I feel validated.

I’ve said it before. I love magazines. 

Flipping the pages. Reading written words. Staring at pictures. I rip out what I like. What I want to study. Loose pages pile up. A working stack.

Months pass. I dedicate sixty minutes to sift, page by page, keeping and tossing.

This work usually happens in the air. Somewhere between California and Minnesota. On the way to Wisconsin.  

Four consecutive months in the midwest. Summer 2025. Our home on the lake. A modern interpretation of my more traditional, colorful, preppy style.

Here, the living and dining rooms connect. To each other. To the outdoors.  

Gray. Brown. Black. Green. Cream. The colors inside and out.

I see this dining room in print (Houses & Gardens, Veranda, February 2025). Pages collected somewhere over Nebraska. 

My dining room and this published space. Similar?

I study the picture.

I have the bones.

Simple rectangular table. Modern barrel chairs. Large windows to the outside.

I have the details.

Oversized art. A family heirloom. A dark and moody quilt of a paternal great grandfather’s suit pants, crafted many years ago. Asymmetrical accent. A basket. In the corner ready to accept a live tree. Wow factor. Statement lighting. Big, bold, dramatic.

Two distinct dining rooms. Theirs; layered, complex. Mine; bare, simple. 

Yet… Kindred spaces. Alike. Curated specifically for each homeowner.

As a designer, I feel validated.