Alexandra Stoddard

How we feel about ourselves as we read the newspaper, set the table, wash the dishes, recycle the trash and wash our clothes... is essential to our overall happiness and well-being.

Unused rooms are such bad feng shui, really bad energy.

I find that through all my work, I really get to see and feel energy, health and vitality between people and their surroundings and how they interact with each other.

My grandfather was a Methodist preacher, and my father was an unsuccessful businessman. We didn't have status or wealth.

I think of myself as the little girl Renoir painted with the watering can. I loved the garden colors.

Feeling at home with ourselves and being able to create a spirit of place that nourishes us physically, emotionally and spiritually is a goal worthy of our highest priority.

We can raise our sights high when we're willing to break free from being conformists who live a conventional life simply because we are too afraid to express our uniqueness.

I urge readers to experience things that they love and give up things that are not working.

We can live closer to our dreams if we are willing to dream them. And we can create a life as we want it to be.

Put a picture of yourself as a child in view somewhere, to remind yourself to be playful.

I feel very strongly we are spiritual beings in a physical body, and we should make our surroundings as beautiful and soulful as possible.

If we could make our house a home, and then make it a sanctuary, I think we could truly find paradise on Earth.

When I'm the happiest, my desk is not neat. It has lots of pens and the books I love. It gets messy when I'm in the flow. So many houses are so neat.

My message is that happiness is the first principle of life. But you must choose it. We all have pain, but suffering is a choice. You can be happier if you make some changes in your life.

I love people and care about them, and I felt I had a gift to cheer people up. If I could get into their homes and make their environment more attractive, they'll be happier, and it would be very rewarding for me.

Being a decorator allowed me to see what about people's environments made them happy. And what things they could do to have more light and color and joy in their daily lives.

The home is the center of your soul; it's a total reflection of your inner life. If you have a dreary home, it means you are dark inside.

We can finish a house, but never a home. Once you fall in love with a house, you find continual pleasures in fixing it up and making innovations that satisfy your creature's comforts.

I'm an interior designer from the soul. It's not about just putting things in a room. It's much deeper and broader. It's about self-discovery.

You learn to give up what's not working and surround yourself with things you love - not what's correct or proper.

If we have authentic, honest, earthy materials in our houses, we'll be more authentic, honest and natural.

I want to listen to Beethoven and Mozart. I want to read the best minds. I want to live with uplifting art. I don't want to live a grubby life.

Be mindful of the very moment you are living. Start exactly this second. You don't wait until the children get out of the house or when the sun comes out. Create something better.

Make your physical surroundings as beautiful as possible.

Being a mother and grandmother is the best of the best in my life. My grandchildren multiply the joy my daughters bring me.