When asked what their favorite word is, most people will tell you it’s “home.” Home is a character, home is alive, home is our first form of memory, home is what we’re always trying to create, hold onto, get back to.
I believe writers, artists and designers are the raw nerve of the universe. It’s our job to go out and feel things for people and then give these feelings back through story and design. I believe in romanticizing your life by prioritizing the way your home looks and feels. I believe making your home beautiful is a way to love yourself more. I believe in being brave, rearranging furniture, rearranging your life, making mistakes, starting over, getting weird, getting started. I believe in trusting your instincts and thumbing your nose at trends. I believe in letting some things be imperfectly perfect and not resting until other things are just so. I believe your home should consider all your senses. I believe every room needs something whimsical and a little weird. I believe in things getting ugly before they get beautiful. I believe in mixing old and new, high and low, soft and rough. I believe in making your bed in the morning. I believe being barefoot is a lifestyle and that living well is accessible for all of us.
About Ellen.
I’m a Nashville native who has always told stories. I graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2004 with a degree in creative writing. For the past two decades, I’ve told stories with words. Now, I also tell them with pretty objects in pretty rooms.
For me, design is as all-encompassing as falling in love. It’s passion and wonder. I lie awake at night thinking of it, find it in my dreams, wake with it swimming in my mind’s eye. Design is a source of joy and of hope for me, and I’d love to share it with you. Let’s create some joy and hope together in your home and in your life.
Likes: Fresh sheets. Old quilts. Florals. Buffalo check, plaid, gingham and scallops. Antique stores, flea markets and Facebook Marketplace treasures. The paint aisle at the hardware store.
Dislikes: When everything is brand spanking new and straight out of a catalog. Putting the duvet cover on. Fake plants.