Vern Yip is an interior designer and the author of the book, Color Pattern Texture: The Foundation to Make Your Home Your Own.
Kameron Jennings
hide caption
toggle caption
Kameron Jennings
When it comes to home decorating, interior designer Vern Yip has some old-school advice: Get offline and find design inspiration in the real world.
“What you’re seeing on your screen might be an OK starting point, but nothing beats physical samples,” says Yip, like a carpet swatch, a paint chip or a piece of wallpaper.
He shares this philosophy and more in his book, Color Pattern Texture: The Foundation to Make Your Home Your Own, published in September. In it, Yip encourages readers to foster a more tactile, hands-on approach to interior design. That can help you build a room that doesn’t just look good, but feels good too, he says.
Yip, host of the design show Home Reimagined and a former designer on Trading Spaces, shares four reasons why you should decorate your dream home without the help of social media or artificial intelligence.
Many online design hacks only look good in pictures
A significant amount of interior design content on social media these days is actually AI-generated. So, why not draw inspiration from the real world instead? Start by collecting paper and small trinkets in the colors, patterns, and textures that resonate with your spirit, and store them in a special keepsake box. This could be anything from the floral design on a cocktail napkin, a smooth piece of sea glass, to a swatch of toile fabric.
“These small mementos can be quite revealing – the items you choose to keep close can offer insight into who you are,” writes Yip in his book.
Once you’ve gathered these cherished items, let them guide your decor choices. Yip shares a personal anecdote, “I once brought back an empty can of mixed nuts from Brazil because I was so captivated by the birds and flowers on its label. This can eventually served as inspiration for one of my wall coverings.”
This is the essence of designing with intention, as Yip explains. “Embrace the idea of building your home with pieces that speak to you – not just visually, but because they hold significance in your life.”
The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib, with art direction by Beck Harlan. For feedback or inquiries, leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
Tune in to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Instagram @nprlifekit. sentence: Please remember to turn off the lights before leaving the room.
Remember to switch off the lights before exiting the room. text in a simpler way:
Rewrite the text in a more simple manner.
