My interest in soft, white home environments came from the influence of one designer: Rachel Ashwell, founder of the newly named Shabby Chic Couture, as seen here inside her shop and a recent picture I took of her Los Angeles storefront on the famous Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, CA.

On a trip to her shop in Los Angeles, I was reminded of where the seed of inspiration came from to make the jump and explore the world of design.

Rachel as Goddess: During a time of recuperation from surgery in 1999, I had to lie in bed a lot so I had a little television nearby. I started watching the Style Network, which had just a couple decorating shows—not like today’s bonanza of decorating channels. One of those little style shows was “Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic,” which was on at 1pm every weekday (yes, I actually remember the time).

The show consisted of Rachel working while talking to the camera about her process, her love and joy of vintage finds, feathers, chandeliers and pastel colors of pink and blue. Rachel lived in sunny Los Angeles, so light was always streaming in around her, angelic-like. She would travel to romantic flea markets and find amazing furniture pieces, mirrors, candle sticks, and even old pieces of paper that she would turn around and use on projects at her shop. Not only did she purchase vintage items and restore them but she would also use them as inspirations in her original fabric/furnishing designs. I remember one episode that showed her designing Jennifer Lopez’ first California restaurant “Madres” (now closed). I thought that was a stretch design-wise, and so did Rachel, but the end result was a truly sumptuous and soothing interior that made everyone feel at home the moment they walked into the restaurant.