Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ Hey Paloma! Paloma Contreras: Hey Caroline, how are you? Caroline Gidiere: I'm doing great, ⁓ What's up and it's ⁓ the great thing about this ⁓ is even though it's fun, it's new to do something. This is a podcast that I have wanted for to listen to. So we created it, but ⁓ the best thing is I get to see you ⁓ on a regular And I love that. Paloma Contreras: Good, good to see you. ⁓ I know. It's so nice. I feel like, you know, in this day and age, everybody's so busy. I'm not someone who loves to talk on the phone. ⁓ So, you know, I'll text and I know that social media has its ups and downs and its pros and cons. But the one thing I do love about it is like that sort of constant connection with people because you're seeing what they're doing or you're sending them a meme or whatever. But this is so nice because it's like real quality time with you, even though we're not together in person, but to get to talk shop and just catch up on what's going on with each other. It's so nice to be able to do it in this forum, but personally, just so heartening to get to spend time with my friends. Caroline Gidiere: I right? And I feel like my goals for this are that these are like the conversations that we actually have, like over lunch or dinner when we're together, different, I mean, just taking up, because we do, I guess, both love design so much that it does tend to be a central focus of our conversations. Or, and all the topics that we're covering are things that we actually just regularly talk about. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: So, huh, all right. Paloma Contreras: Absolutely. Agreed. So what's going on with you? What would you say has been your high and low so far this week? Caroline Gidiere: Okay, here is my high and it's the flip side of that coin is the low. spring break is coming up here in Alabama. And we as a family are headed to Switzerland. I could not be more excited. We're going skiing in Zermatt and it's going to be great for the whole family. First of all, I love when all four of us are together. My son, Bud, as you know, is on the spectrum. He's not very athletic. He does not like to ski. ⁓ But my daughter loves to ski and this is really the only time that we can. And so doing this in Switzerland is a great way because it's something of interest for him because he's excited to go to Switzerland. He loves some melted cheese. So, you know, we're looking forward to. Paloma Contreras: You Caroline Gidiere: Checking out the fondue places. I've only got one lined up. He's told me I've got to have two. We're going to have to have fondue at least two nights. And there's a funicular that goes up to the Matterhorn. There's a lot of stuff. And you know, my daughter takes after her father. She's a thrill seeker. She loves, she's going to learn how to snowboard out there. And that's going to be a lot of fun, but I am a greens girl. I don't want to fall and break anything. I like to keep it. you know, tight on the greens, maybe an easy blue. And I only need about a half a day and then I'm out. So I'm delighted to have my son with me so we can explore the village and do other things. So I'm not by myself, which I usually am because I have to ⁓ beg the other two to come off the slips. The flip side of that is, I'm getting packed and I just tried on all my ski clothes from last year. And let's just say I have taken it easy the past three months. I have to tell, I am nursing an injury, but I had to lay down on the floor, do the bridge, to zip and snap these pants and my legs look Paloma Contreras: Well, you had an injury. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: like sausages in a casing. So I'm just like, woo, I've been to the gym today. I was there last night, yesterday morning. I'm like, I gotta get these five pounds off. So, Saturday. Paloma Contreras: When do you leave? Can we get some new pants in time, perhaps? That's an easier path of least resistance. But then what happens when they're already tight and you're in Zermatt enjoying the fondue? They're gonna get tighter. Caroline Gidiere: Well, because when I'm skiing, I'm exercising all day. So I'm burning calories. don't end up, when I'm skiing, I don't end up gaining a lot of weight. Cause I don't drink alcohol because of the altitude and then with the exercise and everything, I tend to kind of lose a little bit. So I just want to go into it. But anyway, so I'm keeping it tight. Paloma Contreras: True true true true. Yes burning calories all day long. Mm-hmm Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: pushing the fluids, trying to do whole foods, get back, get back. And when I get back, I'm starting back my exercise. ⁓ So anyway, so tell me about you, what's your highlight? Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Well, our, high would be we just got back from spring break. So our spring break was a little bit earlier. It was just happened last week and we went to Cabo. So at this age, Margo's four and a half, a beach vacation is just kind of the easy thing to do with a little one. ⁓ And, you know, we had such a nice time. It was as relaxing as it could be traveling with a young child. So I had some spa time, I got to finish my book. I was reading Strangers by Bell Burden that feel everybody in my feed is currently reading. It was excellent, so I got to finish that. But it was nice to have a little bit of time away. And we had been kind of nervous about going to Mexico. And I'm so glad that we did because truly it was business as usual. We didn't feel any different than we have in any previous visits. So ⁓ it worked out really nicely. So it was a nice time away. And then My low, ⁓ you, I know are aware of this, my mom has not been doing well. So we're just dealing with some stuff ⁓ in our family, you know, dealing with a parent who's aging and has been ill for the last couple of years. And now, you know, she's got some memory loss and cognition stuff going on. So we're just working through all of that and figuring it out, ⁓ which is not an easy nut to crack or, you know, an easy road to travel. But Caroline Gidiere: Thank Paloma Contreras: life. Caroline Gidiere: No, it's not. been, I know, I know. I've been down that road and ⁓ it is, ⁓ if we're lucky enough, an inevitable part of our life ⁓ as we, you know, the last years will, you know, are challenging for ourselves and for those who love us. but, ⁓ You ⁓ y'all are so sweet. mean just honoring your mother and taking care of her and it's tough to it's tough to go through but it's almost it's kind of like childbirth, you know, like everybody on the planet has has ⁓ if we're lucky enough dealt with this in due time and not early, you know, I mean, it's like what's the toss up? I have a friend who, when I was going through this, lost her mother when she was in her early thirties. And she was like, the only thing I can say is you're lucky, you know, that you've made it this long. And it is, it is challenging, I feel for you and for your mom, because it's no fun, Paloma Contreras: Yeah, yeah. ⁓ gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's, um, it's hard, but I know, I know you understand, anyhow, we'll move on to lighter matters. We did get a listener question. Um, and actually with, you know, it being early days of the podcast, it's such a timely question. So this person asked, how did the two of you meet and what prompted you to start a podcast together? And I will say, Caroline and I have known each other. I don't know exactly how many years, but Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: probably going on 10 at least. Like we knew of each other prior to that, but then we met when I came to Birmingham and you hosted me. I knew Caroline had the most beautiful house in Birmingham and she invited me over to come for a drink and to see her gorgeous house. And so I was delighted to do that. And then even more delighted to find ⁓ a person who would become my dear friends over the years. we've spent... Caroline Gidiere: it. on your first tour. Thank Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Time together, mean, I feel like we're always, it's typically when we're traveling, we will like happen to cross paths in High Point or various design destinations for design events, or we were just in Thomasville, Georgia for the antique show there, we were both speakers. So it's nice that we're in the same industry. And so not only do we share that similar profession and passion, but it also brings us together at different times. Um, but this podcast really was your idea. So I had a podcast years ago in 2020. I started the style files as a passion project because we were all stuck at home and I was missing all of those events and trips and connecting with my design friends and having conversations about design, talking shop, all of those things. And so I started this podcast literally on an app on my phone. There was no equipment. This is a much more professional endeavor than last time. ⁓ But it was really fun and it was very well received. And to this day, people always ask about the podcast and tell me like it got them through COVID and will you ever bring it back? And so I'm so excited to be bringing a new podcast to the forefront. And I'm so glad that you asked me to be part of it because this was all your idea. So tell us about what you saw. I know you're an avid podcast listener and ⁓ you felt like there was a a gap in the design podcast space. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Well, I ⁓ spent all last year traveling and so I would weekly burn through my podcasts and ⁓ don't get me wrong. I love the design podcasts that exist, but I felt like what I was seeing in other industries, ⁓ other areas that are not interior design, are shows that are more like what I wanted and was hopeful that you would be down for creating is just discussing weekly different topics that come along, different events that are rolling out. ⁓ And ⁓ also you and I, when we get together, discuss things that I think everybody's interested in, like beauty, like fashion, like what's on TV, like what we're reading. And there's a huge community out here and we're only just engaging through social media, which is 2D and kind of flat. I just felt like, particularly when you see the comments on things on Instagram and all that ask me anything responses, just seems like there's a lot there and there's nobody that's really capitalizing on that. And I listened to, ⁓ I was listening to, ⁓ the market report on NPR in the morning on the way to the gym. And they were talking about some next Netflix investment into podcasting and how they see it as the future of media and everything. I thought, and so I just texted you like six o'clock in the morning, like, would you be down for redoing, know, revamping and doing a podcast with me? Because I just feel like, you know, you and I both are Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: doers, we have a relationship. I mean, I also only want to do things with people that I can count on and, you know, and thought you've already done it once, you know how to do it. And ⁓ like, you're so dependable. And why not? Let's just give it a shot and see what happens. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, and I'm so excited. feel like we've had so much fun figuring things out and coming up with the structure and our technical challenges and all the things, but ⁓ the conversations have been really fun. So I'm so glad to be doing this with you. I'm so happy you asked. So I'd love to dive a little bit more deeply. feel like people have probably come to this podcast through a variety of avenues. Either they followed you or they followed me or Caroline Gidiere: Woo! Yeah, me too. Paloma Contreras: there's some cross-pollination, but perhaps there isn't, or maybe a friend sent it to them and they may not be as familiar with us, or perhaps they're a more recent follower, and so they may not really know our background story. So I thought it might be nice to take a little bit of time and ⁓ to sort of introduce ourselves to the audience and let them know how we got here, who we are. So we'll start with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into design. I know it's a second career for both of us. Caroline Gidiere: Right, right. Like you, I came to this later, although actually much later than you did. I was an attorney. I was a good student. And so my parents encouraged me to pursue a law degree, which they wisely said will help you no matter what you're doing. You don't have to be a lawyer, but you'll never regret having that education, which you know, in law school you get all wrapped up in it. ⁓ You kind of feel like a failure if you're not pursuing ⁓ a career in law. Maybe not, or at least ⁓ felt that way. And also, even though I have always been interested in design, ⁓ up in a small town and I went to college out in Pastoral, Virginia. ⁓ there was nowhere to look around and see an interior design shop or see it as a profession. ⁓ seemed to be more something that housewives did or were good at and not a serious profession like it would have been at that same time in bigger cities, if that makes any sense. It just was too small of a town to have anything like that. So I didn't see to believe that it was a possibility. But then after I had children, it got very complicated and demanding to have young children and travel as much as I did. And as you mentioned, I built a house with James Carter ⁓ on a very busy street and a lot of people pass by it all the time. And then it started showing up on Instagram ⁓ people that ⁓ that it was my house would tag me in it ⁓ say that's Caroline Gidiere's house. And people started reaching like ⁓ you reached out other people. ⁓ so that's ⁓ of... brought me to this moment of people starting to inquire about my services, kind of organically, at the same time. Like that's on the rise as the law career is on the decline as far as so demanding, so complicating. My children are getting older. There's more time that needs to be spent with them. And so it just kind of seemed like the right moment. And my husband got everything together for me. ⁓ wrapped all the documents, put them in a folder, wrapped it under the tree and said, it's time. And truly we were both really looking for an off ramp in some way. But I think he knew that I am not somebody who can sit around. I have moments when I do, but I'm not a napper, I'm a mover. ⁓ I'm always like moving around doing things that I rarely sit down only just to. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: for an hour at night to watch TV. So, I know he felt like too, I wouldn't just quit, I would have to have something to jump to, know, when I'm saying like something at least to say. And that's how I got started. And yeah. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Right. Wonderful. Caroline Gidiere: There's a story in five minutes or less. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, what is at the core of your design ethos? Caroline Gidiere: exactly do we mean by design ethos? Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Well, your style, your approach, your sensibility. Caroline Gidiere: I, you know, we can only do what we know and what we like. And I really, I am ⁓ in tradition. I guess that's kind of how I grew up in homes that are traditional American design with antiques and color and pattern. ⁓ And I say that I went through a moment ⁓ of everything ⁓ cream and off white and beige. I love that. I still love it. Bremerman and ⁓ Betsy Brown all out doing this just really fabulous. And that really hooked me in to design ⁓ a real passion. you can see on the exterior of my house, the white on white. ⁓ But ⁓ when... ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: I started making serious decisions. ⁓ My first house was all kind of creams and beiges and pale, creamy yellows and pale aquas, little to no pattern. I just kind of came back to what I know. And as I started studying it, ⁓ I like so many of the greats, Bunny Williams, I loved Billy Baldwin. and Albert Hadley and just started studying all of those people. as began textiles, it drew me more into historical textiles. Those are the ones that I'm really interested in, the really old ones. that feeds into my childhood in Williamsburg and the interiors there. ⁓ It's just kind of what I knew that's... my design aesthetic. But I will say I do appreciate and enjoy and would be totally game to go more modern. I do love that. I just I get called into more color and Paloma Contreras: Yeah, well, I think that's part of being enthusiastic and loving design, regardless of the style that you work in. If something is done well, you can appreciate it. Yeah, even if it's not your exact style. So what would you say is a signature of your style now knowing, you know, your, particular work is rooted in tradition. What is sort of that common thread that will tie one room to the next or one project to the next? What makes it a Caroline project? Caroline Gidiere: I you'll find ⁓ a beautiful floral fabric in every room. mean, if I had to say one thing, at least ⁓ some a few, ⁓ doesn't to be everything, but yeah, those are unifying elements. ⁓ color, a floral fabric somewhere, not always, but if we had to like tally it all up, I would think that that would be the, those would be the unifiers. Paloma Contreras: Fantastic. What is your current dream project? If you could work anywhere with anyone, what would you choose? Caroline Gidiere: You know, I mean, dream project would be someplace that is fun to be at, easy to get to. A great project with a fun, nice client. could be anywhere. I don't, I wouldn't want to limit it to a particular location. You know, I got really excited, had, was on the precipice of a project, but the clients, Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: Job situation changed abruptly. They had to move overseas for about four years. ⁓ so that project was put on hold, but it's in Palm Beach. It was gonna be a pretty fabulous project with a great architect. ⁓ I was really palpitating about that one. ⁓ know, I mean, I'm like everybody else. I would love to do like a boutique hotel in a tropical location. that she had to go check on in the off season. don't know. Exactly. That would be great. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: The sacrifices we make. ⁓ So I know you're also passionate about beauty. That's something that we talk about a lot and I'm always consulting with you about what I need to be trying or doing or buying. What are your top three products or treatments at this moment? I know you're always trying new things. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, okay. Well, thing that I think has my skin texture, It's a it's a triumvirate. It is a retinol product. ⁓ I heard Andrew Huberman talking with a dermatologist who basically said all you really need is a retinol and so a retinol but also skin flooding this Korean technique ⁓ of the skin with ⁓ toners ⁓ essences that are ⁓ have ceramides kind of nutrition for the skin ⁓ and moisture. before you then put on your skin barrier. And at night for me, that's ⁓ not nitrogen, what's it called? Aquaphor, yeah. So those are my three, like for skin, beauty and texture, that's where I'm at right now. I think they do. They've done more for my skin than anything recently. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Nice. Well, your skin always looks incredible and you look, I mean, you look amazing and you look so much younger than anyone would ever imagine. Like, how do I word that in a way that sounds like I'm not, I'm not, okay, I'm gonna just stop. You look great. I'm gonna leave it at that. You look great. You look 40. 39. Okay, so what might people be surprised to learn about you? Caroline Gidiere: Thank you. Cheers, Sisque. That's easy, easy. ⁓ you you Okay, great. Thank you. ⁓ What might people be surprised to learn about me? ⁓ hmm, ⁓ well, I'm pretty much an open book, but... ⁓ I am very, very much an introvert and very shy. have a really hard time talking to people, even though I can speak at a thing. I'm not often a first speaker and that is ⁓ because of my own insecurities. I just have a tough time. I always feel like people just like wouldn't want to be bothered or I can't. get it together. Like if I see a celebrity in the wild, for instance, I'm never going to speak because I'm too intimidated. And I feel the same way about just random people that I know out in the wild. I'm like, ⁓ my God, there they are. What should I do? What should I, my head starts going. So I just sit tight and never do anything. And I think I present more confident than that. And so I think people would be very surprised how shy and insecure. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ no. Caroline Gidiere: and intimidated I am in social situations. Paloma Contreras: I think that's surprising to me even as your friend because I know you to be more reserved and I understand the introverted extrovert or extroverted introvert situation like being able to speak before an audience and you know do that kind of thing feels much less intimidating or easier than going up to somebody at a cocktail party that you don't know and assuming that they want to speak to you like I can relate to that but I wouldn't have thought, I would have thought it was more, cause we're both Scorpios, like that Scorpio tendency to want to observe the desire to have a more meaningful conversation and connect with a smaller group of people versus, you know, being a social butterfly and like chit chat with anybody and everybody. I hate small talk. I literally would rather poke my eyes out than make small talk all day. I detest it. Caroline Gidiere: I could not agree more. And you know, I've spent this past year, it's funny. When I first got started in this industry, I was very covetous of invitations for dinners. They seem like the most magical things in the world. And the images on social media are fabulous. The reality of those situations are usually that you are seated next to four people, know, right, left, and two across from you. Paloma Contreras: Hmm. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: that you don't know that well. And these dinners take like three and a half hours. And I'm just wiped at the end of it. I am just worn out because it's, even though the people are interesting and I love, but I am, I'm like, I am very much a Scorpio. I'd much rather sit there and listen to everybody else talk, just hear what they're saying rather than having to participate. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think it boils down to also like when you're with a core group of people that you really know well, I think those those interactions can feel energizing, you know, like being around you or ⁓ good friends or I am in a design forum and we had a little retreat back at the end of January. That was so amazing. It was like energizing, recharging. It felt just like comfortable and safe. Come as you are. But Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: when you're just making small talk, it is so draining because you're just like, okay, what else can I share about this person? What can I ask them about now? And so some people are very gifted, natural conversationalists and take a job. I am interested in people. If I connect with somebody, I am interested in getting to know them further, but it certainly takes more effort. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, ⁓ Yeah, there's some people that are just very relaxed and comfortable in all of that. And there are some of us for whom it is more challenging to ⁓ come outside, you know, out of your head and into what's going on around you. I am very much always in my head spinning around the Scorpio situation. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you ever go back and replay a conversation that you had after the fact and think, ⁓ my gosh, what did they think about that? I shouldn't have said that. I hope I didn't offend them, whatever. Caroline Gidiere: The older I get, the less I do that, the more I'm letting go of that. I, yeah, I do that all the time, over and over and over again and think, why did I say that? They must have thought I was crazy or that was the wrong thing to say, or I didn't mean to say it in that way. I think it hit wrong, you know? ⁓ But less of that as I get older, it does come up and then I tell myself, Paloma Contreras: Mm. Mm-hmm Caroline Gidiere: I don't really care anymore. I think when you get older, you start feeling less like you care about those things. Paloma Contreras: I mean, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's the beauty of getting older for sure. How do you balance your personal and professional lives? I know there's a lot to balance, you know, when you're running your own business and you have kids and everything else. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. to say I'm really lucky in that my husband is ⁓ he and I were law school sweetmate, sweetmates, sweethearts. Whether or not we were sweetmates is not anything I cared to discuss, but we were law school sweethearts and ⁓ so you know he's been at it for a while and ⁓ he's also ⁓ just a Paloma Contreras: you Ahahaha Caroline Gidiere: uberminch in that he's always been able to manage everything with ease and you know I'm the one over here flustered trying to get everything together but luckily for me he's kind of in an established place in his career we're not both on the the rise and trying to get all of our legs up underneath us so he in particular with this book tour this past year he has taken the laboring oar he has Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: taking the job of feeding the family on weeknights ⁓ ⁓ kind of taking over the details of Lou's schooling ⁓ and keeping me in the loop. But there are things that come up, ⁓ that have to be processed, put in, calendared and all that kind of stuff. he's of keeping the family calendar ⁓ and doing to allow me, because I have been so focused on design. in the office and then the book tour, so much travel, everything's kind of out of the office. So that's been good. The only way that I can do it is with a partner who's there supporting me. If I was a single mom having to do this, everything would have fallen apart already. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, no, it makes such a huge difference and Stephen is such a lovely supporting husband, supportive husband and father. So it makes all the difference to have somebody like that. Absolutely, it would be too much. ⁓ As we start to wrap up, what is the best piece of advice you have received? Caroline Gidiere: Yes. When in doubt, just hang out. Paloma Contreras: Hmm. You know, you give me that advice sometimes because I get really worked up about things and I'm not an impulsive person, but I am a control freak. And so I feel like when something's out of my control or I feel like something's not going right, I've got to fix it and I need to fix it in that moment. sometimes I'll reach out to you for advice a lot. And you're always like, you don't have to do this right now. You don't have to decide. Just mellow for a bit. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. control it. Do it. Do it. You're a doer. think ⁓ our gut, it takes a minute to hear your gut. ⁓ with anything from a fabric, choice or ⁓ a piece of furniture or whatever it is, your gut will tell you, but sometimes you can't. It takes a while to hear it. And I think whatever you keep coming back to is Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: your gut talking to you. The thing just keep your brain keeps going back. It's like, okay, this is this must be the right course. don't know. Anyway, that's the best advice for for everything just went and the advice came about making a decision about an interior ⁓ item, but it is really for life in general. Okay. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. I'm so curious, did you go with the original item, like when you were given that advice, or what happened? Caroline Gidiere: No, I just hung out and I realized it was the wrong thing. I was trying to put a square peg in a round hole and it wasn't working and ⁓ I waited and something different, a different idea came along and it was all the better. And I knew when it came around, the next thing came around, this is the right solution. Yeah. Okay. Paloma Contreras: Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I love that. Wise words. Caroline Gidiere: Yes, okay, so why don't you tell us, now let's get started with you. Tell us how you got started. Paloma Contreras: Mmm. Well, in a nutshell, because it's a long and winding road, I am formerly a high school Spanish teacher. So foreign languages were my first love. I'm a native Spanish speaker, majored in Spanish, minored in Italian, had no idea what I was going to do for a living. Like you, I just never knew of or thought of interior design as a career. In hindsight, I would have loved to have studied interior design formally, but You know, alas, that was not my path. And so I taught for ⁓ a little over four years. And in the summer before my last school year as a teacher, I started a blog and leading up to that, I'd gotten to the point where I was crying every Sunday night because I didn't want to go back to work. I just I didn't like it. It's not that I hated the subject matter or the children or children. I was teaching high school, the kids. ⁓ It just. It felt creatively stifling and I knew that it wasn't where I needed to be. It just didn't fit and I wanted out. again, like my time was not my own. I could not eat lunch when I wanted. I could not go to the restroom if I needed to. I had to wait for the period, you know, or I couldn't even quit when I wanted to because it was the middle of the school year. So. Caroline Gidiere: I don't know how they do it. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ It just felt very frustrating and caging at the time and luckily my husband Fabian has always been so incredibly supportive and he was like if you don't like this, you know figure something else out but up until that happened I had started writing a blog just very organically ⁓ I'd always enjoyed writing and it was a way to get myself to do some creative writing again So it didn't start out as a design blog a few months go by We've purchased our first house then we're working on, you know teachers salary were like 25 years old at the time. So we needed some ideas. And of course I read all the magazines, but I was looking online and there really weren't very many blogs. There were probably four that I can remember and none of them were my style in particular. I didn't resonate with them as much. So I just naturally started sharing things that I found inspiring in the home space. ⁓ And then about a year in, Better Homes and Gardens had started doing this like blogger of the month column in their print magazine and they featured me one year or one month and suddenly I saw my readership blow up. So at that point I was like, okay, this is interesting. Behind the scenes, like other things are happening, I'm growing increasingly unhappy at work and so my husband encourages me to quit, I do. And then I start focusing on my blog and to supplement my income, was tutoring some kids ⁓ in Spanish in the evenings. And so I was basically making up my teacher's salary by tutoring for a few hours and then I could spend the days working on my blog. And ⁓ I'll try to keep this short because I could, it's a very long story, but one of the kids that I taught happened or tutored happened to be Fabian's boss's son and Fabian works for visual comfort. So ⁓ His boss's son was a kid that I tutored for a couple of years and one day His boss Andy Singer calls me up and he says, you know, I'm looking for a marketing director We're celebrating our 25th anniversary We've never had a marketing department and I've interviewed all of these people and they claim to be marketing experts But none of them know how to market themselves. Will you come meet with me? And I said ⁓ sure, but you do realize I have no marketing experience. I'm a teacher." And he was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like he still wanted to meet with me. So I went in and I met with him and sort of described the job to me. And I'll never forget at the very end, he tapped on his computer screen and said, you know what's going on in there. So he understood that things were really moving in a digital direction. This was like 2010, 2011. And he hired me. And I was in that job for a few years and I learned a ton. So, you know, while I don't have a formal background in design, I feel like I have a really valuable ⁓ unorthodox education in design because I've been able to explore various facets. So I was working in marketing, focusing on the product side of the business, working with people like Thomas O'Brien and Alexa Hampton and Suzanne Kassler. I was responsible for launching the Aerin collection when they started working with Aerin as a licensor. So that was actually my final project was launching her first collection at market. Cause I was there for a few years and then started to get the itch because in between I'd been tutoring and then I freelance for a long time and sort of worked as a quote unquote influencer before that was actually what we called it. Caroline Gidiere: Thank Paloma Contreras: And so I was like, I don't know. I don't know that I like working a nine to five in somebody else's office. Like I want to do my own thing. And I started to get the itch to design. And I knew a lot of interior designers by this point. And I always thought to myself, that job sounds terrible. Like, I don't know that I want to do that. Sounds like a lot of headaches and babysitting and logistical issues. Maybe I'll do that when I'm older. And then at that point I was like, okay, I think I'm ready. I'm ready to do something on my own. So we launched Aerin and I gave Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Andy, my notice, I think I gave him a few months because I was like, well, get you through market. I'll do all the ⁓ PR follow up and marketing follow up post market. And then I left in May. And thankfully, I was very fortunate. A project had sort of fallen into my lap. And I've done little things here and there for blog readers and friends. But this was a real full house project. So I was able to start my business with a real project. Learned so much along the way. ⁓ And since then, what else have I done? I've started a store in 2019 to have Paloma & Co, which is a brick and mortar and online shopping destination and written a couple of books and have dipped my toe into product licensing. So that visual comfort relationship came full circle in 2022 when I launched my lighting collection with them and have a trim line with Schumacher. So I've gotten to do a lot of things in the space. And I feel like what's so funny is Caroline Gidiere: gorgeous. ⁓ yeah. Paloma Contreras: I worked so hard for a long time to prove myself as a designer. I felt very self-conscious about having started as a blogger and I wanted people to take me seriously. And now I'm kind of like, maybe I shouldn't have given that up because there's so much money to be made online and fewer headaches it seems at times, but I love it. I've never looked back. ⁓ I feel so fortunate to do something that also is my true. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I ⁓ asked you earlier about balancing between personal and professional and I feel like both sides are so incredibly enmeshed for me. When I'm traveling abroad, the thing that I want to do is go shop the flea markets. I want to go to galleries. I want to do all those things. That's what excites me and I would do it whether or not this was my profession. So that feels super, super fortunate to me because I know that not everybody can stay the same and they don't always have the opportunity or the chance to really go out and chase a dream the way that we have. Caroline Gidiere: Bye. Yeah, I mean, all of us ⁓ who are have successful interior design careers and like usually it's something you only come to if you're passionate about it. And so Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Well, and what's so eye-opening too is so many people, like so many people in this profession at the top of their game really have come to it as a second career. And that's not to knock anybody who, ⁓ you know, has studied design formally. Obviously, those are invaluable skills. We could not run our business without, you know, our team of people who have the formal training and the technical skills that I don't possess. But I think Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Paloma Contreras: A lot of it is innate and also having a business acumen. know, people don't realize that. think a lot of people look at us and they think, ⁓ gosh, like how fun. That's what people always say to me when I meet someone new. They're like, ⁓ what do you do? I'm an interior designer. ⁓ how fun. That sounds so, so fabulous or ⁓ like that sounds like such a fun job. And I'm like, it can be at times, but most of it, you know, is like true. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. You really? There are elements of it that are fun. business. Paloma Contreras: the true running of a business and its psychology and its logistics and it's all of the things that, you know, people don't always give us credit for. Caroline Gidiere: 90 % is back office. mean, all of the details of running a business and procurement and logistics and ⁓ HR and, and, know, and a high end client. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: interaction and keeping you know keeping clients happy and engaged all of it it's it's a lot of work it's you've got you do have to love it i think you couldn't do it but it is very right and left brain if you are only right brain and i think that's the creative side right is that right brain i always say left but i didn't do that's why i'm saying right because i would say left brain Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. get those backwards. I think so. You Caroline Gidiere: thing right now. But anyway, the side of the brain that includes all the creative, you have to have the rational, organized side of your brain as well. In equal strength, in order to make a go of it, for sure. Okay, so tell me about your core design ethos. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Like you I feel like my style is certainly rooted in a more traditional foundation I think it's just what I love I feel like that Imparts a timelessness to spaces, but while I love color and pattern. I like to use it a little bit ⁓ more Sparingly, I mean there's lots of there's always pattern present and color present in my rooms, but I'm not a maximalist to the true interpretation necessarily. I like for there to be a little breathing space. I love to use white in certain spaces while we might have some beautiful wallpapered rooms, colored rooms. There's always gonna be a little sort of breather in between. Because I like for the eye to have a place to rest. I personally get overwhelmed by too much and too many flourishes. So there is sort of a paired back quality, I think. ⁓ I love antiques, I love abstract art. I feel like that's sort of a hallmark. ⁓ I love mixing textures and periods. I like spaces that feel kind of collected over time. Caroline Gidiere: Well, what are your three elements that you'll find in all of your projects? Paloma Contreras: my indispensable design elements. ⁓ I would say things that I use often ⁓ that are important and common sort of themes would probably be nice, like good lighting. ⁓ I like a natural fiber rug generally. And so we'll use wool rugs all the time, but there's. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: going there tends to be like I can't think of a project where we haven't used some natural fiber and I feel like that's that textural element. I mean I guess I use chinoiserie panels a lot so I like that. I think there's feminine elements whether it's a chinoiserie wallpaper. It might be a floral fabric but not quite as much as you do where you said like every room would have it so yeah. Caroline Gidiere: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and those chinoiserie panels are a great foil for that the more calm aesthetic of, you know, kind of cleaner abstract art, ⁓ modern ⁓ and, ⁓ know, solids. it's just the opposite, like the ⁓ hand painting. Paloma Contreras: Right. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: in detailing, but in such a beautiful way. We're so lucky. Paloma Contreras: Well, I think every space needs a little bit of attention. And people sometimes ask, well, what does that word mean? And it can be juxtaposition. It can be an element of surprise. It's just sort of that magic ratio of if we're trying to create a space that feels layered and timeless, ⁓ as much of a buzzword as that is, we're always playing with that ratio of like how many traditional elements do we add? How much modern do we infuse into a room? Masculine, feminine, you know, if the room is like clear colors, if we're using softer tones, do we impart a little bit of black into that room in order to ground it and give it like a little sense of gravitas? So it's not a perfect science. It's a constant like sort of tweaking and you know, Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yes, some masculine, no, no, no, It's hard. And I often think of it as like the old fashioned scales, you know, where you had the little things that you, put the little weights on the scale and it comes down and you think, ⁓ I've got to. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: put a little weight on this side of the scale to get it back. And it's never, it's always going to be fluctuating. You know, it's always going to be not exactly balanced. You don't want that, but you don't want it to tilt off. Yeah, exactly. You want to have some counterweight. ⁓ cause if everything in a room is shiny, it's just, you know, I don't know, old or everything is new or, you know, that Paloma Contreras: Right. Too far one way, yeah. Then you're in Vegas, yes. Caroline Gidiere: there's no pushback on anything. Maybe that's the tension. Okay, tell me who are your three go-to or who are your most inspired by and influenced by as far as a designers Paloma Contreras: always go back to Billy Baldwin. I feel like of all the designers past and present, he's probably my greatest influence. I love Albert Hadley. I love David Hicks. It's ironic that most people would probably describe my work as more feminine than masculine, but my favorite and most influential designers are actually men. I also love Veere Greeney I mean, I think for a contemporary designer, he's probably someone that I just, anything that he does, every time I see a room of his, I just love it and it's perfection. And I think about like, how do I create my version of that? love Tom Scheer and he's sort of on the opposite end of the spectrum. he's so great at mixing things. ⁓ And at his level, he's mixing high and low and everything feels very collected ⁓ and just a sort of like, Caroline Gidiere: Thank . Paloma Contreras: cool, casual, effortlessness to it. think David Netto is another one that kind of encapsulates that sort of essence and vibe. Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ yeah. He's the only designer that I can think of that has no, that's not true. Well, everything that David does, you can tell is done by a man. It's very masculine. There are no feminine elements in his design, but I studied it and I love it for that reason. Like if you want something hip and masculine, call David Netto ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. That's true. That's true. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: Most of the other male designers could have been done by a male or female, I felt like. You know what I'm saying? are feminine enough. Even Tom Shearer. Paloma Contreras: Yes, yes. Yes, he will veer into that territory for sure. I think those three contemporary designers I named, Veere Greeney does the most feminine work in terms of his palette, the details, materiality, that he's more traditional probably ⁓ than the other two. ⁓ But that's, yeah, that's such a true observation. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Albert could do masculine if left to his own devices, but still, even then, you could, if you just saw images, and the question was, the designer a male or a female? Not who was it designed for, but who designed this? Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, you think about ⁓ the rooms that he did for the Pines, you know, those were definitely more feminine. Now, if you compare his work, if you put Sister Parrish's work side by side with Albert Hadley's, you always knew which was a sister room and which was an Albert room. But ironically, I mean, I love Sister Parrish, but to me, like, there's a fussiness that I'm not as comfortable with with some of those rooms. It's like so many ruffles and so many things. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I've always been so drawn to Albert's work and that sort of like paired back nature and it feels very collected and it's just, they're cool. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, I agree. of the two for sure, I lean Hadley rather than Parrish, although I have strong deep appreciation for Sister Parrish and what she did. Okay, ⁓ now ⁓ me something people would be surprised to learn about you. Paloma Contreras: Absolutely. Absolutely. Ooh, well, I like to think I'm really funny. ⁓ My husband might contest that. I make myself laugh. And if I can make myself laugh, then I'm happy. If you laugh along with me, great. But if I'm laughing, I'm thrilled. So I like to think I'm funny. ⁓ People often say that I surprise them. And I think that's because outwardly, I... Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I'm a nice, I'm a kind person, I'm a gracious person, I'm a generous person. I think people have a perception that I am only those things and I may come across, again, I'm introverted like you, so I think that they get an impression when they don't know me. And as they get to know me, I peel back some of those layers. And I am very self-deprecating and I do curse and I like things that may surprise you. I love all kinds of music. Caroline Gidiere: I agree. Paloma Contreras: So I don't know, I guess I'm like an enigma in a sense. Caroline Gidiere: Now, I don't think I've heard you utter a curse word. I don't think so. Paloma Contreras: Really? Spend more time with me and I will. Caroline Gidiere: you're always minding your P's and Q's I am surprised I'm like everybody else I'm surprised to learn that. ⁓ Okay now ⁓ what's your project? Paloma Contreras: Okay, good. Good. Yeah. ⁓ I mean, I feel like I would agree with you that more than a specific destination, it is just a great client, a great client who just comes to you because they love you. They're on board with your style. They've been through this before. They know how it goes. They're busy and they just say, like, I trust you. Take it and run with it. We have an unlimited budget would be great. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Super realistic would also be highly welcome. ⁓ So just good solid budget that makes sense. And I think some creative collaboration is nice. I love working with clients who have design opinions, who care, and like who have great art collections or where we're really in sync about things. That's fun. I like that more than like true carte blanche. ⁓ Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I did too. Paloma Contreras: So I think something like that. And then in terms of location, I'm trying to think of a place where I haven't worked. Places that I have worked that I would love to do more work that I just have fallen in love with. I love working in Palm Beach. It's a beautiful fantasy. And I feel like that style is very simpatico with mine. ⁓ We just are wrapping up a project in Kenilworth, which is on the... Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Easy. Paloma Contreras: It's on the North Shore of Chicago and all of those suburbs up there are so beautiful. I've worked in Lake Forest as well and those David Adler houses. I mean, he's my favorite architect of all time. Like I would love, that's my dream project. I would love to do a David Adler project in Lake Forest, Illinois. So if somebody, you have, know, somebody's recently bought a David Adler, call me up. I'd love it. Caroline Gidiere: I'm yeah. Absolutely. No kidding. Those houses are so amazing. I went on a ICAA tour of the Gold Coast up there and just, ⁓ I mean, he's so talented. I think Gil Schaeffer meets that today, but it's more, you know, when you're doing that on the Gold Coast, the Gilded Age was a different time and Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: the world called for a different house that few are interested in creating today. So you get to see so much more amazing architectural details, I guess, in Adler houses. OK. Paloma Contreras: Right. Yeah. Definitely. And what's fascinating is they've really done such a great job, generally speaking, in that part of Chicago in terms of preservation and maintaining these houses. And obviously, as you said, people don't live or entertain in the way that they did during that era now. No, you don't have the staff. Caroline Gidiere: Maintain Paloma Contreras: I appreciate people who restore, preserve, maintain, update those gorgeous houses as opposed to tearing them down. ⁓ If you look at the Gold Coast of New York on Long Island, Oyster Bay, Great Neck, those areas, ⁓ Locust Valley, a lot of those houses, some of those may have been even more grand actually for the same reason. They just become too difficult to... maintain too expensive and so people have torn them down over the years but there's still a lot of beautiful amazing old architecture in Chicago. Sorry to go on a tangent. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ yeah. No, no, What are your three beauty products? Paloma Contreras: ⁓ three beauty products. Let's see. think generally speaking, if we go to like products or treatments, one thing that I've been doing recently that I have really enjoyed is there's a place called Skinfarm, P-H-A-R-M. And I think they have locations in a lot of cities across the country. ⁓ They have one here in Houston. And I went and I tried this. thing called a gold fusion. It's what they call it. It's like their name, but I think you could probably find a version of it. It's like a PRP facial basically. So they draw your blood, they spin your plasma with hyaluronic acid and ⁓ what's the other thing? ⁓ Juvederm or something? They like spin it and then they create this infusion and they stamp it with this like little thing. So it's not as bad as micro-needling. It's much gentler. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: and there's no downtime. So you're like a little bit flush and red when you leave. And then an hour later, your skin looks amazing. It's like glowing from within and you just like moisturize a little bit, use a gentle cleanser. Don't wear makeup the rest of that day, but by the next day, like you're up and ready, like you can put on makeup and go do whatever. So I feel like that's a lot of bang for the buck. I've really enjoyed that. Recently I've started doing lymphatic drainage massage. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. that. Paloma Contreras: I've done it probably three or four times and it's interesting. I feel like it's a different massage experience. ⁓ I wouldn't say it's painful, but it's intense. And I do see a difference. I feel like I feel lighter. My pants, you should go get a lymphatic drainage massage before you go skiing so your pants fit. Cause they will. Caroline Gidiere: Hmm. How am going to fit this in? Paloma Contreras: Make the time because your body like it just drains all of the fluid that's trapped in your body and literally your pants will fit better I don't know that the scale moves. I haven't tracked that any of the times I've done it but ⁓ Go get go get a lymphatic drainage massage, so I love that and then ⁓ in terms of skincare I'm trying to think you got me into the the toners so I do use toner now Yeah Caroline Gidiere: I don't hink I have the time? I just need a little bit of room. I just need a little bit. Makes a big difference with the amount of moisture that your skin has when you wake up in the morning. High five. Paloma Contreras: Absolutely, and I feel like I crave it. I love that, like having the essence on my face and it just like sort of wakes you up. It's so refreshing. Yes. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, it's nice. ⁓ I've gotten to where the first thing I do is spray my face with water and then put like a little toner on it. just it's like as good as almost hot when I wake up in the morning with all this, you know, hot air or whatever. feels really good and refreshing. OK, what's the best piece of advice you've ever been given? Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Oh, I've gotten a lot of good advice. I should have prepared for this a little bit more. I'm sure I'll share more nuggets over the course of our podcast. I think one rule that I've always lived with that I've held true is to thine own self be true. I feel like in this day and age, it's so easy to get... to be influenced by the things that we see, you know, especially in a, in a career where you're, you have your own business, everybody's path is different. No two interior design firms run exactly the same way. And I feel like a lot of people can get caught up in comparison or like, you know, goals can become unrealistic or you start to ask yourself like, why do I want that? Or Should I be doing that? And I think regardless of what the question or the challenge is, if you revert back to that little nugget, ⁓ being true to thyself, I think you'll end up where you need to and you'll make the right decision because it doesn't matter how your neighbor handled something or what they did or the path that they took or what they're working on now. ⁓ If you really sort of take a step back. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: drown out that noise and sort of dig into yourself and listen to your inner voice, that's never gonna steer you in the wrong direction. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, that's great advice. It really is. It's a call to grounding, for sure. I think we're both, you know, I mean, part of our friendship is playing off of that and encouraging each other in that way. So many, I think women are good at supporting each other in that kind of endeavor and trying to honor yourself. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: you know, and your decisions and not being ashamed of who you are and who you aren't. Paloma Contreras: Definitely. Exactly. Yes. Caroline Gidiere: Okay, well this has been fun. Tell me though, why are you excited about this podcast? Paloma Contreras: So fun. ⁓ gosh. Well, I'm excited to be doing a podcast again. I will say I have missed that outlet over the last several years. I love talking shop. I love talking about design. I love, you know, like the zeitgeist, like talking about what's in popular culture, whether it's fashion or show or music or any of those things. And I like that. we're exploring some of those tidbits as well. mean, what I really am excited about for this particular podcast is the fact that we're doing it together and then I get to spend time with my friend. I feel like the audience will enjoy sort of being a fly on the wall. I mean, that's sort of the intention is like, we're having these conversations. These are conversations we would be having offline regardless. And so it's fun to let an audience in. ⁓ to see what we talk about in terms of design, business, life. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yes, I know I have to. It's interesting too that you said that ⁓ that you curse every now and then because I have a real potty mouth. I you know, I went to a women's college and spent our with our hair in a chip clip, smoking cigarettes, drinking diet and cursing like sailors. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: Unlike what you might think of, ⁓ you would get it at a women's college. It's much more kind of down that road. And then I practiced law. I went to law school and practiced law around guys. So I can cuss with the best of them. And you have to be a really close friend or work in office. I have to ⁓ really dial that back and keep it. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: You know, I never slip and but I'm afraid that this these conversations are after we've done like 10 or 15 of these that I'll forget and I'll just feel like I'm just talking to you and turn that filter off of ⁓ I people have children listening in the car they don't want to have to turn this off so Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Well, I'll be curious to see what the idea let us know. Actually, guys, let us know. Send us a note. Do you want us to keep it prim and to maintain the veneer that you've been accustomed to or that you expect from us the level of polish and ⁓ reserve restraint? Or do you want us to let loose a little bit and Caroline Gidiere: you Paloma Contreras: drop the occasional F-bomb, do you welcome that or not? I really would be curious to see what, sometimes I think about that. like, if people could see me, know, I think they'd be surprised, because things go wrong and you... Caroline Gidiere: I would be surprised. I'm sure you are not, I mean, you have certainly heard me curse because, know, it's, it's, but yeah. So, but I can turn it off. People have kids in the car and they don't have to worry about it. I'll, I'll mind my P's and Q's but anyway. Okay. Well, this has been fun. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. ⁓ Definitely. So fun, thank you guys for spending time with us today.