An Intentional Home | Caitlin Creer
Suzy Chase: When two podcasts collide, magic happens. Welcome to Dinner Party, the podcast where I bring together my two hit shows, cookery by the book and decorating by the book around here. We're all about cooking, sharing stories behind recipes, and creating a cozy home. I'm your host, Suzy Chase, a West Village wife, mom and home cook. Inspired by Martha Stewart trying to live in a Nora Ephron movie, surrounded by toile, plaid, cookbooks, decorating books and magazines, cooking in my galley kitchen and living my best life in my darling New York City apartment in the cutest neighborhood in the city, the West Village. So come hang out and let's get into the show.
Caitlin Creer: I am Caitlin Creer, an interior designer and author, and I'm here to tell you about my book and the evolution behind it, An Intentional Home.
Suzy Chase: You learned a thing or two in your 16 years of being a Salt Lake City based designer. In An Intentional Home. you've shared your approach to designing classic livable homes into seven steps. This book is all about discovering the intention behind a space and also envisioning a home's narrative and establishing a design plan. I love a plan. So I'm curious, speaking of plans, how is this book organized?
Caitlin Creer: That is such a great question. When you're working on a project like this in the beginning, it's very fluid, it's very nebulous. You're trying to figure out, okay, do we talk about this first? And you're kind of trying to organize everything. And I think the way the book finally settled and as I continue to work on it, it really was I think the mental process that we take clients through of where do we begin when we take on a client, when we take on a project and we're working with them and we are trying to understand them and get to know them and really get underneath the needs of the project, and we really dive deep into understanding the way that they want to live in their home and who they are and how do we weave all these threads into the finished project so that it really is representative of the people that live there.
And so once we kind of rallied behind that mindset and that idea, the steps really became apparent. And so the first step that I love is reflect and I think reflection is so helpful in so many areas of life. And as I've been thinking about the book and I started working on about a little over a year ago, and so I've had a time to live with these ideas and sort of reiterate them through our design org. And I think reflection and the principles in these book really apply to a lot of aspects of your life, not just your home, but I think when we reflect on things, we have a deeper understanding and we know where we've been and we know where we want to go, and we know what our values are, and I love that that's where we start. And so I think as we followed these steps and as we continued on and I think these seven steps reflect and refine and kind of inhabiting all these steps, they kind of help us gather our thoughts so that then we can move forward to the next steps of the design process.
And that was really the idea behind the book. Anyone who was reading it, anyone who had a project that they were taking on personally, whether small or large, could apply these same steps to their project and to their thinking and planning behind the project and come out with a more cohesive and more layered idea of what they wanted to do in their home.
Suzy Chase: I love that you just said, we know where we've been and
Caitlin Creer: Where we want to go,
Suzy Chase: Know where we want to go. You never think about that in terms of your home. Our son just went off to college and now our home is evolving. His room isn't really his room anymore. So that's a very interesting concept to think about.
Caitlin Creer: But I think with so many things in life, who we are influences our decisions and then also our day-to-day choices influence where we're going next and home is kind of at the epicenter of that. They always say art imitates life. And I think that the surroundings of us help us create what we're creating. They help affect our mindset. They affect sometimes our attitude. I mean little things like a comfortable bed to sleep in at night helps you feel more rested and ready to take on the next day. So many of these little things in our home are actually big things because they are constants and they are day to day and they're a part of our habits and our rituals and our routines. I don't think that should be underestimated because it has ripple effects into so many other aspects of how we're living and how we approach our day-to-day.
Suzy Chase: One of the challenges many people face in home design is balancing aesthetics with practicality. So how would you advise us to navigate this in let's say a kitchen?
Caitlin Creer: Okay, so kitchens are so great as an example for this, and I love designing kitchens because this is really where you hit that crossroads of really needing things to work, right? There are so many storage needs behind a kitchen. There are functional needs, there are daily habits, there are specific ways that an individual likes to cook or likes to organize their food or their pantry or their kitchen tools. There's so many very specific details that go into a kitchen and we actually usually really start there. So typically when I'm working on a design space, especially one like this, that's a workhorse that really needs to have all the bases covered. We really start with the organizational and functional needs because at least if we know what they are, we know how to program them into the space. I think that people really underestimate designers in general, and I think we especially work this way of how nitty gritty the details of design are.
I mean, we are literally talking to clients, do you like having this on the left or do you like having it on the right? And what do you do first? And when you take things out of the fridge, do you like having a counter next to the fridge to set? I mean, there are a lot of little nuances of how people want to use their space. And so really understanding those and the preferences the client has and even the things that they're typically cooking, what type of cook they are getting underneath, that helps you to know, okay, great. Can we get the foundation to a place that all these needs are met or most of these needs are met? And then on top of that, can we layer in the beautiful aspects, right? Then on top of that, once we know these foundational aspects are covered, can we make things special?
Can we add in these unique details? Can we make it shine? And then that way we know we're checking all the boxes. And I really love that challenge of designing with the form and the function. I think that that helps you to kind of, I don't know, there's something satisfying about that being like, it's beautiful, but also did you see this cool detail in the cabinetry or did you see this beautiful aspect? And this particular kitchen is really near and dear to my heart. This is a client that we have so much fun with creatively and they really allow us to push the envelope. I don't think we've ever brought them an idea that was too out there or too radical or too risky or too brave. And so this client is a really elegant person, and we wanted that reflected in their kitchen. And so they entertain a lot.
They love to host. And so we knew we needed a lot of storage to address those needs. We knew we needed space for napkins and tablecloths and all the platters, and they have a lot of seasonal holiday things. And so this kitchen was big on storage and there's a ton of storage in the island, and you can see the one wall is all cabinetry and there's a lot of goodies housed in that beautiful cabinetry. And so we made sure all the spaces were there. We used our spaces really carefully in this kitchen. And then on top of that, we were like, great, now let's make it special. And I think some of my favorite details in this kitchen, I love the brass inlay on the cabinets I love, there's a marble wall that's behind the hood that's the most beautiful sunny marble, and it's very understated marble.
It's marble, but it's not loud or ostentatious. It's just there and very elegant. And this home I love because it really is so reflective of our client and their personality. And I think that's one of my main goals when we design a space and a home for someone is that yes, we apply our aesthetic and we bring our creativity with my team and my firm, and we have our fun ideas. But at the end of the day, it's really important to me that the client and their personality and their lifestyle is also well-represented in the space. And I feel like we really achieved that in this kitchen. And it is a dream. I've been at parties at this house, it works beautifully for entertaining and all of those needs we anticipated, I think were well met. And so that is one of the most satisfying parts of the design of the space.
Suzy Chase: In the book you write, whether you are designing a lakeside cottage or a family home, here are some tips you can use to elevate your design into something beautiful and intentional. The first tip is a little vintage goes a long way. Please chat about that.
Caitlin Creer: I love this. So I love antiquing. I have from a really young age, I love the idea of finding the diamond in the rough and the treasure, and I think homes should be full of treasures. I love items that are conversation pieces. I love items that have a story to tell or had a history before they came to the space that they're currently in. And so I think vintage pieces are one of the best ways to accomplish this. And the other thing about something vintage is it adds a specific signature to the space. It's something that even if it's something that someone else could find a similar chair or someone else could find a similar piece of art or dish or whatever it is, the vintage pieces add a little signature to the space that's unique to that space and unique to that mix, right, of how it all comes together and what are the other complimentary elements in the space that are creating a conversation. And vintage pieces just do that in a way that I think vintage pieces and art do that in a way that nothing else does because it adds something really individual to the space. And we always try, I think any space we do, even clients that aren't necessarily into antiques, we always try to find something whether at big or small that adds that little, maybe sometimes it's a curve ball, but adds that little qua to the space so that it feels a little bit duplicatable in some way.
Suzy Chase: So this one is super interesting to me. You tell us to either start with the rug or end with the rug. So what does that mean?
Caitlin Creer: So rugs are such a great unifier in a space. So when you start with the rug, I think the rug gives you a color palette. It often gives you a tone. Rugs can have vibes, right? A rug can feel modern, a rug can feel colorful, a rug can feel subdued, a rug can feel textural. There's a lot of things that rugs have to say as a statement piece in the room. And I think sometimes you know exactly what you want that statement to be in the beginning and you're like, great, let's let the rug start the conversation in the space. And they do great for that. And sometimes there are other elements that are starting the conversations. It could be a beautiful fabric, it could be a piece of art. Sometimes with our clients, the things start in the conversation is the view out the window.
And we are really leaning to that as our design inspiration. And so often when we have these other elements that we're introducing to the space, we may not know what we want the rug to do in the very beginning. We may not know if we want a pop of color or a layer of texture or something that feels a little more modern or something that feels super traditional. And so the rug helps you define that and helps you mix up the conversation. It's interesting, we had a project recently that the rug that we wanted to use in the space was back ordered. So we had to wait for it almost a year, but it was worth waiting for. And we had another temporary rug in the space, and it was beautiful and it looked great in the space, but when the real rug came, it transformed the whole room because it had a different message to send. And so I really think don't underestimate how much changing a rug in the space can influence how the space feels overall.
Suzy Chase: Now, does the rug have to tie in with everything or do you sometimes get a rug where it's like, whoa, that's different?
Caitlin Creer: Yeah, I love that. I don't think it does. I think it can tie everything together. And if you're needing that, sometimes you'll have a unique color palette or something that feels disjointed and the rug can help kind of bring, loop that in. But I also think rug can be a like, whoa, this is mixing things up, or this is the unexpected element, or it's a unique pop of color. And so the rug, I think that let the rug speak for itself. If you're wanting to add a surprise in the room, great way to do that is with a rug that maybe doesn't feel like the expected thing in the space.
Suzy Chase: This tip is great if we're on a budget, you say, don't underestimate the power of a coat of paint.
Caitlin Creer: I think paint on a basic level, just it's affordable. You could do it. It's a paint to do it yourself sometimes, but it's something you can do on your own. And a paint just can update the space and influence the way the light hits the way certain colors pop or balance. I mean, simply changing the paint color can change the whole space. It also like a rug sends a message and sets a tone. Paint also does that, right? Colors have feelings and colors can be a motive, and colors can be sentimental. And so I think changing the color in a space can really set the tone for a space. And if you want to mix things up, certainly flip flopping that in your space will do that for you.
Suzy Chase: Now, what do you think about really dark, dark paint on the walls?
Caitlin Creer: So I love it in certain spaces. I love it in offices or a powder room or even sometimes bedrooms depending on who we're designing for or basement family room, we tend to really mix it up in our projects. And I love a dark moody space. We do a lot of charcoal and navy and forest green and kind of deep browns and grays, and I love walking from one room to another and feeling like there's a transition. So when we design homes, I like them to be cohesive, but I also like each room to be its own experience. And I think paint can kind of help you. And unifying colors in a space can kind of help you do that from room to room and mix it up. So I would say don't be afraid of dark paints. They can be actually very comforting when you're in the space. It feels like being hugged by a beautiful color when you're in the cocoon of that room.
Suzy Chase: So I love a glossy paint. What do you think about that?
Caitlin Creer: I love high gloss. We do it very strategically in certain spaces and places. So it could be great on cabinetry, especially in a special space or a smaller space like a pantry space or a powder room or a bathroom vanity if you want to kind of pack a little punch. I also love it on doors. Glossy paint can be a little more tricky to live with because it's more prone to showing dings and scratches. So I think you want to be intentional about where you're using it if it's a high traffic area, but glossy paint just adds a really cool feeling to the space when you use it along with other elements. I love how it kind of just has a little special touch.
Suzy Chase: So another tip is pay attention to competing geometries. What is that?
Caitlin Creer: This might actually be my own little idiosyncrasy in design. My design team will just laugh because sometimes we'll be working on something and I'll be like, no, I can't do those patterns together. And I love mixing patterns. I actually love different elements and different in the conversation. They make it a space, but I don't love when you have two geometries that feel like they're fighting together. So an example of that might be a trellis pattern and a hexagon in similar scale, or if you have a square pattern, but then you also have a circular, a very circular pattern. I can definitely do really linear patterns with a more free flowing organic pattern. I love that juxtaposition, but I don't love when you have just too many different angles and geometries mixed together because I think it tends to feel busy and they fight with each other.
One of 'em maybe wants to be this strong element or the linear element. And if they're both trying to be that, then it's like that's all my brain goes to in the space. And so I don't know if that's just me, but it is definitely a rule that I follow in my design just because I like to have one anchoring strong geometry in the space and then let everyone else work around that. I always say in design, I love to decide in a space who's the star of the show or the stars of the show. Sometimes there's more than one and who's supporting cast, right? And when you're designing a space and you define that, is the star of the show a color, or is the star of the show a piece of art or a piece of furniture or a feature in the room, or is the star of the show a specific pattern or a wallpaper or something like that? And then making sure that everyone else is sort of letting that star shine in the room so that the other fabrics, the other elements in the room are highlighting that specific element in our feature.
Suzy Chase: I've never thought about that. You are so right.
Caitlin Creer: Yeah. And I think sometimes when people design something doesn't work in a space and they're like, but I can't figure out why this doesn't work. I don't know if you've ever had that issue, but you're trying to pull things together and maybe something feels off. I would say look at the geometries, because sometimes I know for me, if something feels a little off, mixing up the patterns can then make it feel more cohesive. So just a little tip
Suzy Chase: That is a hot tip. So on your Instagram, you had a post that talked about how design is specific. Could you talk a little bit about your client's collected office library? It is stunning.
Caitlin Creer: Oh, I love that room. I love that room. Back to kind of talking about spaces that have stories to tell, this is a great example. So rooms that are personal, rooms that have, I think sort of a mix of unique objects. And I think also a sense of personal history. I love this space because many of the items on the shelves in this room and the books in this room and the art, they all sort of reflect back to a personal history for this client. And this client was actually really active and evolved in the very tiny details of this room. So when we were designing the cabinetry and the shelving and all the details, we were taking the average depth of the books that were going to be on the shelves. We were taking the average height. We got very, very detailed in just all the little minute shot of what this room needed to be so that the books would sit so that they wouldn't be too far back on the shelves so that the lighting would hit so that we would have room for certain aspects.
And so back to kind of the logistical aspect, we started with all those actually very logistical elements of the actual size of the books that we were going to work with. And then we designed around that. And so I think you see that translate in a finished space. I think when you do that foundational work and you really do the measuring and the planning and the understanding and the incorporation of all those logistics, and then you translate that into the actual design, it all comes together really nicely. And I love that this office looks like it's been there for years and years and years and has all these beautiful old books on the shelves, and they even have the books have their own color story, which I love. And we kind of leaned on what are those beautiful deep hues that you typically see in older books, right?
There's deep Nas and browns and reds, and each of those books has lived their own life and had their own story and history. And then on top of that, in this room, we've layered in a lot of meaningful objects for our clients, specifically from places they've traveled, from, items that are representative of different aspects of their life and hobbies they have to family pictures to a meaningful piece of art. The art over the mantle in this room is a painting of, I think around the turn of the century of Columbus Circle in New York City. And our client lived in New York for a number of years and just this is kind of a meaningful nod to part of their life and part of who they are. And so I love how all these details are both unique to the space, but also relevant to our client because it's a space truly at the end of the day, it's a space for them.
And I think this represents a lot of my mindset behind design in general, that our goal at the end of the day is to find ways to weave in those personal histories and those personal, I don't know, almost like little Easter eggs in the space of how does this tie back to you or what does this mean to you? And in my own home, I really try to do that with specifically I think with art, with decor, with objects like that of is there something nostalgic about this to me? Is this representative of a life experience I have had? Is it representative of something that's meaningful to our family or somewhere we've traveled? There's so many ways to kind of think about your life and your own story and find ways to incorporate those in your home. And it does take a little bit of work and planning, but I think the finished result is a space that just feels specific and unique to you. And I think each of us is really the only one that can maybe with the health of a designer I guess. But each of us is really the only one that can sort of pull that out and know what our stories are and ways that they could be represented and incorporated into our home.
Suzy Chase: And finally, on page 1 0 7, you tell us most rooms can benefit from incorporating a cozy spot. So what's the first step in figuring out where this cozy spot is?
Caitlin Creer: First seating, like comfortable in my mind, a cozy spot is always somewhere comfortable. So maybe it's a soft chair, a corner of a sofa, a window seat, a little perch. I think just somewhere where you can kind of kick back or relax and maybe unwind a little bit. I also think layers are so valuable with a cozy spot. If I think I want to get cozy, I want that soft spot. I want warmth. I want a blanket, I want a pillow. The coziest spot in my house right now that all my kids fight over is the spot right in front of our fireplace. We have this big fireplace in one of our main rooms, and the kids just love it, especially in the winter. They love getting cozy in front of the fireplace with the warm fire burning and the stone on our hearth gets warm and the kids will tuck their little bare feet against stone on the hearth because it warms their feet.
It's really sweet. But even my teenagers vie for this coveted spot, and we have a big sheep skin rug that we've layered in front of the fireplace for this reason because everyone loves to sit there and warm up. And oftentimes I'll walk in the room and one of my kids will just be sprawled across the sheep skin rug with a pillow under their head and a blanket over them, and they're just snuggling up by the fire. And that's definitely not necessarily the softest spot in our house. There's a chair and a sofa nearby, but they love being right close to the fire. And so I think just creating that moment of warmth and light and layers, I think that combination will make almost any space cozy.
Suzy Chase: I love a window seat.
Caitlin Creer: Me too. I grew up actually with a window seat in my childhood bedroom, and
Suzy Chase: Me Too
Caitlin Creer: Looked out onto the front garden of our house and the street, and it was one of my favorite spots in the house and in my room just because I could sit there and I love to read as a child, and I loved to kind of make lists and notes and write in my journal. And so it was just a really sweet spot in my own room. And again, back to your personal story, I think that's carried with me of my adoration for window seats all throughout. And we definitely incorporate a lot of window seats into our client projects. I think there's something so romantic and nostalgic about a sweet little window seat, especially in a child's bedroom or in a main space for a family.
Suzy Chase: Now, for my segment called The Perfect Bite where I ask you to describe your perfect bite of a favorite dish.
Caitlin Creer: One of the things that I really love is charcuterie. And I think what I love about charcuterie is that it's also a visual feast for the eyes, right? Charcuterie is delicious and it's kind of curating your own specific combo from this beautiful spread before you. But I love that you eat first with your eyes when you're looking at a charcuterie plate or a charcuterie table. And I would say my perfect bite comes from a charcuterie table, a charcuterie spread, and I don't know if it's a specific, typically you'll have a cracker, a bread, and you'll have maybe a little salami or some other sort of savory thing, and then whatever cheese you're curating, I love chef, I love brie, love a lot of Italian cheeses, and then maybe a fruit. So I'm partial to blackberries or strawberries or a really juicy. So my perfect bite is when you get your perfect little pairing, maybe even with a little honeycomb on top, and you just go into that bite of the fun mix that you've created. I think it's also a representative design, right? I love that mix and design as well. I love putting the unlikely combinations together, or I love seeing what different combinations are going to feel like or taste like in a room. So I think it just kind of reflects my love for a good mix.
Suzy Chase: So where can we find you on the web and social media?
Caitlin Creer: So you can find me on the web online, caitlincareerinteriors.com, and I also have a storefront and an online store, foundation goods.com. You can find me on Instagram at Caitlin Career Interiors. And there's information there about my book An Intentional Home about our design work and other things we have going on.
Suzy Chase: Great. Caitlin, thank you so much for coming on Dinner Party Podcast.
Caitlin Creer: Thank you so much for having me, Suzy.
Suzy Chase: Okay, so where can you listen to the new Dinner Party podcast series? Well, it's on substack suzy chase.substack.com. You can also subscribe to Dinner Party for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Additionally, the episodes will be available on both Decorating by the Book and Cookery by the Book. Long story short, you'll be able to listen to it virtually everywhere. Thanks for listening. Bye.
