Your Space, Made Simple: Interior Design That's Approachable, Affordable, and Sustainable

Introduction

Maybe you’ve just moved into a new home and are determined to make it feel uniquely you. Or maybe you’ve been living in the same space for years, but it’s never quite looked the way you wanted. Whatever has brought you to this book, welcome! I’m glad you’re here.

You may have spent hours flipping through fancy interior design books, scrolling past pretty pictures on Pinterest, and wandering down the aisles of home goods stores. Perhaps you already have a vision for how you want your home to look, but you aren’t quite sure how to achieve it—or how you’ll afford it. More often than not, that decision fatigue probably leads to impulsive purchases you later regret—and to one more trendy throw pillow tossed into your donate pile.

I’m on a mission to put an end to all these common headaches. I want to show you not just what good design looks like, but how to finally achieve it. I want to bring interior design to the masses and challenge my industry’s elitist attitude that beautiful home design is only for the uber-wealthy. I want you to leave this book feeling like approachable, affordable, and sustainable design is within your reach.

What follows in this book are my best how-tos for every room of your home. Whether you live in a small apartment in the city or a big house in the suburbs, I’ve got advice to make every space work for you, not against you.

Part 1 of this book introduces you to my Design Process, breaking down my methodology to teach you the foundations of functional and sustainable design. Then Part 2 dives into my cookbook for interior design. Part of the reason I formatted Your Space, Made Simple as a cookbook is because I love the challenge of breaking down design into a simple process that can be followed like a recipe. If you have the right ingredients and clear instructions, then you should be able to make something quite similar. And after you’ve had a little bit of practice, you can add your own spices, a tweak of a step here or there, to come up with something that works even better for you and your space.

The first set of design recipes you’ll see are the Base Palette recipes. A base palette includes design elements that you can find in nearly every space, such as window treatments, area rugs, and color palettes. It’s the tool designers use to create subtle cohesion.

All other recipes are organized by room: entryway, bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office, and outdoors. As you browse these sections, you can find recipes that work for your particular space and implement them. I invite you to browse these recipes, find the ones that speak to you, and bring them to your loved ones.

Now before we roll up our sleeves and get to work, let’s take a moment to learn what approachable, affordable, and sustainable design is all about…

Approachable

Interior design is often described as a set of rules or styles that you’re supposed to follow. If there’s one key lesson I want you to learn from this book, it’s this: style doesn’t matter!

Seriously! I mean it! One of the most common questions I get asked is, What’s your style? and my answer is always, I don’t have one. As a designer, I always see my primary job as creating a space full of function. Design is a series of solutions to the specific problems of that space and the people who occupy it. The solutions that work in one context don’t always translate to what will work in another context.

On my mission to make design approachable for everyone, I’ve become best known for my design hacks on social media. I love breaking down the how of interior design for anyone to use for free. Everyone should have the opportunity to learn solutions to improve their spaces. While interior design is a complex system that requires education and experience to master, hundreds of design elements and principles are simple and easy to adapt for anyone, at any skill level.

Affordable

Design is about making your space work for your individual needs and helping you to feel the way you want to feel in your own space. Too often I’ve seen my fellow designers create incredible spaces for clients that they’re unable to access for themselves. I strongly believe there’s no reason that interior design can’t be made to be affordable for everyone. Here are a few ways I like to combat the extravagance of interior design in favor of affordability:

SOURCE FROM VENDORS AT EVERY PRICE RANGE: We don’t all have the luxury of buying full-out custom or high-end furniture, and that’s okay! Don’t be afraid to invest in the things you care about and will use constantly, like your sofa or dining table. The things you use less, spend less on—like table lamps, side tables, and throw pillows.

RELY ON YOUR NETWORK: If you’re new to this whole interior design thing, you probably have a list of hundreds of questions, and an even longer to-do list. Write them all down! Think about who you know that might be able to help you answer a few questions off your list. Designers work collaboratively with each other, and we rely on advice from other designers to bounce ideas off of—why not do the same within your own network of people? Even a close friend with great taste could be a fantastic resource!

GET LOUD: Who said you can’t reach out to designers you admire? Send them DMs or emails and ask for advice. You might be surprised with the level of support you receive! Even if you only pay for an hour or two, that can be the difference between a messy home and a functional, beautiful one. Raise your voice and see what you can learn.

Design is about making your own rules, not fitting yourself into someone else’s.

Sustainable

The interior design industry is responsible for millions of tons of waste—per year. Every single year, waste from furniture and interior-related materials gets dumped in our landfills.

But interior designers can have a much bigger impact on climate change than most even realize. While still in school, I earned LEED AP ID+C and WELL AP certifications so that I could specialize in environmentally friendly design. Now, at Ariel Arts, we aim to source at least 90 percent of our materials sustainably. I encourage you to do the same!

What do I mean by sustainable? Here are a few ways you can make sure your own designs are sustainable, too:

REUSE, UPCYCLE, BUY VINTAGE, RECYCLE, AND DONATE: The first rule of sustainability is to make as little waste as possible. I encourage my clients and audiences to use as many pieces that they already own as possible. Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint or a good steam clean is all you need to give new life to an old piece. For those items you know no longer work for you, donating or recycling them is the best way to prevent them from entering landfills. And when you can, go vintage! There are so many beautiful secondhand items out there that don’t require any new materials to be made.

LOOK FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LABELS: Increasingly, consumers consider a company’s environmental footprint before becoming customers. But greenwashing—when a company spends more time and money marketing themselves as environmentally conscious rather than truly investing in sustainable practices—can deceive customers trying to put their money where their values are. When shopping for new items, I look for a few labels that help us determine whether products were made sustainably: FSC Wood (Forest Stewardship Council is considered the gold standard of wood harvesting)[1]; GREENGUARD (certification that ensures interior products are low in chemical emissions, decreasing indoor pollution levels)[2]; Sustainable Furnishing Council (a membership organization for companies committed to creating, selling, and promoting sustainable furnishings products); and Cradle to Cradle (certification for products that are safe, circular, and responsibly made)[3].

REDUCE ADDITIONAL WASTE: Anything you purchase has the potential to create more waste and environmental consequences. To mitigate this, I recommend looking for products that are locally made by locally owned businesses. For most of my clients, Made in USA is a good start. But you can find incredible things even closer to home! By shopping locally, you reduce the waste and emissions associated with shipping products. Smaller businesses also tend to produce less waste in the creation of products, as they rarely overproduce and have a tighter supply chain. This goes for handmade, artisan-made, and small-batch products as well.

CHAPTER ONE

Function

I know you’re excited to dive into colors, textures, furniture, and decor! But to set you up for success, start with function. Why function first?

It makes everything else straightforward. By determining your needs from your space from the outset, you can effortlessly filter out hundreds of potential choices and pick from just those that you know will work for you.

You’ll be happier in your space. Creating spaces in your home that work for your unique needs can help make you calmer and happier. It will also be easier to live your life the way you want to live it!

It empowers you to get it right the first time. You do not want to go through the process of designing a beautiful new space just to find out it doesn’t really work for you, and then have to do it all over again!

It’s more sustainable. Recall that we dump millions of tons of furniture waste every year. Trends are fleeting. They change quickly. Instead of looking for what’s trendy (in other words, what will just go out of style next year), design should be created to last for years to come. You’ll be happier longer and create less waste!

Generally, two important aspects determine your functionality needs: 1) How you already live your life, and 2) What makes you, well…you!

Lastly, before we dive in, I must note that this process will only work if you’re totally honest with yourself. To do that, you have to make a promise first: this is a judgment-free zone!

Seriously, stop listening to the noise. Stop listening to advice that doesn’t truly resonate with you. Whoever you are and however you live is worthy. It really is! We have all been taught that there is a way we should look, talk, express interest, or just be. The design problem with that engrained approach is that if you try to mold yourself into some unachievable ideal, you’ll create a space that’s meant for someone else. It might be beautiful, but it won’t be you.

So, let’s make something that’s just for the unique, real, and beautiful you!

Do you promise to get honest? Do you promise not to criticize yourself? Woohoo! Grab something to write with so that you can take notes as you read through these sections. Let’s get started!

How Do You Live Your Life?

Let’s take stock of your habits. What are your frequent habits? Your occasional habits? Your aspirational habits? I like to categorize habits as daily, workweek, weekend, and special occasion.

While plenty of your habits are easy to identify, you might not be as aware of others. Start by jotting down what you can now and then try to observe your day-to-day behavior over the next week or so. As you notice more habits, add them to your notes.

Daily Habits

Most of our daily, at-home habits happen at the beginning and then end of the day—when we’re home! Here are some example daily habits:

BEGINNING OF THE DAY: put on slippers; drink coffee or tea; catch up on social media or the news; exercise

END OF THE DAY: drop backpacks, coats, keys, and other items by the front door or mudroom; kick off shoes; make dinner; watch TV or read

As you write down these habits, you can start to see how design will come into play. I can’t tell you how many people I know who’ve lost their keys from time to time—I used to, too! So what’s the design solution? Dedicate a bowl or hooks by the door for keys, and you’ll always know where they are. Create a healthy habit of having a place to put them each time and you won’t lose your keys anymore. This is the perfect example of identifying that annoying habit and creating a new healthy one out of it.

You can also plan for aspirational daily habits. Remember to be realistic and gentle here. We’re not trying to mold ourselves into some superhuman version! These aspirations should be small changes that will make you feel a little happier or calmer.

One example of this is that when we first moved in together, my fiancé would