What Living in 24 Different Places
Has Taught Me About
H
Lawson says. Another surefire way to discover forever pieces: Shop your state’s best flea market. For this issue, we found all 50 (plus one in Washington, D.C.).
Ultimately, our spaces are reflections of what matters most to us in that moment. At streetwear designer Beth Birkett’s L.A. house, vibrant paint and Harlem Toile de Jouy wallpaper nod to both her African American and Caribbean heritage and nurture her sons’ creative spirit. She sums it up perfectly: “Being comfortable, and being authentic, that’s really it.” Although Katie Sturino is a longtime New Yorker, her Palm Beach, Florida, getaway is a pastel wonderland not unlike her entrepreneurial brain. “Usually, when I try to go trendy or neutral, I end up not liking it,” she tells us. “You have to listen to yourself.” Woodworker Robby Simon has a similar mindset: In Marietta, Georgia, he is building his dream furniture—and business—piece by piece, despite those who told him he couldn’t when he was just a kid. Not sure how to read a tape measure? No problem—there’s YouTube for that.
I hopped around 10 more times as an adult, until I finally put down roots in New York City 15 years ago, literally—my garden in the sky makes it very difficult to just pick up and leave. Maybe that was my unconscious strategy for staying for a while with my husband, Ian, and daughter, Quinn. But if we ever move again, the pear espalier tree; passed-down Wishbone chairs; and our cat, Charlie, will come with us. Home is where they are.
By the time I was 17 years old, I had lived in 13 different homes with my family of five: where I was born in Vietnam, a tent in a San Diego refugee camp, a little white house in Oregon, a one-bedroom apartment in Southern California, even a suburban property with a pool and passion fruit vines. In some of these places, we shared space with lots of relatives. In others, we were the typical nuclear unit. And in still others, it was just me and my mom, or us and my dad.
I learned firsthand that home isn’t always a single place. Home is where you are—grounded by the land or your community or simply a few things that make you you—and that’s the theme of our Summer issue. Inside, you’ll meet designer Emily Ward, who splits her time between Los Angeles and a redwood-clad marvel up north in West Marin, where she feels a deep connection to the land, the smell of eucalyptus, and the memories of her late mom. For florist Ren MacDonald-Balasia, home is history: Her family’s house in Oahu, Hawaii, is a ’70s time capsule beloved and cared for by three generations. Her mother is tired of the sofa’s upholstery by now, but MacDonald-Balasia loves it for the nostalgia. It’s just further proof that people define spaces, not furniture.
Aneesha Rao couldn’t have reimagined a Richmond, Virginia, church mid-pandemic without her trio of crafty collaborators, never mind her now-fiancé (they fell in love there—how could you not?!). In L.A., works by dozens of artisans are the building blocks of Lawson-Fenning cofounder Glenn Lawson’s Spanish Revival, along with some epic vintage finds with their own past lives. A friend delivered the 1970s Terrazza Landscape sofa in a pickup truck, and it hasn’t moved from its corner since. “That’s one of the things we’ll always live with,”
Chief Content Officer @kateberryberry
O
M
E
SUMMER 2022
Read Now
Home Is Where You Are
More From the Issue
Cool as Sin
In her new Brooklyn Navy Yard headquarters, ceramist Virginia Sin sets a serene backdrop for her tubular designs with the help of olive green walls and soothing Spotify playlists.
Wait for It...
Minneapolis creative Kate Arends really got to know her kids’ 1950s-era bedroom and bath before she committed to a stripy, sunshine yellow refresh.
A light-filled Northern California property was home at first sight for interior designer Emily Ward.
From Flea to
Shining Flea
We road-tripped the nation to find the 50 best antiques markets in every state (and D.C., too!).
More From the Issue
Cool as Sin
From Flea to Shining Flea
We road-tripped the nation to find the 50 best antiques markets in every state (and D.C., too!).
SUMMER 2022
SM22: Home Is Where You Are
By the time I was 17 years old, I had lived in 13 different homes with my family of five: where I was born in Vietnam, a tent in a San Diego refugee camp, a little white house in Oregon, a one-bedroom apartment in Southern California, even a suburban property with a pool and passion fruit vines. In some of these places, we shared space with lots of relatives. In others, we were the typical nuclear unit. And in still others, it was just me and my mom, or us and my dad.
I learned firsthand that home isn’t always a single place. Home is where you are—grounded by the land or your community or simply a few things that make you you—and that’s the theme of our Summer issue. Inside, you’ll meet designer Emily Ward, who splits her time between Los Angeles and a redwood-clad marvel up north in West Marin, where she feels a deep connection to the land, the smell of eucalyptus, and the memories of her late mom. For florist Ren MacDonald-Balasia, home is history: Her family’s house in Oahu, Hawaii, is a ’70s time capsule beloved and cared for by three generations. Her mother is tired of the sofa’s upholstery by now, but MacDonald-Balasia loves it for the nostalgia. It’s just further proof that people define spaces, not furniture.
Kate Berry
Chief Content Officer @kateberryberry
Joss & Main believes style
is what you make it—in life and at home.
Shop the brand's summer edit
of soon-to-be style favorites.
Shop Now
Joss & Main believes style
is what you make it—in life and at home.
Shop the brand's summer edit
of soon-to-be style favorites.
Shop Now