How can you know what you are capable of if you don’t embrace the unknown?
Esmeralda Santiago, Conquistadora
Meet Veronica
I have been turning houses into homes–cozy, organized, personal sanctuaries– for friends, family, and co-workers for years. For fun.
I was furloughed then let go from my 9-5 as an executive assistant during the Covid pandemic. In the last few years I’ve found solace and a renewed fervor for interior decorating, furniture flips, and home organization. And it turns out–I’m good at it!
And now it’s all I want to do.
Well. That and travel. I can’t tell you how many interior design schemes I’ve pulled from hotels I’ve stayed at, or restaurants I’ve eaten in, or boutiques I’ve wandered through. . .travel fuels my passion for sure.
Why Sprezzatura ?
Sprezzatura is an Italian word. It conveys the idea of doing something well, but making it look effortless.
I first came across the word sprezzatura in Maria Pasquale’s darling book “How to be Italian”. My husband gifted it to me because he said that it was pretty. . and a pretty accurate reflection of how I was already striving to live my life. In her glossary, under “ideas”, Maria defines sprezzatura as “the effortless elegance and nonchalance with which Italians carry themselves.”
Yep. I love that idea.
Most of the modern examples of this concept are in relation to gentlemen’s sartorial styling, but I feel it applies equally well to the way a coherent design and decorating scheme plays out in a room.
I’m a firm believer that our homes both reflect and contribute to how we feel about and present ourselves to the world. . .and something magical happens when someone spends time working on the aesthetics and functionality of their space: it’s not just a transformation of the room–it’s a transformation of the soul.
Energy gets shaken up: old doubts get tossed out with the contents of the junk drawer, and goals get realized with the painting of walls. I have seen it happen time and again! Watching someone go through the process and emerge more joyful and more confident not just with their homes, but with their lives, is an incredible thrill for me.
They become one of those people, looking put together and strolling through life with that sprezzatura swagger.
My goal with this blog is to try and spread a little of that transformational magic around. I will be sharing inspiring interiors at home and abroad, decorating projects I have done and new ones as they come, and how-to guides so you too will feel confident in your own abilities. I may even get poetic about celebrating the wheel of the year with seasonal decorating. And working with the universal flow of energy to attract what you want through the elements you decorate with.
I think everyone deserves to live la dolce vita– a life filled with beauty, love, good food, friends, music–and I believe if one is in tune with oneself, then life becomes easier, and the things we want come to us.
– V –