Design Your Home for Productivity, Wellness, and Joyful Living with Sally Soricelli

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the Make Time For Success podcast. This is episode number 166. Today I have a wonderful guest. Her name is Sally Soricelli, and she's going to explain to us a very Very important way to ensure that we have calm, we have a good mood and we have productivity in our spaces. She is a residential interior designer, real estate investor, and host of the Design Your Home podcast, which helps homeowners and real estate investors design and decorate their homes with confidence. As a former elementary school teacher, Sally combined her natural teaching Skills with her knowledge and expertise in interior design to create her signature design courses that make home design and decorating accessible for everyone who wants to live in a beautiful, well designed home. She is such a delight to know, to talk with, and to learn from. You're going to hear how important it is to have a well organized and designed space that you love.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:07]:
Let's go listen to this episode together now. Hi. I'm doctor Christine Li and I'm a psychologist and a procrastination Coach. I've helped thousands of people move past procrastination and overwhelm so they could begin working to their potential. In this podcast, you're going to learn powerful strategies for getting your mind, body, and energy to work together So that you can focus on what's really important and accomplish the goals you want to achieve. When you start living within your full Power. You're going to see how being productive can be easy and how you can create success on demand. Welcome to the Make Time For Success podcast.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:58]:
Hello, everyone. Today, I have a very special treat for you. I have My friend and colleague, Sally Soricelli on the show with us. She is an interior designer, podcast host and I have just called her a mentor because she's already in the few minutes that we've been talking in preparation for the recording a lot. So welcome to the show, Sally. I'm so happy you're here.

Sally Soricelli [00:02:22]:
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be with you today.

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:26]:
So sorry about the dog noise in the background. Could you start us off with sharing just a bit about who you are and what lights you up and How you got to this point?

Sally Soricelli [00:02:37]:
Yes. So again, I'm Sally and I have been an interior designer, Oh, for many years, I'm getting close, I think 17 and prior to that I was a teacher, elementary school teacher. So I have Now combined what I consider to be the perfect blend of my skills and expertise, which is design and teaching. So I work 1 on 1 with Clients doing high end remodels and renovations and room designs, but then have also transferred That knowledge and skills to working with teaching students and helping people online Do the design themselves because I really think design should be accessible for everybody.

Dr. Christine Li [00:03:21]:
Wonderful. How did you come up with that belief? What does it mean to you that people really know and understand what they're doing inside their homes?

Sally Soricelli [00:03:30]:
You know, design is So much more than just creating a pretty space. And I think that's such a misconception out there that it's just A beautiful space. It really is fluff. There isn't that much to it, but there are actually so many benefits from A health and wellness standpoint from a productivity and performance perspective and just How you feel in general, the environments we're in really shape how you feel each and every day. And As a mother, as a just person who believes that life we're here for all of it And we want to make the most of it. Our environment really lends to that and supports us. Or on the opposite end, it can hurt us in those areas. So as I have always had just a passion and interest in design, As I got older and just saw really the benefits of it and really wanted to just take it steps further and Not just help 1 person at a time, but really how can we help more people? The more homes we can change and transform just, I think it makes the world a better place.

Dr. Christine Li [00:04:50]:
Okay. Wonderful. I think that's a beautiful mission that you have. Thanks. And I'm curious, what are the negative elements of not knowing what you're doing in terms of design and your space?

Sally Soricelli [00:05:04]:
So when people don't know what they're doing with design, one of the biggest ones is it's a financial hit. I mean, the design mistakes Are real. I have worked with numerous clients who have come to me after buying 1,000 of dollars of furniture That actually didn't work in their home and then I come in and they're saying, well, I want a, b and c, But they bought furniture that really worked for x, y, and z, and it's not going to support them. And I'm someone who doesn't like to waste, And I will try to work with that as best I can. How can we repurpose? Can we put this somewhere else? And I've actually had some people say, you know what, forget it. I'm just gonna buy all new furniture. Let's start fresh. And it it sort of breaks my heart, but I think financial is a big hit that people have that They waste a lot of money not knowing where you're going.

Sally Soricelli [00:05:57]:
Design is really so much about, I think of it like a road trip. You don't go On a road trip with your family without having some sort of plan, without some sort of map. You don't just get in the car, pack the kids and the dogs and all the pets up and just Wherever we end up, who knows? But that's what actually people do with their design. They should look on Instagram. They look on Pinterest. Oh, I like that couch. I'm just gonna buy that. They haven't really thought about a plan and then they end up wasting a ton of time and a ton of money because they actually didn't end up where they wanted to go.

Sally Soricelli [00:06:31]:
And then what are the effects on things like productivity and your mood, your energy, what what happens there? So it people feel really unhappy. It's, it's amazing. It's, It's, just so many emotions can come in there from feeling unmotivated to feeling cranky, Moody, just unhappy, a little lazy, procrastination. There's actually, I love to talk about this Study. So Abraham Maslow is very famous for his hierarchy of needs. Well, in the 19 fifties, Abraham Maslow and an associate Norbert Mintz did a study called the ugly room study. This is one of my favorite studies to talk about. And in it, they had 3 different rooms.

Sally Soricelli [00:07:21]:
In these 3 rooms, one of them was designed beautifully. It had great lighting, draperies, rugs, Coordinating furniture, everything was put together and it was a beautiful well designed space. And then they had a Darryl kind of office space. It was very clean, organized, but it was very plain and bland you would say, but A nice clean space. And then the 3rd room was what they called the ugly room. It was dirty. It was pretty gross. It was drab and gray.

Sally Soricelli [00:07:54]:
And what they did is they actually put participants in each of the 3 rooms and they had proctors supervising Everybody in each of those 3 rooms. And they showed them photos of different people and wanted them to rate them, Share what they thought about each of those photos. Now, the participants in the beautiful room had very favorable They thought everyone looked great. They just their perspective on people, life and the environment was very positive. Now in the ugly room, as you might imagine, they were negative. They had negative viewpoints and on these photographs of people. They were in a bad mood. The proctors in both situations were the same.

Sally Soricelli [00:08:40]:
In the beautiful room, the prize everybody was in the plain kind of sterile clean office space. That type of room Was much more aligned with the ugly room. So even though you might have a plane, what you consider, it's designed, it's It got nice furniture, nothing's nothing's broken, nothing's dirty, nothing's ugly, but Their perspectives was just as negative as the ugly room. And so that shows up in our own lives In so many different ways, if you're trying to establish healthy habits and avoid procrastination, You know, embody characteristics that support us leadership and feeling successful in life. It's really hard to do that when you're in a space and in an environment that doesn't support that. So your homes actually are so much more than a pretty space. They can actually rise you up or drag you down.

Dr. Christine Li [00:09:51]:
Alright. Thank you so much for that explanation of that really fascinating study. I think it was

Sally Soricelli [00:09:57]:
I love that study. I could talk about it all day.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:00]:
I think it was something you and I spoke about when we first met and Yes. It did stick with me. So, the financial hit that you were talking about, how does the typical person who wants to up level how their space looks and feels get through the financial issue there.

Sally Soricelli [00:10:20]:
Yeah. And, you know, what's interesting is There are so many financial decisions you can make in design that you don't have to spend a lot of money. And So as I'm also a designer, but I'm also a real estate investor. And so we have properties that Are for month to month rentals. And here's an investor, I don't wanna spend a lot on that design, right? I have To be really conscious of that because the more I spend, the less money we can bring in each month because I have to spend a lot of money on items. And we just listed our property, a month or two ago and it was rented within hours. And my budget was As tight as you could imagine. I mean, so design doesn't have to cost a lot.

Sally Soricelli [00:11:13]:
And I would love for people to get that it, it doesn't. I think when we watch Netflix shows and some of these HGTV renovation shows, You're hearing numbers in the tens and hundreds of thousands and you don't have to do that to transform a home. Now, if you're handy, you can always do a lot more because you can stretch your, your budget a ton. But Money or lack of, or a lot of, doesn't have to dictate what you can do in your home. There are so many products. As a designer, I see so many high end fixtures and features. They have so many looks for less Because there are a lot of knockoffs out there, so you don't have to have the 2 or $5,000 chandelier. They have ones that look very similar For a couple $100.

Sally Soricelli [00:12:04]:
And there's actually some some websites out there that are starting to expose some of That cost difference, there's a really big, I won't go too far into this, but It's a very common practice in design. It's called white labeling. We all go to different market shows and we buy items from manufacturers. And all the different stores buy from the same manufacturers. So Home Depot goes shopping to buy items. Nordstrom will go shopping, West Elm will go shopping, Pottery Barn will go shopping. They'll all shop for some of these furniture pieces, lamps, accessories, whatever. Well, you could actually get Home Depot and Pottery Barn buying the exact same lamp.

Sally Soricelli [00:12:51]:
Home Depot is gonna charge maybe $200 for it because that's what their audience wants to pay. Pottery Barn might sell that exact same lamp for $600 because that's what their clientele will pay. So you can actually shop. There's a website, Spoken. Io that will actually show some of these differences of here's the exact same lamp. This is how much Home Depot is charging for it, Pottery Barn's charging for it, Lulu and Georgia is charging for it. And you can actually do a little bit there to Save so that you can stretch that design budget because it it's important to do for a lot of people. Went on a little tangent there, but I I get all passionate and excited.

Dr. Christine Li [00:13:35]:
I think it's a really important topic to address because I think finances and financial concerns can really prevent people from up leveling so many things in their lives. It it is. And, you

Sally Soricelli [00:13:48]:
know, I was just shopping at HomeGoods and Target this week because even though high end design clients might be buying, You know, the more luxury specific items from vendors. I like to see what's getting done in other stores that are more accessible. And as I walked through Target with my daughter this weekend to look and see what they had, there are pillows I was seeing for 15, $20 That look amazing. If you wanna stretch that budget and make your space look a little more high end, having more texture. So having throw pillows that have texture in it, you know, maybe there's tassels hanging off of it, a thicker woven thread throughout it. Those little subtle touches can make a piece look more expensive and stretch that budget. You don't have to buy The $200.50 pillow that I am seeing at market shows or that my clients are buying, you can actually buy The $20 Target pillow. And you know, another thing I love to do with design is everything doesn't have to cost a lot.

Sally Soricelli [00:14:56]:
But if you buy one thing, I call it smoke and mirrors, one thing that's a little more expensive, a little more of a stretch, it actually makes everything else around it Look a little more expensive. It's like you could be in a really casual like sweatsuit, right? But you stick a fancy pair of earrings on and all of a sudden your outfit looks a little fancier. The same thing with our homes. A little bit of that smoke and mirrors will make that dollar stretch further.

Dr. Christine Li [00:15:21]:
Okay. Beautiful. I know You have your own theories about design also, about the story that the picture tells. And can you elaborate on that for us and give us a taste of how you work with clients, but also how you teach people in your programs.

Sally Soricelli [00:15:44]:
Yes. So I think there are 2 camps of designers. Neither one is good or bad or right or wrong. Camp A are designers who you're bringing in for their signature style. They have a style that they have adopted, that they've curated and you want to duplicate that look. And then camp b is designers who like to really pull your unique design style out of you. They might have their twist on it, but they're really cultivating out of you. So their portfolio is going to be all over the place because each project is very different.

Sally Soricelli [00:16:19]:
Camp A, the portfolios will look very similar. Camp B, they're all very different because each client's very different. I'm Campe. So I like to work and pull it out of each individual client or student. And so when I work With 1 on 1 clients or students in my programs, we do a lot of the beginning phase of design. We're really pulling out Those wants, those wishes, getting that roadmap really dialed in. Because if you don't know what you actually want And even often more importantly, what you don't want, you're going to end up in the wrong place. And then you've created a space that doesn't feel like you.

Sally Soricelli [00:17:04]:
And what I always want is that every space that you create in your own home should feel like you, and then you're not Tired of it. I laugh in my own home. Some of my designs I have not changed in years. People might think it's kind of weird that I'm not changing it up, but I love it. I've curated it. So I don't feel a need to change it on a whim as often because I Was really deliberate about what my design style is. I think when we want to copy another designer style and then trends change, You're tired of it after a couple years and you wanna change everything. When you really dial in on your own unique design style, You create that timeless design for you and you're not tired of it as fast.

Dr. Christine Li [00:17:50]:
I love this. I love your confidence and your groundedness When you speak about this subject that you love so much and I'm

Sally Soricelli [00:17:58]:
very passionate about it.

Dr. Christine Li [00:17:59]:
Yes. That you've helped so many people with. Can you share with us Maybe 1 or 2 tips for people who wanna just dip their toes into this In terms of changing things up because they know their mood is not right in their space or they know they could do a little bit better, what are the first two things you would say?

Sally Soricelli [00:18:22]:
So one thing that I really love, I talk about this if you ever listen to my podcast, if you see me on stories, if You're on my email list. I always love to talk about color palette. So one thing that is very easy to do is to have a consistent color palette. You can start with just your room, but you can transfer it to your whole home and that gives it that cohesive feel. A challenge most people have is how do I make things look put together? A color palette is such a great way to do that. And with a color palette, Keep it simple. Essentially pick 3 colors that you're working with. So and then keep it really simple.

Sally Soricelli [00:19:02]:
So for my home, My color palette is browns, whites, and blues. Very simple. Now, the big trick with color palettes is you want variation in that. So you can see if, if anyone's looking at this on video, I have pale blue walls. My drapery fabrics behind me Have browns, whites, and blues in it. And then in other spaces of my home, I have browns. All my furniture is more in the warmer brown category, so that's a lot of my browns. My flooring is a hardwood plank tile That is light browns.

Sally Soricelli [00:19:37]:
I have a lot of whites with accents, browns also lend with beiges. And then I have blues Where people get into a a little pickle with their their color palette is they think, okay, I have this exact Color blue, I'm gonna put it here, here, here and here. And that's where things look a little flat. My husband's office has darker, richer blues. In my other space, I have a more saturated blue. It's all variations of that, but our eyes And our brains love repetition. It's actually a design principle. The principle of repetition.

Sally Soricelli [00:20:15]:
Creating a color palette Creates repetition through your home. It gives your eye somewhere to bounce to. If people walk into my foyer, They see those 3 colors, they look somewhere else, they see those colors again. It creates a safe space for our brains, which make us feel calmer and more relaxed. And that just sets us up for habits, for just how we show up, how we feel about doing tasks. We feel better in those spaces. So that's tip number 1 is to have a color palette. And then another easy tip is to really Bring a lot of texture and I know I touched on it before, but having variation in texture creates layering in your space.

Sally Soricelli [00:21:00]:
I think where people make the mistake is they'll buy 5 pillows at HomeGoods or Target or Walmart, wherever they're shopping. And they're all the same type of texture. They're all flat. You want to have variation in that. Same with your vases, Your lamps. If everything smooth, it all looks boring. But if you have smooth, rough, woven, Really creating those textures give some layer and dimension, which elevates your space. So those are my 2 tips, color palette and texture.

Dr. Christine Li [00:21:33]:
I love this all. I love actually looking at your background. As we're speaking, it's very beautiful, very calming, Totally you, I can see you loving this as well and so I invite our listeners to check out the video of this podcast recording as well. You can find it on YouTube at Make Time For Success podcast. And I just think I don't Often recommend people go to see the video, but in this case, you must.

Sally Soricelli [00:22:01]:
Well, thank you. And it makes such a big difference because I spend a lot of time in this office. And as you know, running a business, it's really important to set us up for success. And My office environment. Yes, I can get some piles every now and again. I'm human. Right? Who doesn't? But when you're working and living in a space that's well designed, your productivity actually goes up. And it's interesting, a lot of businesses, Google, Pinterest, Amazon, they know this and the stats, I don't wanna give a wrong stat, but it's in it is a really high percentage.

Sally Soricelli [00:22:38]:
I mean, like you could be in like a 300 An increase of productivity based on the environment. So businesses know that And they will actually invest a lot of money in their workers environment because they know it'll lead to better results. So I take the same philosophy here is in my own office. I want to like what I look at. I want to be surrounded By things that that do make me feel good because that makes me want to perform better at work.

Dr. Christine Li [00:23:13]:
And do better for yourself. Yes, absolutely. Yes.

Sally Soricelli [00:23:16]:
It makes me just feel better. I'm in a better mood. I'm happier than, You know, you go shopping in different stores. You have your how you feel when you shop at at stores that aren't as high end. You know, if you're at a Walmart versus a Nordstrom, you might feel a little different in each store. You might hold your head up a little higher. Both stores are good. Both stores have their purpose, but one might make you show up a little bit more.

Dr. Christine Li [00:23:41]:
Alright. Thank you so much for giving us all a nudge in the right direction and to make us reflect what can we do to improve our space and how we feel inside those spaces and how important these issues are. So thank you for being a leader in this area and You're welcome. The creative person that you are too, I really wanna advise everyone who's listening to enjoy Sally's Work on Instagram lately. Can you tell us a little bit about what you've been doing there?

Sally Soricelli [00:24:11]:
Yeah. I've been having fun with it. I admit I am Not naturally drawn to social media and Instagram, but I realized each one of those reels Or carousels actually do help people and looking at it from that shift has really been fun. I've gone through a remodel in my Own home. I know the struggles with it. And and so when you can see different examples of Design tips and and on Instagram, I'm doing different combinations of different tips that can help you and then also How you can feel when you're in some of these spaces that I I just think it's important to kind of put that message out. I've been having some fun with some reels, enjoying that process a little bit more and just Seeing what connects with people and and going from there. So I do I have been enjoying it lately.

Sally Soricelli [00:25:11]:
She looks like a

Dr. Christine Li [00:25:12]:
natural on Instagram by the way. My friends, can you share with us your Instagram handle?

Sally Soricelli [00:25:18]:
Yes. It's, Nestorations. So that's n e s t o r a t I o n s. So it's like restorations with an n because I think your home, It's your nest and we wanna restore it and get it to where it makes us feel good and so that's what it's all about.

Dr. Christine Li [00:25:37]:
Okay, terrific. I also would love for our listeners to be able to reach you, work with you. What is the best way to stay connected with you?

Sally Soricelli [00:25:46]:
Yeah. So You can definitely go to my website which is nestorations.com. And another way to reach me is through Instagram, of course. I'm very active on Pinterest as well. And all of those handles are Nestorations. Facebook is there as well. And then I do have my own podcast, which is called Design Your Home, which is just teaching homeowners and real estate investors to design and decorate your homes with confidence? Because that's really what it's about is design is a skill. Yes.

Sally Soricelli [00:26:19]:
For some of us, it is a natural talent that we have been born with and I'm very grateful and blessed for that, But it is a teachable and learnable skill, and that is really my mission because I think so much of design that we see online Is all about the show, but I believe design is about show and tell. So I just don't wanna show you the pretty space. I wanna tell you and teach you and show you How to get that in your own home and repeat that process over and over because it's a skill you can use for years years years. And no matter what home you're in, It's a valuable skill.

Dr. Christine Li [00:26:55]:
Terrific. You also have a free resource for us and our listeners.

Sally Soricelli [00:27:00]:
Yeah. So a Big challenge that I see a lot of people have and a mistake a lot of homeowners and real estate investors make is not Starting right. Really getting that starting foundation is huge because if you don't know where you're going, you don't know where you'll end up. So My design starter kit is atnestorations.com/starterkit, and it is just a Easy free guide to walk you through some of the steps, the exact steps actually that I take my 1 to 1 high end clients through. And it's the same steps and process that I use myself in my own home.

Dr. Christine Li [00:27:43]:
Thank you for your generosity there and Thanks. Sharing with Really getting us off on a better foot, I think, if that's something that we could say and I really Love your energy. I love your passion for this, your clarity and again, your generosity. So thank you Sally for being with us today.

Sally Soricelli [00:28:02]:
You're welcome. I can't Thank you enough for having me here with your audience. I love listening to your podcast myself. It's been so fun and just an honor to be here with you.

Dr. Christine Li [00:28:13]:
Thank you. Thank you. Alright. Ladies and gentlemen, we are done for today. Thank you, Sally again and take your energy and nurture it. Allow yourself to go for the upgrade, whatever that means for you. Sometimes, it's the space. Sometimes it's how you feel, sometimes it's within, sometimes it's without, but go for it.

Dr. Christine Li [00:28:35]:
You're allowed to do this. You're allowed to use your energy, finances and resources to make yourself feel better. I know Sally and I agree on all of this.

Sally Soricelli [00:28:46]:
Absolutely. Alright. Alright. Thank you

Dr. Christine Li [00:28:48]:
so much, and we'll see you next week on the Make Time for Success podcast. Take care, my friends. Thank you for listening to this episode of The Make Time For Success podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard, you can subscribe to make sure you get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website, maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com for past episodes, show notes, and all the resources we mentioned on the show. Feel free to connect with me over on Instagram too. You can find me there under the name procrastination coach. Send me a DM and let me know your thoughts are about the episodes you've been listening to, and let me know any topics that you might like me to talk about on the show.