Desha Peacock
Instagram: @deshapeacock | sweetspotstyle.com
Slow design
I think it’s important to try to design a space that reflects the essence of who you are. It’s worth it to slowly curate your design over time instead of buying everything at once, which can feel impersonal. Think of designing your space as a way of infusing meaning into your physical world.
Color, color, color!
Color represents energy and mood. Color evokes different emotions from culture to culture, but what is interesting to me is how the most prominent colors represent the same thing worldwide. Blue is universally calming, thanks to our friends, the sky and the ocean. Green represents growth and abundance nearly across the globe.
Treat your personal sanctuary with respect by keeping it tidy and pretty. Make sure to keep it sacred by creating boundaries.
Stagnation is a killer
Whether in the home or at work, I’m inspired by the notion of endless possibilities. If you think about water, it’s healthy when it flows; otherwise, there is stagnation. For me, like water, stagnation is a killer.
Personal sanctuary essentials
First and foremost, it’s about setting an intention to treat your creative work space as sacred. From there, treat your personal sanctuary with respect by keeping it tidy and pretty. Make sure to keep it sacred by creating boundaries. In other words, no stacks of bills or overflowing dirty laundry baskets. Your personal sanctuary is a reflection of you, so treat it with respect and love. You deserve that for yourself.
Nurturing creativity
I’m very inspired by the thousands of incredibly talented home decor enthusiasts on Instagram that I devour daily. However, too much of a good thing can actually stop my creativity. To nourish myself, I need to get off the screen and enjoy a walk in nature, take a bath or visit with a friend. It’s usually when I’m totally relaxed that my best ideas come to me.
Get unconventional
Think outside the box and look at what you have before discarding it or running out to buy something new. Use your dresser as a nightstand. Use a dining hutch to hold supplies in your office. For example, my bed is made of two unused bookshelves turned upside down and pushed together. Weird, but it works.
Instant aliveness
Add plants to cleanse the space with life-producing oxygen. Use therapeutic-grade essential oils (like DoTerra) in a diffuser to awaken the senses. I love lemon oil to clean the air and make it smell fresh without the use of yucky chemicals.
ORIGIN Rapid Fire
Something you always have in your bag? My mini essential oil kit and lipstick.
The place you feel most yourself? In bed or in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
Where do you shop to find your favorite pieces? My fav pieces come from artist friends like Catalina Rodríguez (@catalamitad), Tulusa Goods (@tulusa.goods), and thrifted and found items. Love @experimentalvintage. Mixta and Evoke in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
If you had to design a room in one color, what would it be?
White, because it’s an open canvas with endless possibilities.
Which designers or sites give you the most inspiration?
Holly Becker, Liz Kamarul, Anna Louise, Design Sponge.
What hashtags do you use to find awesome design on Instagram? #designsponge #decorcrushing #anthrohome #mydecorvibe #howedwell #jungalowstyle #sodomino #yourcreativeworkspace #sweetspotstyle
Where do you start when you remake a room?
The walls.
One of your favorite quotes:
“Your hardest test is your greatest testimony.”—Iyanla Vanzant
Something we wouldn't know about you?
My dad was a cowboy who owned a pet monkey and a horse named Old Blue.
Tell us about your work with entrepreneurial women
I work with creative, entrepreneurial women in two ways: one on one for six months doing intensive lifestyle design, and small business mentoring. I also lead a boho luxe retreat to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It’s about being surrounded by beauty and inviting in expansion.
Best advice?
My dad always said, “Take care of number one.” My grandmother (or “memaw,” as I called her) said, “Be sweet.” Taken together, the message for me is simple: be kind to yourself and to others.
What is something you wish you would've known at 20?
Oh, I wish I would have had the clarity I do now around my life’s work. It would have been amazing if I could have started my business back then, but truth be told, I probably had to go through those 40-odd jobs to gain all the experiences and skills that serve me in my current role as multi-passionate entrepreneur.
The 411
International retreat leader, LifeSTYLE Design Coach and founder of Sweet Spot Style, Desha Peacock is the author of Create the Style You Crave and Your Creative Work Space. Peacock works with creative entrepreneurial women to upgrade their lifestyle and live fully in their sweet spot.