#AllCoopedUp with Interior Designer Ruthie Sommers
I adore Ruthie Sommers! After five minutes in her presence, I feel transported, like I’ve visited another world - one in which anything is possible. There is magic and light, flowers are blooming, doors and windows are wide open, children are laughing and birds are singing. She has this kind of effect on her clients as well - she helps them envision the kind of lifestyle they should be living and she delivers it to them via her imperfectly, perfect interior design style. I first met Ruthie when I sold her spectacular house in Hancock Park. You can see Ruthie’s style on full display with de Gournay hand painted wallpaper, stunning herringbone brick and oak flooring, cathedral ceilings that open to sun-drenched living areas and french doors galore. See photos and read all about Ruthie’s latest project on my site. - Jenna
What is your profession and how has it changed since COVID began?
A year before covid, our family moved to Aspen, Colorado for a year to renovate our home in Hancock Park. I’ve been an interior designer since 1995, where I started my company in NYC. For the past five years I have been interested in wellness, specifically neuroscience. From the architecture of a home, to the architecture of a brain... mechanisms and systems fascinate me.
What design trends have become more prominent these past few years?
Trends don't make sense to me in design. If you love something, buy it. Personal style is never trendy.
What's one design trend you hope stays behind in 2021?
The word trend in design. My favorite quote: “The designer today should not help to produce more - she has to help produce fewer and better things. There is a beauty, an aesthetic and philosophy of the less.”
How would you define your personal design aesthetic?
From 1995-2022: safe, conventional, tasteful, chic, innovative, feminine, confused & cluttered, sophisticated, boring, simple, airy, clean.
What's one piece of design advice you give to all your clients?
Construction will always cost ⅓ more and take ⅓ longer... and it's not the contractor’s fault!
What are your three favorite decorative items in your home?
My dogs, books, and art.
What were your favorite things about your Hancock Park house, and why?
Everything. Mainly our trees... they gave so much - all the time, every day, every season. Also, the pool pavilions and the view.
What neighborhood do you currently live in and what's your favorite thing about it?
I mainly live in Aspen, in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer, and we still have a place in Goleta, California. My favorite thing about all homes are the views, especially the trees. Our cottage in Newport is tiny... but we have a massive lawn and there are two trees that sit right in front of our porch.
Can you share a few favorite local businesses in your neighborhood?
+COOP, Nickey Kehoe, Hollywood at Home, and Blackman Cruz.
What are your favorite paint colors?
Benjamin Moore 925 and any shade of aubergine - although I don't use color that much anymore.
What was the biggest risk and biggest reward in a recent design project?
Hiring someone to sell my house I didn't know - a risk and reward which led to my friendship with Jenna Cooper. It’s the easiest working relationship I have ever had!
What inspired you to write a book, and what do you hope people will get out of it?
I partnered with a photographer to write a love letter to humans and homes - meaning all ages, all houses, all imperfections of house and home and people. Homes with style because those inhabitants are not worried about what is “in style”. It’s all about family and community in a special summer setting.
