Writing makes me happy. It is a solitary compliment to the more extroverted tasks of design and styling. I am generally assigned stories about interiors and architecture, which is an easy fit for me.

Writers hear a great deal about developing a “voice;” we all know that helps bring a piece to life and I cannot write without it. It is who I am.

But, when I am writing an assignment for a magazine, I focus on the subject, less on my own voice. I want to tell a story and I want it to be personal – not just ‘this is a Louis the XV chair and this, a mid-century sofa.’ I want to understand what motivates the person or people who inhabit a space and for whom it brings joy. I want my reader to see the people, not just the physical space.