Last week I had the pleasure of attending a “Brunch and Conversation” event featuring a panel discussion in honor of Veranda Magazine‘s 25th anniversary. In addition to Veranda Editor-in-Chief Dara Caponigro, panel members included interior designers David Easton, Windsor Smith and Michelle Nussbaumer. Despite some aggressive (in his words “passionate”) comments about science fiction and a couple of “GD”s thrown by David, it was very interesting to hear from such influential designers.

It was Windsor Smith that impressed me the most. First of all, I want to be this woman’s friend. She exudes that California cool that us Texans can only fantasize about. Secondly, I’m inspired by her design philosophy. During the panel, she’d make a comment, I’d nod my head. We’re totally in sync. See, we’d be great friends. Honestly, it was everything I could do to not interrupt the panel and audibly provide my affirmation. I didn’t take notes, so I am sad to say that I can’t regurgitate her sound bites, but I do know it had to do with curating and editing, building your home with items you love and designing your space around the way you live. It sounds like pretty basic stuff, but how often are we really that intentional with our homes — scratch that, any part of our lives.

In honor of my new-found girl crush, I’ve included some of my favorite Windsor Smith home spaces here in this post below.

I’m crazy about the soft, neutral color palette and variety of textures. And this is the perfect example of mixing antiques with new, modern pieces.

This is the same house as above. As I get older, the stronger I feel about built-in bookcases and cabinets. When I was younger, they felt so permanent and mature. I guess I’m getting older and ready to commit. Don’t tell me you don’t love a color-coded styled bookcase. Gets me every time.

This young girl’s room is such an inspiration. I love how it’s feminine and age-appropriate without being childish. Tiffany blue is the perfect color and I’m definitely planning on having a mini clothes rack for all of my future daughter’s dress-up clothes. Precious. Moms, don’t laugh at me. I fully understand that these will only be hung neatly as such when company is over (or just for the photoshoot).

Want to see more of Windsor’s work? Check out her blog. It even includes some sneak peaks into her home. Also, just a little fun news / celebrity gossip — Gwyneth Paltrow recently purchased Windsor’s concept house, “House of Windsor”, that was designed by Windsor and a handful of other talented designers. To read more about that gorgeous home, visit the website here. Read more about the sale here.