The Soul Provider
When interior-design guru Alexandra Stoddard talks about home decorating, she’s likely to quote Shakespeare, Camus, the Dalai Lama and other great minds not normally associated with slipcovers and sofas.
What does “finding your essence and inner nature” have to do with picking out a new living room set? According to Stoddard, in order to create surroundings that nurture the spirit, you first have to do some soul-searching.
“I’m an interior designer from the soul,” she said. “It’s not about just putting things in a room. It’s much deeper and broader. It’s about self-discovery.”
Stoddard, who has preached the gospel of living beautifully on “Oprah” and “The Today Show,” will speak at a brunch hosted by the Friends of Concordia University, Irvine, at 10:30 a.m. April 8 at the Newport Beach Marriott. She will talk about “Feelings at Home: Defining Who You Are and How You Want to Live,” the title of the latest of her 21 books.
Stoddard is spreading the message that meditation, journal-keeping and other methods of self-exploration can help people reexamine their homes and how they spend their time there.
“They can create an environment that rises them to a higher nature, above the hunter-gatherer instinct,” she said.
They become more confident of their style and tastes, she said, and less susceptible to trends or pleasing others.
“You learn to give up what’s not working and surround yourself with things you love--not what’s correct or proper,” Stoddard said. “You can look at a chair and say, ‘I don’t care if this was my grandmother’s. It’s Depression era stuff and it’s dark.’
“You open your eyes. You learn symmetry, balance, scale and proportion. It’s wonderful to know this chair is profoundly ugly, and you don’t care if it’s being touted as a chic thing.”
Such introspection also causes people to seek out organic materials: potted plants, flowers, wood flooring, marble counter tops, stucco and stone.
“If we have authentic, honest, earthy materials in our houses, we’ll be more authentic, honest and natural,” she said.
That means no fake flowers.
“They always disappoint you when you discover they’re not real,” Stoddard said.
She recommends having fresh flowers to enjoy every day, not just on special occasions. Such small “celebrations,” including tea ceremonies using your finest china cup and saucer even if you’re alone, help you find serenity right at home.
“You can live in beauty every day,” she said.
Stoddard, 58, was first exposed to architecture, design and beauty when her aunt took her around the world at age 16. Today she lives in New York City and Stonington Village, Conn., with her husband, Peter Megargee Brown, chairman of her design firm, Alexandra Stoddard Inc.
“I want to listen to Beethoven and Mozart. I want to read the best minds. I want to live with uplifting art,” she said. “I don’t want to live a grubby life.”
Tickets to the Friends of Concordia University, Irvine, brunch are $50 per person or $75 including a private reception with author Alexandra Stoddard. 10:30 a.m., April 8. Newport Beach Marriott. Information: (949) 854-8002, Ext. 1862.