Being at home with Stacie @Costdeldeptford
Firstly tell us a little about yourself?
I’m Stacie and when I’m not moving furniture, prints, painting things that I painted a week ago, I’m a Commercial Partnerships Manager for an on-demand wellness company as well as the founder (& maker) of Studio Forty Seven, a botanical candle brand.
Chris and I moved into our one bedroom flat in Deptford South East London in May 2019 after renting in the Greenwich / Deptford area for 4 or 5 years previously. I’m from South East London and I spent lots of my life wanting to move as far away from it as possible - until I rediscovered Greenwich. Being in walking distance from the Thames, Greenwich Park and lots of restaurants and bars is great. There’s always such a good vibe here.
Interior design style wise - I’d describe myself as a Minimalist Maximalist - I love things and I’m not afraid of clashing styles, but I also love really clean lines, solid blocks of colour and structured furniture.
We both live in one bedroom flats, I know how challenging it can be to keep being creative in a smaller space. You’re creativity radiates on instagram so I wondered where do you get your creative influence from and what inspires you?
I’m massively inspired by mid-century design - the sleek lines and organic form of the furniture and the colour and graphic / retro vibe of the soft furnishings and art. Music and fashion definitely play a part in my design choices too.
Some couples find it hard to merge their interior styles, would you say you and Chris have similar taste? Who makes most of the design decisions?
Luckily we do have really similar taste, the only real difference is that he needs symmetry and I hate symmetry - I prefer things to feel a little less ‘thought about’. I’m definitely the decision maker when it comes to design but when it comes to the DIY that's more Chris’ forte!
From one fellow print lover to another, what do you look for in your artwork and where do you find new artists?
COLOUR! Most of our prints are in our living room which has white painted walls - before we moved in I knew I wanted to keep the walls really simple and have lots of bright graphic prints. Prints are such a good way to inject your personality and a bit of fun into your home.
I love Print Club London for discovering new artists and I’m also a huge fan of The Flood Gallery which is based in Greenwich Market. They have an amazing range of music and movie prints.
I loved how you updated the bathroom with a few low budget changes. It shows you don’t need to spend a fortune to update a space. How much do you think you saved in the end and which low budget change made the biggest impact?
We only spent about £150 on our bathroom makeover which is crazy considering how different it is. We did originally want to replace the suite but obviously that's a much bigger and more expensive job so we thought we’d just give it a mini makeover for the time being and I’m so glad we did!We painted the floor tiles, walls, ceiling, and all woodwork, painted the towel rail radiator and coloured the tile grouting and replaced the hardware. I’m so proud of how much better we’ve made the room look without spending much at all.
Check out the IGTV here.
You launched your own business Studio Forty Seven in April 2020, selling lovely hand poured candles. What was the motivation behind launching the biz?
I’ve always been a huge candle fan and I’ve always made them as a hobby but in December 2019 I decided that I’d love to create my own brand, producing vegan candles that aren’t harmful to the planet (or our health) and using scents that evoke a feeling, I wanted the signature scents to have a real purpose, so even if you didn’t know that kind of smell you like, you could choose a candle based on how you’d like it to make you feel.
Finally what would your top tip for someone looking to express themselves at home be?
Get on Instagram and Pinterest and save, save, save. Print off your inspiration and look out for common themes and then run with them. I think it's really easy to assume that you like a certain style and get carried away trying to achieve it, when there might actually be a totally different style or group of styles that actually speak more to you.
A BIG thank you to Stacie for doing this interview and make sure you check out her account here!