca: Absolutely true. Yeah. So now you built your own home and no remodel process is a perfect  experience.

So what did you experience during the remodel process that either didn’t go as you expected, or if it was truly a design failure that you had to remedy? Tell us the real stories behind what you exeprienced.

You know,

Shelly: I feel that because I asked for a lot of help and I did have another designer help me the pressure was off a little bit, so I definitely think. Ask for help. Yeah. Listen to people, people that might know more than you, contractors and builders can be a huge wealth of information. I know how to make a space that’s already existing feel pretty marvelous. But creating those spaces was a little bit different for me. And the builders and the architects, really helped with me seeing that three dimensional picture.

What did

Rebecca: they bring to the table that helped you shape a

Shelly: space when you’re really

Rebecca: grateful that they helped you talk through that?

Shelly:  Hmm, let me think. Probably like the kitchen and living areas, you know, I had this specific way  I thought it needed to look and sometimes, you know, we go through stages. I don’t know if everyone does. I know designers do where you have a specific look in mind and you just think that’s really what you need, but you know, we can be guilty of being stuck in a little bit of a trend. And so they really helped me consistently think about what would be timeless and what would even serve the next family.

Because I’m an interior designer, I almost wanted to go too custom and you know, so I think that’s something to consider. Is, I know what I really want to do what works for me, but what’s going to work for the next family as well. So they were able to kind of keep me more big picture. And so we made some compromises for sure. So there were several things that I wanted that might’ve been a little different that, I had to kind of fight for and realize that I could trust myself and I knew what I was talking about.

Yeah. Those are

Rebecca: two really important balances. You know, I think a lot of times, especially if people aren’t familiar with remodeling, they will rely too much on the expert advice of the contractor or architect or even the designer.

And when they really really know something for themselves, won’t necessarily listen to it anyway. Cause they’re like, well, this person’s a professional. They must know better than me. And sometimes we really have to listen to that inner voice and go, no, I need to fight for this thing. Because I know it’s right for me, even if it’s out of the box, or even if it’s not what this designer, contractor architect would do for their own selves or for thier other clients.

Shelly: I mean, it really can be a negotiation the whole time.

And for, for a woman, I feel like sometimes we are afraid to step up and really negotiate or keep talking it through until we find a middle ground. I have a good friend who is doing a remodel and she really wants black cabinetry. On the lower cabinetry. It’s a hip look right now. She’s really, really wants that.

And for some reason, her contractor just said, Nope, not doing it. It chips and it’s this and it’s that. And so she called and asked my opinion and I said, you know what? He might be right. And in his field of experience, that may be something that he’s had, you know, maybe a negative experience with, but you absolutely can have black cabinets.

And let me, let me tell you all the different variations of paint and there’s Marine grade, there are ways that we can do this. So, yes, I think, listening to yourself, staying open minded, but also true to what feels right for you is so important that clients need to know it’s okay. Yeah, you ultimately are living in this home.

You are paying for this, this remodel or construction. So make it yours.

Rebecca: Yeah. Well, I think that applies to advice in general. You know, you have to understand where the advice from somebody is coming from. It could be even just something. it could be something for your life, for a job that you want to get or something you want to date.

And a good friend can be giving you advice and saying, I don’t think that that’s a good idea for you. And it might be that they’re just afraid for you, you know, or that they just don’t want to see you get hurt or that, you know, this other client had black cabinets and they’re really miserable this contractor doesn’t want that to happen for you.

So we always have to figure out what, what stories are coming with the advice. Right. May or may not be true for you, but then know that it’s okay to say thank you for your advice. About my life or about my cabinets. And now I’m going to walk my own path anyway.

Shelly: Exactly. That’s one of the things that’s so fun about paint and what can make your home so happy.

So if you do decide that maybe this isn’t your forever home and you really want to go safe and neutral with all of the permanent finishes, well, I get a gallon of. Hot pink paint or turquoise or purple or whatever you love is just a fun and easy way to add that happiness and color in your home without a huge commitment, because you can always repaint it white right before you put it on the market if that’s what you think you need to do.

Rebecca: Exactly. So that blue upholstered chair, which to anybody who is listening, you’ve got to go to the Instagram, there’s several pictures of it. Is there just one that’s like, I want to know about this chair! Is there one of these chairs?

Shelly: Oh there’s a pair. And I have learned this too, if you ever see a pair of anything, get the pair. Even if the store will say, Oh, we’ll just sell one. Pairs are fantastic. And I love, I I’ve done this before. I’ve made this mistake where I just bought one piece and I went back the next day to get the other one, and it was gone. But no, these two chairs were actually found in round top. Round top Texas has this amazing vintage fair twice a year. And there are just football field sized tents out in cow pastures. And  there are vendors from all over the country. You eat barbecue and you put your boots on and your hat. And it’s usually hot. It’s in April and October. And I always go and hunt. And when I’m there, I see designers from all over the South from Texas.

And, it’s so much fun to see your colleagues there. If you go at the very beginning, you get the best pick of everything, but if you go at the end, you get the best deals because no one wants to ship all this furniture whatever’s leftover back home. Right. So I have a lot of furniture that is repurposed that are, you know, vintage, maybe antique reproductions.

So that chair, when I bought it was in white, and then it was a red silk before I had, you know, my son Ronan. And then of course I knew right away when he was born, that I would have to start toughening up. and I thought of velvet and I just thought this is incredible. So yeah, I really want to do that photo shoot with the peanut butter, because I want people to know that, I think saying yes to our kids is creates so much more of a happy home than saying no all the time.

And we can do that even if we just use beautiful vinyls. you know, or leather or slip covers. I think it just, it makes a more solid relationship when there’s respect there between either a designer and a client or a parent and child. so there’s a lot more than just the way a home looks. In order to have that really happy harmonious feeling.

Rebecca: I love just what you just said there. Like, just being able to say yes to our kids, what a beautiful statement just on its own. I absolutely love that. So, I mean, I don’t know that there’s much more to add to that, but is there any other advice you’d want to give somebody to give to someone wanting to create their own happy home?

Shelly: One thing that I do know, as, as I’ve been speaking to families, my focus has really been on meeting the needs of the child, right? Like I’ve said, like making them feel acknowledged and meeting where they are. But I also want to tell the parents that it’s okay to be a little selfish and want a beautiful sanctuary for yourself because these kids are tough and life is hard.

None of us, whether you have children or not, none of us are immune to challenges in this lifetime. And so it really is okay for you to want a beautiful bedroom or a spa like bathroom, whatever that looks like to you. I want to give permission to parents to take care of themselves. You know, because you can’t give if you’re empty.

Right. So just giving people permission to that it’s okay to want beauty around you. It’s okay to want a beautiful area that that fits you. It’s okay to want your own private space.

Rebecca: Sure. Yeah. What would you say the balance is? As a parent, between teaching your children to take care of beautiful things and meeting them where their needs are at, you know, because like I grew up in a household and I know my, my father did too where things were very pristine. And you were just, you, like, you were just taught you don’t break things, you know, and we were able enough that we were able to accommodate those demands. What is that balance?

Shelly: There’s both. I mean, I have art hanging in my home. That is an investment and some of it is low enough that he can, you know, Pat, Pat, as he walks by.

So yes, there’s the conversation of, we respect each other’s boundaries. We respect our toys. We respect our clothes and we respect certain pieces in the house that we just don’t touch. Now, of course, if you know, if he touches it, he touches it and that’s just life. And I guess that piece of art had the patina.

It might lose a little value to someone else, but, you know, Usually art is something that you love. And I have a feeling that when I get older and I look around at the little bumps and scratches around, it’ll just bring back beautiful memories more than anything. So that’s a mind shift as well.

It’s yes, you want to invest in beautiful things to make your home pretty, but they are things, you know, they’re just they’re things and that’s okay.

Rebecca: Yeah, I love where you come from. I love everything about you to be completely honest.

Shelly:  Thank you. That means the world to me. And I feel the same about you and, your book is fantastic and it’s, it’s promoting a message of joy, which we all need so much right now.

Rebecca: Yeah. Well, we’re both just about giving permission to people to live as happy as they possibly can do what it takes, you know, and don’t worry about the rules around it, figure out what those rules are for your family. So where can people find you if they would like to know more about what you’re up to?

Shelly:  I would love, well, you can follow me on Instagram at acorn and Oak by Shelly Rosenberg. Or acornandoak.com. I have a membership site that I’ll be launching soon. I really want to make sure that I disseminate as much information about interior design for specific needs as I can just for the, you know, we, not, all of us can invest in an interior designer. So I think it’s really important to kind of build a community and share what we need and share what our solutions are.

Rebecca: Well, and I think that even if people are investing in an interior designer. Coming to the table, because as you said, you worked with an interior designer building your own home and you were actually educating them on some of the more specific knowledge you had. So a lot of interior designers are gonna bring a lot of important skills to the table, but you know, this what we’re talking about, universal design and inclusive design.

Is still kind of a specialty is kind of a niche, whether or not it should be is a different conversation. And so if that’s part of, of what you need brought to the table and you can’t find a diner who can serve that for you, you’re going to have to be your own advocate. So making sure you have those resources so that you’ve got all the pieces of the puzzle, when you’re in your house.

SHELLY: And if you are working with an interior designer that you love, they may not be as familiar. One of the things I’m really open to is talking to my colleagues and sharing my experience because that is going to promote my passion even more. So if you have an interior designer you’re working with, we can have a conversation about what your specific needs are and that would make me very happy to do that.

Rebecca: Well that’s a wonderful way to wrap up, thank you so much for being on today Shelly, I am so glad that you shared your story and that you have given people tools to live their happiest and most beautiful like no matter what situation life has given them.

Shelly: You are so welcome, absolutely my pleasure.

Rebecca: And to our listeners. I hope you enjoyed this episode of creating your happy place and that the stories we share today help you feel a little bit more empowered to create your happy place. If you feel stuck, please do check out my book happy starts at home. It’s filled with exercises that are meant to help you think about your home a little bit differently and identify what might need to change to help you feel happy at home. And if you have a specific design dilemma that just has you stuck, you can actually reach out to my team at seriouslyhappyhomes.com, because thanks to the power of the Internet, and zoom, we can help people no matter where you call happy home. But in the meantime, no matter where you call home I hope that it does make you seriously happy. Until next time!

 

MAY YOUR HOME ALWAYS BE HAPPY!

Rebecca West, Interior Designer Seattle

HI, I'M REBECCA WEST!
I’m an interior designer, author, podcaster, speaker, and coach to other designers. (Whew!) But I’m not your classic interior designer because, frankly, I don’t care if you buy a new sofa. I do care if your home supports your goals and feels like “you.” Remember, happy starts at home!

Are you ready for a seriously happy home?

(Cue the confetti!)

10 practical tips for making your home happier now

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