The Art of a Collected Home

0:00Maggie Wilkerson What we're creating around this is art. Whether you're a decorator, a designer, or working in your own home for yourself, what you're creating is an expression of yourself.

0:09Lyssia Katan When did you realize that there was such a demand for this?

0:11Maggie Wilkerson When you hang curtains, for example, there are a million little decisions that we make when we decide what to dress our windows with. Everything that is in your space has earned its place. Finding the best thing that's available in HomeGoods, Target, or Amazon is probably not going to be as good as many of the things that you're going to find that are handmade.

0:34Lyssia Katan You've mentioned A Fantasia. What is it and how does it impact the work you do in visualizing space? I don't want to call it a condition, but it's

0:45Lyssia Katan you've bought the right pieces, followed the advice, yet somehow your home still feels off. Why is that? Welcome to Room to Think. Today I'm sitting down with Maggie Wilkerson, interior consultant and founder of Collected Home, and whose work is helping people rethink how they design their spaces, not by following trends, but by actually understanding how to make a home feel cohesive, intentional, and lived in. In this episode, Maggie breaks down why just buy what you love doesn't always work and what's actually missing when a space doesn't feel right. We talk about why decorating can feel so overwhelming and how social media is shaping your taste without you even realizing it. We even get into

1:31Lyssia Katan why your home can feel unfinished even when it's full. Maggie shares practical strategies like using placeholder pieces, building mood boards, and even doing a design detox to reset how you approach your space. By the end of this episode, you might realize it was never about having better taste. It's about knowing how to use it. Let's get into it. Hello, Maggie. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much, Lise. I'm excited to be here. Maggie Wilkerson is an interior consultant and the founder of Collected Home, where she helps people create thoughtful, layered spaces that balance beauty and function. With a background in art, graphic design, and product development, she brings a sharp eye and a

2:13Lyssia Katan problem-solving approach to interiors. Maggie, welcome to Room to Think. Thank you. Let's start at the beginning. A lot of our listeners may have seen you on social media or discovered you just like I did, scrolling, and suddenly you pop up on their feed and you're giving them advice on how to. Your series is called How to Trick Your Friends to Into Thinking That You Hired a Designer. Where did that start from? Have you always been interested in this?

2:41Maggie Wilkerson Yes, this has certainly, you know, in interiors and creating a space that feels like me and that feels like home has always been something that I have been very interested in since I was young. And I think that stems from growing up with parents who collected and, you know, who had a lot of old things in the home because when they were first starting out, they couldn't afford anything else. And so they they really built this collection over the years. And as I got older, I really learned to appreciate that and learned to appreciate the history behind all of all of these things that made our home feel like a home, feel like this warm, collected space. And so as an adult, taking that into my own

3:28Maggie Wilkerson spaces, um it's something that I've really struggled with. And so, you know, I talk a lot about in my content about um not just buying things that you love and hoping that they all work together. I think that a lot of times I've even heard this from interior designers that, oh, well, just buy things that you love and everything will all work out. And for some people, that is true. But what I've found in my own um, my own home and my own life, that just was never the case. And so that's what really led me into this world of really figuring out why that is and starting to break that into its parts and really start to formulate this um method and formula behind the madness so that we can buy the

4:18Maggie Wilkerson things that we love, but still create that cohesive and collected home that I think a lot of us are aiming for.

4:26Lyssia Katan When did you realize that there was such a demand for this? Because your your videos, your content gets a ton of views, and it it's just telling me that people are so interested in it, but maybe did they just not have words to describe it in the past?

4:41Maggie Wilkerson I think that starting on starting on TikTok and then moving to Instagram, um, I started creating content probably a couple of years ago at this point. And, you know, part of it was just to have this creative outlet to really connect with other people. Um and that's when I really realized that there is such a need for this type of um this type of guidance. And so the first video that I ever had go viral on TikTok was a video about curtains. And specifically, it was a video about curtain rings. And I think that this video went viral because um people have very strong opinions about curtain rings and curtain hooks. Um, and so that just really fed the algorithm. But what I learned from that was

5:33Maggie Wilkerson um a lot of the other content that I was creating at the time and people who were reaching out to me, you know, a big threat was just really not knowing how to achieve some of the basics that go into decorating a home. So when you hang curtains, for example, there are a million little decisions that we make when we decide what to dress our windows with. But if you don't know what a curtain ring is, if you don't know any of the terminology that goes into making those decisions, it can be really overwhelming and challenging. And so that's what really led me to taking some steps back and saying, okay, what are some of these foundational things, not just with curtains, but with making these decisions

6:22Maggie Wilkerson when we decorate our home that I've learned and could really benefit other people. And so that's that's really where I try to focus my content on is some of these um foundational things and foundational decisions that can really sort of multiply into creating this whole design.

6:45Lyssia Katan And your background is in art and graphic design and product development. Do these worlds still show up in the way you approach a space?

6:55Maggie Wilkerson Yes. And something that I've always been interested in, what led me to graphic design in the first place, which was one of my majors in college, was this idea of functional art. And so I think when you when you think about painting, I love art, I love all types of mediums. I have some behind me. Um, but when it comes to graphic design, so much of what we do in that specific field is functional. You're designing websites, you're designing logos and um things that really have a function, but still are considered art. And, you know, I think that really ties into the world of interiors as well, because whether, you know, we really like to think about it or not, what we're creating around us is art.

7:45Maggie Wilkerson And whether you're a decorator, a designer, or working in your own home for yourself, what you're creating is an expression of yourself. Um, you're using color, you're using um composition and all of these different textures and elements to create a feeling. And that's what we do when we paint. That's what we do when we create art as well. Um, but what I love about this sort of intersection of functionality and art is that you get to appreciate it and enjoy it in a different way. So when we're creating a painting, for example, it's beautiful, you can hang it on your wall. But when you decorate a room, that's something you get to be surrounded in. You get to share that feeling with your friends

8:29Maggie Wilkerson and your family and really use it to create uh a feeling in your own home, which is um really special and something that, you know, it's been something that has interested me uh since I can remember, is just using art in a way that it becomes functional, if that makes sense.

8:54Lyssia Katan It does. Was there a space in your life where you really felt a feeling when you walked in?

9:01Maggie Wilkerson I think a lot of the homes of family members that I grew up with, um, those are some of the homes where, you know, they've collected things over the years. We have, we're very much a family that has hand-me-down furniture. Um, a lot of the furniture in my home came from my grandparents and and other family members, and and I cherish all of those pieces so much. Um, but it's this idea of building this collection over time and the patina and the age and the history and the stories that go along with all of these pieces. So I think about my grandparents' homes, and and none of them had had very much money. All of these pieces were from auctions and, you know, picked up on the side of the road.

9:46Maggie Wilkerson And um, you know, I think that's just what makes it even more special is that it what they created was um such a reflection and representation of their lives and different stages of their lives all coming together. Um, so I think those were some of the things that really informed how I decorate my home now and some of the things that I try to hopefully not be too preachy about. But, you know, try try to inspire in other people too is embracing vintage and antique furniture, um, even if it's just in small doses, because of that story and the character and um the collected feeling that can come from those pieces, even if it's just one or two in your space. And, you know, when I think about spaces

10:35Maggie Wilkerson that have changed me and um really made me think about decorating and design in a different way. Um, one of the biggest moments for me was when I discovered the work of Pearson Ward. Um, these are some of my favorite interior designers, and they have just been a huge inspiration to me. Um and, you know, I think when I found their work several years ago, um that was one of the things that finally clicked into place for me is this collected, warm feeling of home that you saw in all of the interiors that they created for their clients. Um and it finally was what made me go from I'm just buying what I love and putting it all together and hoping that it all works out and makes sense, to, oh, this

11:30Maggie Wilkerson is what I've been trying to achieve all along. Um, and so that that was the thing that just sent me down this rabbit hole of trying to figure out what the formula and the method is behind creating those spaces that are still collected, um, still feel effortless in a way, um, but also have this intentionality behind them. And that's what really led me to creating the method and the formula that I talk about a lot in my content, because it's so difficult, I think, for folks who are not interior designers, we're not um not necessarily doing this work for clients, it's very difficult, especially when you're working on your own space, to step outside of it and say, here are the things that I really

12:28Maggie Wilkerson love, but here are the things that are gonna work in this space. And I think those are two different things. There's a Venn diagram and an overlap there. Um, but having a roadmap to follow. Um, and and I don't want to say rules because I don't necessarily believe in decorating rules. Um, but having those pieces in place so you know, okay, these are the things that I need to make decisions about, about my own space. Um, but that that was discovering their work was really a light bulb moment for me because um it made me realize what was possible. And it really put images and visuals to what I was trying to achieve all those years and helped me to start to really think about okay, how do I break

13:20Maggie Wilkerson this down into pieces so that I can make this happen for myself too?

13:23Lyssia Katan Why did it seem not possible beforehand? Because you say it helped help you see what is possible.

13:30Maggie Wilkerson I think a lot of that was before the days of Pinterest, before the days of Instagram. And um, you know, one of the things that I Instagram and and social media is such a blessing and a curse. Um but one of the good things about social media is that it has opened up the world to us and really helped us to see again what's possible in our own homes because we're able to so easily be exposed to other people's work, whether it's interior designers, decorators, um, or other people that are just, you know, working in their own homes. I think what was so challenging for me is having this collected feeling. Um, at the time, thinking my style was eclectic, loving a little bit of this and a little bit

14:21Maggie Wilkerson of that, but not understanding how to curate and how to edit and how to sort of reel myself in. And a lot of the folks that I work with, especially in one-on-one sessions, um, struggle with some of the same things. They love everything mid-century, traditional design, um, postmodern, you know, all of the things. But how do you take all of that and create some semblance of a plan and edit that down into something that's going to feel cohesive and um and intentional? And those are some of the words that I use often. But you know, what I really mean by that is everything that is in your space has earned its place. So instead of going out and shopping and buying things because they're cute and because,

15:17Maggie Wilkerson oh, well, I like that rug and I like that sofa, and let me just bring them home. And, you know, all the designers say that um I should just buy what I love and it will work together. Um but

15:31Maggie Wilkerson seeing this work and and this sort of eclectic aesthetic

15:39Maggie Wilkerson from these designers, it it made me start to look at this in a different way and start to look at the pieces and really try to understand exactly what they were doing in these spaces, as opposed to looking at it as a whole and just saying, well, that looks collected and and eclectic, and they're using all these different design styles, but it's more intentional than that. Um, and so I think when I saw their work and really saw designers who were doing what I wanted to do so well, it gave me that motivation to start to think about implementing design and decorating in a much different way.

16:21Lyssia Katan When you're thinking about the concept of collected, a lot of people these days feel overwhelmed to make their home feel finished. Why do you think decorating and picking out these items that they like and go together, why do you think it's so emotionally loaded?

16:40Maggie Wilkerson I think there are two pieces to this answer. And the first one is how other people perceive your home. When you're entertaining, when you're having people over, um when you want to take pictures for social media, you know, when you want your home to be Instagram ready, there can be a lot of pressure there because you see influencers, you see decorators and designers on Instagram with these incredible spaces. Um a lot of them have poured a lot of money into these spaces. And so I think there's this, you know, obviously this feeling of wanting to um meet those expectations and feel like your home is just as good as the other homes that you're seeing from your friends or the people that you follow.

17:36Maggie Wilkerson Um, and there's a lot of pressure there. And I think any of us that are consuming content on social media likely feel that to some degree, whether it's with our homes, our what we're wearing, how we look. Um it's it's really hard to avoid that. But I think the other piece to this is how you feel in your own home. And psychologically, what we surround ourselves with and the um the way that our home makes us feel is so impactful and so powerful. Um, and with so many more of us working from home now in the post-COVID world, um, we're at home so much more. I know I am. Um I'm a homebody, I love being at home. But it's it's almost critical that we get our homes to a place where we they're creating

18:34Maggie Wilkerson that vibe and that feeling that's supporting our health and how we want to feel when we're in our homes, because that's our home should be our sanctuary. Um, but it's this balance between making sure that you're doing this for yourself and creating what you want and what you love versus this feeling of trying to keep up with the latest trends and you know what you're seeing in influencers' homes and what you're seeing all over Instagram. It's it can be really challenging. Um, and I think for for folks who have a laundry list of things that they want to do with their homes, whether it's renovating or um buying things that they don't have the budget for yet, it can be really challenging to sort

19:26Maggie Wilkerson of lean into slow design because we want it to be done. We want things to be ready for guests. You know, if we're having people over, we want our home to be um something that we want to show off. But I think the reality is for most people, that takes time. And, you know, something that I that I talk about sometimes is is that that's okay. It took me several years to get my home just just the downstairs to a point that um you know, where I felt like it was it was done-ish. And that's normal. That's very, very normal. And I think when we see um stuff on Instagram, HGTV, all of these sort of like weekend makeovers, you know, we're coming in and we're doing this install and then everything's done

20:24Maggie Wilkerson and and perfect and beautiful, it's it's out of reach for most people. And that is okay. And I think sometimes it can be the end result can be even better if you allow yourself the space and the time to decorate slowly and to collect pieces that you love. Um, and I will give some practical advice here because it is a tip that I don't talk about on social media often enough. I don't know if that I have shared this at all much yet. Um, but I talk about it a lot in my one-on-one sessions with folks, and it's this concept of placeholder furniture and placeholder pieces. Um when you are decorating and designing your space, it can be so tempting to just buy things because you need a dining table or

21:25Maggie Wilkerson you need a sofa, and you just moved into this home and you need furniture because you don't have any. And that's that's a real thing. I moved into this home, I didn't have any lamps. You know, so I'm I'm out here trying to collect new lamps so we can we can see at night. But um using pieces that you already have or buying pieces that are secondhand, affordable, Facebook marketplace is a great option for getting placeholder pieces. But the great thing about using pieces like that to Temporary piece of furniture or decor that you are using until you find your dream piece or until you have the budget to afford your dream piece. This is one of the best hacks, in my opinion, for buying yourself time

22:15Maggie Wilkerson because you're saying, you know what, I'm not going to impulse purchase this $3,000 dining table that I kind of like or that I saw on Instagram because we don't have a dining table. Instead, I'm going to look for something that will meet my needs. It's the scale that I need. And I'm going to use it temporarily until I find my dream piece that I actually love that actually fits with the vision that I have for this space. And so these can be pieces that you already have. I encourage people a lot to hold on to their furniture, use them as placeholder pieces, move them around because that's what's going to buy you time. So you're not trying to decorate a whole space at once. You're using some of

23:12Maggie Wilkerson those things that you already have or finding affordable secondhand versions until you find your dream piece. And that is that is what's going to help you feel like your space is a little bit more finished and not so bare versus impulse purchasing something that you don't really like and that you're going to regret in a year. And I work with people all the time who have been in that situation. And

23:43Maggie Wilkerson it's, I think, so much easier to make a decision to buy a temporary placeholder piece, knowing it's a temporary placeholder, versus putting the pressure on yourself to find that perfect thing in a span of, you know, six months or three months or however much time you've given yourself to finish your space.

24:05Lyssia Katan That's such good advice. So often people purchase things that they just that are just there. They just need it right now. So that's what's available. That's what's in stock, right? In a lot of these furniture showrooms. They don't really love it, but they need it and they want it now. And later down the road, a couple months down, a year down, two years, they actually don't really like it. And often maybe they're replacing it. And at this point, you spent double the amount trying to buy a couch you really love when you could have just bought something temporary, like you said, placeholder furniture. And it would have served its purpose until you found something that you really wanted in your

24:46Lyssia Katan home.

24:47Maggie Wilkerson Yes. Yes. I think it's just, it's such an overlooked and I think underrated, um, underrated tip, you know. And um I see this so much with people who are moving into a new home. And they'll get rid of things and, you know, say, well, I'm just gonna start fresh. But then you get into this new home, you have no furniture, no lamps. And it's sort of the the perfect recipe for making these panic purchases because you just need a sofa. Um, sofas are the biggest, the biggest thing that I see. And it's such an important decision because you need it to be comfortable, you need it to function, you need it to not break when your teenage son plops down on it too hard, you know. Um so I think that's one

25:41Maggie Wilkerson of the things that can support this idea of taking your time while you decorate your home because you already have some of those functional pieces in place. You know, it's not your forever piece, but that's okay. You've got a dining table to sit and eat, do homework and work and all of those things while you're looking for that perfect piece and buying yourself that time um can can take so much of that pressure off. And I think make decorating more fun.

26:10Lyssia Katan Do you think that people are struggling to trust their taste with everything they're seeing online?

26:16Maggie Wilkerson Yes. Yes. This is something that I hear a lot from folks that I work with, especially one-on-one, um that they just they don't know their style. And this is why I talk so much about finding your unique interior design style mix, because we are bombarded. You know, if you like interiors in any way, shape, or form, that's probably a good percentage of your feed, whether it's Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook or wherever you like to consume content. Um, and we're we're just constantly bombarded, not only with content from folks that we follow, but marketing from furniture brands and you know, all of these different brands. And I think it's really difficult to take all of that messaging that we're

27:14Maggie Wilkerson consuming and really determine what we like, not what marketing is telling us we should like, um, but what we love. And and not only that, but what fits with our home. Because so much of what we see online, too, architectural choices that folks are making, that might work well for their tutor home. But if I live in a 1968 brick ranch, those things, those same things are not going to translate in the same way. And so not only thinking about what you love, but what is going to work for your home, where you're located. Um, if I'm living in Miami versus Asheville, North Carolina, which is where I'm right now, it's likely that the styles that I'm gonna choose for my home are gonna be different. Miami

28:14Maggie Wilkerson has a totally different vibe than living in the mountains of North Carolina. And so all of those things together, we're seeing content from people all over the world. Um, but taking all of those things into consideration when you're making decisions about your home, it's challenging when you're being bombarded with all of that. So some of the things that I teach are helping you to make some of those decisions, determine your own design style mix. That doesn't mean you can't get inspiration from other people, but making some of those decisions about what types of styles you're gonna you're gonna include in your own home, but also intentionally making decisions about what you're not going to include.

28:57Maggie Wilkerson Um, and that can be really helpful for people who are designing and decorating their own homes because it gives them um guardrails. So you're making those decisions, even if you see, you know what, I love this mid-century home that that these folks are are decorating, you know, in Idaho or whatever, wherever they are, you can appreciate that, take pieces from that, but know that, you know what, in my home, I've made the decision to not really include much mid-century, or maybe I'm just doing touches here and there. And so once you make some of those decisions and create that framework for yourself, I think it makes it a lot easier to make those decisions about your home versus being led astray

29:48Maggie Wilkerson by all of these marketing messages that we're getting. And, you know, it's it's it's it can be really challenging. It really can.

29:57Lyssia Katan You often say that shopping is the last resort. What led you there?

30:02Maggie Wilkerson I love shopping.

30:03Lyssia Katan Don't we all?

30:04Maggie Wilkerson I love shopping a lot. And I think that when we when we decide, you know what, my space needs a refresh, or I just moved into a new home. I'm so excited to start decorating and buying things. It's very hard because you have that excitement and you have that motivation to go and do the things, and and that is the lowest hanging fruit. You want to go and hit up Target or go to the mall and look at what pottery barn has and home goods. You want to walk around there. Oh my god, home goods. How could I forget? But, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with that at all. But when you're making big ticket purchases for your home, especially rugs, furniture, wallpaper, all

30:47Maggie Wilkerson of those things. Um it's so important to do some of the prep work and the legwork ahead of time so that you know all these decisions that I'm making are moving towards this bigger purpose. And, you know, spending some time to create that plan that you don't need to mull over it for weeks and months, but spending some time to create that foundation for yourself. Determine your design style mix. What vibe do you want your home to have? Um, I also talk about interior design muses and choosing a muse for your home. So, my muse is Pearson Ward. Um, the vibe that they create, the way that they mix styles together. It's so inspiring for me. Um and so these are the things that are going to be your guiding

31:47Maggie Wilkerson lights when you're starting to create your mood boards for your space and really plan out what you want the space to look like. Um, doing a little bit of that work ahead of time is going to save you from down the road, you've bought all these cute things, brought them home, and they're just not working together. And that's where I see a lot of folks that I work with one-on-one, um, is that they have these pieces that they've bought along the way that just for whatever reason aren't working. Um, and so I can come in and typically look at that and say, you know what, I think a lot of this is working, but you need to repeat this color here, move these pillows here. Um, let's swap these chairs out

32:33Maggie Wilkerson with some from your other room. Um, but

32:40Maggie Wilkerson it's very difficult even to I think give that type of advice when that prep work hasn't been done. So whenever I work one-on-one with people, I don't force them, but I highly encourage them to go through my framework first because they can start to think about the answers to those questions and really get that foundation built for themselves about what they're trying to achieve. And so spending a little bit of time doing that is just gonna pay off in dividends because you're not gonna waste money, you're not gonna waste time sourcing and buying things that just aren't gonna work in the end. Um, and so, and I don't mean create a Pinterest board. I mean do this work to really understand what you

33:30Maggie Wilkerson want and what you like and what you want to achieve in your own home and have that foundation so that you can essentially execute that plan as opposed to starting off with shopping, you're bringing things home, then you're having to return stuff and it's not working, and it the scale's not right and the color's off, and then you want a wallpaper, but it doesn't go with anything else. So having that plan to start with is gold, in my opinion.

33:59Lyssia Katan Yeah, it's like, I mean, every time I walk into Home Goods, and I love Home Goods, it is one of my favorite stores, but they just do what they do so well that you walk in for uh, you know, one small thing, a dish towel, right? You leave with a whole new decor style. Like they just do what they do so good. They have the cutest little things and the little bowls and the little mugs that you want everything. But if you were to go in with a plan, like I need X, Y, and Z, it's like they say you don't go to the grocery store when you're hungry because you're gonna buy everything. You go in with a list and you say, I need this. This is what I'm looking for. And I'm not, I'm not getting distracted by

34:42Lyssia Katan all the stuff going on, all the amazing things going on here.

34:45Maggie Wilkerson And all that is intentional. It's all marketing. But it's so cute. The little knees that they make you go through to check out, it's all intentional and it's fun. You need that dopamine hit, you know, Target and home goods are gonna give it to you. Um, but you know, like you said, going in with a plan, you're gonna be so much more intentional about what you bring into your home. And um, you know, it it doesn't, and it doesn't have to take that long. You know, it it does not, you don't need to delay that gratification. Um, but doing some of that legwork up front is um is really worthwhile, in my opinion. And I'll talk a little bit about some more practical advice when it comes to home goods and

35:30Maggie Wilkerson target. Please. And um, this is another I need to hear it. Well, this is another little new, a new tidbit that I haven't talked about on social media yet. Um, but it's it's this concept of a design detox. And looking at if you're going through this process and and you know, you have this crutch, perhaps, that is holding you back from achieving the home that you want. In my case, it was Target. I loved, loved Target. Most of the things in my home were from Target. And it looked like most of the things in my home were from Target. So what I did, and what I encourage um folks to do that I work with as well is give yourself uh detox from your design crutch. If you really feel like Target or Amazon

36:27Maggie Wilkerson or HomeGoods or any of these places are holding you back from really achieving what you want in your home, cut yourself off. It doesn't have to be for forever. I don't like to go to Target anymore personally because it just is too busy. I'll order things online and pick them up. But um giving yourself a break, at least for a period of time, from whatever you think your design crutch is, can really force you to start sourcing other places and looking at different stores for um for things that you need, because you've decided, you know what, I'm cutting myself off from Target or Home Goods or wherever. And I'm gonna force myself to um maybe look at secondhand or look at um some local uh local

37:26Maggie Wilkerson shops that are making really cool home goods or sourcing from you know Etsy, where you've got access to all of these incredible creators and small businesses, it can really

37:44Maggie Wilkerson help to hone your eye a little bit too. Because when we walk into these places or when we go to Amazon or when we're seeing all this content about the next Amazon dupe, um it can I think train us to look at things in in a very narrow way. But when we cut ourselves off from something that might be a crutch, we can really, I think, broaden our view of what's possible and what's available because we're not just running to Amazon every time we need a new throw pillow or whatever. Um so even though it takes a little bit more time to find those other sources, it can be really rewarding and I think pay off in the end because you're not going to end up with a home that looks like it was sourced all

38:40Maggie Wilkerson from the same place. You know, it sort of forces you to go to these different places to find what you need. Um and I think that can be a good thing sometimes, especially, and no, this is not for everyone, but especially if you feel like that sort of target addiction, if you will, or home goods addiction is holding you back. Um, that's where I think this can be really, really helpful for people.

39:06Lyssia Katan It's a real thing. I mean, those stores know what they're doing. And not to say they're not great. I love home goods, love Target, love Amazon, but sometimes, actually often, these things are manufactured to look a certain way or to be able to be produced in large amounts. So a lot of people will buy them. And then your home just looks like everything else, everywhere else, you know? And being able to find or purchase a handmade throw pillow from an Etsy maker, a creator on Etsy is so much more special and intentional than just adding to cart on Amazon.

39:47Maggie Wilkerson Yeah. And I think finding the best thing that's available in HomeGoods, Target or Amazon, um is probably not gonna be as good as many of the things that you're gonna find that are handmade or made in small batches, you know, that have more of that artisanal quality to them. Um so I've, you know, you can spend hours looking through everything, every throw pillow that Target has, find the best one that's available, which is still probably not going to be that great, or go somewhere like Etsy or local places, or even having um, you know, if we're looking at throw pillows, having someone local um make one for you. You know, that's if you find a fabric that you love, or um I like to work with vintage

40:42Maggie Wilkerson and antique fabrics a lot that I'll source. I'm I made a um tablecloth that my sister thrifted for me into a balance. And it's incredible. No one else has this. And I had a local seamstress make it for me, and it, you know, it's maybe 250 bucks to have that made from a $12 tablecloth. And it takes a little bit more work to do that, but it's those are the things I think that are gonna bring that character and that warmth and um that interest to your home, really make it feel unique, make it feel like you, um, because you didn't get everything from a big box store.

41:24Lyssia Katan When it comes to visualizing how you want a space to look, and and you've spoken about this on social media. You've mentioned Aphantasia. How does that, well, first of all, for our listeners, what is it? And second of all, how does it impact the work you do in visualizing a space?

41:40Maggie Wilkerson Well, aphantasia is um, I don't want to call it a condition, but it's it's the way that our brains work and the way that our um that we're able to visualize in our mind's eye. And so people who have aphantasia don't have a mind's eye. And of course, there's a spectrum here. Um, but for me, the way that that shows up is if I close my eyes and try to envision my husband's face or my mother's face, I can't. And I didn't know that that was um, I didn't know that that that was unique to me when I was in art class and and you know heard people talking about, well, envision in your mind's eye and and draw this or paint that. I think you really only know your own experience. And so it wasn't until gosh,

42:35Maggie Wilkerson maybe two or three years ago that I realized that that's not in fact normal, and that most people can envision things in their mind. Um and so for me, when I'm designing spaces and the way that that shows up, um I can't see something and then envision how it's gonna be in that space. I have to mock it up. And uh this is something that my sister and I talk about with each other a lot. She's my design buddy, and and we do a lot of this stuff together. Um, but when we're sourcing for our own homes and we share an image with each other, you know, hey, do you like this chair? Do you you do you think this sofa will work? Um, we'll say to each other, mock it up. And so what we really mean by that is

43:28Maggie Wilkerson plug it into our mood board. So whenever I'm decorating a space, whenever I'm helping uh a client decorate a space, what I always ask for for a meeting is you need to bring your mood board because that is what's going to help you envision on your screen, or even if you print things out and like to do have your materials and swatches and do a physical mood board. That is what's going to help you envision. How this particular thing is going to look and work in your space. And it goes back to this concept of buying things because you love them versus buying things because they're going to work in your space. And if you don't test that out, if you don't have a true mind's eye, especially, then you're

44:20Maggie Wilkerson not going to be able to understand how that piece is going to work with the rest of the pieces that you already have or that you're planning to source. And so that's why, especially when

44:33Maggie Wilkerson you know we're working slowly and over time, a mood board also not only helps you test things out, but helps you to see that in the context of your goalpost. So for example, when I was working on my bedroom, it has taken me many years to get that space to the point where it is finished. It's still not finished. That's okay. But along the way, I had a mood board and I sort of turned that into a mock-up of the space as well, so that I knew what I was working towards. And the biggest challenge was that I was doing wallpaper. And that was the hero piece for the room. That was what everything else was built off of. But I didn't have the wallpaper installed yet. So wallpaper installation in this space

45:30Maggie Wilkerson ended up being one of the last things that I did just because of budget and time and even just finding a wallpaper installer in our area was impossible. But knowing that that was the end goal, I could test things out in my mood board to see if they would work, still source other pieces for the room without actually having the wallpaper on the walls. And so knowing that I needed to source some nightstands, for example. Instead of plugging them into my room, the walls were painted like a charcoal gray. It was nothing like the wallpaper that was going in. So as I was sourcing these pieces, they looked horrible in the room because we still had carpet on the, you know, the gray walls. I mean, nothing

46:24Maggie Wilkerson looked like it was supposed to because the wallpaper wasn't in yet. And so, but having that mood board, having that goalpost, that plan helped me to still source pieces for the room, knowing that they were going to work with the end result, because I had already decided on that wallpaper, that's what's going to help you make progress, as opposed to, you know, if I had bought some of these things and brought them in, I would have thought they looked horrible and I needed to get something new because they weren't working with the context of what I had in place already. Um, but for me, for folks who have eye fantasia or who can't um envision things in their mind, it would have been very challenging

47:13Maggie Wilkerson for me to see that vision if I had not created my mood board first. And so that's something that it's it's really non-negotiable for folks that I work with because that is your testing ground. Um, that's where you're really gonna make these decisions before you pull the trigger, before you bring things home, and know that it's gonna work in your space without having to bring it home and stick it in your space first.

47:42Lyssia Katan Are there any tools that you suggest to clients to create their mood boards? Is it in Canva? Is it in Photoshop? Where are they making these?

47:51Maggie Wilkerson The two tools that I highly recommend are Canva. Um, I think if you already know a little bit about Canva or you already have a subscription for something else, um you can use the free version as well. But um, it's a very user-friendly. I've used Canva to create floor plans for renovation that we're doing on our on our vacation home in Mexico. I'm I use Canva to make floor plans and like architectural mock-ups. It's great. Um, but it it can be great for like quick and dirty stuff too. And and so if you want to test out, you know, you've got um you're let's say you're looking for a piece of art or a mirror for your foyer, take a picture of that wall, grab a piece of art, stick it in there in

48:40Maggie Wilkerson Canva. It's such a quick way to do that, and you can even do it on your phone, which is great. Um the other tool that I really love is Spoke. And um Spoke is is an online tool. There is a subscription, I believe, but it's it's pretty low cost. And so I do recommend this tool as well. I use it a lot for myself. Um and it's more of a professional tool for decorators and designers, but it's not going to be at the level of um like a SketchUp or some of some of these other tools that it's it's too much for someone who's just designing their own home, you know, to learn a tool like that. And so um Spoke, I think, really bridges that gap. It's more than more than you're gonna get with Canva, but there's

49:34Maggie Wilkerson not a huge learning curve. You can hop right in and start making things versus Photoshop or some of these other um really heavy-duty tools that are cost prohibitive and the learning curve, especially if you're not comfortable with technology, is just gonna be too big. Um one thing that I have seen though with some of my some of the folks that I work with is that a lot of people nowadays don't have computers and they're doing everything. I as somebody who's worked in tech for, you know, since I was 14 years old, I could never be without a computer. Yeah, me too. There there are computer activities and there are iPhone activities. And you just you can't like I can't book plane tickets on my iPhone.

50:21Maggie Wilkerson I do that on my computer. But a lot of folks now, our phones are so powerful and and tablets and things like that, that so much of what we're doing is moving to those um those smaller screens. And so that's been challenging for me when I'm I'm working with people who say, well, I don't I don't have a computer to do these mock-ups on. So um one of the things that I'm gonna be looking into that I think actually is gonna work really well for folks in this situation, is um there's a native app on your iPhone that you can use. And blanking on the name, um, I think it's called like jot or free, maybe it's free form. I think it's called freeform. But it's it's an easy way to grab images, copy them,

51:14Maggie Wilkerson and stick them into um a little, a little screen where you can see things together. And that's essentially what you're doing with the mood board is testing how does this pink color work with um this rug and this nightstand and these different things that I want to incorporate in the room. Um, so for folks who are working on their phone, I think Canva can be good, although I'm not really, I think their um iPhone version is is a little difficult to navigate. Um, but freeform is definitely one that folks can check out if they want to do things on their phone.

51:47Lyssia Katan Absolutely. Thank you for that. I mean, I have a friend, I use Canva all the time on my computer. I have a friend who does it all on our phone. And I'm so shocked and so impressed because some people are so fast on their phones. But like you said, there are some phone activities and there's some computer activities. And for me, Canva is just a like a laptop activity.

52:09Maggie Wilkerson That's a laptop activity for me. But you know what? If you've got that skill to uh to really work on your phone, then it's it's certainly worth trying, especially for the free version.

52:18Lyssia Katan Throughout your work and throughout your videos, you seem really drawn to vintage and antique furniture. And I love it because I'm also very drawn to vintage and antique furniture, but most people aren't. What do older pieces provide or bring to a home that newer furniture can't really do?

52:39Maggie Wilkerson New furniture doesn't have a story, you know, unless you're sourcing from an artisan, somebody who's handmaking these things, which is fantastic. Uh most people aren't doing that either. But there's no story, there's no history, there's no patina, um, there's no age to it. And I think with a lot of new furniture, there's no warmth. And um

53:10Maggie Wilkerson you can't create that, but it has to be built over time. So even some pieces that I've come across or that I have in my own home that are meant to look old, they're not fooling anybody. You know, you know that that's photosing, you know that that's um, you know, that somebody made those marks with a hammer trying to make this piece look old, and it it's obviously not. So, right, you know, you know, when Abercrombie did that to those genes versus that happening over time. Um, and so you just it's something that you really can't, you just can't recreate. And I know that it's not for everyone. And I think that a lot of people though have this idea of vintage and antique furniture that it's dirty

54:10Maggie Wilkerson or it's old or crusty, and we don't want that in our house. Um, but

54:18Maggie Wilkerson there are so many different styles of vintage and antique furniture. It's not just for your grandmother, it's not, you know, the floral couch that you remember from your granny's house and you know, from the 1970s, which I personally have one of those in my house that I love. Um, but it doesn't have to be that. And you don't have to um you don't have to do this throughout your whole home either. But I think uh

54:51Maggie Wilkerson an intentionally placed antique or vintage object, piece of art, an accent table, um, you know, those sorts of things are easy to clean if if you're a germ freak or clean freak or anything like that. Um, you know, there are pieces that you it doesn't have to be upholstered furniture, you know, and so I think at least having an open mind about incorporating some of this into your home, I think people would be very surprised at what is out there that falls into this category of vintage and antique furniture and rugs and and all of these things. And um, you know, I tell people too, if you're um if you're scared of bringing pests into your home or anything like that, get these things professionally

55:47Maggie Wilkerson cleaned. You know, antique and vintage rugs are I think the goat, in my opinion. Um, I have new rugs in my home too, but there's just something about an antique or vintage wool rug that just it just brings so much warmth and character into a space. And these rugs, too, they've been around for, you know, decades. So you know that they're gonna hold up. Um, but you can get them professionally cleaned. And, you know, that's gonna take care of any of that fear that I think a lot of people have bringing some of these things into Rome, which, you know, I'm not saying that's not a valid concern. Um, but that is something that I recommend to people if you're a little bit squeamish about that. Um, but

56:35Maggie Wilkerson what I would say for folks who are, you know, have an idea in their head about vintage and antique furniture is just for grandma's house, go to first dibs, go to um cherish, and just start scrolling. You know, type in a few keywords, um, look at original mid-century furniture, look at the shapes and styles that um you know remain in some of these different time periods, and it can really sort of open you up to other possibilities when it comes to vintage and antique, because the reproductions, you know, the things that um a lot of the things today I think are inspired by mid-century shapes, you know, you see tapered legs and um all of these things on a lot of furniture that's made today, but

57:32Maggie Wilkerson it's so watered down, it just

57:38Maggie Wilkerson like a sad whisper of some of the things that came before it. And so I think when you actually see um the original inspiration of some of these pieces, it can be really fun and start to really open up your mind to the possibility of incorporating some of these things into your home.

57:57Lyssia Katan Absolutely. I'm laughing because you said grandma's house. I I recently, I recently thrifted a beautiful sewing table that that I just I think is stunning, but I took it home and it like you know this came from someone's grandmother's house. And as I'm cleaning it and taking out the drawers, I found a piece of paper inside. It's a social security paper from 1974. And I'm like, there is a story here. Like you said, new pieces don't have a story. There's a story. I wish I could ask whoever's grandma about this table and what kind of things she sewed on this table. And you you know that it was, and often when it does come from grandma's house, it's so well taken care of. Just it is pristine and

58:41Lyssia Katan and very often people are scared of that or they don't want that or don't see the beauty in it. But it speaks to you.

58:48Maggie Wilkerson The best thing when you find a piece of vintage or antique furniture is buying it from the original owners or the children of the original owners. Um, this is like the ultimate for an antique and vintage thrifting. Um I'll use the word junkie here. The ultimate is when you can hear the story firsthand. Finding little things like that are so great. I found notes in some of the furniture that I bought too, like hidden behind a drawer. So great. But um one of the most recent things that I thrift thrifted is not the right word here because I found it on Facebook Marketplace. Um, but I was shopping on Facebook Marketplace in Mexico for um the home that we're restoring there. And I always like to,

59:46Maggie Wilkerson when I'm there, I like to see what's available and you know what people are getting rid of. And I found this incredible wrought iron bench, and it was huge, and it had layers of paint on it. It was all chippy and just incredible. And as I was scrolling these through these pictures, I see on the end of the bench initials, letters, and they were made out of the iron and incorporated into the design. And I thought, you know what, that is so cool. You know, there's a story there. Um and I think it was my my husband who was there with me. And so we Ubered across town and met the owners of this house that they were selling. Um, and we

1:00:37Maggie Wilkerson had the opportunity to hang out with them for a little while, waiting for someone to come help us get this bench back to our house. It was huge. But we got to learn the whole story of their parents and how they had this bench made for them. And it was their initials, um, their two last names together on the end of this bench. And it was so special. Their parents had passed away and they were selling their home. Um, but it was so special to be able to hear that story from them, to learn about the people who had this custom made for their home. And, you know, it was just so personal. And then to be able to also

1:01:22Maggie Wilkerson tell these children, the children of the parents, that this bench was going to a home that was going to cherish it and you know, love it so much and do it justice and um repaint it a beautiful color and you know, really have it be a part of our story now. Um that's just the ultimate when you get the story as opposed to finding on the side of the road or at a thrift store, when you get the story from the people who owned it, that is just it just makes it that much more special and unique. And you know I'm gonna tell that story to every single person who comes over to my house and asks about my bench too. So it's um, you're just you're never gonna get that with new furniture.

1:02:10Lyssia Katan Looking ahead, what do you hope we do more of in our homes?

1:02:15Maggie Wilkerson What I want people to do, and what I'm what I'm really hopeful for, um, and I sort of see design heading in this direction a little bit. I think it's a pendulum swing from the millennial gray and sad beige era that we were in for a while, um, is to take it the opportunity to create something personal and create something in your home that you love and that makes you feel a certain way when you're in your space. Um as opposed to looking outwards and designing outwards of the world. And um, you know, my my series, how to fool your friends, is very tongue-in-cheek because I don't really want you to fool your friends. You know, it's not about your friends, it's about you and how you want to feel,

1:03:16Maggie Wilkerson how you want your family to feel in your home. Um, and so I hope that

1:03:24Maggie Wilkerson I hope that we can all move towards that goal as opposed to creating this Instagram aesthetic that you know is just it's not it's not sustainable, you know. Um and it's it's exhausting. But when you're designing for yourself and designing for how you want your own home to feel and how you want to feel in your home, um that's something that you can benefit from every single day. And that's what I hope for my clients, that's what I hope for anyone who follows me on social media or consumes my content is that you create a home for yourself and a home that you're gonna feel good in and feel good about and feel good to show off, but it's because it's a reflection of you and a reflection of how you

1:04:25Maggie Wilkerson want to feel in your home. Um one of the things that I encourage people to do as well that I work with is get offline when it comes to um finding inspiration. And I'm a huge lover and collector of coffee table books, especially books that are about interior design or even window treatments, things like that, new ones, vintage books, um architecture books, all of those things can be such great sources of inspiration and sort of block out a lot of that noise that we get online, Pinterest, social media, all of those things, um, and really help to

1:05:15Maggie Wilkerson think about what you love and what you want for your home. Um go analog, if you will.

1:05:23Lyssia Katan Maggie, this has been so amazing. You have just given us so many nuggets of gold here to work with. And and I know our listeners across the world will really, really benefit from this conversation. Thank you so much for your advice and your suggestions. You've inspired me. And and thank you for everything you're creating online because it's really opening people's eyes to different possibilities that they didn't even consider.

1:05:49Maggie Wilkerson Absolutely. It was such a pleasure to be here and um so wonderful to chat about design for an hour. This is this is what I love.

1:05:59Lyssia Katan Likewise. Thank you, Maggie. Thank you so much for spending this time with me on Room to Think. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to follow the show, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who you think would really appreciate a more thoughtful approach to their space. You can find more Design Meets Psychology insights on social, in our community, and definitely in upcoming episodes so you can build a better life by design. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.