The Simple Sophisticate - Intelligent Living Paired with Signature Style

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"Sophistication is a perfect marriage between intelligence and simplicity, combined with supreme confidence." —Rose Tarlow, interior designer, author of The Private House

A home that spontaneously prompts a deep exhale of relief and appreciation when we arrive. Four walls of our own that reflect what we need to unwind, put down any defenses or professional selves that we have needed to do our job. When we know we have such a place, no matter the size, but we know it is our own, our whole being can rest, can delight and can be free.

The caveat is that a home such as this doesn't just magically come together. In fact, even hiring an interior designer won't create this feeling of deep intimate calm that day after day, year after year, we feel innately. Rather, it takes intention, both in knowing ourselves and in knowing how to create the aesthetic combinations of colors, textiles, décor items, furniture and arrangement. The latter is what internationally respected interior designer, antiquarian and fine furniture and fabric creator Rose Tarlow can teach us. In her book The Private House published first back in 2001, she details, more accurately, journals her way through her thought process of decorating private homes for her clients, and herself and loved ones. The book was republished with updates in 2024, and I was fortunate to receive a copy after being inspired to explore the title by a long-time reader and member of TSLL community Deborah L. (thank you Deb!).

Rose Tarlow knows quiet luxury, even though she herself would never use the term. But to look at her projects of homes located in France (Provence), England (London) and in the States (Los Angeles), the fact that more than 20 years later they still look inviting, reveal her skill of timeless acquisitions, textile choices and arrangements.

Have a look at the quote below and her thoughts about the importance of creating, decorating a house so that it becomes our private house.

"Our private house should be a reflection of oursleves, our way of being in the world, what makes us distinctly different from one another. Taste is a matter of opinion and its nature is constantly seeking to define itself. So we are continually influenced by the people we meet, by what we read, and by what we see. Our opinions take shape, yet we are never fully formed, always becoming, incorporating experiences, continuously changing and refining our image of ourselves throughout our lives. This never-ending process of evolvement makes designing one's own home an extremely personal experience." —Rose Tarlow, interior designer, author of The Private House

Along with knowing how to decorate, as mentioned above, we must also bring our self-knowledge, and this is an intentional journey we must embark upon, and a most enjoyable and worthwhile one as well. No only for decorating our home well, but making life and relationship decisions. TSLL blog, books and podcast have been dedicated to sharing with you resources and inspiration for unearthing and gaining the knowledge and skills you need to take this journey and with today's post/episode, it's all about decorating know-how: what works and why, how to decide and how to approach decorating your home when you have more than one room staring back at you waiting to be customized.

Tune in to the episode to explore the 10 ways to create your own sophisticated sanctuary.

Find the Show Notes on the blog, The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast436

"Sophistication is a perfect marriage between intelligence and simplicity, combined with supreme confidence." —Rose Tarlow, interior designer, author of The Private House

A home that spontaneously prompts a deep exhale of relief and appreciation when we arrive. Four walls of our own that reflect what we need to unwind, put down any defenses or professional selves that we have needed to do our job. When we know we have such a place, no matter the size, but we know it is our own, our whole being can rest, can delight and can be free.

The caveat is that a home such as this doesn't just magically come together. In fact, even hiring an interior designer won't create this feeling of deep intimate calm that day after day, year after year, we feel innately. Rather, it takes intention, both in knowing ourselves and in knowing how to create the aesthetic combinations of colors, textiles, décor items, furniture and arrangement. The latter is what internationally respected interior designer, antiquarian and fine furniture and fabric creator Rose Tarlow can teach us. In her book The Private House published first back in 2001, she details, more accurately, journals her way through her thought process of decorating private homes for her clients, and herself and loved ones. The book was republished with updates in 2024, and I was fortunate to receive a copy after being inspired to explore the title by a long-time reader and member of TSLL community Deborah L. (thank you Deb!).

Rose Tarlow knows quiet luxury, even though she herself would never use the term. But to look at her projects of homes located in France (Provence), England (London) and in the States (Los Angeles), the fact that more than 20 years later they still look inviting, reveal her skill of timeless acquisitions, textile choices and arrangements.

Have a look at the quote below and her thoughts about the importance of creating, decorating a house so that it becomes our private house.

"Our private house should be a reflection of oursleves, our way of being in the world, what makes us distinctly different from one another. Taste is a matter of opinion and its nature is constantly seeking to define itself. So we are continually influenced by the people we meet, by what we read, and by what we see. Our opinions take shape, yet we are never fully formed, always becoming, incorporating experiences, continuously changing and refining our image of ourselves throughout our lives. This never-ending process of evolvement makes designing one's own home an extremely personal experience." —Rose Tarlow, interior designer, author of The Private House

Along with knowing how to decorate, as mentioned above, we must also bring our self-knowledge, and this is an intentional journey we must embark upon, and a most enjoyable and worthwhile one as well. No only for decorating our home well, but making life and relationship decisions. TSLL blog, books and podcast have been dedicated to sharing with you resources and inspiration for unearthing and gaining the knowledge and skills you need to take this journey and with today's post/episode, it's all about decorating know-how: what works and why, how to decide and how to approach decorating your home when you have more than one room staring back at you waiting to be customized.

Tune in to the episode to explore the 10 ways to create your own sophisticated sanctuary.

Find the Show Notes on the blog, The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast436

Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment42

Find the text for this mini-episode on The Simply Luxurious Life - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/moment41

"In a world of fleeting trends, the most profound elegance is self-fidelity. Let your style be an authentic whisper of your spirit, not a borrowed shout. Cultivate your own taste; adorn yourself in truths, not trophies. The greatest rebellion is to remain unyieldingly yourself." —Anonymous

In many ways it far easier in our world today to be true to ourselves, void of blindly following trends and cultural preferences as options abound of how to live, what to wear, what [fill in the blank of what we are trying to figure out], but at the same time, because the world is so loud with everyone having a microphone and video in their pockets should they want to use it, it can also be hard to know what our own self is. Are we rebelling against the cacophony or walking our own path? Are we singing our own song or is it a tune we heard unconsciously over and over again while going about our life from surrounding influences?

One way to know we have arrived at least at a semblance of self-fidelity is when we are comfortable in our own company. No matter the length of time, when we choose to be with only ourselves, how comfortable are we? Are we at peace with the decisions we've made? Do we feel we can correct them if they need adjustment, and who are we adjusting them for? So long as it is for our peace and to bring a peace of mind to our days, then self-fidelity is part of our way of life far more abundantly than we may have given ourselves credit for.

There will be times in my days when I ponder the life decisions that have brought me to the life I live today and it is often a pondering grounded in appreciation. While I could not have foreseen the decisions, each one, that would eventually lead me to Le Papillon, working from home, a pup as companion, garden to potter in and connecting with online readers in TSLL community from around the world, the simple truth is the fact that there wasn't a guidebook to lead me here assures me they were made, each decision, with a sincere heart. In alignment with what my true compass. Each decision made, not all easily, but hopeful that it would work out because if they did, I knew I would be energized, full of creative ideas to share and capable of living well.

As you will see in point #7, one of the true tests to determine if we are living with the compass of self-fidelity as our guide is whether we have a detailed map of direction or not. Let me bring relief and skip ahead for a moment, not having one, at least not a detailed one, is a most promising thing indeed.

Let's take a look at the entire list exploring how to maintain self-fidelity along our life journey:

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Sideways. Often a term associated with glancing, looking, or moving from side to side, or figuratively referring to something not working out as we'd hoped. However, today, with the help of a new book that brought it to my attention, I want us to reframe this term as we discover how intentionally remembering to live sideways while we strive forward toward our goals, or set sail in the direction of our intentions, is a recipe for living a life of depth, quality, and richness.

In a world that may feel as though it is perpetually pushing us forward, or pulling us forward as it sometimes seems, if we don't cultivate a life that nourishes us, we can easily be swept along with the current, focused only on outcomes of productivity, results or finished work or accolades for that work. How we engage with our journey along the way will then become less important, and we have forgotten that living now is all that we have guaranteed.

Tune in to the episode and find the show notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast434

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"Everything we do and for how long and intensely we do it affects our brains." —Wendy Suzuki, PhD., author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life

We each have the ability to expand and improve the quality of our life. No matter what our age, our brain is capable of expanding in its cognitive abilities. We just need to remember to exercise it. And the beautiful discovery I want to share with you today is that often how we exercise our brain can be not only enjoyable, but elevate our entire life. A win-win in which we are the fortunate recipient that holds the keys to giving to ourselves.

In a book that came out in 2015, interactive researcher and well-known TEDx speaker, Dr. Wendy Suzuki shares in Healthy Brain, Happy Life that when we understand what plasticity means when it references the brain, "the idea that the brain has an essential ability to change as a result of experience" we open up encouragement to continue to give it opportunities to stretch, expand and discover. Which means that we are reminded that forever learning, permitting our curiosity to be our guide is not a silly prospect, but a necessary one to live a long and healthy and yep, happy life.

Today, I would like to share with you nine practices and ideas, explained through Suzuki's shared rearch of how to keep our brain healthy and thereby enhancing the quality of our lived experience each day.

Tune in to the episode as we explore this topic and find the Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast433

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A change of climate, a change of culture, a change in time zone. All of these and more are concrete changes we encounter when we choose to travel far from our home and daily life. Granted a time zone change may not be part of each occasion, but still, when the sun rises and sets most likely will be.

Change is what we witness when we choose to travel. And by choosing to embark on an adventure, an exploration that involves changes, knowing our daily routine will temporarily be different and knowing the environment we step into will be different, we are exercising a powerful muscle that is part of living a life of contentment — accepting and seeing the gift of change.

In today's episode, I will be sharing many of the gifts that travel gives us, moreso from the well-being and life enriching perspective, rather than speaking to any particular destination. It can be easy to forget these gifts when we settle back into our daily rhythm. And the courage and choice to invest in travel can sometimes wane the further removed we are from the first-person experience of travel.

Let's take a look at eight wonderful gifts that travel gives us and how when we pack the consciousness along with all of the other gifts that living a life of contentment gives us, we deepen the experience all the more.

View the Show Notes for this episode on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast432

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"Once we realize that serendipity is not just about a coincidence that happens to us but is actually a process of spotting and connecting the dots do we start to see bridges where others see gaps. Only then does serendipity start happening all the time in our lives." —Christian Busch, PhD, author of The Serendipity Mindset

In The Serendipity Mindset, Busch defines serendipity as something that is active, "'smart' luck that depends on our ability to spot and connect the dots." We must first see what he describes as the serendipity trigger, "be able to connect the dots and THEN, develop the tenacity necessary to focus on and influence valuable outcomes."

Holding this definition in our mind, we understand that serendipity is something we can invest in to increase the chances of it happening and that, to my ears, is very good news.

Today, I'd like to share with you a handful, two handfuls exactly, of ways taught by Busch in his book that we can increase the odds of serendipity happening in our life. This list is merely an introduction as he shares far more in the book. So if today's episode speaks to you, I highly recommend picking up your own copy. Let's get started.

Find the Show Notes on The Simply Luxurious Life blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/podcast431