My all-time favorite quote:

“The secret to happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less”

~ Socrates

It took me a long time to learn the wisdom of this statement… you might say I was a slow learner and that I had to learn the hard way!

As an interior designer for over 40 years, I’ve helped people design beautiful interiors all over the country… everything from Supreme Court Justice Chambers to corporate penthouses to tiny kitchens and tiny houses.

As a baby boomer, I bought into consumerism and the message of bigger, better, and more.

So, I built the big beautiful house, the gorgeous building that housed my design firm for 28 years. 

We were busy making a lot of money but through it all “something” was missing!

I wanted more… so much more, but as I eventually learned that it was a not more stuff, not more big design projects and not more money that would make me happier.

My life was spiraling out of control. I had no time or freedom to pursue anything that I wanted and needed.

My life was being controlled by other people’s needs and desires, not my own. I wanted my life back.

Then, my son who was serving in the Peace Corps at the time invited me to visit him and his little village 8000 miles from here. That trip to a Third World country changed my life. I had never experienced people had nothing but they were happy.

Exploring the Possibilities of a Simpler Life

For the first time I was crystal clear that I wanted a simpler life with less so I downsized my home from 5000 ft.² to 867 ft.², gave away 95% of my possessions to people who needed them or wanted them…and I’ve never been happier!

For the first time I had more time, more money, and more freedom to pursue what mattered most to me.

In other words, I finally realized I could design my own life, which is exactly what I did using the same 10 steps I’ve used for the last 40 years to help people change their lives through design. 

I realized, though that in order to achieve that simpler life with less, I needed to downsize and declutter my life so I could enjoy my life more. 

Because of these experiences I was able to write a best-selling book, “Downsize Your Life, Upgrade Your Lifestyle: Secrets to More Time, Money, and Freedom. 

I was also able to do a Ted talk on The Impact of Living with Less. It now has over 1.5 million views. 

As an interior designer and now as a lifestyle designer, I help other women realize the dream of living the life they dream of and they get to design it themselves!

If you’re tired of settling for less, if you’re tired of a status quo life, it’s up to you to create a vision for the life you really want, to be crystal clear about what matters most to you and create an action plan to live the life you love… by Design!