Body, Mind, Spirit
THE INTERVIEW

What makes your approach to home design different from that of other designers?
I feel I transcend the traditional approach to home design because I move beyond what is currently "in vogue" and celebrate the uniqueness of the individual. I act as a bridge between vision and reality, between people and the beauty that lives within them. I spend a great deal of time getting to know people before I even begin making design suggestions. I urge them to dig deep, until they find their personal essence, and then we work together to find ways to express the essence in their home. Interior design, life design, is a natural extension of metaphysics and a magical search for a more alive, humanistic consciousness. Therefore, I freely integrate color healing, meditation, aromatherapy, astrology and other spiritual methods in my work. The ultimate goal is to bring to fruition a sacred place where our inner and outer worlds meet. We need to seek out, and find, a true sense of "home-ness."

What do you mean when you say a sense of "home-ness"?
Home-ness is an all-encompassing feeling. A true home for the heart embraces you the moment you walk inside. You can almost hear the walls saying, "Welcome! Sit down. Relax. Be yourself here." You feel safe , relaxed, grounded. The aroma of spruce, of apple pie baking in the oven, the combination of the right lighting and textures, all make you feel alive and centered. A home should be a graceful reflection of a person's deepest desires, but too often that sense of home-ness is missing. Many homes reflect only the surface truths of who people think they are, or they become reflections of what "purveyors of taste " decide is in fashion. This is limiting, and harmful to the psyche. If you go exclusively with other people's views of how your home should look, then you will eventually feel out of sync. Home is no longer a place you want to be in, but a place you want to escape from. To find that sense of home-ness, it is important to make a commitment to Self, and to your own personal vision.

In your book, you stress the need to change our basic thinking about who is the true design expert in our life.
Yes. You need to realize that you are the best expert when it comes to your living environment. If you focus on your intuitive sense of what you want and need and love, then you will create an environment that, in turn, becomes classical and ageless and reflects your true essence. It is helpful to rely on experts to provide resources or suggest possibilities, but it is not wise to rely on expert opinions as law. People should feel free to go against the rules!

Are there actual rules about home design that influence, even stifle, our creativity?
Absolutely. We have high profile-designers and decorating magazines making rules about how the ideal home should and shouldn't look. Then we watch television and see the host create a perfect, formal table setting. It looks easy, yet when we try it, it doesn't look nearly as perfect. Eventually, self-doubt kicks in: I can't do that." Or we think, "I can't possibly do this my way; it would mean we have bad taste." These rule makers are trying to help us, to inspire creativity, and sometimes they do. But in many cases, they simply intimidate people. I tell people not to be intimidated, to give themselves permission to experiment and to make mistakes. If you don't get it perfect the first time, it is okay. It's more than okay, it's usually beneficial.

Home design is a journey, not a step by-step exacting process that leads to flawless results. There is also an "interior design secret rule book" in our society. For example, it's an unspoken rule that having anything but a white ceiling is blasphemy. We have this constant influence of "color police" around us that further stifles our personal sense of style.

Can you talk more about the color police?
Color police, both modern and ancient, have programmed us to think a certain way about color. We are taught that red is for hussies, gray for businessmen, pink for girls, blue for boys. Too much, too bright, too bold is a sign of being gaudy, rather than invigorating. We fear someone will enter our home and say, "The decorating rule book states you can use bold colors on your throw pillows but not on your ceilings." I call this the "throw pillow mentality" and find it extremely restricting. Color police have taught us we should remain "understated." I have always wondered: "Understated from what?" I think overstated, especially if one is making a statement about inner self, can only be a positive thing in home design.

How can people free themselves from the influences and choose the colors right and best for them?
If you are naturally, intuitively drawn to a color, or a combination of colors, then it follows that these are the very colors that you should comfortably have around you. Color is a door, an entryway from our material world into the spiritual world of light. Color should be embraced--what we wear on our bodies, what we ingest, and certainly how we design our living spaces.

You say that home design can be freeing, even magical, and that we should recapture our sense of childlike whimsy. Can you elaborate?
As children, we were allowed to play, create, and make mistakes. We enjoyed spontaneous expression. We were born with a strong personal essence, yet as we matured, mist of this essence got lost. We were able to play it safe, to conform. As a result, when we become adults, we must actively work to recapture that sense of whimsy. Through meditation, affirmation and journal writing, you can call back the spontaneous expression you once enjoyed. Recall positive childhood memories of aromas like home-baked bread or the smells of old books, crayons, flowers. Then incorporate these accents into your adult home. You need to go back to the time before the color and culture police urged you to be neutral--in your personality and in your choice of couches. If you succeed, then the process of creating a home for your heart can be truly magical. I call this freedom of creation"juicy spirituality."

You have written extensively about acting on faith, about calling upon the courage of your convictions, to help overcome barriers. What specific steps can people take to fight negativity and set the process of creativity in motion?
The best defense against all types of barriers is to maintain a positive attitude and nurture a belief in your vision. If you act as if something is already in your life, or, at the very least, believe that it is totally within the realm of possibility, then in time, it will be there. I have seen amazing things happen to people who use the "act as if" concept. By believing in their vision, by continuing to move ahead, opportunities and resources appear, seemingly from out of nowhere. Positive energy acts like a magical magnet, bringing you what you want. If you cannot do everything you want all at once, you can manifest temporary solutions.

Start by taking small steps. Begin saving money in your dream box, make "I Love" lists of the scents, colors, sounds textures, foods and types of environments you really love. Perhaps new dishes, bedroom accessories, or simply choose new towels for the bathroom. If you have a craving to place green and purple together in the same room, then do so. Some designers make us fear certain color combinations. We begin to believe that if we put green and purple together in the same room, the room will explode! Trust me, it won't. I cannot emphasize enough that you need to fight negative tendencies, even ignore them entirely, and to keep moving steadily toward your vision. Also, you don't need to be wealthy to have a living space that richly meets your needs. Making small changes, or simply moving your furniture to circulate spatial energies, can make an enormous difference in the feeling of the home.

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