Designing a Life Worth Living with Sean Leffers
You guys, my guest this week is sooooo good. And he's wrapping up this season of the Style Matters podcast for us. We're going on a break for the month of June and then we'll be back with all new episodes starting July 4th! Sean Leffers is a designer working out of Los Angeles and his breadth of knowledge and the insight he has on why style matters and how to make your sing is truly inspiring. Without knowing it, Sean touches on every aspect of the Slow Style framework that I'm so passionate about. And he's warm and entertaining and all of those other good things you want from this show. In our conversation, we talk about art, antiques, storytelling, creativity, disposable decor... we cover so much. But I'm pretty sure Sean has more to share so I'm guessing we're going to have him on more than once. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned how gorgeous is work is! You've got to visit the show notes page for this episode at littleyellowcouch.com to see the photos! Ok, enough gushing, here's Sean.
TAKEAWAYS:
I always say that, bottom line, design is about solving problems. And I do think that's true, but Sean Leffers recently reminded me that that's not the whole picture. Design is also, at its core, about story telling. How could I have been leaving that out? Stories, after all, are the foundation of my podcast! We have such a great conversation about this on the show this week... our inner lives are made visible by our environments. And Sean is the perfect guide for us through the design of his homes. What stories is your home telling about you? Walk through your rooms and look around with fresh eyes. Maybe it's time to refresh your story? This is one of my favorite episodes, hands down, so you gotta check it out!
Where does creativity come from? I think noticing something like a bird, or your beach towel on top of the sand, or a piece of art (and I mean really noticing the details... like the patterns and shapes and colors) is where creativity starts. From there, you imagine what how those details might be translated into patterns and shapes and colors in a room. From that initial source of inspiration, you can pull out materials for furniture and fabrics, you can emulate the amount of layering you see, you can be influenced by the lighting you see on the object... It's a skill that you can develop just by thinking these questions through. Sean Leffers, my guest on the Style Matters podcast this week, opens up about his process around all of this. He goes from a willow tree to a fashionable outfit to the movie Dune... and you see how he uses all of these things to go from inspiration to design decisions. It's truly inspiring!
I have to admit, I get a little bit judge-y on this week's episode of the Style Matters podcast. (And I almost edited that part out, cuz I don't want to be judged for being judge-y). But then my guest, designer Sean Leffers, had so much to say about it that's worth hearing, so I decided to leave it in. And I think he's a bit more gentle than I am in saying that the reason some people make certain decor decisions (ones I wasn't happy about) is because of a pressure to be perfect. (This is all about buying something from a big box retailer instead of from the artisan source, but you're gonna have to listen to the episode to get what I'm talking about). Anyway, to backtrack a bit from my judge-y-ness, I do always try to understand what's behind our decisions and to suggest a way forward in a kinder manner, at least after I've expressed frustration. Thanks, Sean!