“I believe with all my heart that … HOME is everything”
– Gail Smith Peterson
I was truly a small town – girl next door, who had big dreams.
Family was deeply seeded for me, my earliest dream brought me to the west coast, I was discovered by a modeling agent at 20, my career soared for a decade through the 80’s. With the birth of my first baby, my priorities changed, I walked away from a faced paced modeling career to focus on our new family. “It wasn’t about me anymore”. I’m grateful to have made that mature decision, no regrets. There’s no do-overs for marriage or raising a family. I always follow my heart, bottom line. I wanted to give my all to my new family.
“Besides how many modeling campaigns, commercials or magazines could ever compare to my sweet little boy who loves me as Mommy.”
Happily married to my long-time love, he’s the casual to my elegance. A former NFL alumnus, who also shared my love for old houses. We met at the beginning of my modeling career and had a fairytale wedding. Decades later I’m still a little obsessed over my wedding gown. A quick back story, I decided to design my own! I scouted an amazing couture maker to help me create it. At our first meeting I walked in with a vintage dress in tow that I’d found. While I was explaining my design plan to first deconstruct the entire dress, then re-use the tulle to create the new gown, I noticed she nodded her head yes quite a bit. She placed her glasses on her nose, her chin down and looking up and over them, her reaction was priceless. And so, with her elegance and dress maker touch, she created the palest pink tulle wedding gown of my dreams.
After we married, I fell in love with a whole new world anchored by home.
It began when I had the opportunity to design and renovate our first home, I was hooked. I loved everything about the process, being hands on – seeing my vision come to life and being a part of every single decision was intense, yet valuable. We took the house down to the studs, adding square footage, changing the architectural style. I was on pure adrenaline, no sleep, a new mother with our six-week-old new born taking down the house to the studs! Oh, did I mention, I was that mom who used real cloth diapers for her newborn! Some of you may know what that’s all about. There were a lot of firsts, for all of us, but we have the sweetest memories.
Through all of that I learned something magical, honoring each of our personal styles was important. That’s the back story of how and where the Casual Love Elegance style story began.
Together we’ve kept our hearts and home filled with love, cherishing moments together as a family. We’re very in sync with our boys, it’s a gift to be watching from a distance as they begin their own journey’s and find their passions navigating the world. Our family dog is “Lincoln,” a giant Saint Bernard who is the sweetest soul. You’ll see him here in photo’s, he frequently gets requests for face-time with our boy’s!
I’m usually in torn jeans, an old t-shirt working on the latest renovation project, transforming a California 70’s Mediterranean house into a French farmhouse for our family. My husband is my master craftsman, we’ve always shared a love and passion for building.
Our nostalgic design begins with curating things we love. I’m obsessed by one of a kind vintage accoutrements, & love using our prettiest for every day. I’m a hunter and gatherer, my favorite sources are flea markets, barn sales and antique shops.
Meanwhile there’s projects to complete, new ones to start, lemons to harvest and celebrations to plan. A new season for me has begun, my nest is empty, but my heart is full and it’s my turn for the second half. I’m taking on my biggest dreams yet, as things unfold, I will share them here!
Is it time to refresh your home’s appearance and feel beauty & calm in your home? The first step in design begins with getting your questions answered, making a plan and completing it. I can help, no matter what scale your project is. Let’s get started and create a home that reflects YOU.
If you’re nodding yes, then I’m your design girl.
Let’s do this…
SHOP
