{"id":2109,"date":"2018-08-24T21:57:14","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T21:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/?p=2109"},"modified":"2018-08-29T15:22:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T15:22:46","slug":"donna-garlough-style-sherpa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/24\/donna-garlough-style-sherpa\/","title":{"rendered":"Donna Garlough: The Style Sherpa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donna Garlough<\/a> is the Style Director for e-commerce giant Joss & Main. The long-time magazine editor, serial renovator and blogger is an expert at understanding how non-designers think about furnishing and decorating their homes. Her new book,\u00a0Your Home, Your Style: How to Find Your Look & Create Rooms You Love,\u00a0<\/span><\/em>was born of these professional and personal experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“On the personal side, I have zero formal training in design,” says Donna. “Yet I\u2019m incredibly passionate about the home\u2014I\u2019ve renovated two houses, top to bottom\u2014and my background as a lifestyle magazine editor has compelled me to rethink decorating from both an insider and outsider point of view.”<\/p>\n

Unlike most design books, Your Home, Your Style<\/em>, puts the focus on the personality and tastes of the reader, and features homes that were decorated by their owners.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I asked readers, ‘How are you wired to decorate? What\u2019s your individual design disposition? How do you want your home to feel and function?'” says Donna, who partnered with photographer Joyelle West<\/a> on the project. “What we ended up with was a collection of cool and quirky spaces that are original, imperfect, and full of character, paired with a ton of tips that’ll get readers thinking about the possibilities in their own spaces.”<\/p>\n

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Photography: Joyelle West.<\/p><\/div>\n

The New York Times<\/em> calls your book, “an easily digestible guide that may turn the pain points of renovation into creative epiphanies.” Can you tell us about some of the creative epiphanies in the book?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

“There are so many cool, quirky design moments in the book,” says Donna. “One homeowner took a really weird bump-out in her bedroom and turned it into the most inviting window seat (see below). Another had an awkwardly positioned doorway in her bedroom, so she covered it up with a vintage sail.”<\/p>\n

“In my own kitchen, which is shown in the book, I wanted to relocate the sink so it was positioned in front of the window. But the window extended well below counter height. Instead of shortening the window opening, we built a planter into the gap, the top of which sits flush with the countertop, so that we could have herbs growing out from behind the faucet. It\u2019s a cool feature.”<\/p>\n

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Photography: Joyelle West.<\/p><\/div>\n

At Joss & Main, you’re largely working with new furnishings and decorative objects. Any tips for layering in items of different eras?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I think that old items bring an added level of character and interest to new ones and vice versa. I don\u2019t have any hard and fast rules about what styles and eras you can mix together,” says Donna. “Just follow the same general styling guidelines whether the items are old or new: vary the height, cluster items together so they sort of ‘talk’ to each other, and try to create some sort of common thread between pieces, whether that\u2019s color, style, or theme.”<\/p>\n

\n

“I love the energy that new pieces lend to a space, but old pieces bring soul. Likewise, very organic pieces can make very sleek ones looks even more so. Magic happens when you put opposing elements together.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“For example, I often find that clean, contemporary furniture pieces in a clean, contemporary interior can look sterile, and antiques sitting next to antiques can look drab,” says Donna. “But put that sculptural modern seat on a vintage rug<\/a>, or place a weathered Parisian chair in a cool loft with a cement floor, and BOOM. They\u2019re both transformed.”<\/p>\n

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Photography: Joyelle West.<\/p><\/div>\n

In the book, you say that it’s\u00a0always\u00a0<\/em>a good time to decorate. Could you expand on that for our readers?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Our parents and grandparents lived by different rules,” explains Donna. “You typically bought a home in your twenties and stayed in it until your kids were grown, and bought pieces you\u2019d want to keep for 40 years\u2014or be willing to keep, anyway. Today we\u2019re much more transient\u2014we rent longer, we buy starter homes, we relocate cross-country or across oceans for jobs\u2014but we still feel bound by the old timelines and the old ways of nesting. Properly furnishing a rental or buying decorative items when you\u2019ll be moving in a year feels indulgent and even wasteful. But it doesn\u2019t have to be. If you\u2019re thoughtful about your purchases, you\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0be able to use them or sell them again. I promise.”<\/p>\n

You also recommend that everyone create a room mock-up. Tell us more.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

“A room mock-up is a tool that I\u2019ve used in almost every project I\u2019ve taken on, whether it was a celebrity room makeover for Joss & Main or a renovation project in my own home. Essentially it\u2019s just a singular place, analog or digital, where you can see all of the items that are in (and going into) your space,” says Donna.<\/p>\n

“That visual allows you to quickly and efficiently identify what\u2019s missing, decide whether new items will work, and know whether you\u2019re nailing the overall vibe you originally wanted. You can make a mockup by printing color pictures of items and sticking them to paper, using design software like Photoshop or \u201cview in room\u201d apps from different retailers, or even just pasting images into a Powerpoint slide. Any method that lets you look at your stuff together will help you make better choices” she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photography: Joyelle West.<\/p><\/div>\n

People\u00a0 love to collect design images, but it seems like that’s where a lot of them get stuck. Why do you think that might be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I think a lot of people don\u2019t know what they\u2019re looking for, or what to do with the images afterward. But if you take a beat from time to time and look at all of the images you\u2019ve saved side-by-side, you\u2019ll often see themes emerging\u2014color themes, d\u00e9cor themes, material themes. You might not realize that you\u2019re obsessed with sheepskin throws, for example, until you notice you\u2019ve saved pictures of ten rooms containing them. Or you might not notice that every room you like has big, beautiful plants or a vintage rug. Take notes of these commonalities and see if you can incorporate them into your d\u00e9cor plans,” she says.<\/p>\n

Your own home is light and airy, with off-white walls\u2014but you made the leap to bold, saturated color in your wallpapered powder room. What inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Because I like to tinker with my d\u00e9cor, most of the big pieces of furniture and big stretches of wall are flexible neutrals that will work no matter what pillows, throws, lamps, art, and accents I currently have in the space,” explains Donna. “Many of the rooms are painted Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore, which is just dark enough to highlight the white door casings and ceiling moldings, but still reads as bright and clean.”<\/p>\n

“That said, I love to bring in unexpected hits of saturated color as a counterpoint. I love it when you open the door to a space and are completely surprised by what\u2019s there. The powder room seemed like the perfect opportunity to create that, as it\u2019s a contained space, and it\u2019s one that\u2019s already a little goofy because of its small size\u2014not much bigger than an airplane lavatory.”<\/p>\n

“I picked Bain de Minuit by Christian Lacroix for Designers Guild. We didn\u2019t need very many rolls, since the bathroom is teeny tiny. The blue hue echoes the cobalt shade I use as an accent in the adjacent kitchen (cookware, tea towels, and the like), and the pattern is somewhere between marbleized paint, rolling waves, or the lines of a geode. Very flowy and liquid\u2014perfect for a room with a door labeled ‘WC’ (water closet).”<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photography: Joyelle West.<\/p><\/div>\n

Your first book was all about green living, does that ethos continue to inform your design approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I co-authored\u00a0The Green Guide: A Complete Reference to Consuming Wisely<\/em>, along with editors of National Geographic\u2019s The Green Guide back in 2008,” says Donna. “While I\u2019ve shifted focus a lot since then\u2014home is what\u2019s on my mind most of the time these days\u2014I think there\u2019s a common attitude of living and shopping with purpose in both titles. What you buy, and how you buy, says a lot about your attitude and values. I hope\u00a0Your Home, Your Style\u00a0<\/em>helps people feel more at home and empowered to create spaces that truly reflect who they are right now.”<\/p>\n

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Your Home, Your Style: How to Find Your Look & Create Rooms You Love.<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Are you an architect or designer with a story to tell?<\/h2>\n

Join Our Trade Program<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Register with us<\/a> to receive exclusive discounts and benefits, plus free shipping on your first order. Trade professionals are also eligible for collaborative features on our blog and social media channels. Please note that trade registration with PAGODA RED is only open to interior design and architecture professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donna Garlough is the Style Director for e-commerce giant Joss & Main. The long-time magazine editor, serial renovator and blogger is an expert at understanding how non-designers think about furnishing and decorating their homes. Her new book,\u00a0Your Home, Your Style: How to Find Your Look & Create Rooms You Love,\u00a0was born of these professional and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDonna Garlough: The Style Sherpa - PAGODA RED Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/24\/donna-garlough-style-sherpa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Donna Garlough: The Style Sherpa - PAGODA RED Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Donna Garlough is the Style Director for e-commerce giant Joss & Main. 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