The Heart of the Home
A Q&A interview with designer Melissa Lewis
For this month’s GAMG guest blog, I interviewed my dear friend Melissa Lewis (Melissa Lewis Found Designs). Her beautiful home was recently featured in ROMANTIC HOMES Magazine, and I couldn’t be happier that more of the world is seeing her talent! Melissa’s design influence and encouragement not only helped me and my husband learn the art of personalized decorating and “styling”, but was also instrumental in our launching of a home décor and furniture store business. I’ve mined some diamond nuggets of Melissa’s expertise for readers who want to know how to decorate their home in a way that tells a personal story. In this blog, you will learn:
How to put your heart in your home and personalize your space
What is a vignette and how to use it for decorating
How to avoid trend pitfalls in decor
Melissa’s holiday decorating tips
LH: Based on my work with you and our personal friendship, I knew I would title this guest blog interview “The Heart of the Home” because that is something you do so well -- you help people show the heart of who they are in the way their home is decorated. Can you explain where this intention comes from?
ML: I think many view interior design as JUST about making spaces look beautiful, but I have always felt there is a deeper element of story. This was even more clarified when I started doing mission trips to Haiti with my family. While in Haiti, I realized that even in a tiny village of small homes with no electricity and dirt floors, there’s a pride they have about their homes. I went to Haiti thinking of interior design as worldly and superficial, and I left there reminded that even in the most desolate of places, people have pride for their homes. It’s NOT about expensive things…I could see people’s hearts in their homes and was so moved and changed by the experience and the people there.
LH: You have a design business with no website, yet your work is now being featured in magazines. You’ve worked with some of Nashville’s top country artists, songwriters and professional athletes, all with your business growing organically by word of mouth. To what do you attribute such growth and success, not being someone who advertises or has a website?
ML: First of all, I feel truly blessed. I have such a love and passion for what I do, and I think that comes through to my clients. For me, it’s never been about how much money I can make, but about helping my clients find their style and tell their story. I don’t want a home to look like “Melissa Lewis did this.” I try to pull out of them what their family is about, what they love, how they use their home, and the people that they are. I try to help them translate that into the interior.
LH: When I first met you, I didn’t know what my “decorating style” was. I didn’t think I had the ability to decorate AT ALL! Working with you taught me and Craig that we both DO have that creative ability. Not only that, as it blossomed you encouraged us to turn it into a business of our own! Is this a normal type of outcome in your work with others?
ML: I love to help steward people’s creativity gifts. It may start out, as it was in your case, with a client feeling like they don’t know what they’re doing and need a designer to tell them what they need. But the way I do things, it generally ends up being more of a collaboration between myself and my clients, rather than me taking the reigns “cart blanche.”
LH: Do you have a philosophy behind “the way you do things” as a designer?
ML: I think a lot of designers fear that if their clients aren’t reliant or dependent on them, they’re giving up something. Whether it’s their power or their vocation speciality –- whatever you want to call it. However, the opposite has always held true for me. In over 10 years of design work, I haven’t lost a client by helping them discover or empower their own design abilities. I’m ok with preparing the birds to leave the nest, so to speak, and in some cases it has even helped people launch businesses, like you and Craig did. Plus, it has led to great friendships which is even more rewarding to me.
LH: You have a great eye for picking things that are timeless and won’t wear out their welcome. What are your thoughts about trends in decorating?
ML: If I start seeing a trend that something is in mass production, I use those types of items sparingly. Mass production is both a blessing and a curse! It’s a blessing because it makes things more affordable, but it’s also a signal that it’s likely to be a passing fad. And if it’s something you love, that’s OK. Just use trendy things sparingly and don’t break the bank with it, so you’ll be OK with getting rid of it if you tire of seeing it a year from now.
LH: Can you give an example of what you consider a trend?
ML: Several years back, I started seeing a lot of fabric and upholstery items with french script lettering. I was advising my clients not to do a big ticket item in that fabric, because I sensed the trend was leaning toward that. If you love it, go for something like throw pillows that can be easily replaced later, rather than spending a lot of money on expensive pieces like a couch or upholstered chairs with that fabric.
LH: From you, I learned the art of the “vignette”. (For readers who don’t know that word, here in the south we pronounce it vin-YET)! ;-) In the world of interior design, it is a grouping of several objects that tell a story. Can you explain how a vignette helps reveal the heart of the home?
ML: A vignette is using accessories and things that you love in corners, nooks and crannies of your home. On bookshelves and walls, too. Every vignette tells a story…it creates a personal vibe for the home. It’s not about random decorative items, but being intentional about which items you are putting together. A couch, table and lamp are just pieces of furniture – they don’t create a mood or vibe. Accessories create the style that makes a house a home, because it gives you the opportunity to personalize your space. I have vignettes throughout our entire home!
LH: Can you give an example of a “story” in your own home you’ve created with a vignette, and what it represents?
ML: I created one on a wall that started with a few family heirlooms. My grandmother gave me two silhouette photos that I could have hung on a wall or put on a shelf, and that would have been nice. But I wanted something more impactful — a collection has more visual impact. So, I started collecting more silhouettes on Ebay, at local antique stores and through Etsy. I now have a wall of silhouettes that everyone notices. People will stop as they’re walking by and ask me about it, and I’m able to point out the ones that do have personal meaning to me as family heirlooms. Also, I get to imagine the stories of the other silhouettes I’ve collected. Their story is on my wall, too.
Melissa’s Do’s and Dont’s for creating vignettes
DO group colors together. A bookshelf with repeated items in the same color family sets a tone and draws the eye to what is being displayed. Vintage books covered in the same color is a good staple item. Another example of color grouping: a shelf of all white dishes. “They don’t have to be expensive dishes or even from the same collection. Just all white! I have dishes from the Dollar Tree and flea markets that make a great visual impact displayed together.”
DO create layers. “It’s common to just stop with a family picture in a frame on a dresser, but there are creative ways to add more layers with the family picture. For example, placing the frame on top of an antique book, and pairing those with a salvaged corbel creates more interest.”
DO pick things you love to display in your vignettes. “The ultimate goal is to hear people say, when they look around your home and take in the atmosphere, This is so YOU!”
DON’T get caught up in trends.“If you base your decorating on trends, you’ll tend to not buy things you love but instead, you’ll buy what you think is “in style” and you’ll tire of them quickly. The goal is to create a timeless feel to elements of your home that you won’t get tired of looking at every day. If you do choose to ride a trend wave on some items, don’t spend a lot of money on them. Then you can phase those items out when they’re no longer in style.”
DON’T go overboard or overdo. Too many objects in one spot is going overboard. Too many vignettes is overdoing. “If you have too many items in your spaces, or too many vignettes, it will dilute the power of the stories being told. I have some vignettes in my home with lots of items (like my silhouette wall), but many are limited to 3-4 objects.”
Melissa’s Holiday Decorating Advice
“Let your décor enhance the style of your home, rather than take it over.”
“Let the surroundings of your style and your home be the launching point for your Christmas décor as a place to start. If your home is modern minimalist, choose more clean-lined Christmas décor (glass, metal, bling) vs. traditional red and green country décor. But don’t be afraid to break the rules of a style. I love juxtaposing things.”
“To me, the best of kind of seasonal décor comes for your own back yard. Don’t be afraid to collect branches, pine cones, etc. Once, I collected branches and created a vignette in my front entry. I put the branches in a black urn, and hung crystals from old chandeliers onto the branches. People freaked out, and it cost me nothing!”
“Spray paint pine cones gray and dip them in glitter. Tie a jute string on the end, and you have beautiful Christmas oranments!”
“I always say break the rules, but don’t break the bank!”
I LOVED interviewing this girlfriend for this month’s guest blog! You can follow Melissa on Instagram @melissalewisdesigns .
Girlfriend reSOURCEs:
See Melissa’s home, and her design and styling talents, in the June, 2018 and January, 2019 editions of Romantic Homes Magazine: RomanticHomes.com
View my personal Pinterest board of vignette ideas here: https://www.pinterest.com/lisahentrichnashville/
View some images of our home Melissa helped decorate in my blog titled Faith In Action: From Kicker to Picker (Part 1 of 2)