Well, hello there!
I’m so excited to welcome you to my very first blog! But before I begin, I think it’s polite to introduce myself and to tell you a little bit about me 🙂
My name is Ashley Schock. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii and moved to Seattle 15 years ago. I am a holistic interior designer, owner of Simply Beautiful Living and with my contractor hubby we grew our construction business into a successful design-build company. Our lives are bustling with a full house filled with 4 kids, 3 dogs, a grand baby and a fish named Lincoln.
I’ve been in the home business for over 20 years. I’ve seen, sold, staged and designed hundreds of homes, everything from inner city bedrooms, to beautiful waterfront mansions on the beach. Over the years, I’ve learned so much about how people live, and the technicalities of what people want or need in a home. But little did I know there was much more to learn.
It all started with one hot summer day, that unknowingly changed my life forever.
It was through meeting my son’s babysitter. Her name was Grandma Lee. She lived in a tiny, modest home, with her husband, elderly parents and children. She worked part time as a manager at Burger King, earned minimum wage, but by the way she spoke, you would think she was a white collar executive for a Fortune 500 company. Right upon meeting her, I had just come from an important showing at a $25 million dollar home. The furnishings were breathtakingly expensive and exquisite, and the view of the deep blue ocean was at your fingertips. Everything looked picture perfect, like it should have been on the cover of a luxe magazine. But as I spoke to Grandma Lee, kicking off my heels from the long day, I sat on the floor of her home with my newborn son and I couldn’t shake that there was a feeling that I felt in her home that had been missing from the other.
As I soaked in her warm, soulful smile, I looked around and noticed that her home was a reflection of the way I wanted to feel. There was a loving, ease and comfort that had nothing to do with the price tags of her furniture or the way her home looked. I just knew that I wanted to be there.
From that day on, I recognized the importance of creating a happy, healthy and meaningful connection in a space as part of my design process. I experienced how a space and its relationship to us can affect our emotions. That light bulb moment changed how I approached designing a “beautiful” home. Not only did I pay attention to the look of a home, but to the feeling as well.
The impact of Grandma Lee’s home served as as an inspiration behind the way I design spaces. There was a simple, genuine feeling of love, that despite appearances made a lasting impression, far after I left her home. That memorable experience served as catalyst, the reason behind my “why.”
I’m excited to share with you how we can collaborate to bring that same feeling I felt into your home through holistic design. Thanks so much for visiting, if you want to learn more, check out my next blog!
Until then, take good care and make every day…simply beautiful!
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