Rebecca Atwood on Style, Design, and Being a Mom
We caught up with Rebecca Atwood to chat about her personal style and being a mom.
Home and textile designer Rebecca Atwood is renowned for her approach to vibrant color and prints. As the author of two books, “Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home” and “Living With Color: Inspiration and How-Tos to Brighten Up Your Home”, she takes unexpected, colorful prints to the new level.
But it's not just her keen eye that makes her so interesting—Atwood also happens to be a stylish mom. In honor of celebrating inspiring and style-savvy moms everywhere, we caught up with the designer to chat about personal style, home tips, and more.
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style at home and with fashion are rooted in the same thing: comfort! I'm definitely one who seeks that out, but I also love color, pattern, and special and interesting details. I look for quality pieces that feel fresh, but that I will also want for a long time.
I think home and apparel are very different, but there is overlap, of course. When you're choosing something to wear, you're looking for colors that make your skin look good, accent your eyes, or just make you feel confident. It's more about how you look in the color. Your home is more about how you feel in a color. It's about what you like to look at. Your home is a landscape that you live in—you want it to be personal and reflect your taste, but also be timeless.
How do you approach your home and closet décor as it relates to your signature colors and prints?
I live in a cozy one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with my husband, our 18-month-old daughter, and our two cats, so space is at a premium. We didn't have a closet in our bedroom so we put up a "wall" of curtains in one of my designs—petals in taupe. It was actually a really nice way to soften the space and add personality through pattern.
What's your number one tip for bringing color into the home or closet?
Start with the mood. Imagine a place you've been to that makes you feel how you'd love to feel all the time—someplace that you found beautiful, comforting, and cozy. It could be an interior or a landscape. For me, it's almost always the natural world that does this for me. Pull the colors from this place and use them in your home.
What's your number one tip for bringing color into the home or closet?
Start with the mood. Imagine a place you've been to that makes you feel how you'd love to feel all the time—someplace that you found beautiful, comforting, and cozy. It could be an interior or a landscape. For me, it's almost always the natural world that does this for me. Pull the colors from this place and use them in your home.
Any easy tips for sprucing up your closet for spring with color and pattern?
Often closets, bathrooms, and other utilitarian spaces—like a mudroom or laundry spot—are forgotten. You can treat them just like you would any other room in your home. Small spots are an opportunity to create a jewel-box effect. Organize your clothes by color and type and keep things orderly. Consider using wallpaper, painting the walls, or adding a rug or a piece of artwork, depending on the space. I always love using drawer paper in my dresser, as well.If you're more ambitious, you can wallpaper the inside of the closet as well. I'd recommend doing it with a removable wallpaper (like my new patterns for Pottery Barn) if you're doing it yourself.
How would you approach a very small space and what would you do with color and pattern to make it feel bigger and add more personality?
I think it's important to remember that while color can impact how big or small a space feels, it's never going to actually make it bigger. Sometimes, it's good to embrace the coziness of a space. That could mean a mid-tone color for the wall if you don't want to go too dark.
What is your favorite thing about being a mom?
My favorite thing is all of the love.
How does your daughter inspire you?
She always reminds me what joy there is in our world. I love how much pleasure she can get just from looking at something—and it reminds me to slow down and do the same.
