DESIGNING HOME—from curb appeal TO kitchen sinks (and towels)
MY zeal for creating a sense of home is informed by my love of design, architecture, color, fashion, and form.
Fluent in Home® is a passion project that sprang from my obsession with curating a complete home for sale, attending to every detail to present each home at its most optimal.
It started with a bolt of vintage linen from a French flea market, which I turned into tea towels and cafe curtains for my listings. Then there were the face masks for clients and friends during the pandemic, created from outgrown Paul Smith shirts I found in my husband’s closet. It evolved into a cottage industry when a colleague ordered 50 linen tea towels and 25 napkins after I had gave her some of my towels as a thank you gift. Suddenly I was producing kitchen and tabletop linens at my dining table and sourcing top-tier fabric from European mills. The stacks of fabric grew—and grew. Pillows were born. The more I gave away, the more orders poured in. Stagers wanted pillows for their projects, realtors ordered tea towels as closing gifts, brides-to-be requested hand-crafted swag for bridal showers. Fluent in Home became a late-night side gig; an e-commerce website was designed.
As a full-time, active Realtor® serving Berkeley, Oakland, Piedmont, Kensington, Albany, El Cerrito, and Alameda communities, my first commitment is my real estate practice and devotion to presenting homes that stand out. My lifelong interest in textiles and sewing has spawned bespoke bedding, kitchen linens, and throw pillows for my own listings, supporting my fixation on custom details that set a home apart and optimize it visually. When people request items that they saw at my listings, I know my approach to home has come full-circle.