September 18, 2019

Give Me Moore

September 18, 2019/ Meryl

Sometimes you meet someone and think - they’re awesome! So much so - that you want to share your little corner of the Interweb with them!

So please meet my friend Teri Moore. An Interior Designer living in Nashville with her wife, daughter, two cats and two fish. She’s very funny, talented, extremely helpful and likes wine - I’ve already said she’s awesome!

I asked Teri what she was like growing up. “I was always one of those kids who wanted to be with adults. I craved attention from teachers, aunts, women in roles of authority my entire childhood. I abhorred being around people my own age. I have distinct memories of being forced to play with the other kids at social gatherings and thinking to myself that their conversations were so boring and remedial - AT AGE FIVE!

I think I came out of the womb as a 40-something.”

**Kitchen and family room In Previous home**

She went on to add: “Similarly, when the other girls my age were only focused on caring for their dolls, I was busy organizing and decorating my playhouse. No joke: I hung my first piece of framed artwork over the baby’s crib in my childhood playroom. I was probably six at the time and I found a hammer and a nail and installed it by myself.”

By the time Teri was in school she realized all the “good” TV came on during the day - when she was forced to be away - totally bored at school. “Learning came naturally for me. I was always the first to finish my lessons and the lack of stimuli really annoyed me. So I became very good at feigning illness.”

Teri and her older sister were latchkey kids because their parents worked two jobs. Teri often stayed home alone and spent her childhood “sick days” watching Martha Stewart, Christopher Lowell and Debbie Travis. “I baked myself cakes and pretended I was the head of the household. Have you ever known a child who spent her free time reorganizing the kitchen? No. Well, now you have! That was me!”

Teri can look back now on her early years and see she was destined to be a designer. At the time, however, it wasn’t her life’s passion. From the youngest age she’d always wanted to be a performer. From about 5th Grade she made a plan to become a stage actor and spent all of her free time working towards that goal. By 18, she was working as a professional actor and also teaching improvisation classes with a local group. She enrolled at Columbia College Chicago to study Theater but, only stayed a few weeks before having to leave and head back to Nashville to find a job due to finances.

At the same time, she began experiencing what she now knows were panic attacks. As her anxiety grew, she could no longer perform onstage.

“I would feel a shortness of breath - even at the thought of being in front of a crowd. By my early 20s, I’d stopped acting altogether and had taken a job as a Sales Director for a local publishing company. My sales career was a successful one, though short-lived.”

**entry hall in previous home. Teri Diy-ed the console table**

In 2007 Teri bought her first house: a 1920s Craftsman Bungalow in desperate need of repair and renovations. Shortly after she and her partner began working on it, the recession hit and Teri lost her corporate job. It would be three years before she was able to find steady employment.

Luckily, Teri had honed a lot of renovation and DIY skills during the remodeling of that first house. Thanks to knowledgeable retired contractors at the local hardware store and a plethora of up-and-coming DIY blogs, she was able to teach herself how to use both hand and power tools. Those skills sustained her life during her unemployment.

While Teri was still job hunting she had a brainstorm - she started walking up and down the alleys in her neighborhood looking for discarded, broken furniture.

“I brought each piece home and lovingly restored and resold them. It wasn’t an easy gig but, it put food on the table and it left me feeling a real sense of accomplishment and fulfillment for the first time since I’d quit acting.”

**Teri working on the diningroom in their previous home**

In 2010, they’d sold that home and were living in an apartment; that didn’t really leave room for furniture refinishing projects. Teri took a job in Corporate Healthcare, she loathed the work both mentally and morally; but it allowed her to work from home. Because her panic attacks had become debilitating during her 20s, she couldn’t drive. As a result, she staying in that position for seven years! “To offset my boredom at work, my wife Christine and I began buying and renovating houses. We sold each house for a profit after the renovations. Once again, a lot of the work in each house was completed by us. Our friends and neighbors noticed that our homes were always beautifully designed and would ask for our decorating sources and contractors (spoiler: it was me!)”

**Teri in her beautiful finished design**

She went on to say that for six years she assisted friends and family with renovations and designing their spaces. Still she never once considered doing this for a living. She didn’t think anyone would actually pay her for the work she was doing. After all, she had no formal education in design.

I asked Teri if this was when she made the leap and started T. Moore Home - she paused and said it’s wasn’t a direct route.

Teri openly shared her struggle after giving birth to their daughter. “After our daughter was born, I suffered a long bout of Postpartum Depression that kicked my anxiety into high gear. For nearly two years, I could barely leave our home at all without a panic attack. My mental health was in shambles and it was taking my marriage with it."

Finally in 2017 Teri sought help from a doctor who was able to differentiate her symptoms from Depression. The doctor immediately took her off her Depression medicine, diagnosed her with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and prescribed an SNRI (Serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor).

“I cannot stress this enough: That small switch has completely altered the course of my life. After a few months on the SNRI, I was able to see in vivid color again. I could feel joy and anticipation wasn’t marred by dread. I felt as alive and energetic as I had in my teen years.”

At that same time, the family moved into a home that didn’t need any renovations. However, their new next door neighbor had completely gutted his house after a fire and was in the beginning stages of renovation. After a few weeks of chatting casually about his design plans, he asked Teri to oversee the project as the Lead Designer. She was thrilled and shocked! “He wanted to pay me to do that thing I’d always just done for free!?!”

**Teri and her wife Christine in their previous homes office space**

Within a month, Teri had gotten her business license, registered an LLC and built a website. Without even discussing it with her wife Christine, she began calculating business costs and building a new dream for herself.“It took me a while to feel confident enough to leave my corporate job and there are times when I still feel the pressure of running a business by myself and being solely responsible for producing income. But in 2018, I decided to focus all my energy on my business and left the corporate world behind.”

I complimented Teri telling her that not only did I love her design work but, that I am so impressed with her as a blogger. She offers a plethora of DIY knowledge along with information about websites and the back end of blogging to her readers. I asked her if she’s always had this easy I’m here to help philosophy. “Aw, thank you! That makes me feel so good! That’s exactly why I do it, I’m sure! I love praise at some inherent, visceral level. Ha! But seriously, I grew up in a house that wasn’t a home. I dreaded walking through the door every afternoon and I couldn’t wait to build my own life with a home that felt like a sanctuary for me.”

Teri went on to share: “In my adult life, I’ve extended that theory that everyone deserves a home that evokes solace through my business. However, I don’t believe that right is exclusive to those who have a lot of money. I keep my rates as low as I possibly can without bankrupting my family. Even then, I know the majority of people still can’t afford to hire someone to come make their homes beautiful. So I like to provide tips and tutorials for people so that they can experience the luxury of having a beautiful home, regardless of ability to pay for it.”

She went on to add that she’s going to her grave as a DIYer. She likes getting lost in a pile of scrap wood and coming out the other end with something she can be proud of. Since she’s doing the project anyway she muses: “Why not photograph them and let other people get inspired to tackle their own projects?” She did admit writing the blog is a ton of work and might stop some day. But, for now she’s enjoying it and while not massively financially rewarding, it makes her happy to do it.

I asked Teri what her goals were for the rest of 2019.

When I started my business, I was offering only eDesign services to nationwide clients. Slowly, the business has evolved and I’ve begun taking on more full-service, local design projects. My goal for 2019 is to shift the focus of my design work to 90% local design.
I also plan to open a very niche service that will assist in designing, organizing, and planning home offices for the large portion of Nashvillians who work from home. Working from home can be difficult without a good plan in place. Since I have so much experience with the ins and outs of telecommuting, I want to pass along my knowledge to those who find themselves in this lucky position.
On a more personal level, I want to simplify my life. The past few years have been really hectic. My work hours have been kind of crazy and I’m finally in a place with my business that makes a more traditional 40-hour work week feel achievable.

We recently moved back to our beloved neighborhood of East Nashville, where my home renovation journey began over 12 years ago and we bought a much smaller house. Our house is almost 100 years old and needs A LOT of work. While I’d really like to start tackling projects straight away, I want to take it all in first. I want to walk to the park with my wife and daughter; to enjoy evenings on the front porch with friends. I want to get back to living again. I love my business - I really do! - but I love my family and I’d love to see them more.

T.Moore Home Logo

I want to share with you all that Teri is always accepting new design clients. Her phone consultations are free and all rates are posted on her website.

For free design tips and project ideas, everyone can follow the blog at T Moore Home.

Teri LOVES her Instagram family. She’s a huge fan of supporting other designers, bloggers (I can attest to this - she has shared me and her logo in my sidebar). Her actual family is also super funny, she shares a lot about her personal life in her Instagram Stories. Teri also looks to amplifying the voices of the undeserved communities worldwide. She offers mindful talk about many subjects the human race struggle with. Follow her here.

I hope you have enjoyed getting a peek at this talented lady - I’ve enjoyed introducing you!

Til next time friends!

August 28, 2019

Let’s Meet Alison Sheffield

August 28, 2019/ Meryl

Hi Gang! This week I want to introduce you to a lady who inspires me daily - not only through her Interior Design work but, with her zest for life and wonderful endearing nature.

Alison Sheffield shares a glorious Bow Roof Cape in Cohassett, MA with husband Stephen Sheffield a talented Artist and Photographer; sons Milo, 14 and Finn, 11; and some sweet furry family members - their adorable pup Evvie and cats Otto & Puck.

I’ve been following Alison on social media for years … and over that time we’ve become friends. This greater Boston area designer has been working in the industry for over 15 years. I know you will enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

Alison grew up in Wellesley, MA in a home filled with antique furniture and rugs, many with an Asian influence. She always loved rearranging furniture and decorating growing up and remembers three distinct incarnations of her childhood bedroom. Her mother wallpapered every room in their house at least once; so using wallpaper doesn’t feel permanent to Alison and its why she embraces it so effortlessly in her own home and with her clients.

Both sets of grandparents decorated with antiques. Her paternal grandparents foyer and upstairs hall walls were covered in Blue & White Toile. It was a huge influence on her.

“Before I even knew what Chinoiserie was, I was smitten with it.”

A Peek into the Butlers Pantry from the Kitchen

Alison told me decorating her freshman college dorm room was a summer-long activity, involving custom pillow shams and lots and lots of Laura Ashley.

“Decorating every space I’ve lived in since has been as much of a thrill.”

Recently Alison’s Home which she designed was published in Erin Gates newest bestseller: ELEMENTS OF Family STYLE. As an example of how to live stylishly with children and pets. During her career she has also been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and Boston Globe Magazine.

While living in that dorm room she studied English, Art History, and Women’s Studies and remarked that all these disciplines have been helpful and relevant in her life since.

After college she worked for John Hancock in their major events department. Which ran events surrounding their corporate sponsorships of the Boston Marathon and the Olympics. From there she ended up at The Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, running smaller fundraising events. That morphed into managing the Stewardship Events for the hospital’s development office - which included naming dedications and thank you events for very large donations.

Alison decided she really wanted to try her hand at interior design. She attended design school where she focused on - the history of furniture, architecture, color theory, lighting and the decorative arts. While attending The New England School of Design she worked part time for the - then regional editor for Traditional Home and Better Homes & Gardens. Alison did research and interviewed designers about their spaces and she would write up the first pass for her boss. Her boss pitched she and Stephen’s home in Boston to BH&G for their First Home feature and it was published in the September issue just before their oldest son was born that December. The article was called A Marriage of Styles and described how they’d meshed their different aesthetics in their first home.

Alison added that she wasn’t exposed to anything very “modern” or “contemporary” until she met Stephen, an artist whose Father an architect is a fan of the Bauhaus movement, and whose Mother is a master of all the home arts (cooking, sewing, knitting, quilting, gardening, etc.). The home he grew up in had a much more modern slant, and its what he was surrounding himself with when they met. She shared that he doesn’t have bad style and that he’s actually very good at putting a space together. He leans toward the utilitarian (especially when he was in art school – think sawhorses and hollow-core doors) with a bit of an edge. At the time they met her style was still entirely traditional – mahogany furniture, Persian rugs, toile wallpaper.

“Incorporating his style with mine was a tremendous learning experience for me. Figuring out how to balance the different silhouettes, styles and materials and make each sing in its own way, 100% changed how I approached design.”

Their son Milo’s nursery was featured in Boston Globe Magazine. With that exposure she was able to cobble together enough work to start Sheffield Interiors. Over the years she’s done primarily residential work, with a few commercial/hospitality jobs in the mix.

“Homes really are my passion. Creating an environment a client loves is so important to me. To be able to give them a space that reflects who they are and what they love brings me joy.”

Alison shared that her style still definitely slants toward the traditional. She’ll always turn toward antiques and vintage rugs, but offset them with clean lines and more up-to-date textures or finishes.

“I use a lot pattern and color because I LOVE them. I consider jewel tones and animal prints pretty much a given in most designs I create. And there’s nothing more important in creating a timeless and classic room than layering. And art, always art.“

I asked what the rest of 2019 held -

Alison is thrilled to be participating in the 3rd annual Heading Home To Dinner event in October. The event works to raise funds to provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing and supportive services to homeless and formerly homeless families and individuals in the Boston area.

This event brings members of the local design community together to support this incredibly important organization. Tickets are sold to a cocktail reception, as well as a formal dinner, during which bar carts created by local designers are auctioned off. You can see her concept for the bar cart she’s designing - the inspiration is a collage created by her husband Stephen Sheffield.

She wants to expand her client base, and continue to create and collect beauty!

New Logo

Alison will be updating her website, in the meantime she’s using Instagram as a portfolio of her work. She loves the connections she’s made both professionally and personally as well as the inspiration she gets from the creative community on the app.

“I’m currently working with an artist on my branding.”

Her next-door neighbor was a decorator and the most glamorous person Alison knew and she wanted to be her when she grew up! Well, Alison you’ve succeeded in Spades!!!

Pop over and check out Alison’s feed and follow along, you’ll be so happy!

Til next time - have a terrific week and I’ll see you on the Gram!

All Images by Alison Sheffield

June 26, 2019

Amazing Abbey

June 26, 2019/ Meryl

Meet my amazing friend Abbey! She is wonderfully artistic soul. Her passion is bringing great design to life through her paint brushes, creativity and hard work!

The first image that caught my eye on Abbey’s IG feed was this mural she painted on the wall of her Diningroom in her Nashville, TN home that she shares with her husband Jake, their mini Australian shepherd Jet and their rescue cat Gracie.

The Newly Installed Backsplash adds much wanted color to the Kitchen.

She hails from Yorkville, IL. located in the suburbs of Chicago. She’s part of a big, loud family and counts herself lucky to have two parents that are still married and very much in love. Her parents are an incredible source of love and support for her and her three siblings. She shared that in 2006, right around the same time as the recession, her Father was diagnosed with a rare blood disease that acts similarly to Leukemia and he had to have open-heart surgery and couldn’t work for six months. The second child of four Abbey looks to older brother Adam when she wants to vent, she goes to her sister Anna when she needs a laugh and her youngest sister Amy is the go to when she needs a hug!

“I didn’t realize how rare these relationships were until I was older. I am so absolutely freaking blessed with the family I have.”

Abbey and Jake met through mutual friends at the tender age of 11. She clearly remembers holding his hand in a hammock in her best friends backyard. They both grew up and grew apart. When Abbey was 18 she moved to Chicago and they rekindled their friendship; she was already in the midst of a serious relationship. As she and Jake grew closer she started the inevitable journey out of one relationship and into another; breaking it off with her boyfriend and kissing Jake in a span of two days. They tied not knot at the ripe old age of 21!

“I like to follow my gut, and it has yet to fail me.”

They bought their first house on Nashville’s south side in 2014 and flipped it - selling in 2016 for 100% profit! She shares they were very fortunate in so many ways with regards to that experience - they had support of their families and they bought at at great time in the Market but, it all boils down to working hard, learning a lot and saving as much money as possible.

They moved on to their current home after selling the flip. You can see the way it looked when they bought in below right it was a 1960s/80s renovated gem. They have spent much of the last three years renovating it themselves - everything from electrical to landscaping and design has been their doing.

2019

2016

Abbey told me that their current home has brought her so much joy. While it’s not their dream home (that’s a cabin in the woods somewhere) creating this with her best friend has been the greatest joy of her life. Since they flipped their previous house they didn’t put their own stamp on it. This home is another story completely - they have moved from space to space redoing and tweaking. The mural, the paint, the backsplash, the tiling on the front stoop and new door and the landscaping. They are beyond proud live in something they have created and is so uniquely their vision. It feels like home to she and Jake -

“Home is a feeling, not a place, but I mean... this place and this person and the animals inside of it makes me feel like I’m home.”

Abbey told me she studied creative writing with a goal of being a poet and writer. She attended school for two years before dropping out - she befriended one of her professors and she sat Abbey down one day and dropped a bomb informing her that she didn’t need a degree to do the things she wanted to do.

“No adult had ever told me I could leave school. School was the thing you did - you go, you graduate, you get a job. She rocked my world and changed my life. I wasted no time and left school that semester.”

After dropping out, she did freelance makeup for a few years while also working at Sephora. She felt liberated and she flourished.

“I could be creative and help make people feel happy. The combination was intoxicating.”

I asked Abbey to share how she got into design. I asked if she read magazines or designed spaces when she was growing up.

“I didn’t and still don’t read design magazines. We were lower-middle class growing up and a magazine subscription was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Interior design is always been something I gravitated towards but didn’t pursue because, in my head, it required a degree I didn’t have.”

As a kiddo Abbey would lock herself in her bedroom and just create artwork for hours on end. As she got older, her Mother let her paint on her bedroom walls. Her first mural was a giant purple thistle with tons of greenery. She spent the money made waitressing at a local restaurant on car insurance and gas - anything leftover went to paint, paintbrushes and canvases.

“When I went away to college, I was so broke. I would frequently get low-balance alerts on my phone, but as soon as the money hit on payday, you bet my ass was in-line at Michael’s waiting to pay for art supplies. They were and are as vital to me as my groceries and rent.”

She and Jake kept their first house neutral and she told me they painted it so many shades of grey - they nicknamed it “the fifty shades of grey” house. It wasn’t until they moved into their current home that Abbey started thinking about design - experimented with colors, re-arranged furnishing and whole rooms - rethinking their functions. She fell in love with interiors during this process. She shared she woke up energized and would go to bed at night feeling the same - all because of the way the house made her feel This was a new thing for her and she couldn’t get enough.

“Initially, I would document our process on my personal Instagram account and much to my surprise, it garnered a lot of praise. I had never in my life thought that something I would create, whether a room or a painting, would beget such a positive reaction.”

In January Abbey launched an Instagram account solely devoted to their home.

I inquired what her plans were for the rest of 2019.

“Our realtor Mark (who is now a friend and an absolutely wonderful man) contacted me recently asking if I was planning on getting into interior design as a profession. - The day before, I’d been reading You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, in which she outlines a path of success through what is basically trusting your gut. In this book, Sincero discusses at length the powerful nature of speaking your goals into the universe and the power of positive energy -- good energy begets good energy. I had tried this and had literally spoken I will become a creative professional into the universe and was met with a proposition: Mark wanted to help me. He said that he saw my potential and my talent and wanted to see me succeed.”

Abbey told me that she is taking this torch while it’s lit and going to run as far as she can with it. She went on to say:

“I’m not entirely certain where it will go, but I think I’m going to start a blog, do some staging jobs for realtors and learn as much as I can about interior design and go from there. It all feels so right.

Abbey’s etsy shop - she has the most fun prints to download!

As I hit publish Abbey has been redesigning her Diningroom’s mural. Her original was inspired by another. This time she started from scratch. See the below images of the process and the new final View! You really need to click on her IG feed and give this lady a follow her stories are wonderful!

Friends I know whatever this marvelous human puts her mind to - she will be successful! I am so ready to cheer her on! It’s at times like this that I want to shout to the world how awesome Instagram is… otherwise how would - I - a Mom, Stylist and Blogger from New Jersey have “met” Abbey a 20 something from Nashville? Abbey is truly gifted - a women who stimulates others through her original vision. She has a deep grounded knowledge of people and character - we have shared profound conversations about Women’s Rights and Literature… I’m never shy about voice messaging people! (golly I want a podcast - but, I digress) I clearly remember standing in the Chalet kitchen while voice messaging and texting Abbey - we chatted for quiet a while... I appreciate her friendship and meeting her has broadened my world.

Til the next time please pop over and give Abbey a follow on IG - she hosts a great Tag #girlsjustwanttodiy and check out her Etsy Shop!

Musings