Welcome to Design Wise!
Please accept this roundabout answer to “why are we all here?”.
“Why now and what for?” chimes the little voice in my head.
Why not? Life has become so public and surface level with social media that it’d be nice to join a space with a bit of long-form content and substantial conversation.
What can you expect here? Well, Saint Anthony willing, Design Wise snowballs into a community where we share hot takes on the home, insider knowledge, design-led travel tips, and whatever else design or otherwise we fancy - a space to bounce ideas around and become better for it.
Okay, here we go!! Let’s start with an introduction.
I’m Wendie, and I still struggle to answer the common ice breaker “so, where are you from?” as I was born in Germany but haven’t stepped foot there since the age of 8 months (even then I was likely being carried). Therefore, “hometown” is a tough one and to top it off, my dad was in the military so we never planted roots and instead bip-bopped across the United States. Places I’ve lived that feel most like home in this order are: Florida (current home), New York, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, California, Alabama, Maryland, Washington, and last but not least, Germany.
You’d think I’d have a clean cut answer to that ice breaker by now, but my typical response remains panicked deer in the headlights. For the sake of first impressions, I should prioritize my elevator speech but the to-do list is long and it’s as close as I get to living on the edge.
My husband met me in New York City, while I worked for an interior design firm, and likes to say I’m a country bumpkin in disguise. Most of my childhood was spent in the countryside of the South or Midwest and my mother loved collecting animals, so it felt as though we were running a mini petting zoo that never opened for business. Building barns and learning how to street fight from a rooster (who soon thereafter became dinner) isn’t a typical background in the world of interiors, but I’m happy to talk about it here. Growing up, it was fair to say I wasn’t surrounded by the most inspiring interiors, but I was artistic, obsessed with travel (studying maps like a loon), sewed clothes for stuffed animals, and was more dramatic than I’d like to admit. I figured I’d grow up to be a 1) lawyer, for my love of reading 2) flight attendant, so I could travel and wear cute little heels 3) anatomy book illustrator, to continue drawing and hopefully not starve or 4) a magazine editor, so I could read, live in the city, and that’s right - wear heels.
Why did I choose interior design in the end? And more importantly, if you know me, why are the aforementioned heels seemingly nonexistent? Both answers tie back to a means of survival and a love for good design (which is why the heels still make an appearance on date night).
I was wary that the spice of life as an adult, such as paying bills, unfortunately wouldn’t pair well with a studio art degree. And I could’ve gone down another path except I stumbled into the Interior Architecture + Design program my first year of college and it was game over. Love at first sight. Hand-drawn interior renderings hung from their walls… detailed floor plans, elevations, and sketched design solutions stopped me in my tracks and changed everything. A whole new world opened up to me and I spent the next four years in that program. I graduated in 2020, worked in New York City where I managed projects across the US, got married, moved to Florida late 2023, launched Wendie Power Interiors and now, Design Wise. It only took sweat, sleep deprivation, and a minimum of two public cries (luckily, those tears were shed in NYC so nobody paid any mind - it’s normal!).
I believe good design is life-enhancing whether it’s your living room or a winter coat, and I’m still chasing that elusive feeling of having a hometown. Also, as a girl, isn’t it a shared experience that rom coms romanticized journalism? Yea, I’m looking at you, When Harry Met Sally and The Proposal.
It makes sense that when I’m not designing homes, I’m romanticizing them on Substack or curating them visually on Instagram as @wendiepowerinteriors.
What I’m trying to say is that I’m happy you’re here. And if you decide to join this snowball and subscribe, you’ll be sent a weekly-ish newsletter with interior themes, personal essays, insider advice, and only recommendations for what I truly love (or long for). You’ll be part of a little place that to me, feels like home.
XOXO
Wendie