Now that we’ve tried the steps to achieve “Cozy Minimalism” in our own home—and loved the result—we invited Myquillyn Smith, author of Cozy Minimalist Home, to discuss how she combined two seemingly opposing ideas into a clear, repeatable decorating approach. She explains how to stop buying the wrong accessories, why there’s a helpful order to decorating a room, and emphatically tells us what items to avoid picking up at big-box stores. We also share lessons from tiling the duplex (one simple change made the job much easier), and Sherry admits she may finally be embracing the autumn season.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to find links, notes, and photos we reference. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may need to click through to the post to view the player.
What’s New
- That photo above was taken during our first weekend of tiling at the duplex. It felt great to see our tile selections begin to take shape. We still need to grout and add quarter round around the baseboards; once that’s done we’ll share more photos of the finished areas. The mudroom tile pictured above installed quickly thanks to its large size—each tile is nearly 1.5 feet by 3 feet, which sped up the process.
- The upstairs bathroom hit a pause because we ran out of tile. The pattern we used is less forgiving than it seems, so we had to be diligent to avoid cutting along the wrong edge. Fortunately, the remaining tiles have arrived and should be installed by the time you read this.
- If you’d like to see the other tiles we selected for each side of the duplex, we summarized our picks a few weeks ago—and switched a couple of choices before final installation.
Myquillyn Smith – Cozy Minimalist Home
- If you missed our earlier conversation about Myquillyn’s book, Sherry tested the Cozy Minimalist approach in our house on Episode #111.
- The book, Cozy Minimalist Home, is out this week and worth grabbing if you want a simple, approachable method for making your rooms feel calm, intentional, and lived-in.
- Myquillyn shares more on her blog The Nesting Place and at cozyminimalist.com, where she offers additional resources and freebies. We also talked with her in Episode #58 about how she navigates sharing family life online.
- The photo above from the book highlights a few Cozy Minimalist principles in practice: clear surfaces, thoughtfully scaled accessories, and purposeful editing. The book includes many more examples and step-by-step guidance.
- If you’re wrestling with what to do about gifts or passed-down items you don’t want to keep, we discussed those tricky decisions in more depth on Episode #35.
We’re Digging
- Sherry’s easing into fall with a few nail colors that feel seasonal without being over the top. Some shades she’s liking right now include:
- Worth A Pretty Penne
- Berlin There Done That
- Chicago Champagne Toast
- You Don’t Know Jacques
- One Instagram account I’ve been enjoying is typography artist Becca Clason (@beccaclason). Her compositions with black beans, pennies, spices, and grains demonstrate remarkable patience and precision.
- Her work reminds me of another account we admire: @kmsalvagedesign, which also features careful, tactile craft projects.
If you’re trying to find something we’ve recommended in a past episode, check our master list of “We’re Digging” picks from previous shows. You can also browse books we’ve suggested on our Book Club page.
Big thanks to Revel Woods for sponsoring this episode. They offer a wide selection of hardwood flooring samples; use code YHL10 to get $10 off your first sample box.
Thanks for listening!
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