Ep. 416: Home Is Where The Heart Is with Olivia Westbrooks

Summary

Podcast Summary: How to Decorate Ep. 416 – "Home Is Where The Heart Is" with Olivia Westbrooks

Release Date: June 3, 2025
Host: Ballard Designs
Guest: Olivia Westbrooks, Award-Winning Interior Designer and Artist

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1. Introduction and Guest Overview

In Episode 416 of How to Decorate, the Ballard Designs team welcomes Olivia Westbrooks, an esteemed Atlanta-based interior designer known for her multiple ASID awards and artistic prowess. Olivia shares insights from her extensive 20-year career in interior design and construction, and delves into her latest venture—a television show titled Home Is Where The Heart Is, launched in collaboration with Hallmark Plus.

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2. Origin and Concept of "Home Is Where The Heart Is"

Olivia recounts the serendipitous inception of her TV show:

Olivia Westbrooks [04:14]: "I just started, like, automatically deleting things after a while, and that one came through in my inbox... I said, you know what? Maybe I wasn't able to do this for me, but being a part of helping somebody else meant everything to me."

The show focuses on assisting families in renovating inherited or childhood homes, blending emotional narratives with the practical aspects of design. Olivia highlights the show's unique angle of intertwining personal family stories with the transformation of living spaces, setting it apart from conventional design programs.

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3. Emotional Connection to Home and Design

A significant theme of the conversation centers on the profound emotional ties people have to their homes. Olivia shares a heartfelt story about selling her childhood home, emphasizing the emotional challenges involved:

Olivia Westbrooks [05:12]: "I remember sitting at the closing table with my dad, and both of us are, like, fighting back tears..."

This experience fueled her passion for the show, aiming to honor the sentimental value of homes while facilitating meaningful design transformations for families.

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4. Production Process and Challenges

Olivia opens up about the rigorous production schedule of the show:

Olivia Westbrooks [08:22]: "I designed 12 spaces in 10 days. And then we shot it in five weeks. It was nuts."

Balancing the intensive demands of filming with running her own business and family responsibilities proved to be her most significant challenge. However, Olivia credits her success to a strong support system, including her senior designer Christine Vilwak and the dedicated production crew.

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5. Design Philosophy and Color Theory

A deep dive into Olivia's design philosophy reveals her passion for color and texture. She discusses how the show allowed her to experiment beyond the neutral palettes common in contemporary design:

Olivia Westbrooks [16:00]: "I always get caught up on those questions. What would you use with this?"

Engaging in a spontaneous color theory game, Olivia demonstrates her intuitive approach to pairing colors, advocating for bold choices that reflect the homeowners' personalities and create vibrant, joyful spaces. She emphasizes the importance of integrating undertones and textures to make neutral spaces dynamic and engaging.

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6. Working with Clients: Balancing Trends and Personal Taste

Olivia articulates her commitment to authenticity in client interactions:

Olivia Westbrooks [18:28]: "What's right for them because a lot of people, they hire you because they don't know."

She stresses the necessity of guiding clients towards choices that genuinely resonate with them, even if it means challenging prevalent design trends. Olivia encourages clients to prioritize their happiness and personal connection to the space over fleeting trends, fostering enduring satisfaction with their environments.

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7. Personal Creative Pursuits and Maintaining Artistic Passion

Beyond her professional endeavors, Olivia and the hosts explore personal artistic pursuits. Olivia shares her love for quilting and jewelry making, highlighting the therapeutic and meditative aspects of creating art:

Olivia Westbrooks [52:28]: "Do you always go back to painting? Like, even if you try something else."

She emphasizes the importance of carving out time for personal creativity to sustain her passion and inspire her professional work. The conversation underscores the value of balancing professional responsibilities with personal artistic fulfillment to maintain overall well-being and creativity.

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8. Closing Remarks and Where to Find More

As the episode concludes, Olivia provides listeners with information on how to watch her show and connect with her:

Olivia Westbrooks [57:24]: "You can watch all six episodes. Binge, binge. You can download it for free right now for a week and watch all the episodes."

She directs listeners to her Instagram (@OliviaWestbrooksInteriors), her website (OliviaWestbrooks.com), and assures them of the show's availability across various digital platforms. Olivia encourages viewers to engage emotionally with the show, hinting at its compelling and heartfelt content.

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Key Takeaways:

• Emotional Design: Integrating personal stories enhances the design process, making spaces more meaningful.
• Color Theory Expertise: Bold and thoughtful color choices can transform neutral environments into vibrant, personalized spaces.
• Client Collaboration: Successful design hinges on understanding and prioritizing clients' authentic preferences over trends.
• Balancing Roles: Effective time management and a supportive team are crucial for handling multiple professional and personal responsibilities.
• Personal Creativity: Maintaining personal artistic pursuits fuels professional creativity and overall satisfaction.

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Notable Quotes:

• Olivia Westbrooks [05:19]: "I couldn't be happier, really. Yeah, it's exciting."
• Olivia Westbrooks [16:00]: "There's so many different things you can do with color. I always get caught up on those questions."
• Olivia Westbrooks [18:28]: "When clients ask me what's trendy, what should I do? I'm like, who cares? What do you want to do?"
• Olivia Westbrooks [55:57]: "Authenticity…the word has lost a little bit of its value, but that's really what it's all about."
• Olivia Westbrooks [57:24]: "You can watch all six episodes. Binge, binge."

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For those eager to embark on their own decorating journey or seeking inspiration from seasoned designers, this episode offers a blend of professional insights, personal anecdotes, and practical advice. Home Is Where The Heart Is not only showcases transformative designs but also celebrates the emotional essence that makes a house a home.

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Stay Connected:

• Instagram: @OliviaWestbrooksInteriors
• Website: OliviaWestbrooks.com
• Watch the Show: Available on Hallmark Plus

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Subscribe to the How to Decorate podcast here, send in your decorating dilemmas to [e-mail], and follow Ballard Designs on social media for more tips and inspiration.

Transcript

[Caroline]

Welcome to how to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team.

[Taryn]

And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.

[Liz]

I'm Liz. I head up the creative team. We're your hosts.

[Caroline]

Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks and tales from interior designers, stylists and other talents in the design world.

[Taryn]

Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.

[Liz]

We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email [e-mail] now, on with the show.

[Caroline]

Welcome back to the show. I'm Caroline and we've got Liz here.

[Taryn]

Liz, hi.

[Caroline]

And okay, I mentioned a couple weeks, a couple episodes ago that Taryn is going to be out for a little while. She is. Okay. But while she's gone, we're going to have some new Ballard voices. So today we have Nicara Milner. She is an assistant merchant for accessories and lighting. She has a background in fashion, merchandising. She sews, she's wildly creative. You have impeccable taste where she knows just about everything.

[Liz]

Ballard.

[Caroline]

That is true. Yes. Wealth of knowledge.

[Taryn]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Caroline]

So, yes, welcome to the show. And then our guest today is Olivia Westbrooks. She is an award winning Atlanta designer with multiple ASID awards. She is also an artist. We recently did a house tour with you, which if you haven't, I don't know if it's up yet. If it's not, then be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you get a notification when it goes live. You have over 20 years of experience in interior design and in construction and you just shot and pub and launched your television show with Hallmark Plus.

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Caroline]

So it's called Homes where the Heart Is. You and the host, Luke McFarlane help families create Homes with Heart. You can stream it now on the Hallmark plus app. So we're going to talk all about it.

[Taryn]

We're going to talk all about it. It's funny, hearing that back is like my life flashing in front of my eyes. Like, how did I get here? There we go.

[Caroline]

I had to really trim it down. So there was. But yeah. Well, I just so enjoyed our house tour that we shot together and our conversation. You had so much great insight and are so good at explaining why you do the things you do. And so I'm really excited for our audience to get to know you.

[Taryn]

I am too. This is my first podcast about design. Yeah, I did one with a friend before, but, like, this is fun. I'm a podcast junkie, so.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Oh, really?

[Taryn]

Really, I am. Yeah. So this is great.

[Caroline]

We keep it casual and conversational. So I think we, though, have to start with your television show. Home is where the Heart Is. What a unique experience. How did that all come about? And then now that it's all live and everyone's seen it, how are you feeling?

[Taryn]

Okay, let's see. Let's unpack that. Right? How did it come about? I just. I got an email. It was simple as that. You know, I. I'm a big believer, and what is for your journey is for your journey and divine timing and, you know, in Atlanta, stuff is filmed here all the time. And so I would get casting emails here and there, but it would be like, we need a designer in Tennessee to work on whatever the project is. I'm like, okay, well, that doesn't fit. And I would get things like that and just hit delete, delete, delete, delete. I think I just started, like, automatically deleting things after a while, and that one came through in my inbox, and it was vague enough to keep me interested. I was like, wonder what this is about? And right around that time, I decided to hire a PR manager to help get my name out there, because I'd been in my business at that point for three years, and I had tried to go about it myself to get myself in front of editors, in front of the Design Atlanta design community, and was not making a whole lot of headway. So I needed some help. And my PR manager just landed in my DMs. Like, these people, like, these things are just landing in inbox.

[Caroline]

Amazing.

[Taryn]

I know, right? That's why I said, like, you just have to trust. Exactly. And. And so she and I started working together, and I said, well, your first order of business, take a look at this email and let me know if. If this is real. And so she called and got information about it and came back and told me about the show, and I immediately got, like, goosebumps. Then the hairs on my arms started to raise, and I was like, oh, my God, this sounds so great, because the fall prior to receiving that email, I was in a situation where my siblings and I had to sell our childhood home. And it was incredibly heartbreaking. I remember sitting at the closing table with my dad, and both of us are, like, fighting back tears, and the investor across the table was so excited. She was talking about all the changes she would make to the house and I'm like, you don't want to hear that, you know? So when I found out the premise of the show, which was about helping families who either inherited a family home or they went back and purchased a childhood home, or they wanted to start a legacy home, it's all about family and home. I said, you know what? Maybe I wasn't able to do this for me, but being a part of. Being able to do this for somebody else meant everything to me.

[Liz]

Amazing.

[Taryn]

Yeah. And so I said, call them back. I want to talk to them about it. And I just went through the interview process, the whole sizzle reel thing. Had to do a chemistry test with my co host to make sure that we vibed and. And the rest is history. Yeah. Yeah, love. And now it's on tv. We have six episodes out there, and it's being received really well. And I mean, I couldn't be. I couldn't be happier, really. Yeah, it's exciting.

[Caroline]

I love it because it's kind of as much about their emotional journey as it is the. The process of designing and updating the house. So I loved that element of it because it kind of adds that twist. There's so many design shows, and that makes it unique.

[Taryn]

Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely focused on the family story and what makes the home special to each person. What memories did they hold when they lived there or they spent time there. And then we lean into those stories to develop our design. We start there with the inspiration. So we say, you know, it's a show. It's a renovation show with heart, and it really is more so about the family and then with pretty design on top of it.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Liz]

How incredible, though, too, because I know. I think about my childhood home, and, yeah, there would be things that I would need to change if I were to move into it today, but I wouldn't know where to even start because my heart and my memories are so attached to the layout.

[Taryn]

Right. Yeah, the layout. Even. Even some of the finishes that are in there.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Like, before the closing, I went to our house to say goodbye, you know, and I walked through and I took pictures of things that I really loved. And there was this, like, butter yellow double oven, like, wall oven, because the house was built in the 70s. And I was thinking if that. If it still worked, like, I would keep that. You know, it's vintage. People are putting new ovens that look like that now to try to recreate all those.

[Caroline]

Look carnot.

[Taryn]

Yeah. To have a nostalgic moment. Exactly. You know, so we help them make Those decisions, you know, what are you emotionally attached to? How can we salvage it? Or if we can't, how can we recreate it or reimagine it in a new way that still gives you those same deals. Yeah. You know, so it was fun. It definitely made me work a different part of my brain then I'm used to working in my. In my business.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

What about the actual, like, shooting process? What was that like? How long was it. Did you shoot it in the order that the.

[Taryn]

That it airs? No. The lineup is a little different now than the way we shot it. Not too far. Too far off. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire career.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Really?

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

What about it?

[Taryn]

Because you take the design process, which we all know can last.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

Months. Years.

[Caroline]

Years, yeah.

[Taryn]

Depending on the project.

[Liz]

So condensed was this one.

[Taryn]

And we're condensed. Sensing it down. I designed 12 spaces in 10 days. 10 days before I had to get on camera. And then we shot it in five weeks. She's. Wait.

[Liz]

Wow.

[Taryn]

When did you sign? Wow. It was. It was nuts. Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I cannot.

[Taryn]

I didn't know what was up and what was down and what day it was and. But you know what? It really. It pushed me to my limits, and it showed me what I was capable of. Yeah. Of doing.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Yeah. So now when something difficult comes along, I'm like, that was nothing. I've had two kids, and I've shot a design show in July or it was August.

[Caroline]

I think I can handle a lot of things. And you look great, too.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I mean.

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Gosh, you're. Because y' all are out there, you're, like, doing actual work, too. You're doing some manual labor in the show. We.

[Taryn]

We are in it. And, you know, like, it's not. Some of it, of course, is for the camera. We need B roll. You all know you put a show together, but Luke was in there making the things. He's a master woodworker. I'm in there painting and creating custom artwork, and both of us really love to get our hands dirty, so we didn't mind doing that part. What was extra challenging about it is while I'm on camera, not only putting the designs together and also continuing to design the episodes that are upcoming while I'm on camera, I'm running my business at the same time.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Oh, my gosh.

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I have a headache for you.

[Taryn]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was in the midst of To Live and Dine at Adat, and then the Serenity Show House followed it right After. Yeah. So it was a crazy time.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Wow.

[Taryn]

Yes. I think I got more grace during that.

[Liz]

I can't even process keeping track of, let alone, like, your own projects, but the. All of those houses together and keeping track of all of the details.

[Taryn]

Yeah, it was nuts. But you know what? I had a good team on both sides. I don't do anything alone. I have a wonderful senior designer, Christine Vilwak. Shout out to her. She'll appreciate that. Who held the office down while I was out. And she and I have worked together now for a really long time, so I knew that everything was in good hands. And then on the show, I mean, we have a crew, Right. It's not just me. We have. Our art director was amazing. Josh and Julie. They were awesome and super helpful. So I had help, you know, and so it was still a lot of work, but teamwork makes the dream work, and that's what we had to lean into.

[Caroline]

Would you want to do it again?

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Taryn]

It's like having a baby. You know, after the baby's birth, you have this cute little thing, and you forget about all the back pains and indigestion, and I can't. Right. I can't put on my shoes, know the labor. You forget about all of that because you have this beautiful baby in front of you, and that's where we are right now. We have this beautiful baby in front of us. And so if you ask me again, I'm like, yeah. And then when I get into it, I'll be like, why did I do this to myself?

[Caroline]

And five weeks is a long time. You know, with that type of schedule, like, if you're to. To sustain that level of, you know, just activity and. And long days is a long time.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

But, you know, I'm. I. If I can understand where the light is at the end of the tunnel, then I can prepare myself to make it through that challenging time. And God bless my husband, y' all, when we talk about teamwork, makes the dream work. Because our shooting schedule was Wednesday through Sunday, and the kids were in school. Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

So he really had to hold it down at home. I barely saw my children at that time. I know it was. But I said, you know what? It's for five weeks. It's for five weeks, right?

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

A little sacrifice. Yes. Just that period of time, and this will be done, and then we can be together. And I will have done this, like, amazing thing that we put out into the world, and it's bringing people joy and helping improve people's lives.

[Caroline]

So what do your kids think about the show?

[Taryn]

So my. I have two daughters. Maya's 11, Morgan's eight. Maya's my very sweet, empathetic people loving artist of a person. She thinks it's amazing. And anytime I mention, like, my daughters or her, she goes, I'm famous now.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

She is.

[Taryn]

She's like, mommy, I'm famous. I said, okay, girl. Yes, you are. My 8 year old is very critical of everything, you know, mom, why are you standing like that? Why is your skirt so big? You know, like. Yes, she's. She's hilarious. She keeps me grounded.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

She has to. That's her job. That's her job. You take care of her, but she takes care of you.

[Taryn]

That's right. She makes sure that my head doesn't get too big and my feet stay on the ground. So it's just funny.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

How opposite they are.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I love it.

[Caroline]

Your kids are never as impressed with you.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

No, that's very true.

[Caroline]

Right?

[Taryn]

No, I mean, your mom. Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

We have to raise y' all, you know, like the shoe gets on the other foot once they turn about five years old. Oh, we have to raise y' all.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You know, y' all don't know no better.

[Taryn]

You know nothing.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Exactly, exactly.

[Taryn]

They know everything.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Happy you get it.

[Taryn]

Absolutely. Especially with that 8 year old. She. She is something else.

[Caroline]

What about the design during the show? Do you feel like it pushed you? Did you feel like you got to stay true to your aesthetic and what you would do for, like, a client?

[Taryn]

You know, I got to do more. I feel like I have more creative flexibility with the show than I do in my own practice. Yeah. I mean, the families that we worked with told us what they wanted to see, but also understood that we had a lot of creative liberty with the show. And it was intentional with the design of the show that we wanted to make sure we used a lot of color. We wanted it to be different in that way because we felt like a lot of the design shows on TV now, it's, you know, it's pretty.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Your beige one.

[Taryn]

Yeah, it's pretty. One note. It's pretty monotone. There's a lot of neutrals, a lot of textures. What's been a style for the last decade or so? We wanted this show to feel joyful. Yes. From the story perspective, but also from the design perspective. And so every single house was different. I don't know if you watched, but, like, we have one Victorian inspired episode. We have one 70s inspired episode. We have a farmhouse, we have a lake. House, you know, and we get a little kitschy with it, and that's fun. Like, I like getting a little. A little kitschy.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You might as well have fun.

[Taryn]

Lean into it. Yeah. Um, so, you know, there were some things that bled over from what I do in my. In my business and what I did on the show. I still like things to look, you know, pretty clean and tailored and all. But, I mean, I got to. I got to have fun with color. I did.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I got to have fun with pattern, of course. Oh, yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It was always fun to watch those scenes where you're trying to decide on which shade of blue to use. And I'm sitting here, I'm trying to watch it and say, oh, you need to go with this blue because of X, Y, Z. And then you go with a different blue. And I'm like, I'm happy she went with that blue. But I. That I watched the show this week. I finished the whole. All eight episodes. I think there were 12.

[Taryn]

There's six. There's six. And there's a bonus episode, the bonus.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Episode at the end where we're just.

[Taryn]

Talking, like, behind the scenes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yes. I absolutely loved the show. It was. And I think I love to see the color. Cause even just here, working here, you know, we're very. We believe in color at Bathard, so it was so nice to see someone else, an interior designer, who actually takes that same approach to their designs. Because, like you said, it does get very monotonous all the time. Even, you know, show houses that we'll go to. Like, we went to one earlier this morning. It was beautiful. But they did play with color a little bit, but it was still just your safer colors, you know, like your neutral tones, you add the texture. But I love just, like, that visual eye catching. You know, here's a blue, and that's what you're gonna love.

[Taryn]

And it's a blue. You know, it's a blue.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

An electric blue.

[Taryn]

Yeah. So the design part of it was a collaboration with the production team, with the creator of the show. She had a vision, and I wanted to make sure that her vision came across on camera too. So I would do a design and send it to her, and she'd be like, more saturation. And I'd be like, okay, you know, let's do it. Well, you know, because like I said, so much of the last few years has been neutral. And when clients come, they want to play it safe. It's a big investment. They're afraid to spend too much money on something that they may not love in five years. What the show really did was it taught me to push my clients and tell them, who cares about resale, you know?

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Are you building this to sell this house in the next 10, 15, 20 years? And if not, then who cares about that?

[Liz]

If you love purple, go do it.

[Taryn]

Let's do a purple sofa. You know, you're gonna love it every time you see it. So stop worrying so much about what the trends are.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

Lean into what it is that makes you feel good, you feel special, you love your space. You feel like you belong in this space. That's really what this show encouraged me to do in my own practice.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

That I can say I probably wasn't doing before. Not as much.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

You know. Oh, you want neutrals? Sure, I'll give you a neutral space.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I got bored, to be honest. Like, this show was very refreshing for me. Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Is that difficult when you are working with clients that seem very set in one direction, but you kind of want to push them away from just all the trends that you've seen everywhere? Is it difficult ever kind of changing your client's mind or pushing them?

[Taryn]

You know, I've arrived at this, and I tell this to my clients all the time. At the end of the day, when this project is over, I'm going to my house, and you will have to live here.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

So if you really feel strongly about this, even though I'm giving you my design opinion that's different from what you want to see, if you feel strongly about this and that's going to make you happy, that's fine.

[Caroline]

Right?

[Taryn]

That's fine with me. I'm not going to impose what I want to see on the house. This is not. It's Olivia Westbrooks that you're hiring, but Olivia Westbrooks is not going to live in this house once I'm gone. Now, if it's something I know is going to be a major mistake because I've done it in the past, I will educate them on why I feel that's not the best decision and why we need to move forward with this. But I pick and choose my battles with that. Yeah.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Well, you know, if they love it, then they're not gonna wanna get rid of it. Like, that's the thing that I always find. Like, if you love the purple room that you're talking about, then, like, you're not going to want to part with it. So why that's going to give it the more longevity.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Than committing to something that's Sort of like wishy washy that you just feel like is safe.

[Taryn]

Right.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Completely.

[Caroline]

Because then it's never. You never really liked it in the first place.

[Taryn]

Yeah. And they'll get in there and be like, I just, you know, it just doesn't feel quite right. I know. Because it's not what you want.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah. It's not.

[Taryn]

It's not true.

[Caroline]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And if you know they've hired you and like, you're the one that it's. That is helping them, guide them toward the correct guide or like the, the correct design choice, then that's the like, sort of insurance that it's going to work. Right?

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Like.

[Liz]

Right.

[Caroline]

They're not just making a decision for a purple room. They've got, they've got help, they've got a professional.

[Taryn]

So. Exactly. Who will tell you. But, you know, I had a very. I was in LA last week or a week before. What week am I in? I don't even know anymore, for a press tour and I went to a party and struck up a conversation with a designer and. And she said, you know, you have to tell them what's right for them because a lot of people, they hire you because they don't know.

[Liz]

Right, right.

[Taryn]

And they are going to play it safe for the most part. And so it does become our responsibility as designers to push them a little bit. I think earlier in my career, especially when I started my business, I was afraid to do that because if they hated it, I felt like I was going to have to replace.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It was your fault.

[Taryn]

Yeah, right, yeah. Or they would have something bad to say about me. But, you know, as time has gone on and I've gained more experience, I really just had to learn to be confident in my experience and in my education and stand firm and say, no, that's not, trust me, that's not what you want to do. You're going to call me in six months and want me to replace it, you know, whereas maybe three years ago or 10 years ago, however many years ago, I've been doing this for 20 years. I wouldn't have felt as comfortable doing it, I'm sure. Yeah.

[Caroline]

I will say you do decorate with neutrals beautifully.

[Taryn]

Well, thank you.

[Caroline]

Because the space that we saw in our house tour was so well done, so, like sleek, but had so much texture and dimension. It was not boring. And I also just loved all of the insight you offered in the in the house tour about decorating with neutrals for anyone who does. So you can also do neutrals and I can. It still looks really good.

[Taryn]

And, you know, neutrals are classic.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I'm not. I don't want to speak so badly about. About neutrals. I appreciate them, and I love them. I also love a good, colorful room. I love a good. Even in our neutral spaces, we will have some sort of accents of color in there somewhere.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

Look at me. I love. I love some bright color, you know?

[Liz]

Yeah, yeah. But one of the things that you talk about in the home tour, and I encourage everybody to go watch it, but you talk about there being underlying colors and tones within the neutrals and how to play those.

[Caroline]

Yes.

[Liz]

Both, you know, with each other and then against each other to kind of make them pop. And I. I think that that's just a really wonderful way to think about neutrals, too.

[Taryn]

Yeah. I mean, every color has an undertone. I don't know how deep you want to get into it. Now, we want to encourage people to watch the home tour. Right. So that they learn all of this. But I'm also an artist. Yes. Have been drawing and creating things my entire life. Like, I obsessed over Bob Ross when I was young. I would get up, turn on pbs, and watch him paint happy little trees. All of it.

[Liz]

Little clouds, little trees. You know, all of it.

[Taryn]

Let's paint a squirrel and give him a friend. You know, just. I adored him. I've watched all the documentaries about him. I dressed up as him for Halloween one year.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Oh, I need pictures.

[Taryn]

Oh, I think it's somewhere in my Instagram. I know it is. And so, my love, there was this cartoon. I was thinking about this the other day. Oh, my gosh. It wasn't a cartoon. It was a kid's show, and it was called Pappy Druitt. Have y' all heard of Pappy Drewitt?

[Caroline]

No, but I bet I'd need to watch it.

[Taryn]

Or I still. I can. I can sing the theme song. That's how much she used to watch it. But it was a show about this. This man. He dressed like a lumberjack, and his set was like a forest, and he had all these animal friends. And at some portion in the show, he would draw. He would just draw a squirrel eating an acorn or whatever the theme of the day was. And I was just mesmerized by it. So all that's to say is I've loved art my entire life. And so when you hear me talk about undertones, and that's my artist eye, looking at it and learning what colors, you know, what do you pair with a blue to make it vibrant? Well, you pair the opposite color, which would be orange. Right. The complimentary color on the color wheel. I loved color theory in design school. It was my favorite. I could talk about this all day for another hour talking about color theory, you know? But, yes, there are tricks to make neutrals pop and to make neutrals interesting, and it does have a lot to do with color theory and texture. Love texture. Yes.

[Caroline]

Can we play, like, a game? Yeah, I want it. Okay. A color theory game.

[Taryn]

Oh, let's go.

[Caroline]

This is really unscripted. We're just throwing this out here.

[Taryn]

No.

[Caroline]

Okay.

[Taryn]

What.

[Caroline]

I'm going to name a color, and I want you to tell me what color you would put with it.

[Taryn]

Okay, sure.

[Caroline]

Just, like, fire it off. Don't.

[Taryn]

So. So what color? I would. Okay, let's go.

[Caroline]

Do we need more rules? I don't know.

[Taryn]

No. We'll make them up as we go. All right.

[Caroline]

And you all jump in.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Caroline]

I'm going to. How about we start with ice blue?

[Taryn]

Ice blue. Okay. So then my question would be, what are we going for? Are we going for a vibrant space? Are we going for a more relaxed space? If we're going for more relaxed, then I like to stay within a monotone palette.

[Caroline]

Okay.

[Taryn]

And when I say that, I mean that you want to use colors that are adjacent to an icy blue that are within that family. So soft greens, of course, your ivories. I would go warmer on my neutrals because icy blue is very cool. And I find that when you pair cool colors with colors that are a little bit warmer, it does bring it to life a little bit more. So if I were to pair it with, like, an icy green or a bunch of cool colors, it feels restful, but sometimes it can fall a little flat. So I would put some brass in the room somewhere pretty just to liven it up. Some purple shades of purple or plum would be beautiful. I'm looking at this. This painting right here. I can see some really beautiful plum colors with icy blue. So it all just. It depends on the mood that you're trying to set. Yeah, yeah. You can make it very cheerful and add some yellow in there. Pretty. Yeah. There's just so many different things you can do with color. I always get caught up on those questions. What would you use with this?

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Or there's so many avenues you can.

[Taryn]

Go in, or people will ask, what color would you. Absolutely not use? I'm like, I.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

All of them.

[Taryn]

I.

[Caroline]

Right.

[Taryn]

Open up the crayon box. I can't tell you that. You know? Yeah, yeah.

[Caroline]

There's Going to be a time and place for every color.

[Taryn]

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Okay.

[Caroline]

What Liz suggested Color.

[Taryn]

I'll do it.

[Liz]

Butter yellow.

[Taryn]

Oh, the ovens. I know, but, like, the wall ovens.

[Liz]

But where else do you. What would you else pair with that?

[Taryn]

So because I'm an LSU Tiger, I'm gonna say purple. We get a little purple and gold going in there. Let's make a butter yellow and brassy, you know, space. I could see it feeling very elegant and feminine. And, you know, I love the way, like, Suzanne Castler uses color and even Melanie Turner uses color, where there's a neutral room and then there are just these bold, like, tops, these bold accents of color in a pillow or in a trim on a drapery or a shade. Butter yellow would be really pretty with orange, like a soft orange, if you were going for that, like, analogous color.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Theme.

[Caroline]

Analogous is side by side on the color wheel, right?

[Taryn]

That's right. It's side by side. Yes.

[Caroline]

So.

[Taryn]

So if I say, like, plummer purple, that's complementary. It's on the other side of the color wheel. So when you put those two colors together, they vibrate and it pops more than if I were to put it next to a really pretty orange. Right. Because those are within the same family.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I can see that.

[Taryn]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Liz]

So then you really have to figure out which color you want to come forward.

[Taryn]

Exactly. Which color you want to come forward. And like I said, always start with the mood. What mood are we trying to set here?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah, that's the big one. Yeah.

[Caroline]

All right, your turn, and then we'll move on.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I think we were going down the same direction. I was going to say, actually chartreuse, because I love chartreuse. I'm making a quilt now that has these little chartreuse pops in it, but I can't find fabric because I don't know what color I want to pair with it, really. So putting you on the spot. You are design this quilt with some chartreuse, and it'll be for a baby.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Again, so we're kind of going a little pastel. A little. But still interesting.

[Taryn]

Gender neutral. Are we leaning into a.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It ends up being more feminine. I think my quilts do.

[Taryn]

I'm a pink girl. You say feminine. Chartreuse and pink are one of my favorite combinations together.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I think I've been leaning towards that even, like a lavender.

[Taryn]

Lavender would be gorgeous. I'm looking. I was looking at your sweater. Yeah. Because, you know, this is yellow. It's not as green as chartreuse, but I Could see those two things, but then again, that's my purple and gold. I keep going back to it.

[Liz]

That's good.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

The UGA in me is gonna cry, but I would never work out.

[Taryn]

That's okay. We're the SEC family.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

We.

[Taryn]

Yeah, we are.

[Liz]

But would you. Would you take the pinks and purples that you pair with the chartreuse, and would you go a little bit more gray with those so that the chartreuse could pop forward, or would you go a little bit more pastel?

[Taryn]

That's a really great question. Y' all know, it's. It's so. It does get challenging for me to answer questions like that, because I am the type of person that likes to play around and experiment with things and see what feels right. It's always a feeling for me. That's how I design. I would say I'm more of an intuitive designer than anything. You certainly could. Right? You certainly could go, like, a softer, grayer, lavender pink and then let that chartreuse be the pop of color.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

If I were to design Olivia's playroom, I would do hot pink with this shirt with chartreuse pillow, and it would be bright and bold. You know, if you saw my to live and dine space, you'd see how I like to play with color. So you certainly could. There's no one right Way. Way.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Yeah. That's why these answers become so difficult. These questions become so difficult to answer because there's no.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You end up writing an essay almost.

[Taryn]

Instead of just talk about it forever.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I will say it does kind of bring me to another question that I really wanted to ask you. Just kind of speaking from a designer to designer kind of aspect, even though I'm making quilts, not entire rooms. How do you sort of. When you can. When you know that all the possibilities are endless, when you know there's so many things you can do to this face, so many ways you can use different colors, how you, you know, if you want to make one color, you know, go in the background a little bit, another color pop. When you have so many options, how do you narrow that in? Because you might see something on Instagram one day completely change your mind. You know, I try not to get.

[Taryn]

Caught in that, you know, and I try to tell my clients to not do that either. You have to stop at some point, you know, Otherwise, you can go on forever. For me, it's like I just said, it's a feeling.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

It's literally a feeling. Like, if I'm putting a fabric Scheme together. I lay things out on the table, and I wait to see what rests. Like. Yeah, I love all the shots. Talk about all the chakras, but, like, in your solar plexus area, that's, you know, that's where your gut. Your gut is. No, that's your sacral. See, I'm getting that wrong. It's down there, right around the belly button. The sacral is where your gut is. Right. Your gut instincts. And so if it rests, if I feel at peace with it when I look at it, that's. That's what I go with. That's decision. Yeah. If I feel anxious or tense about it or. I even learned this when I was working in construction, and I was. I would try to pick out grout colors to see if it would blend. I squint. I squint. Or across my eyes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Oh, squint.

[Liz]

Never fails.

[Taryn]

Never fails.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It really is the best.

[Taryn]

Or cross your eyes. You want to blur your vision. And if it feels like it. Like it works when you do that, Go with it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

You know, that's. These are.

[Caroline]

With a grout color. That's impressive.

[Taryn]

I see.

[Caroline]

I feel like I could do that maybe with a fabric, but for a.

[Taryn]

Grout color, I would cross my eyes.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

And if it. If it looked like it worked, I would go with it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

My mom thinks I'm crazy. When I do, I take my glasses off, so everything is blurry, and I'll just look at all my fabric. This is it.

[Taryn]

This is it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You know, that is.

[Taryn]

It's not. It's not very scientific.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Being blind actually helps your glasses.

[Taryn]

You know what? I have not tried that.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Do it.

[Taryn]

Because I wear glasses.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Do it. I prompt every time I make a quilt. When I get all my fabrics kind of pieced, laid out and everything, I take my glasses off, go to the other side of the room, and if there's a spot that feels too saturated, I know I need to move that.

[Taryn]

Yeah. You know, that's amazing. That's great.

[Caroline]

Wow.

[Taryn]

I usually just cross my eyes with my glasses on, but. No, just take the glass. That is genius.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I do cross sometimes. I get scared they're going to stay. I just take them off.

[Taryn]

That's funny.

[Caroline]

That's just what we tell our kids.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah. That's why I get scared.

[Taryn]

It's funny that we've been telling our kids that since the beginning of time, because I remember forever hearing that. Yeah. You know, cross your eyes are going to stay that way.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I'm 26, and I'm still scared.

[Taryn]

See, I'm 44. So that lie has been told for many decades.

[Caroline]

What's a color that you have never used, but you would love to use?

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Ooh.

[Taryn]

A color that I've. I would love to use, but I've never used.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You use so many. It seems like.

[Taryn]

Well, I use pink. I did that in to live and dine. It's. It's fun doing those spaces, those to live and dine spaces, the show house spaces, because you really do get to go on, do what you want. You know, you don't really have boundaries outside of budget. And let me see. That's a great question. I've used a lot of color. I haven't done a lot of purple. I do love chartreuse.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I love chartreuse. It's my new favorite. I like to wear it. I like to quilt with it.

[Taryn]

I haven't. I haven't used that. I'm attracted to bold, bright colors. Yeah. That's like moth to a flame. That's me. You know, I would. I, I. I do love a chartreuse.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

See?

[Taryn]

Yes. That would be fun.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Morally obligated.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Or some form of yellow. I would love to do a yellow room. I have not done that.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Yellow is not, like, out in the. In the design world much.

[Taryn]

It's not. I've seen it in show houses. You know, I've seen it published.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

In some publications, but I have not had the opportunity. It's not a popular color.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

No.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Everybody wants blue. Everybody wants green.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

When you ask them to pick a.

[Caroline]

Great accent for blues, that's why it is sort of weird.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Is that goldenrod kind of color?

[Taryn]

It is. I generally pull that in with brass. Right. And finishes.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Not so much fabrics, but I think yellow is a scary color for people.

[Caroline]

We have a very pretty yellow lampshade right now.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yes. Oh, it's fantastic. I love Lydia.

[Taryn]

See, she knows the names. You just said. She knows.

[Caroline]

She knows. She could tell us all the dimensions.

[Taryn]

093.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yep.

[Caroline]

Comes in 14, 16, 18.

[Taryn]

That'd be fun. And I mean, like, not just subtly use it. I mean, like, go color, drench.

[Liz]

Color drench.

[Taryn]

A room wall, ceiling trim. Yeah.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

Upholstery.

[Liz]

So many historical uses of a drenched yellow room. And it feels like it could go very sophisticated if you design it the right way, because otherwise it can go McDonald's.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I think that's the fear is that it does end up looking right.

[Taryn]

But. But when you see it, at least for me, when I see it in a space, it's so joyful right? Yeah. Like.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I can't help but smile.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

My room now is yellow. I made some drapery panels last year. It's yellow. This pretty pink, soft pink floral on it, but the base is a yellow. And I just, I blush every time I walk into my room.

[Taryn]

There is how you want to feel.

[Caroline]

Yellow drapes in particular, that is just like. I feel like I've seen silk yellow drapes in several different rooms, and it's just like, it's like sunshine coming.

[Taryn]

Yeah, it really is. That's exactly right. So, yeah, yellow would be fun.

[Caroline]

Maybe it'll come back, like, in a big way.

[Taryn]

Maybe in season two. If there's, if there's a season two, we're going to manifest that. Right.

[Liz]

Let's do it.

[Caroline]

We haven't done yellow yet so that we can have a season two.

[Taryn]

There we go. So Olivia can do a yellow room. That'd be awesome.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Do you. Do you find yourself using trends or do you try to stay away from them?

[Taryn]

It's. It's a blend. Like I said. I always tell my clients, go with what you love. There are certain trends, like in tile, I would say more so in construction finishes than. Than anything that's good. Warm wood cabinets are back when they were, you know, just out for a really long time. Remember, we were just doing white kitchens for a long time in the.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

Earlier mid, mid 2000s, I would say, because when I first started in design in 2004, stained cabinets were everywhere.

[Liz]

Yeah, right.

[Taryn]

It was the sign you had money. You know, if you had stained cabinets, that was a luxury high end project.

[Liz]

And then it moved to white cabinets.

[Taryn]

Then it moved into white.

[Liz]

Probably more painted cabinets now.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Definitely painted cabinets white.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Ye see more color, but we see a lot of oak. White oak, I think is still very heavy out there. I see walnut making a comeback. So with, with construction finishes, I say, you know, I, I do tend to lean on or lean into what's trending at the time to a certain extent.

[Caroline]

Yeah. It's kind of hard to get away from it, I imagine, just because, like, they're driving the options in a way.

[Taryn]

Right.

[Caroline]

You know.

[Taryn]

Right.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

The availability of what. Which you can get at that time.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Depending on trends when it comes to that.

[Taryn]

But I, like I said, when clients ask me what's trendy, what should I do? I'm like, who cares? Who cares? What do you. What do you want to do? But it is fun. It is fun to take a design theme that is prevalent today and, and use it.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

In a fun way. And, yeah, you know, you want to stay fresh and relevant.

[Caroline]

Yeah, yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Put your spin on it.

[Taryn]

Yeah, well, sometimes put your own spin on it. That's what it is. Kind of use it as a foundation.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

But a starting point.

[Taryn]

Like, I saw glass block trying to make a comeback. Oh, yes. Are you excited? I'm mortified.

[Liz]

Okay. All right. Talk to us about it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yes, I agree.

[Caroline]

Explain the.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I just love it. You know, I've. I've always been a big fan of just stained glass and how that sort of just looks to me. It just. It's always been timeless. But then as I've kind of seen those little glass box, the different shapes that you can do with it, the different colors that you can do with it and the different applications, it can be on a lamp, it can be on a chandelier, it can be on a room divider. The options are endless. And that is what gets me going, is when you can take this one thing and turn it into thousands of other things. That's a trend. If that's a trend.

[Taryn]

Yeah, I can see that. And I'm with you on that. But you're also. You said 20.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I am 26.

[Taryn]

Right. Okay. So you didn't live through the 80s.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I did not.

[Taryn]

With all the terrible glass block windows and glass block partitions. Yeah, it just. It makes me think of mullets and just really bad mullets are back too.

[Liz]

Or, you know, like an episode of, like, Moonlighting or something.

[Taryn]

Miami vibes.

[Liz]

Just like. Like some really kind of. Of kitschy 80s modern.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Or like, twist on a faux modern.

[Taryn]

Like, it's.

[Liz]

It's just.

[Taryn]

Yeah, I. I have a hard time getting behind that one. But I did see an installation of shocker pink glass block installed, and it had a circular design pattern to it, and I was like, okay.

[Caroline]

Yeah, okay.

[Taryn]

I could maybe possibly.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I feel like that just talking about this in general, that's the role of, like, my generation, the Gen. I'm an old Gen Z, so not quite millennial. I don't want to claim millennials.

[Taryn]

I'm mature Gen Z. I'm like, first year. And it's like, watch yourself.

[Caroline]

Battle of generations.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

That's what we do. We see, you know, old trends or just see what people used to do just in general, and we immediately think of how to reuse it, how to make it a little different, or I think the biggest thing that I hope we continue doing is figuring out how to mix different generations together. Right. So you can put, you know, combine your 80s with your 70s or take your you know, 70s designs and make it modern even. I feel like a lot of show houses now are doing that where they take, you know, an antique piece of furniture, put a modern chandelier over it.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

And that contrast is just so rich and deep and so beautiful. So I'm hoping, I'm crossing my fingers that my people will continue to do that.

[Taryn]

Well, you know, I just. I think everybody. Every generation does that. You know, Have y' all ever seen Midnight in Paris with Owen Wilson? And it's all about how he romanticized. It's such a good movie. Right. But he romanticized the past, and he gets in his carriage and he gets to go back to the Roaring twenties, I think it was.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

And then all these characters from that period of time who was there. Was it like Hemingway?

[Caroline]

Hemingway? Yeah. Like. Yeah.

[Taryn]

I don't want to. I don't want to say too many names because I'll most likely be in the wrong era. Gerald. Right.

[Caroline]

I feel like.

[Taryn]

Yes. So he's having conversations with them, and they're talking about how the period before them was the golden period, you know, and so I think that's where you are now, where you're like, you know, my generation and the glass block, and it's just amazing, but we lived through it. So for us, we're like, they may have done that.

[Liz]

We did.

[Taryn]

You know, give me some 70s. Like, 70s was old time, you know, but everything's cyclical. And I think every generation does romanticize the past, maybe an era that they didn't necessarily live in, that they find really cool elements about. And kind of brings me back to. To the show because there's a lot of nostalgia in the show, too.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

And I'm still dreaming about that Victorian house still.

[Taryn]

Right, right. And with that turquoise chandelier and all. I just think that's human. That's human nature, what you're talking about. Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I mean.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

And. But there are great things from previous generations.

[Taryn]

Absolutely.

[Caroline]

Just design generations, I guess.

[Taryn]

And to see how it gets reimagined is fun. I agree with you on that. Yeah.

[Caroline]

Because there was defin a period where I would have thought. Or I. I thought that mid century modern was like, you know.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

You picture like certain TV shows and movies and like. Like that 70s show or something, and you're just like, I don't know. But then seeing it used now it starts to make sense and you're like, oh, okay. I appreciate the sleekness. I like the walnut, that kind of thing.

[Liz]

When it's mixed in with something else.

[Caroline]

Once you sort of push it a little bit from the period. Yeah. It's easier to find what you love about it, I think. Yeah.

[Liz]

Well, Nakyra, I haven't seen that.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I love your enthusiasm, and I'm not gonna say no to it, because as soon as I say a hard no to anything, it creeps in and I. And then I end up loving it. So I'm not saying no.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

You have to just love everything by default first.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Right. You just. Even if you don't, if your gut reaction is, oh, my gosh, what is this? Just say you haven't seen the right version of it.

[Taryn]

Just be open to it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yes.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

I don't know. It's still in the open for me.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I mean, just. Just call it something new. It's the wolf cut. It's fine.

[Taryn]

It's fine. Like, let's. Let's rebrand it. Yeah.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

All marketing. Yeah.

[Caroline]

What about when you're painting? Are you working on any art projects right now?

[Taryn]

Oh, I'm not. I want to. I want to so badly. I've just been so busy.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

That's the hard part. Right? It's. And that's what. That's sort of what happened. I loved creating art when I was younger. Did a lot of it. You know, I was on yearbook staff. I was creating all the posters. This is before Instagram. When you can advertise things at school, you have to create posters, really? And put them up around the school so people can know what was going on. And then, you know, in college, I did a lot of art because that was part of my curriculum. I had to take art classes. But then you get out into the world and you get a job and you're paying bills and doing adult things and the things that you love doing when you were a child just sort of fall by the wayside because it doesn't pay the bills. And then something happens that gets you connected back to that first love, and it reignites that in you. And you're like, oh, my God, completely. How did I lose this? How could I not do this every day?

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

And you get really excited, and you go to Blick. When I say you, I'm talking about me. You go to Blicks and you spend hundreds of dollars on art supplies.

[Liz]

I'm there. I'm right next to you. And you have ideas in this whole thing.

[Taryn]

Yeah. You write them down and they collect dust because you get back to that adult life and doing the things that pays the bills and, you know, so that's a Long answer. That's my long way of saying no. Yeah. I'm not working on anything right now, but I plan to.

[Liz]

Great.

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Set the intention and you'll get there.

[Taryn]

Well, it's what. It's what truly makes me happy. Design is great, but I do design for other people. Creating art is what I do for myself, and that's how I connect back.

[Liz]

To myself, which just ends up fueling everything else you do in every other part of your life.

[Taryn]

I agree. Yeah, I agree. It ignites that creative spark work. So thank you for bringing that up. That was a great reminder that I need to get on it.

[Liz]

All right.

[Caroline]

Well, it was just that easy.

[Taryn]

Weekend is here to get on it.

[Caroline]

When we spoke last, you had shown me a picture of a portrait of your daughter that you did that I just thought was really beautiful. And so I was reminding me of it when you were talking about your nails.

[Taryn]

I. I have some things that I would like to do. I just. I've got to carve out the time. That's what it is. You have to make the time.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

To do it.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

What do you have going on that you haven't done yet? You said you had some projects or you knew what I was talking about.

[Liz]

Oh, well, I've got a studio down in my basement, so making art and kind of getting into that space but prioritizing, that is really challenging.

[Taryn]

Yeah, it is.

[Caroline]

Yeah, it really is.

[Taryn]

But you just have to say, listen, for me, it's my family, right? Because on weekends, it's family time. And my husband, my kids, we love doing things together. But it's saying, hey, guys, I need a few hours. Mommy time.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah, you have to fill my tank.

[Taryn]

Yeah. So my studio's upstairs. I can go upstairs and fill my tank.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

That's one of the fun things I always tell people. I don't plan on right now ever getting married, having children, because my entire life is kind of revolving around what can I make today, what can I quilt today, what pattern can I buy today off Etsy, you know, And I can't imagine, imagine not having that time. I get. I start to get itchy, actually, and my mental just slowly deteriorates when I've gone days or, you know, without sewing. I need to take my sewing machine, actually, to get serviced. I don't want to do it because I have to leave my machine at the shop for a week while they service it. And I can't be away from her for that long. I'm like, I completely. Once you stop your. You Know, passion is really hard to get back into just because life. Life. Life's.

[Liz]

You're gonna have to knit that week or do something different with your hands.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Like, do I need to cook or do I need to sew? I need to sew.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Well, do you.

[Caroline]

Do. Have you gone through different sort of creative interests? Like, I always. I don't know about y' all. I feel like I will channel it into different things for a while, you know, like, for a year or two, maybe it's, like, just decorating my house. And then maybe it's like I was really, like, doing paper for a while or.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Now I'm into needle pointing. So, like, it can kind of ebb and flow a little bit, I think. But I don't. That's what it is for me. So I don't know if you've ever felt that before.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

A thousand percent. And I. Whenever I get interested in something, I go all out.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I'm at every craft store you can think of, and I'm buying all the materials to just even start to do anything. I've got. I'm recently into jewelry making. That's my new kind of fun thing. But anything that revolves around just making something with your hands, that's it. I will do anything if I can make it with my hands.

[Taryn]

And I. I get what you say. I get itchy. Like, I literally feel like I want to. I get restless. Especially my hands get really restless, because I feel like I have to. Yeah. Make something.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Create something.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

Do you have any other, like, things like cooking or maybe it's.

[Taryn]

I don't know.

[Caroline]

I'm sure your business is. A lot is a way to channel that as well.

[Taryn]

It. Yes. Yeah. It's really. It's in my business is when. Where I do most of it, I do. I enjoy cooking when I can get around to it. Yeah. At the end of the day, it just feels like a chore, unfortunately. Yeah.

[Caroline]

Well, when you're feeding. Yeah. Two kids yourself. Yeah.

[Taryn]

Right. And then, of course, you know, the dog and all of that good stuff. Right now, it's just painting. It's just painting.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Do you always go back to painting? Like, even if you try something else.

[Taryn]

It'S painting or sketching. I have to feel the pen or the brush on the canvas or the paper is something about that feeling. And watching something go from nothing to. Then this image or this thing on paper, the creation of it all is what's exciting for me.

[Caroline]

Well, I would think drawing seems. Is so much easier in a way than painting. Because you can pick it up and put it down, whereas I feel like paint. Well, my assumption would be you need a block of time. Right. Because once you get all your paints out and you have to clean them up and put them away, like, it's. It's not something you could pick up for five minutes.

[Taryn]

It's like starting a cold car that's been sitting under your driveway for a really long time. You know acrylics for sure, because they dry so fast.

[Caroline]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Taryn]

I'm teaching myself how to oil paint now because that'll extend the life and at least put it down for a few days and.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Come back to it. That's slow going, so. Yeah, I'm gonna get to that.

[Caroline]

Well, I've started needle pointing, and that is great, I think, for parents, because you can do it for five minutes, you could do it for two hours, but, like, it's easy to pick up and put away.

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

I could do it in the car while we're driving on a road trip. So is it.

[Taryn]

Is it like paint by numbers with the wooden ring?

[Caroline]

That's cross stitch, I believe.

[Taryn]

Oh, okay.

[Caroline]

It's like. It's kind of paint by numbers, but you're filling in the color with thread instead of like your.

[Taryn]

I feel like I used to watch my grandma do that. Yes. In her recliner. Yeah, yeah. And she would just sit there and watch the prices, Right.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yep. You know, it's the best thing ever.

[Caroline]

It's very, like, repetitive and so you can kind of turn your brain off, which is nice.

[Taryn]

It's all a meditation. I think any form of creativity is all a meditation, and you can just get lost. Lost in it. When I created that piece for. With my daughter for the show house, I would be up in that studio for hours, not eating. Yeah, you don't need to. Seven hours will go by. You know, the sun is set, we let it turn night.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It's like a trance, but it's the best trance you could ever be in.

[Taryn]

To just be fully engulfed in something which is not what we normally do in life. Right. Our presence is taken away. It's hijacked by so many different things these days. Social media.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

A lot of noise. And to be able to have. That's what it is. It's like that quiet space that you retreat into. And nothing else in the world exists but what you're creating at that point in time. There's just something so powerful about that.

[Caroline]

Do you ever have that with your girls? Or do they have that creative of spirit that you.

[Taryn]

They do both of them. Do. My oldest, she loves to draw. She's actually very talented. She loves anime, so it's funny to see her stress out. She's 11.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

And. And she's 11, and she stresses out. She goes, I just haven't found my art style yet.

[Caroline]

Oh. Oh, my Lord, that is. Let it come, honey.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I love it.

[Liz]

You don't need that.

[Taryn]

You've only been on Earth for 11 years. You've only been drawing for maybe six of those. Like, what are we talking about here? I just. I get so frustrated. I don't have my style yet.

[Caroline]

Oh, my gosh. Such a static, so wholesome and adorable.

[Taryn]

And I'm like, oh, please don't stress yourself out about it. Yeah. You know, like, she's about to start selling it tomorrow or something, and she has to. I know, it's funny. And I'm like, honey, don't worry about that. Just enjoy what you're doing and practice and play with a lot of different things, and it'll evolve over time. I took them to see the Van Gogh exhibit. Yeah. There's that immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Yeah. And it talks about his path from, you know, being an artist and how he came to be an artist and how even Japanese artwork truly inspired what he did. And so I showed her, hey, look, this is the evolution of his artwork. He didn't necessarily know his style in the beginning. He had to come into it. So just relax, kid. You'll be all right.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

I feel like that conversation always, or at least is similar to what we were talking about earlier of just, like, following trends or just seeing what everyone else is doing. And you're like, oh, I want to do exactly what they're doing, because that's perfect. But not realizing. No, find your own voice. You know, you're going to. You're going to drop things, you're going to mess up. You're not going to be perfect. But once you get there, once you continue through, it's perfect and beautiful.

[Taryn]

You got to do what's true to you. That's. That's the word of. Of right now, is authenticity. Right?

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I feel like that word has lost a little bit of its value because it's so overused. But that's really what it's all about. We're all here to have our own journey, our own experience that is true to who we are, true to our gifts. You know, I can't live your life. Your life is already taken. You know, I can't travel your road.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I've Got to travel mine.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

So, yeah, to see people lean into that. I try to preach that to my kids as much as I possibly can, you know.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Your art style will come and it'll be yours.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

It'll be no one else's.

[Taryn]

Nobody else do what you do. Exactly. Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Yeah, I love that.

[Caroline]

Well, I feel like the show too, was really tuned in to the heart and that authenticity of each of the families, so.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Really?

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Caroline]

It's a good theme to end on. Yeah. Well, Olivia, thank you so much for joining us. Can you tell everyone where they can watch the show, where they can find you?

[Taryn]

Yes, of course. Let's see, everywhere now. I'm all over the place. Place on Instagram at Olivia Westbrooks Interiors. The website is Olivia Westbrooks.com and the show streams on Hallmark plus, so it's not on cable. I've had a few people say to me, I don't have cable. I'm like, well, great. You don't need it. You know, you can get it on your phone, your laptop, your iPad, your TV, all the devices.

[Liz]

And the show is called Home is where the Heart Is.

[Taryn]

Home is where the Heart is on Hallmark plus us. All the episodes have aired now, so you can watch all six episodes. Binge, binge. You can download it for free right now for a week and watch all the episodes. So there are no excuses. And it's really just a fun, joy filled show. You're gonna cry. Yeah, I lived through it. I knew what was coming and I still cried watching it. Yeah.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Oh, don't wear makeup while you're watching.

[Taryn]

Right.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

At all.

[Taryn]

I know. Waterproof mascara. Yes.

[Olivia Westbrooks]

Bear everything.

[Taryn]

Yes. Well, I thank y' all for having me.

[Caroline]

This is a. Oh, my gosh. Please come back anytime.

[Taryn]

I would love to.

[Caroline]

And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog howtodecorate.com podcast to send in a decorating dilemma, email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space. And of course, be sure to follow us on social media. AlardeSigns.

[Liz]

Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review. We'd love to hear your feedback.

[Caroline]

Until next time, happy decorating.