“WHEN YOU GO TO SOMEBODY’S HOUSE IT TELLS YOU A LOT ABOUT THEM: WHAT THEY LIKE, WHERE THEY’RE FROM. LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT” Simple and delicate touches, like the gold bedside lamp and whimsical artwork pictured here, show a lighter and playful side of Sommer’s home.
Sommer describes her personal style as “collected or eclectic,” preferring to mobilize the personal and unique pieces rather than the mass produced when it comes to decor. “I go antique shopping and to flea markets a lot,” Sommer relates. As an avid collector of original art (“nothing expensive!” Sommer clarifies), and a careful curator of her and her husband’s family heirlooms, Sommer has no shortage of these more intimate pieces in her arsenal. “Just trying to mix all of those things that we love and have character and meaning to bring the space together.” This approach is the same Sommer utilizes when working with clients. A lot of people keep personal items “stored away in the attic and don’t know how to incorporate them, and so we try to bring out those things and find out more about them,” Sommer’s approach is all about finding the right space to put these intimate items on display. “When you go to somebody’s house it tells you a little bit about them; what they like, where they’re from. Little things like that.” The impulse toward the antique found in Sommer’s home can be found in her clients' as well in its own right: Sommer shares she is “always adding antiques or vintage items to anybody’s house”. Elaborating, Sommer expresses: “I just feel that it adds character. Even if they have a more modern style, adding a little bit of something rustic with the modern gives it a warmer feeling.” A perfect example of the sparkle of the rustic in Sommer’s space is the metal cabinet back-dropping the two dusty pink chairs: “I found that along the road at a little store or something. It’s huge, and this house isn’t so big so we had to kind of find a place for it,” Sommer shares. Originally sporting industrial wheels, Sommer and her husband refurnished the piece and modernized it slightly by building a wooden cabinet around it. Being a bit of a nomad, Sommer and her family have had to carry this piece with them from state-to-state, no easy feat considering its size, but a stunning piece that oozes charm.
44
ISSUE 6