I’ve lived — as an official rent-paying “adult” — in three different apartments…four if you count a short period of time when I thought I was grown and moved in with a roommate. This condo was truly the first I really dug in to tackle renter-friendly projects that went beyond getting organized and putting up new paint.

But here’s the thing — this is still only a 2 bedroom apartment, meaning the whole place has a total of six “rooms” (eight if you count the laundry closet and balcony) to play with. I knew that this meant I was not going to have a limitless amount of projects to tackle; I knew that at some point I would be project’d out…and that point is now.

Vibe Check, Look BookAlbie KnowsFebruary 11, 2020my home, design therapy, reversible design

2020 Vision Board: Curating Your Year Ahead

I have never ever EVER been one to make resolutions but I do believe in trying to set the tone for my year. In the past, I’ve created a vision book, started a gratitude list, and chosen a word of a year…just to name a few of the ways I’ve always attempted to ensure I have a great new year.

Going into 2020 I was in desperate need of a reset and decided to take creating a vision board seriously this year.

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsJanuary 2, 2020vision board, shutterfly, my home, new year

So I Wrote A Book...

I realized I never came on the blog or on my YoutTube channel and actually TALKED about my book. And while I never mentioned it on my Instagram, I never really really got into why I wrote a book and all the sentiments behind this endeavor.

For an entire week — the first week of February to be exact — I woke up every day at 4 am just to write. While my husband and daughter slept, before the sun was even up, I wrote. Within that first day, I had listed and named my chapters, like outlining a term paper, and before I knew it a book was unfolding before me. The next few weeks were spent learning all about the self-publishing process, working through and editing my ideas with friends and peers. And in the midst of all this creative chaos, eventually, a book was born.

I channeled into that book all the stuff I struggled with sharing here on the blog or on social media; it felt like a safe, undistracted space to just talk about what I wanted to talk about when it came to curating and creating a home you’d love… hence the title, Curate The Home You’re In: Effortlessly Create Your Everyday Dreamscape.

Studio, Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsNovember 28, 2019books, behind the scenesComment

Retail Therapy... Recent Haul Favorites

I have a confession to share: I’m an emotional shopper!

While, in general, I am pretty intentional when I am shopping. I try and myself to prevent buyer’s remorse, but a lot of times, when I am in an emotional tizzy, more often than not I get my relief from shopping. I comb through my wishlists and start adding to cart, or I take a drive to one of my fav retailers and take out my stress on my wallet.

P.S. don’t be like me… be better than me.

Vibe Check, The EditAlbie KnowsNovember 19, 2019my home, target, hobby lobby, h&m home, shopping

What I Am Unlearning About Entrepreneurship

Not too many people know this about me, but from 2008 to about 2011, I tried my hand at entrepreneurship for the first time.

That was over 7 years ago!

I thought this iteration of entrepreneurship — with interior design — would be different. I figured I was older, wiser, I’d learned all the hard lessons, and so I was ready to do bigger and better than last time. I had a lifetime of experience behind me so what could possibly go wrong, right?

Answer: everything.

Studio, Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsNovember 12, 2019self care, mental health, creative entrepreneurs, mompreneur

What Visual Merchandising Has Taught Me About Interior Design

Current Title: Visual Merchandising Manager for Williams-Sonoma

Wait… what?

If you’re new to my blog and somehow stumbled upon this blog post first, welcome, but you should probably read a few posts back where I share my wicked journey of creating a life I hated and needed to recover from.

The summer months was basically a season of reflection and self-discovery and hard truths for my family and I, but especially for me. One of those hard truths —

Being an entrepreneur was not enough for me.

I’d always known that should I ever need to go get a job outside of the home, it would likely be in visual merchandising, not interior design. I can’t quite explain it, but I knew that as a designer, I wouldn’t want to do that in the traditional sense of working at a firm, even though I am perfectly fine working within the confines of an organization as a merchandiser — weird, I know, don’t judge me.

From Entrepreneur to Employee... 90 Days Later

Today — well today that I’m writing this, because who knows when I’ll publish it — marks exactly 90 days since the day I started my new job as a visual merchandising manager. Now in case you missed it, here’s the short version of how/why I went from being an entrepreneur to being an employee…

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsOctober 23, 2019visual merchandising, mompreneur, work life balance

Smart Home Made Easy With Globe Electrics

Fun fact about me: I’m a tech nerd.

Always have been. I love tinkering with all kinds of gadgets and while I am very aware of the pitfalls of technology, I just can’t help myself. As luck would have it, I married someone equally obsessed with tech & things, and even our toddler is pretty well-versed in using most of our devices without any assistance from us. Being that we rent, we knew that we couldn’t get as tech-savvy in our home as we’d like, BUT that doesn’t mean we couldn’t do a lil somethin somethin.

Vibe Check, Look Book, The EditAlbie KnowsOctober 17, 2019smart home, globe electrics, breville, shopping

She Designed A Life She Hated...I Am She

For the past three years, I thought I was designing a life I loved… through my home, my business, my family, and just everything. I had moved across the country with my family, my husband had a great job, I was able to launch a subscription box, I was pursuing my masters, I had shed my “baby weight” by the power of nursing…I mean, life was great…right? The hard truth that I only recently had to come face-to-face with was that I had designed a life I HATED, not loved. I was only “pretending” to be this strong and happy and put-together person. This post is an introduction to, not just new content, but a new me…a real me, not by design, but by transformation. By the grace of God, I have survived a serious case of “growing pains” and while I do not know what lies ahead or what comes next — like at all — I do know that I want to share the entire wild ride with you, unapologetically, and truly loving the space I’m in.

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsSeptember 20, 2019mompreneur, mental health, year in review, self care

How To...Lazy Bed Making

It’s no secret that I love making my bed. It’s actually a rare occurrence for my bed to be unmade — and it’s usually because I wasn’t the last person in it. I’ve always found that making the bed, no matter how disheveled the rest of the space looked, instantly made the whole bedroom look put together.

But I’m not a complete maniac — there are days I am too tired, busy, or just plain ol’ lazy to make the bed. Does this mean I completely abandon the habit? Nope! It just means I had to find lazy ways to get it done.

Watchlist, Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsAugust 27, 2019bedroom, nest bedding, brooklinen, dhp, how toComment

Decorating For The First Time: What I'd Do Differently

When we moved out west, it was a lot of firsts for us. First major life change as a new family of three. First move as husband & wife, and as parents. First time being responsible for a home we’d be creating together. That said there’s a lot I know now that I couldn’t have known before because, for us, it was all new territory. As mindful as I thought I was being when it came to furnishing our new home for our new life, there’s quite a bit a didn’t exactly get right.

So what would I do differently?

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsAugust 25, 2019moving, west coast transplant, nyc living, reversible design, mini cribComment

What To Do With That Spare Room

One of the best design problems I have the pleasure of solving for clients isn’t helping them style accessories or choose paint colors or organize odd space…it’s been helping them decide what to do with their “extra” room. Talk about a good problem to have. There are so many options that we don’t think of because it’s not what’s expected but really, when you have a spare room in your home, there are a myriad of ways that you can ensure that room serves you. Here are 10 different rooms you can put that spare room to use in ways you’ll actually use.

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsMay 19, 2019guest bedroom, gym, bedroom, bathroom, design therapyComment

One Room Challenge Week 6: Brooklyn Studio Apartment Before & After

A few months back, I started an e-design shopping consultation for a studio apartment makeover in Brooklyn, New York. I was charged with helping her transform her small, cluttered apartment into a functional and stylish space that matched her Brooklyn swag. As the months turned to weeks, it hit me that the One Room Challenge was around the corner and she was gracious enough to let me submit her apartment as part of the bi-annual event.

Designing With Millennials In Mind

Fact: I didn’t know I was a millennial. After experiencing the design trends geared towards millennials at High Point Market this season, it totes makes sense that this is my generation — these are definitely my people…at least when it comes to interior design and styling. And as my days at Market continued, I noticed that more and more showrooms were embracing these millennial design trends.

Vibe Check, Look BookAlbie KnowsMay 3, 2019high point market, design therapy, design bloggers tourComment

One Room Challenge Week 4: Design. Store. Install.

In real time I’m heading to NYC to install the transformation but it took quite a few steps to get here, especially working remotely on the design up to this point. All the white glove service that I shared with you last week completely changed things, making this a seamless process. And now she can come home to a studio apartment that’s super cute, organized, and functional because it’s no longer inundated with stuff. how freeing is that?!

One Room Challenge Week 3: White Glove Delivery & Storage

It feels like this round of the One Room Challenge is flying by because it doesn’t feel like 3 weeks but it also feels weirdly slow because it’s not my home. Like with any design project, I’m on the client’s timeline more than I am on my own, but for this we did have a schedule we needed to stick to. This week’s agenda — get delivery ready! At the start of the One Room Challenge, we scheduled our white glove delivery with Apt2B and with that date in mind, she knew that things would need to be purged & disposed of before then to make the delivery process even easier. With delivery scheduled, this meant she knew exactly how much time she had to get rid of things! Time for the purge! I partnered with Simplify Storage in NYC to give her the peace of mind of keeping the things that needed keeping without having to see them al the time. No more shoving things under the bed or into corners. Especially with winter finally gone, she could pack away all those coats & boats, and not think about or see em for months!

One Room Challenge Week 2: Studio Makeover Design Plan

We’re a week into this 6 week studio apartment transformation and man oh man, am I excited for what’s to come! As is the case with most apartments, the small footprint results in a lack of storage, and so that will be the biggest challenge that I am designing around here. She is a super stylish, super chic NYC gal on the go, and her apartment is just on the go. Lol. I can’t do anything about the existing footprint but by using soft tones, acrylic finishes, and stylish storage, I can definitely optimize the space for sleep, work, and play.

One Room Challenge Week 1: Big Style In A Small Brooklyn Studio Apartment

I can’t believe that I will be participating in the One Room Challenge for the 3rd season in a row! But there is one MAJOR key difference this third go round that I’ll be participating in the One Room Challenge — I’m not doing my own home! I’ll be tackling a studio apartment in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Naturally I’m excited, as this’ll be my first time doing someone else’s home for the One Room Challenge. This’ll be just like any of my other online interior design (aka e-design) projects, where I’ll be working virtually with one of my favorite people in the world to transform her studio into a functional & stylish space that matches her fly. But this is with a twist because I will actually be flying out to New York to install the project.

How to Stay Comfortable (and Sexy) Working From Home

Last year I did a whole series on my YouTube channel sharing some of my productivity hacks & habits, from an A to Z of my go to resources to staying physically & mentally productive as a work from home mom. One of my simple yet super effective “hacks” has always been to get dressed — I learned the hard way that while it sounds nice to say you’re working from home in your pajamas, it doesn’t make for a very productive day. After having my daughter, I decided I deserved better, and now working at home full time, I made a commitment to myself to not just find bras that fit or “good” bras, but bras that I could look good and feel good in all day at home and outside. Enter ThirdLove.

Vibe CheckAlbie KnowsFebruary 18, 2019thirdlove, mompreneur, bra shopping

The Personal & Professional Benefits of Being an Amazon Prime Member

As a mother, a wife, and an entrepreneur Amazon has become so much more than a shopping site — it’s a resource! There is a myriad of ways to take advantage of all that Amazon offers — whether it’s by simply shopping the site, getting a prime membership, or using their devices and that’s not even scratching the surface! How and why I use Amazon only makes up for a fraction of the site’s features & benefits.

Vibe Check, The EditAlbie KnowsFebruary 1, 2019amazon, shoppingComment

Welcome to The Journal

A cozy collection of stories, reflections, and inspiration for creating a life (and space) you love — one quiet moment at a time. Brew a cup, get comfortable, and stay awhile.

Going into 2020 I was in desperate need of a reset and decided to take creating a vision board seriously this year.

I have a confession to share: I’m an emotional shopper!

P.S. don’t be like me… be better than me.

Not too many people know this about me, but from 2008 to about 2011, I tried my hand at entrepreneurship for the first time.

That was over 7 years ago!

Answer: everything.

Current Title: Visual Merchandising Manager for Williams-Sonoma

Wait… what?

Being an entrepreneur was not enough for me.

Fun fact about me: I’m a tech nerd.

So what would I do differently?