As long as they can remember, Heather and Heidi have always had a passion for interior design mixed with a passion of writing. They love to combine these two things to tell the stories of their clients through design.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:
-Learning how Heidi and Heather went from designing jewelry and accessories to their focus on interior design.

-They both have a houseful of little ones! Learn how their kids keep them on their toes and looking for more ways to find joy in the everyday.

-Their shared belief that joy is found in the overall experiences of life, including the good, bad and indifferent, and how this philosophy has helped them in challenging times.

-Finding out more about their TV show on The Design Twins on UpTV!.

-Discuss their new book Joyful Living and listen as they share some great tips on interior design in a busy home: Joyful Living.

-Learn about their favorite storage solutions along with their great and practical design tips.

-Listen as Kristyn finds the perfect accent piece for her home!

Heather and Heidi’s favorite tidying and design tip:

-Use fresh scents with candles, home sprays or fresh herbs to brings a peaceful mood to your kitchen.
-Don’t be afraid to use color and use it purposefully!
-And, the Roomba is magically!

What sparks joy for Heather and Heidi:
-Their children are their greatest joy, of course!
-Exploring their talents and stepping out of their comfort zone has brought both of them great opportunities in their home and business life. Be yourself!

To connect with The Design Twins, visit www.joyfullivingco.com and find them on Facebook.

Heather and Heidi are offering a discount on their Joyful Living book! Use coupon code “sparkjoy” for 20% off their Joyful Living book found on JoyfulLivingco.com.

Gems:
“Recognizing that the journey is what living joyfully is all about. Experience the moment.”

“Outer organization creates inner peace.”

“With kids, you can either learn to laugh or cry at times. And laughing is always a greater success.”

“The more you engage, the less chaos there will be.”

“Amplify white in a room as the wall color for a great way to lighten up a space.”

“Bringing living things into your home make an enormous difference.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Heather and Heidi, The Design Twins.

After 21 years as the principal designer in her firm Laurel Bern Interiors, she has turned her focus to blogging as a full-time occupation. Her award winning blog, Laurel Home has drawn a large following due to her candid style of writing, useful information and warm community of readers.

In addition to designing and blogging, Laurel has authored four helpful online interior design guides, for professionals and design enthusiasts alike.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:
Learn how Laurel got started in the design business.

• Hear what Laurel sees as the major change in the design business over the last 20 years.

• Laurel shares how the usual approach to designing your home can be a real “minefield.”

• Find out more about Laurel’s Design Guides, including her indispensable shopping guide, “Laurel’s Rolodex”- Laurel Bern's Design Guides

• Hear about some of the most important considerations when decorating your home.

• Discover Laurel’s love of blogging and how her blogging audience has grown over the last six years:
  Laurel Bern Interiors Blog

• Hear Laurel’s suggestions for how to develop your own eye for a design style that you love and that works for your home.

• Find out about the importance of balance in designing your home.

Laurel's favorite tidying tip: Hire a professional! :)

What sparks joy for Laurel: “The art of classical ballet. I even take ballet lessons and absolutely love going to performances.”

To connect with Laurel, reach her directly on her website, Laurel Bern Interiors, where you can subscribe to her blog and check out her design community.. and even send her a question!

Laurel is on Pinterest at Laurel Bern on Pinterest

Gems:
“I get calls from people who have just bought a couch and can’t get it up the stairs.”

“We don’t live in museums.”

"Things like scale, shape, color, proportion… it’s like a puzzle. All these things work together.”

“I had some professional organizers come to my house and it was the best thing I ever did. It’s a completely different skill!”

“I’ve seen some beautiful design ruined by too much clutter.”

"Picking a color shouldn't be the first thing you do. It might even be the last decision you should make."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Laurel Bern.

Lloyd Alter is design editor of TreeHugger, a prominent media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability to the mainstream.
Living in Toronto, Canada; He has been an architect, developer, inventor and prefab promoter.
He contributes to Mother Nature Network at MNN.com, The Guardian, and Azure magazines, and is Adjunct Professor teaching sustainable design at Ryerson University School of Interior Design.

In the course of his work developing small residential units and prefabs, Lloyd became convinced that we just use too much of everything- too much space, too much land, too much food, too much fuel, too much money, and that the key to sustainability is to simply use less. And, the key to happily using less is to design things better.

Recently, Lloyd has been writing on family heirlooms and the changing culture. I found his work while researching solutions for clients who are confronted with managing the possessions of generations while downsizing. His direct approach to working with our elder parents along with his prolific writing on a lifestyle focused on less stuff and better design, was a great fit for us!

To connect with Lloyd, you can visit Treehugger, https://www.treehugger.com, Mother Nature Network, https://www.mnn.com, or follow him Twitter @lloydalter and Lloyd Alter on  Facebook.  

Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• Learning about the relationship between medicine, science and minimalism. How the fear of germs led to the minimalist movement.

• Hearing about how Lloyd confronted the generational shift in thinking about “things” within his own family.

• Discussing how our mobile lifestyles have changed the quantity and quality of things we acquire.

• Looking at the reality of emotional value vs. financial value.

• Suggestions on how to decide “who gets what” when a previous generation downsizes.

• How Lloyd used Marie Kondo’s concept of Spark Joy when deciding what to keep when downsizing.

• How Lloyd and his family held an Open House, allowing young adults to come in and take things they needed to start their own households as a means of thoughtfully discarding things.

• Discussing how to find the “right new home” for things that you are letting go.

• Learning how Lloyd defines a minimalist lifestyle.

Read Lloyd's article, "On Decluttering, Downsizing and Surviving a Green Renovation", Tree Hugger Magazine, here: https://goo.gl/cnbFvr

What sparks joy for Lloyd:
Lloyd shares his joy at looking out over the lake in his Canadian cabin, sitting at his amazing dining room table and the significant back story the table holds.

Gems:

• "Big Brown furniture: Nobody has room anymore!”

• "That furniture had absorbed the memories of our entire family."

• "You don’t know if you are an architect or a marriage counsellor."

• "Start talking to your older family when they are willing to share the history of things."

• "Do not keep anything that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”-William Morris.

• "We are moving to multi-family and walkable communities and less stuff.”

• "You just have what you need.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Lloyd Atler.