After testing the steps to create “Cozy Minimalism” in our own home and loving the result, we invited Cozy Minimalist Home author Myquillyn Smith to discuss how she blended comfort and simplicity into a clear, repeatable decorating approach. She explains how to stop buying the wrong accessories, why there’s a helpful order to decorating a room, and emphatically points out items to avoid buying at big-box stores. We also share an update on tiling the duplex (one small change made the work much easier!), and Sherry may finally be embracing the first hints of autumn.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Spotify — or listen below. Use this page to find any links, notes, or photos we mentioned. Note: if you’re reading in a feed reader, click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- The photo above was taken during our first weekend of tiling at the duplex. It felt great to see our tile choices start to take shape. We still need to grout and add quarter round at the baseboards; once that’s done we’ll share more progress photos. The mudroom tile pictured went down quickly because the tiles are quite large (nearly 1.5 by 3 feet each).
- In the upstairs bathroom we ran out of tile midway through the job. This tile pattern is trickier than it looks—if you’re not vigilant you can end up cutting the wrong edge. Fortunately, the rest of the tile has arrived, and it should be installed by the time you read this.
- If you want to see the other tiles we considered for each side of the duplex, we outlined all of our choices a few weeks ago. We did swap a couple of selections at the last minute.
Myquillyn Smith – Cozy Minimalist Home
- If you missed our earlier chat about Myquillyn’s approach, listen to how Sherry tested the method in our home in Episode #111.
- Myquillyn’s book, Cozy Minimalist Home, is available this week, so you can pick up a copy and try her steps at home.
- For more from Myquillyn (aka “The Nester”), check out her blog The Nesting Place and her site for additional free resources. We also spoke with her in Episode #58, where we discussed how much she shares about her kids online.
- Below is one of the photos from the book—Myquillyn’s kitchen—showing principles like clear surfaces and larger-scale accessories in action. The book contains many more examples and practical tips.
- If you’d like a longer discussion on how to handle gifted home items you don’t want to keep (always awkward), we covered that in detail in Episode #35.
We’re Digging
- Sherry’s easing into autumn with a few fall-adjacent nail colors that feel seasonal without being over-the-top:
- Worth A Pretty Penne
- Berlin There Done That
- Chicago Champagne Toast
- You Don’t Know Jacques
- One Instagram account I’ve been enjoying is typography artist Becca Clason (@beccaclason). She composes images with black beans, pennies, spices, and grains—an impressive display of patience and precision.
- Her work reminds me of another favorite, @kmsalvagedesign, who also creates meticulous, tactile compositions.
If you’re trying to find a topic we’ve covered in a past episode, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from previous shows. You can also browse all the books we’ve recommended on our Book Club page.
Finally, a big thank you to Revel Woods for sponsoring this episode. Visit RevelWoods.com/YHL to find hardwood flooring options, and use the code YHL10 at checkout for $10 off your first sample box.
Thanks for listening!
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