April Tomlin: Interior Designer to Top Celebrities shares her formulas to success and it’s not what you think.

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, Caroline, She's a queen of talking. If you son,
she's getting really not afraid to feel it's so so
just let it flow. No one can do with qui

(00:22):
Carol is Caro learn. So I'm here with the amazing, talented,
lovely April Tomlin. What's up if y'all listened to my
podcast for from the beginning? April was one of my

(00:45):
earlier guests which I was so excited to have you on.
I guess it was a couple of years ago. Yeah,
I mean, gosh, it's must be. It must be about
four years ago. Maybe no way, yeah, oh yeah, because
I didn't have kids and I really's almost four that's crazy. Yeah.

(01:06):
Then isn't it crazy how you can just know someone
for a while and you don't even realize it. Yes, yeah,
because I'm I'm almost confident that I did not have kids,
because we don't feel like there was ever a part
of that conversation where I was talking about my kids,
which is pretty much all I talk about now. I
think that I don't think. I think it's been at

(01:27):
least four years and I wasn't pregnant either, so well,
and that leads me to a great starting point in
this conversation because me being a new mom, I now
understand how much your life is consumed by your children,
which is the biggest blessing and gift in the world.
But you are also running one of the most highly

(01:50):
sought sought after most the top of the top design companies,
April Tomlin Interiors. Is that what it's called, or just
Abriel Tomlin Interiors. You design the most gorgeous interior homes
in Nashville and probably even beyond Nashville. I think you're
even like you worldwide. Baby. Well, we just branched out

(02:12):
into thirty I don't travel actually because of the kids,
but we just branched out into thirty A that area. UM,
and me and my family got a home down there
that we're renting out and that way I can be
I can take my kids with me. UM. But yeah,
we do get calls from all over the world. We
just say no. And that's probably really hard saying no,

(02:34):
because when you have the talent that you have, and
you have the opportunities and the clientele that wants to
work with you, and because when you do top celebrity
homes in Nashville, I mean, you do the top of
the top. It is like when you walk into in
April Tomlin home, it's like, whoa, I have arrived. Whoever
is living in that house has arrived, and I definitely

(02:55):
want to look at my home looks like by the way,
that's I want to live there too. So but what
I love too about so many things about you, but
you really take into consideration your client, Like you you
talk to them, what are the vibes they're going for?
Like you just I mean, I think you can talk

(03:16):
about clients because you share names on your Instagram, like
you just did. Dave Haywood and his wife Kelly and
their house Dave Heywoods from Lady A. Their house is
so them and it's like something different from as far
as like your the homes that you've followed your whole
career as long as I know you, it's different. And
so it's like you catered that to their vibes and

(03:37):
it was so amazing. Yeah, there's that one that one's
called BlackBerry Is because that's kind of what they were
going for. You know, she's a mom and when she
designed it, but it was pretty motherhood and she was
just like, this is just I wanted to be beautiful
but also just wanted to feel like home. I wanted
to be a place where, you know, I want to

(03:58):
sit down and like watch TV. And so she had
referenced BlackBerry Farms as her inspiration and that's kind of
what it looks like. And um and then Southern Charm,
which is Thomas Strutt's home and Lauren Thomas ra Aikins
and Lauren Anikin's home, she said, which is gonna be
I think a bigger feature in the magazines. I can't

(04:19):
talk too much about it, but what one of the
things that she said was that she wanted, um, it
to feel like her grandmother's house. And I was like,
surely not sure she meant it. And we created the
coolest grandmother's how us that you've ever seen. So you know,
we do we we it's not like we try to
talk her out of it, like that's who she is,
that's what she wanted and um, so of course, like

(04:41):
we put our own spin on it. If you're coming
to us, like there's a certain aesthetic that you you know,
you're definitely drawn to. But yeah, it's just it's I
don't have to live there, they have to live there.
So I try to make it as beautiful as I can.
But yeah, listening is like a large part of this job.
Listening and delivering the designs somewhere in the middle, and

(05:02):
it's as much smaller segment of it, but listening and
then actually being able to deliver on time and on budget.
Those are things that people don't tend to think up
when they can conte your design because usually it's never
any of it's none of those things. You know, they
don't feel listened to, they don't pull her, they don't
feel like it's on budget or time. Yeah. So, and

(05:23):
that is so true because listening is so key. Because
the home, and now that Michael and I have lived
in a home for five years, you actually helped us.
You did some inspo boards for us. I don't even
know if you do that anymore because you probably don't
have time where you kind of came through and you
like gave us some suggestions on a board instead of
like designing the whole house, you kind of just gave
us some like tis some tips, which was such a blessing.

(05:46):
So I'm glad I got in on that before you
ran out of time to do that for people. But
it ga it game changes your house because you allow
it to flow, but then still feel like the person
that's living there and that the vibe that they want
because your home is everything now. And so COVID, a

(06:06):
lot of people's jobs have been impacted negatively. You're in
the music industry, your husband is so you know the
other side of it. Um, I have to actually remind
myself that COVID, like daily COVID, is disastrous to a
lot of families because for our industry in particular, like

(06:26):
healthcare and some other industries, it's been the exact opposite.
Like we've grown in COVID because people value their home
more than they ever have, you know, and if they
weren't negatively impacted financially, they are now seeking for their

(06:47):
home to be what they wanted to be, a place
that they would want to stay if the world comes
to an end, you know. Interesting. Yeah, And so we're
so busy right now, and we've hired people in COVID,
which I'm so great, I'm so glad to to. You know,
on the one hand, I feel a little guilty about it,
and then but then on the other hand, like providing jobs,

(07:08):
um two people during this time has been super rewarding.
Because we had a lot of people that are a
few girls that were on unemployment. They were designers of
other firms and and maybe they had expanded previously and
they just didn't need as many people. And we were
able to snap some of those people and that have
been furloughed and very talented and um, we're very scared.

(07:29):
So COVID's actually um and the housing. We just did
a house Beautiful panel on Zoom and that was all
the designers. The three other designers on that panel, we're
saying the same thing they were like worldwide, Uh, interior
design is more respected, it is more sought after now
than pre COVID. Wow, that's crazy. So how did you

(07:51):
get this whole thing going? Because you are You're the
tiniest little human on earth, Like you're so tiny and petite,
and you're just a our house, Like you are just
a bundle of energy that like I just read I
went down this rabbit hole where when Carrie Underwood tied
for Entertainer of the Year with Thomas Rhett, I just
went on this rabbit trail of like Carrie Underwood and

(08:13):
I ended up on Pete Fisher's page, her husband on
Instagram and like I started reading of this post about her,
and he's like, she wakes up, she does an hour
and have workout, she does all this stuff. She's like,
so she has so much determination and energy and more
than most people. And I feel like that is you. Also,
I feel like you have the ability to do more
than most people. I don't know, so so I'm super determined.

(08:37):
Like that is a good description of me. Now, I
am really determined. I think I talked on your last
podcast about you know, I really do come from you know,
truly not a lot and um, not in like a
horrible way. But I was unaware. I think that I
was unaware because I have such a great mom. But

(08:59):
she was a single mother and we just didn't have
that much UM. And I was always embarrassed at my home,
and you know, she didn't have time to think about that.
She was trying to think about how to feed us.
And back then I didn't realize that, you know, when
I was growing up and she had three jobs, one
of them was a real estate agent and and so

(09:19):
she did that on the weekends, and so I would
I would have we couldn't afford babysitter, so we would
we would go and I would start staging, and I
just naturally I've always been this way. But I think
it was a development of a need, you know, it
was a development of a need to you know, when
I would go to my friend's houses and I would
feel comfortable there, and then I would be in my
own home and I did not really feel uncomfortable or comfortable,

(09:43):
and I felt embarrassed. Um, as I aged, it just
became something that I started to do. Like, you know,
my mom's one of her earliest memories of me is
we were eight and you know it's probably illegal now,
but she didn't have a babysitter. She was at work,
so we were there by ourselves and my brother was six,
and we moved her what probably little furniture she had,

(10:04):
but we painted like as high as we could on
her walls, and because she had probably bought a paint
that was in the garage, and she came home and
was like, oh my gosh, um, that probably wouldn't happen
in I think it's illegal to leave your eight year
old year old, but you know that's the time back in.
Different times are different. So all that to say, I

(10:26):
think that drive comes from seeing the other side seeing
what little you could have. I don't know why I'm crying.
I think it's okay. I want to cry too. I
cry all the time. I'll cry with you, like I
feel it. I think children I could cry in the
drop of everything makes me cry too. If we started

(10:47):
talking about Christmas, I'll probably cry to just thinking about
the commercials of Christmas. So it just anyway, all that
to say, I think that that drive does stem from
somewhere down deep. So I'm super thankful for that because
I don't know that I would be as driven, um
if I did not have those experiences. But on the
other the on the flip side of that, I feel like, uh,

(11:10):
you know, I'm good at I love women who just
own who they are. I really it took me a
long time to get there because I feel like everything
to own who they are. Like I don't like to cook,
so I'm just I'm just not going to attempt. Um.
Fortunately I'm smart enough to have married someone that can
cook and who does like that same same, yes, or

(11:33):
I would probably have to figure it out. But um,
there's just things that were told we should do and
um and you know, the very classic like womanhood traits.
I do not possess those traits. Um, but motherhood, I
really I was very scared for myself because I am
so driven and would I would I be able to separate?

(11:55):
And you know, and I can, like entirely I can,
and so very early on in my in my mother
or hood, I realized I can't do this about myself anymore,
like I need to be with my children that very instantly. UM.
And I hate when I hear that women don't fill
this connection, because I honestly can't imagine that some of
my friends have felt that way. I felt very instantly

(12:17):
connected to everly and felt like I would quit, like
I should quit my job, and and instead I took
a different path and I ended up hiring. Um most
my business kind of stayed the same there for a while,
and most recently about a year ago, I hired, which
people say not to do, but you know, I've kind
of decided to not listen to people and just go
with my gut. Was one of my best friends from college.

(12:38):
Her name is Jessica. That is tricky. That's so tricky. Yeah,
it was the most I was so confident about it,
like super confident we we had I've watched her work
for you know, since we've been out of college, she's
been at she was at Mary Lynch for ten years,
and I just knew that it was hard on her
as a mother, get downtown and Hills and Sue and

(13:00):
the whole thing, and so UM. She actually called and
she was just like, are you hiring? And I said,
I hired her on the phone right then, and UM.
And she's actually the one that's doubled the business. It's
actually not me. Um. If you how has she contributed
to the business? Oh? God, like, how has she not? Um?

(13:21):
So she's not a designer. UM, that is not what
she does. So she came in and saw all these
efficiency problems, UM process problems, UM tax problems, finance problems.
And she has been killing herself, honestly of strategically how

(13:47):
to run this business, UM in a way that produces
great design work but also delivers tomlines and budgets to clients.
Because that's it's it's very simple design. They want good design,
and they want toimelines and budgets. They want transparency, they
want to be able to see everything. And that seems
so easy to her. It is to me. It was

(14:08):
always extremely difficult and you know, some of the people here,
they weren't finance people. Um, and so it's really been
a huge asset to have somebody that understands finance and
understands efficiency. So she's kind of taken over the company.
She's been running it for a year now. And in
this year we've doubled in size, We've expanded our office,
launched into thirty A and it's so many people have

(14:32):
said to me, oh my gosh, you're such an amazing
business owner. You've you've just are growing. I said, well,
I've been here the whole time. The difference is the
new person that came on board who doubled I've been
here since day one and I wasn't able to do that. So,
you know, the difference maker was really her. She's been
a huge asset and like hiring the right people and

(14:55):
and guiding me in that way. Um. You know Sarah
and Polly who have been my designers for you know,
they're the only people that I let design up until
this year. So there's only ever in abl Tongan Interior's history,
there's only been three people that have ever designed are
designed for anyone, and it's me and Sarah and Paully,
and they've been with me for a really long time
and I never wanted to hire another designer because I

(15:15):
trust them, you know, immensely, And and so Jessica was
just like, you have to, like, you have to trust
somebody beside Sarah and Polly with portions of the design.
So we've hired two new designers this year, and uh,
they're under you know, Sarah's guidance. But um, and then
everything is you know, initially kicked off by me, designed
by me, but it really does a lot of these

(15:37):
little you know, sketching and stuff like that does fall
into their hands. And so we they have pushed me
out of my box and allowed me to grow and
allowed me to um let go in a way. And
it's actually it's probably expanded your style even too by
bringing in two more designers who you love, who get

(15:58):
your style, who work steamly sleep with your visions, but
yet they have their own visions to I mean that
only can expand what y'all are capable to do as
a company. It does, and you know, I feel like
everybody that's here right now is so you know, committed.
I would encourage every business owner and that my um,
what I like to say, is like, if you don't

(16:19):
want to help us push this truck uphill, then leave,
you know, um, because it's a large truck and it's
an uphill battle. And uh, we're launching products in one
and we brought someone on to take that department over
and it's I don't know what I'm doing. We've been
in meetings all morning about this product line and and

(16:41):
sketching and you know, going over things and um so so,
but this person that we hired does And so for me,
it's been been a hire great people, people that are
passionate about those things, that can help bring those things
to lives so that at five o'clock I can go
be with my kids and I can sleep her at
night knowing that I have rock stars. You know, I've

(17:03):
spent a lot of money doing it. I'm not gonna lie.
Like people here are well paid and they enjoy their environment.
We work really hard, Like we provide mom hours and
self care hours and you know hours to be a female.
We've only hire females, so because so what are mom hours?
What are mom hours and self care hours? And that
is where the world needs to go. I'm telling you,

(17:24):
women are so capable, and now I'm gonna cry. I
don't know why I'm gonna cry, but I'm like, women
are so capable, and for so long, like you said,
we have this thought that like we have dreams and talents,
and we both have daughters. You have two dollars, I
have one. I'm like, I don't want Sonny to like
have all these dreams and goals and then one day
get married and have kids and throw them out the window.
Like she's so smart, she's so capable do what you

(17:46):
want to do. But like, for so long, women haven't
had that ability to be able to do both. But
why can't we Why can't we work in self care hours?
Why can't you work in mom hours and still kick
ass being a business person? Like why does it have
to do? Why does it had to be this typical
schedule that everyone feels like they have to follow. Why
can't it be different? Exactly? So you know a lot

(18:09):
of like a lot of my time, like I you know,
I get off at five often and I'm like I'm
not done yet, Like this is not the end of
my day. And so you just have to start looking
at life different. You know, You're just like I have
to sacrifice something like I can't have it all, so
what am I going to sacrifice? So for me, you
know what I like to get a massage. Everyone what
I like to get official, yes, but for me, what

(18:31):
gives me life? What I've decided is there's a lot
to be done in the day for work. So for
me personally, I get off work, it gives me life
to be around my kids. It's better than a massage
for me. And I'm not a say at my mom.
So there's very obvious reasons why I feel like, uh,
very um why I feel that that's very important. But

(18:54):
when I put it so, I turned my phone off,
like I do not work when I get home, it
is that at you your us could be burning to
straight to the ground and I probably will not get
a response from me. But all theirs, you know, and
they've started to understand this weekends, I'm all their's. I've
had to give up like some events and some social
things and whatever. And you know, I always tell myself,

(19:15):
like I do spend time with my closest girlfriends, but
like that part of my life is going to have
to be set aside temporarily. You know, I've got fun
things here and there, but temporarily, like you know, if
you're gone from your children for that many hours, like
you need to devote the other hours or I need
to devote the other hours to them. But when they
go to sleep, I kind of will go back to
to work in a sense, and I'll sit in bed

(19:37):
and I'll do my little stuff and so and we
try to communicate that to the rest of the mom's here.
So mom hours are when you have kids, especially when
they start going to school and things, and especially I
have moms here whose kids play sports. You know, football
games start at five o'clock, so you gotta leave at
like three thirty to get them ready and get them gone.

(19:57):
And and so we created these mom hours that you
can decide how you spend those um and there are
a lot of hours actually, So if you you know,
want to go eat lunch with your kid, go eat
lunch with your kid. If you and it and it
gets like releases that guilt. In my opinion, I'm gonna cry.
It's such a struggle for women. I mean, this is amazing.

(20:19):
And then we have single people here and you know,
this is the time for them to take care of
themselves because that can kind of be puts the backburner
as a mom. And I tell everybody that Jung, I'm like,
oh girl, take a take a minute for yourself, because
once you have kids, that is God's and so you know,
we don't want them to feel like they have to

(20:39):
just work all the time and produce and like the
mom gets leave early, so and then the mothers get
the self care hours too. But we created self care
hours because sometimes you can't get your hair done on
the weekend. It's just your person might not be available
or you know, you need a little botox and that
the only appointment, and you don't want to be like,
oh my gosh, I'm I late to work or cannot leave. Really,

(21:00):
it's just like just you know, you have these hours
a lot of two outside of your vacation, in personal time,
in sick days, and just to you know, take the
hour and do it. Just keep it inside. So that's
kind of kind of how we keep the boundaries. So
then you you know, as a female, then you can
prepare this is what I'm gonna do this year with
these hours, you know, and go ahead and plan like
I know, I want to be do this many activities

(21:22):
for my kids. Like because you kind of know what
your kids are doing for the year, and I know
that I need this many appointments for the year, and
let me just go ahead and pre book them and
that way, don't there's no guilt about it. It's just
like I need to go get my hair done't have
to explain it to anybody. Hey, I don't have to
hide it. I don't have to act like I need
to leave early. You know, if you're like, you're a
woman who cares about that too. You want to get

(21:43):
your hair done, you want to get your bearer tox done,
you want to be able to go to your kids
school functions without having to lie or feel guilty or guilty.
There should just be no guilt around it, you know.
And you know we everybody kind of here and knows
if you didn't finish your stuff for that day and
you got a football game, just log back on at
night and just finish it up. And and people here
are super respectful of that because we've allowed the freedom

(22:04):
to you know, you know, produce at different hours and
and things. So um so, yeah, we just created a
company that I feel like is is super female oriented
and mom oriented and for us it's really really paid
off because I feel like the people here really give
a ship, like they care about this company. They care. Um,

(22:28):
it's you know, I always say like I I bide
by these hours by the way as well, UM, I
do the same thing that I require everybody else to
do and UM, and I think that that builds respect.
You know that I'm not off doing whatever, and my
expectation is for them. And so I always tell the
leadership of April toome on interiors, like, hey, like lead

(22:48):
by example, because it's really the only way to lead,
and don't ask anybody to do something that you would
and do. So I take out the trash here all
the time, I, you know, pitching all the time in
different ways that you know, maybe some people would feel like, oh,
I'm above that or you know, I've I've made it.
I don't have to do it. And and you see
me here often like cleaning up for taking out the
trash or whatever. And I and then if it does

(23:09):
motivate other people to take out the trash if they
see it. And right, so, yeah, how did you even
think to do WIM hours in self care hours? Like
how did you even think to put that in place? Well,
you know, I just me and Jessica. Actually we sat
down and we're like, we're getting larger, and it used

(23:30):
to be like no rules at all, but we're getting
larger and we're unable to worry so much about where
people are and whatever. And so really I just said
to say, well what if we just a lot of
the hours, like what any worry work people are we
just you know, we just lay out what the expectation
is really clearly, and expect women to you know, be

(23:52):
able to handle their they hand, they handle so many
other things they can handle it. This is if I
know what I'm supposed to be doing, I feel a
lot about being able to do it, you know. And
so it really came from a growth like the more
people that you get, the more people you have to
like set some form of an expectation. And we didn't
want to come in with the hardcore like none above,

(24:14):
be here all day, be the actually get here before
none just to prove that you're a hard worker. It's
just like these are hours. We're really not judging you
if you get here at you know, eight fifty, Like
it's just not that type of company, and but just
work really hard. Um, while you're here, and we don't
pre hire. So that's another thing. I used to have
a job where I sat behind a desk and UM

(24:35):
I would play on at the time, it was like
my Space, I think or Facebook. There was no Instagram
and I UM. And it's because they were so they
hired so many people. So we always when we're growing,
we're asking like does this person want to make more
to take on these responsibilities and once again to the
point where we know nobody can take on any more
work than we hire, so we don't really have to

(24:56):
worry about what people are doing because people are so
busy here they don't have time to do you know
what I mean, like sit around and UM. And it's
not like a stock position. You're not just like hiring
someone to do this stock job. It's like every person
is so uniquely hired and has such unique gifts that
it's like you know exactly what their talents are, what

(25:17):
they're doing, and when they run out of space and
there's no more room for them to do more than
it's like you have to create a whole new unique
higher Yeah, for sure, for sure, and and like just
our design aesthetic and and things like that. So for design, Like,
I really it's so funny. Before kids, you saw a
lot of black and white in our designs, you saw uh,

(25:41):
not a not a ton of rounded corners, rounded corners
everything Now and now like you see a lot of warm,
you see a lot of comfortableness. We actually tagged the
entire company relax Living the second that I became a mom,

(26:01):
and I was this human being before really, but I
just decided we're gonna be who I am naturally, which
is a really relaxed human being. And it's like kind
of comfort over everything, um, and there's beautiful ways to
do that. But now when you're looking at our designs,
it's just extremely relaxing and comfortable. And I approach everything

(26:26):
in a way that's just like do I feel peace
here or not? And if there's no peace here, then
I don't want to be here. And as a mother,
like you know, it's just if you can find peace,
like when you go on vacation and you're like, I
wish I had this betting and I wish I felt
this way at home, Like my gut instinct is like,
well why can't you you can? There's it's four walls

(26:46):
and a ceiling, the floor just like your own home,
you know what I mean? And they have like whatever
area Alice speech has always in the area that I,
um have found the most peace in. So I do
design a little bit like to that area. And um,
but that's what that's what it was about, is that
I go there and I kind of start tearing up

(27:07):
right when I get there because I just can breathe
for a second. There's a calmness about it, There's a
stillness about it, and so why would I not want
my everyday life to feel that same way? You know? UM?
So that is I do feel like there's a lot
of moms that are our clients, UM, no matter if
they're a celebrity or not. They if you have bridged,

(27:28):
if you have crossed over into motherhood, you're usually kind
of coming to our firm because it's that is just
extremely important. UM. And Sarah, the girl the design of
this move we forever and she's about to give birth
her fourth child. So it's like, I got a lot
of children, and so should we just know we know

(27:49):
what that feels like. We know what it feels like
to be in a house and have your little ones
like walking around and not worrying about Oh my god,
are they got about to break the neck or they
about to hit a corner? You know that sort of thing.
We just uh, we've been ash halflate Grace. Come about
Mary even probably Gray about a year and half ago,
she was not she did not have kids, and I
was songs like, are you're gonna have kids soon? Because

(28:09):
like some of this is not gonna work out for you,
like what you hope this will be, and it's taken
until now. And She's just like, hey, can I get
an automan? Can we get that? I was like, yeah,
change everything, man, something that I have really Um, you

(28:32):
have really been such a kind friend, debate, even though
we don't necessarily like see each other all the time
or even hang out all the time. I you have
been someone who has been such a source of great
advice and such a caring person. Like when I first
entered into motherhood, I called you on the phone and

(28:53):
you gave me so much just like helpful advice and
like encouragement. And I feel like, to me, that's how
you run your business because it is hard sometimes. I
love women more than anything in the whole world, and
I am such a a woman oriented person. But women

(29:17):
can get their feelings hurt. Women can take things personally sometime,
so can men. Men have their own slew of issues.
I mean, I love being a woman more than anything,
and I love working with women more than anything. But
navigating very smart, powerful females who bring so much to
the table and who have great ideas like you're doing
and your best friend, that is not necessarily the easiest

(29:40):
thing to do. So how do you do that and
keep your your workspace flowing so well? Because that's a
true skill. Yeah. So, um, what I was saying about,
I'm I'm talented. I wish people would own their things. UM.
So I really believe that I'm good at like a
few things. Um. I'll love being a mom. I feel

(30:00):
like I'm a pretty good mom. I design, like not
owning a design company, but just design. I feel like
I'm really good at that. I can see things like
before before, like I could walk in and kind of
see what it's supposed to be. Um. I'm not super
detail oriented. There's a lot of things that I'm not,
but one of the things that I am is UM.

(30:23):
I feel like I'm a unifier of people. Um. And
and I'm also the type that like most people like.
But if you don't like me, probably don't like me
because I am such a straight it's just straight shooter,
which I appreciate it. Just who has time to lock
God bless America? Who has time to figure out you're

(30:47):
in trouble with someone or something's going on? Just tell me,
tell me, just tell me, Please tell me. So setting
the expectation of like I sat in this conference room
yesterday and we had like a big teammate and there's hardships. Look,
there there was something that happened, you know, there was
there was something that happened to this company recently that
it was hard on my heart. It was it was

(31:09):
a betrayal of sorts and it was hard. So this
in my world is not cookie cutter. Not everybody here
stays here, and not everybody does the right thing, you know. Uh.
But we had like a company meeting after finding out
some information that was it was unfortunate, and so we
had to set some expectations about what's allowed here and
what's not with clients and etcetera. And we were talking

(31:33):
about what we wanted this office to be. And I said,
this should be the easiest part of your day. Emotionally,
like save your emotions for your family, save your emotions
for your friendships. Like this environment emotionally should be the
easiest road because what is there to fight about, you know,

(31:56):
what is there to worry about? There's really there's really
not emotionally. Of course, we can get stressed about clients
and this and that, and so I said, if you
have a question, just put it in front of me, like,
you know, just be more, you know, be transparent. That's
like my number one thing. Be transparent. Don't lie, please,
don't lie to me, and I will all be good.
And I and one of the other things I was
talking about, like the drama I just said, don't don't

(32:18):
live up to the woman, the woman creation of who
everybody thinks we should be. You know, be emotional. Emotional
people succeed because they care, be passionate. There's nothing wrong
with that. But don't be catty. Don't waste your energy
on don't waste your energy on that, because we only

(32:39):
have so much to go around. And for me, I'm
gonna save that level of emotion for my children, you
know what I mean, Like I want to be able
to have emotions after I leave work to give to
them and my husband, yes, not to be drained. Not
to be drained. So let's just you know, if someone

(33:00):
says something to you and it's hurtful or you know whatever,
they probably didn't mean, so just move. Just choose to
make a choice and just choose to know that most people,
if they're saying something in office or you know, if
they're going too fast, it might not come across like delicate,
or it might not be the exact and just move on.
The more you work the best in people, assume the

(33:22):
best until there's like a very obvious like proc right,
and then you know, but but yeah, I mean it
is we've I do feel like that's how we've done it.
It's just me being super transparent. I try to be
transparent even of the finances of the company, because I
always go back to how did I feel as an employee.
I always felt like, God, they make so much money,

(33:42):
why do they not pay anymore? What is my bonus
gonna be? Or why does the boss get to do
this and I don't get to do this? So I
just tried to do the things that I used to
hate about me, you know, I try to make sure
that I'm the hardest working in person in the room.
If if I'm the hardest working person in the room,
what can anybody say? Right? And and um and so
and then also like financially, like people here know what

(34:07):
we're where we are financially, so they know that if
they worked extra hard and they feel that they deserve
a raise, that the second that we can give them
a raise, we will give them a raise. And we
try to pay people fairly in great upfront, but like
you know, as people develop skills, like they should be
paid more, especially as a woman. Actually, one girl came

(34:27):
here in her salary requests, I sent I was gonna
hire her, and I knew it, and I sent it
back to her. I said, don't ever put this number
on paper again. You are worth more than this. Wow. Well,
but April, the fact that you're not trying to take advantage,
you're not trying to get everything you can get out
of someone for the cheapest, right, you know you're trying,

(34:50):
but that's that shows your who you are and what
you You're willing to give as much as you can
to your employees because you want them to be You
want them to love where they're working, to shine, and
you're not trying to like you're not trying to like
cut corners and like cut cut cut deals out or

(35:10):
make it like less for someone because you can't. And
we remodel the office, you know, and we want to
do curtains and some things like that. And I went
to Jessica, said, is this gonna affect the bonuses this
year in anyway? And She's like it could, So then wait,
don't do them, you know, because that's the type of
things that people like, they're still there walking, they have eyeballs,
they're like, we just purchased this much in curtains, and

(35:32):
I and my bonus wasn't what I thought it should be,
you know what I mean. So we just tried to
put them before, you know, the curtains and before you know,
obviously we needed the space we've expanded. We needed I
need I need conference room chairs, I need these things,
and we will continue to make this space beautiful, but

(35:54):
not at the not at the cost of the bonuses,
you know, when they deserve probably more than what I
can even give. And so yeah, we just you know,
it's just a lot of counting a businesses, a lot
of common sense. Honestly, you just have to stop and
be like, what would I be feeling if I worked here?

(36:15):
You know, how would I want to work? Um? And honestly,
if you're not a hard worker in this in this company,
it stands out like it stands it's hard to not
work hard in this company because everybody does work pretty hard,
and so it when someone's not just naturally they're just
not a hard worker like it, it's it's you stand
out like sorre thumb in this group of women, so um,

(36:36):
because these are women that flat of their kids football
games and fly back. But I will say on that note,
you said, you see me talking about stay at home
ons a lot, because there is nothing. There could be nothing.
If I had to write a book and it wasn't
about design, I don't know what I would call it,
but it would be like the anti false bitch movement,

(36:56):
like it would be nothing makes me more mad of
course up, you know, of course, like you, I want
my girls like I don't want my girls to have
things put on them that they should be. And but
if every chooses what she's super motherly, it's super strange
to watch because at her age I was not I
did not like want of babysit kids. It's not a

(37:17):
thing like I never offered to babysit a kid were
my own kids, and he still probably would not offer
to babysit kids. And they're there. Then there are people
that like love that and they want to become teachers
and they want to be educators, and they just want
to be around kids all the time. Like that was
never me, but Everley does. She's got that enter and
so you know what if like she feels super called

(37:39):
to be a stay at home mom and dad gives
her joy and financially she can do that, then that
is what I mean by owning who you are, like,
because I think we went you know, we're kind of
in this weird and awkward place where we went from
one extreme like we can do it all. We're women,
you know. You now it's like if you're not doing

(38:02):
at all, if you're not owning a business that's popular,
if you're not an influencer, if you're not popular on
social media, or you don't you know, hell, I mean,
it's not even that popular to be a doctor. People
would rather be bloggers than doctors. You know, we've almost
went the opposite extreme to where now if you're not
doing it, you're not involved in that world, or you're

(38:23):
not you don't have this like glorious job. Then I've
heard a lot of my friends who have chosen they
were teachers. They can't, you know, they unfortunately they don't
make enough to like leave their own children, and so
they've chosen they've made a choice to stay home. And
when we're talking, they have a lot of self worth,
you know, convert conversations and I'm like, you chose this,

(38:44):
own it, Like, trust me. If you choose the other path,
the working path, if you have a lot of guilt,
you know, either path is hard for a woman. Men
do not. If men becomes stay at home dads, they're
like it's great, gets to drink there, gets it, you know.
And if they choose to work there like of course
I have to work you. And for women, no matter
what path you choose, you're explaining yourself or you're having

(39:05):
self worth issues or guilt or whatever, and it's just like, no,
if you want to be a saint home mom, do
you say how mom? You know? Um, make yourself happy?
If you need to go do something else like charity
or exercise or read books or you know, whatever, But
it just financially makes sense for you to be a
say at home mom or that gives you life, like
you should own that. You should do that, and there

(39:27):
is no further job than that, you know, But calling
me a boss, favor, bitch or whatever, opposed to like
a doctor, a surgeon, a female surgeon who who is
never called that, by the way, you know what I mean,
it's crazy. It is actually crazy. And so I just

(39:48):
like I'm trying to put the message out there, like
own whatever it is that you want. Some people do
not have the luxury of having a job that they love.
So if you just want to go to work, get
a paycheck, and then like find your satisfactions and something
else that maybe doesn't provide money for you, like reading
books or exercise, Like if you don't want to be
a gym instructure as instructor and exercise give you gives

(40:09):
you life, Like go to your job, you know, do
your job, and then come home and and and do that.
But it's just more of an ownership and not letting
whatever society. Society told us to be one way ten
years ago, it's telling us to be a different way
right now. You have to be a boss bitch right now,
ten years ago you had to be a stay at
home mom, and in ten years now to be anything else,

(40:32):
you know, and um, and so it's just putting all
that to the side, like that's what other people think
that you should be doing, what you should be doing
as a female. And what I try to do is
do whatever makes me happy and whatever gives me life.
And that person or that whatever is is who I
choose and who I create, you know, through prayer and

(40:53):
through Jesus. And I actually do have a faith, but
like I consult with a higher power, I don't consult
with uh social media. Gosh, April, I mean, did we
not need to hear that just now? That is so true?
And man, it is so hard to get to that
place where you truly are like I'm choosing this, this

(41:17):
is what makes me happy or these are my circumstances,
and this is how my life is gonna look based
on my circumstances, and I'm gonna own it. I'm gonna
do the very best I can. I'm gonna live this
life to the best that I can. And I'm not
going to sit around and be like why am I
not like her? Why am I not like her like
this is my life. I'm choosing it. But that is

(41:37):
so hard for us to do, and especially with like
social media and the comparison game and all of that.
But April, is that not the truth? I mean, I
literally I'm been struggling with social media lately. And I
usually don't struggle with social media. I'm usually like fine
with it because I see like the blessings of it,
in the connectivity of it, and I see how like

(41:57):
people are able to have to have life on there,
like businesses and stuff like that that they want and
they want to pursue. Like I usually see that part
of it, even though I know there's this whole other part.
But man, I've recently got into like feeling like I
am spread too thin and that I am I feel
like it's kom baya and like I love everyone so

(42:19):
like I support everyone, but then it's like, what have
actually some people who I'm friends with are don't like
that person or this person. And then I got into
this weird like comparing game where I'm like messing everything
up and I'm making everyone mad and I but then
it's confusing and then I'm like who am I? What
am I? Doing this for like, what is the purpose
of why I'm on Instagram? What was the purpose of

(42:39):
what I'm trying to do? You get, it's so easy
to get so convoluted by like the swirl of it all. Yeah,
it is. It's a large part of our business. It's
obviously a necessary part of our business. However, you know, definitely,
Like recently someone was just like, if you want this

(42:59):
product bond to launch, you've got to be over a
hundred thousand. So it's a goal. Like, it's a goal, right,
It's a goal that I ever thought that I would
have because pre product line for you know this, I
did not care. I hadn't even post a lot um.
But now it's it's you know, it's a it's an

(43:19):
end game, right, Like we've got to we've got to
have that unfortunately um to be able to have the
power to negotiate and and do the deals and and
that sort of thing. So so we're trying harder, we're working,
but it is such a messed up world where people
can say, and let me tell you, I am Puerto
Rican and like fiery as Hill and I and I

(43:41):
get can get really angry at like some So someone
wrote me. I was just telling the girls this this morning.
Someone literally swear to god, they wrote a dam to
me and it said, I just don't get all the fuss,
and I just don't want to get what all the
fuss is about about your design work. I'm from New
York and just move tear and quite frankly, I just

(44:01):
don't even think it's that good or impressive. Why would
someone take the time to write that? So I screened.
So my first reaction was I screenshot at it, and
I was reposting it back to and start with arrows
to her name and arrows message, and I said, if you,

(44:24):
I said, if you, uh, if you're so bold to
write this in private, I hope you don't mind it
being public. And I almost I almost clicked the button
like it was written. So what I decided was, I
was just like, I'm gonna set, I'm gonna take five,
and i'm gonnaet, I'm gonna leave it, and I'm gonna go,

(44:45):
you know. And I had to walk away and say
to myself, like, who do I It's not about being
a perfect person in in uh the world? Who who?
If there is a young girl on here watching me
actions like what do I want them to see what
would be the higher road here? And so what I
did was I deleted it and I did not respond

(45:08):
to this person. And I had to say to myself,
do I even care, Like, how does this person impact
me at all? Oh? Oh, they don't write and probably
have a lot of free time to take the time.
I personally have never even if I like was on something,
and I was just like, I don't like their aesthetic
or I don't take the time to write the message.
There's some there's some hate, or there's some there's some

(45:30):
unrest in their heart. Yeah, And so I just blocked them.
I literally didn't even respond. I just blocked them, and uh,
and then I was you know, and then I was fine,
and then I moved on. But you know, in it's crazy,
you know, I posted about human trafficking recently, and literally
by the end of the night, I was like I
might die. I had to get back on and UM

(45:51):
and and clarify what I meant. And all I did
was talk about UM that I was just kind of
uh blown away about his wayfair I usation industry. It's
my world, like I wanted, I'm in it. I still
they still have not. They still have not done what
they said they would do, which was explained what was

(46:14):
going on, and so we as a company do not
order from Wayfair or all Modern from that point to date.
And it's a personal choice. My actions are not impacting
the greater good and they were definitely not impacting Wayfair sales.
So um, but I I said something about it, like

(46:36):
this is crazy. Guys like and and I don't talk
about politics or any of that, um, but it was crazy.
I did not know human trafficking would be controversial, but
it was crazy. People. One person said that I was
a racist against gaze. I do not know. I was

(46:57):
just like, what what is the link here? You know
what it? Where it? Where is these linking of topics
and you literally get so fearful. Someone said, I don't
know that you'll make it through the night, and I
was like, what they're gonna like they're gonna kill you
or something, die, like somebody in that world. Because if
you as you learn more about that world, you learned

(47:19):
that it's a pretty large world run by very high
powerful people and so someone so it was like even
like threatening, and I get back on I'm like, hey, hey, hey,
I didn't know human trafficking was this controversial, don't want
to die tonight? Um, and didn't accuse Wayfare of anything.
They've actually were pre accused by a lot of other people.
And I'm just saying, if this is true, we will

(47:41):
not be supporting this as a company, you know what
I'm saying. And I'm waiting on an explanation. And I'm
still waiting on the explanations. Somebody please explaining to me.
If I was Waitfare, I'd be explaining myself. If I
if my company was accused of that, I'd be explained. So, um,
it's just a personal choice that you know, order wayfare
if you want. And anyway, it was just in you realize,

(48:02):
like I can't talk, I can't say if I know,
I know, speech is a pastime, you know what I mean.
Cancel society right now, Everything is like cancel society. If
you say anything wrong, you're canceled. And it's like sometimes
you don't even know you're saying something wrong. It's just like,
oh my god, I'm trying to say something right. I'm
trying to take a stance and like do something that

(48:23):
I feel is right, but actually somehow it's spun wrong. Yeah,
I mean I've everything from you know, white privilege. I'm like,
I'm actually not white, I'm Puerto Rican. But thanks for
playing um to you know, tone deaf. You know, things
like I work so hard to get this beach house,
and it's so excited about it. It's I'm so excited

(48:45):
we're having to rent it and uh financially it's you know,
it's a great play for up for our family. But
when I went on to talk about it, um, I
didn't for the first couple of weeks because there was
like an overwhelming fear of being called tone deaf and
how to consult a lot of people, and you know,

(49:06):
and it's so gone in the days of just jumping
on saying you know, just saying which is gone in
your brain. You know, Um, those days are those days
are over, unfortunately. So social media is a really hard
it's a really hard time to be a part of
social media right now and have a business in particular
or a career that can be canceled. Yes, if I

(49:27):
say the wrong thing and make a bunch of people mad,
you know, and all of a sudden, it's you know,
I mean asking it. I think if you can go
in as far as like interior design canceled, like yeah,
and so I just it's a really weird thing to
be a part of, um right now. And so last

(49:49):
year it was the comparison game, comparing yourself to everybody else,
and then this year it's a game of fear. Yeah,
is anybody being honest on social media? Like really honest?
I don't think so, because everybody is afraid to talk,
you know, um, And so it's kind of pointless to
listen to it, honestly, Like, if you think about it

(50:09):
that way, it's just like why am I listen to nobody?
Nobody that I know is saying what they think, you know,
truly what they think unless it's popular. If it's popular,
then I'll say it. But if they have unpopular opinion, Uh,
nobody that I know is saying the unpopular opinion thing.
They're just quiet and um, which is sad because America

(50:29):
is like freedom, it's freedom of speech, is freedom of thought.
That's what makes it go around those days and those
days at least temporarily or over and I don't know,
and we'll get them back. But in social media is hard,
it really is. But it is really hard. How do
you deal with and I talked to you a little
bit about this. Um. Obviously, we live in a town,

(50:50):
and I feel like I'm really starting. I'm trying to
learn because sometimes I feel like I'm kind of unaware
and I just like I said before, I'm like cool
by y'all. Everyone gets along, everyone's happy, and I don't
realize there's all these underlying rivers flowing, you know. Um,
but now, because I think it's because like with me,
I've never really taken I've always struggled with like self

(51:10):
worth issues. So I'm like I'm not really important anyway.
No one really cares. It doesn't really matter. Even though
like my podcast has grown and I know that it's
a it's a legit thing and that I actually have
a voice that people are listening to, I still don't
really think they are, if that makes sense. Like I'm
still like, oh, I'm just like a I'm just like
a kid's sister that doesn't really she's just kind of

(51:31):
no one really cares. But that's I've got to change
my mentality because like I'm realizing, when you're speaking and
when you're sharing conversations and people are tuning in, they're
actually listening, it's not just fake numbers. It's not just
like fake stuff, you know, and so like, I yes,
and so and I just like love to be real

(51:52):
and honest and roll in supportive. So like, But how
do you navigate being a part of Nashville which is
a such a creative community with so many on to people,
your friends, with so many people, how do you navigate?
And I kind of asked you about this, like the
competitive the competitive thing or people that are your friends
not working with you or working in the same industry

(52:12):
of other people who are also doing the same things
and co existing. Like, that's a hard one for me
right now. I'm trying to navigate that. How do you
do that? Yeah, so you know, it's not it's definitely
not easy. It's definitely a process. You know. Um, I
have friends that don't that don't use me. Um, and
I there's a whole industry here people that you know,

(52:35):
especially into your design and music and whatever. Every industry
is the same. It's just like there's people that have
bad reputations, there's people that have good reputations. For me personally, UM,
I tell myself this like like often, honest to god,
it's often. I there's certain things to my day better consistent.

(52:55):
I'm overwhelmed, I'm tired, I'm too busy, I have too
much ship to do, and I love my kids, and
sometimes there's a consistent um. It's consistent. Emotions fell almost
every day, and so I've had to I have gotten
to a place in my career where I have had

(53:17):
to start taking stock of my energy of where I'm
putting that energy and the things, the places that I
that I let my mind sit for too long, because
where my mind in, say, like where my mind needs
to be sitting is how am I going to grow

(53:39):
this company where people here are well paid and able
to take care of their families the same way that
I'm able to take care of my family. Another thing
where my mind needs to be is how am I
going to grow these two girls into human beings that
doesn't require and seeing amount of therapy like I had
to go to or uh, you know the least amount

(54:01):
of pain possible that wasn't that's inflicted by the home
and not like nature, Like you know they're going to
go through pain there you know their friend might pass
away or there you know grandmother or you know they're
not good at something and they're not, they don't get
on a team that they want to be on. That
that you can't control that. But in the home, you know,
I can create human beings that have a little more

(54:28):
wear and tear to them to where they don't get
beat down so easily. There the opinions of others don't
matter so much to them. They feel loved and secure
and safe. Like that is where my mind needs to be. Um,
making sure my kids get to school and they don't
have the mom that's like forgot everything because I'm just
so scattered brain, like yeah, trying to get them to

(54:52):
school on time. Like I don't want them to have
to explain like mom's mom's working, you know, So we're
always the kids that don't have the things. And um,
that's where my mind needs to be Jesus um faith, family,
other family members. You know, I have a fan of
a couple of family member that's a drug addict and
I'd help his kids. And I'm super involved in organization

(55:14):
Hume Street Home. And you know, my friend Lauren is
is a loved one and so you know, have I
do I have the mental capacity to think about those
things And the answer is is that what I took
sock of recently is in the last year and a
half is No, I don't, because if I like wrote
down my thoughts in a day, a lot of them

(55:34):
would be around, like the opinions of others, uh, the
opinions of people on social media. Uh the you know,
Actually that's probably it like a lot amount of time
spent on what am I doing? That's making how are
other people feeling about what I'm doing right when really

(55:56):
it's just like I just can do what I can do,
and I can try to be called missent of other
people and their emotions in their space and stuff like that,
and um but how they take that, how what they
do with that is it is probably more about them
than about me anyways. And um am I surrounding myself
with people that uh don't suck the life right out

(56:18):
of me, you know every once in a while and
they have a problem, But like I'm not constantly worried,
and so I can say, like recently I really had
there was a point where I was just like having
a damn good year, and I'm gonna enjoy the hell
out of it because next year might not look the same.
Because when I take a sock in my life right now. Um,
and it's crazy that it's but uh, I have an

(56:42):
insanely supportive friend group and I didn't include everybody that
it used to. It just doesn't And um, and I
let people in who I feel genuinely loved me and
are excited for me, because I'm genuinely excited for them,
you know, whatever path that they choose. So why should
not be the to said? Even though I found some
success and some things, um, and people that I can

(57:05):
talk to about where I come from and the problems
that I do face, um with you know where I
grew up, and you know I didn't just go away
right like I talked about, like how I grew up
poor and and all the problems that come from that.
Like that that that that didn't go away, Like I
I have people that I take care of back home
financially and and sometimes emotionally and and um, so I

(57:26):
have so much going on, Like I literally just made
a choice, like an active, active choice. I simply don't
have time to let my brain spend too much time
in a worry state of mind of stuff that I
simply can't control anyway. I can't control what this person

(57:46):
think about this person or you know whatever. If I
get a sense that someone sucks, I just removed myself.
I'm just like, I think you kind of suck, and
people do there. Everybody's not great, honestly, Like that is
one thing that is it has been through. You know,
the people that Knowell Jesus at the Cross, like at
that time, they're forgiven if they want to be, but
they're not. They weren't the greatest, and so you know

(58:08):
those people still exist today. And so you know, you
got to surround yourself with people that love and and
you feel like genuinely want to support you, and uh
and do away with the other people. And if if
this friend has a problem with this friends, really it's
just frankly, I don't have time. But I don't have time.
So it really comes down to being proactive about letting
your brain sit places where it needs, that where it

(58:31):
needs where it can grow, and where it's gonna do
good and it's gonna do good for your life and
your child's life. Worrying about what people think of me,
He's gonna do nothing for my daughter's literally, not one thing.
It's just a choice of where to spend your energy. Yeah,
did you ever have a time where you where you
felt spread too thin and you felt like you were
not able to do the best, like that you dropped

(58:53):
the ball in certain places and like have is that
why you put all these systems in place and you've
gotten so intentional? Yeah, I would say, like, uh, two
thousand to two thousand nineteen, every single one of those years.
This year, I'm doing a little better. But like I said,
that was a new It's funny that you asked that
question because that that is a more recent thing. You know.

(59:15):
I do feel like I've grown a lot this year,
and and I think it's being you know, people say,
I've comment on this a lot and Instagram people are like,
you do it all and I'm like, no, it don't.
And it's not to do it all. No, I don't.
I really don't have time to work out. I know
that it's healthy. I get it. I do, but it

(59:35):
is a lot. It's a lot of time, you know.
I try to keep um like I do. I do
things to keep like my body where I can do
my job. Like I'll do some squads and some push
ups and I'm moving around all day so it's not
like I'm just sitting. Yeah, I just don't have time
to worry about a thagh gap, you know what I'm saying, Like,
I just that is not the time time like later,

(59:57):
tired you later, But like it's just something that I've
had and and and previously I used to worry more
about body image and and and I'm just I'm just
like I'll just what amount of effort it would take
to look like I'm twenty. That's too much effort. Like
and so it's just like I just get comfortable with
what it is. It just is this way, And like

(01:00:19):
I have other things to offer the world, Like I
can't I do. I should not be offering the world
like modeling or me either, Like like I'm not gonna
I'm not gonna offer the world my swimsuit body. I mean,
I'll show up and a swims didn't have a great time,
but like I'm not gonna give you a butt picture

(01:00:40):
and like lots of boobs and cleavage and spend hours
and greasing myself up. Like that's not my offering to
the world. No, people at the pool are never gonna
be like did you see that fit? Mother? I did
that at the pool this recently. I was just like,
oh my God, look at that mom. She's got like
a younger kid than me. I still blame it on
my two year old, you know what I mean. Like
I've gotten in shape in the last two years, and

(01:01:01):
but it's just funny to me now. I just I've
just gotten to see people really strive for it, and
I'm just I'm that seems so great. I just have
officially given up and all the time for like two weeks,
and I posted about it, and then I don't even
do that. But I do try to say, like, swat healthy,
but I just don't put my energy there. So it's
just a choosing of where what you're going to offer

(01:01:21):
the world, what you're gonna offer your family, and and
making specific choices about that because you can't do it all.
If you try to be everything, you will fill yes
yes in real life. You know, might not fell on
Instagram if you look at someone's Instagram. Let me just
put this. If you look at someone's Instagram and you're like,
they have they're so in shape, they do smoothies every

(01:01:43):
morning and they're so amazing. They're a cook, they're they
have a great job, they're the perfect mom, they don't
have an any that's a bold face lie. It's a lie.
It's not true. I'm here to tell you it is
not true. And any time anybody asked me, I get
to recogly on Instagram and let me explain exactly what

(01:02:03):
I don't do. Just about everything other than the three
things you've see me doing good on here, everything else
is not good. Like my home's a right, I don't
show it often for a reason. You know, people always like,
let me see your home. I'm like, no, let me
show you the homes I design, not mine. I'm not
gonna see my home right now because literally it is
a disaster. And you know, cooking, like I don't cook.

(01:02:25):
I don't do a lot of things. Um well, and
so you know I'm not that perfect person. I'm just
I'm just not. I struggle with things, I get sad
about things, I um worry about things, and uh and
so and I and I just I just don't do
at all. I don't know anybody who does. I know
people that lie about doing at all, but I just
don't know anybody who actually does it all. And I

(01:02:48):
know a lot of women, and I think that that is,
like you said, to a big part of owning your power,
Like I'm the same as you. I don't I don't
like to cook. I'm not good at it. I don't
find any joy from it at all. It's completely stressful
to me. It adds like this level of anxiety to
my day that I just don't want to deal with.
So thankfully Michael loves to cook or we order to

(01:03:08):
take out, and I'm just like I just have to
be okay with that. And like study is getting fed.
You know, we're getting fed. Like we might not be
like the healthiest, fittest people on the block because we're
eating kale for every meal that's perfectly curated and you know,
taste delicious while being so nutritious. But like, I'm just
not gonna be that right now in my life. Maybe
down the road I'll pick up the hobby or pick

(01:03:30):
up the passion, but it's not happening right now. And
that's okay because I used to feel really guilty about that.
Everybody does and whatever less it's take. It's actually taking
if you claim to like all of this ship that
you don't like, like, it takes away that from people
that do. Do you know what I mean? Because there
are people that are like really talented at cooking, and

(01:03:52):
they find as much joys off on from interiors in design,
they find that in cooking, or they find that in
working out, or they find that in what ever, and
they're actually really good at it. It's like podcasting, Like
now everybody thinks they can podcast. You know, people have
said to me, you should podcast. I'm like, um, I
am a terrible interviewer, Like, no, you're the interviewed now.

(01:04:14):
If you ask any questions, I can answer, okay, But
if you focus not here your design and what you loved,
I think you would be great at it. Now it
after this, I'll need to take a nap. Like it takes.
It takes a lot, you know what I'm saying. I
can get on and do it, but I'm nervous before.
Like I was on a panel today, a really big panel,

(01:04:36):
and one of the girls that was in here, she'd
noticed that my hands were just like this the whole time,
and because I was so nervous, Like, and that's how
I am the kitchen too. I'm like, oh my god,
there's so many things going on at one time, but
I can walk in here and feel no anxiety at all,
and people run right. That's a great point that you make.

(01:04:56):
If you try to act like you're good at all
and things that you don't actually enjooy doing, then you're
you're taking away the talent that other people are actually
really great at. Yeah. Yeah, people do that to me
all the time. It's just like, can we collaborate? I'm like, now,
you either need a designer or you don't. Do you
know what? You're either good at it or you don't.

(01:05:17):
And I'm not a personal assistant, So like, even you're
seeking a talent or you're not, Like, not everybody possesses
what the girls in this office possessed, and that's okay.
Just own up to it and just say i really
need y'all's help because I'm not good at this, you know,
but I'm working a lot of people are just like
I'm really good at it. I just you just what,
you're just not good at it, and that's okay. And

(01:05:40):
that's okay because whatever you do in your day, I
can promise you I'm not good at that, you know.
And so giving the people in their spaces the power
to be in their spaces and acknowledging that you can't
do that, like I can't imagine it's so many females,
and I can tell that it's they want to be
impressed into their husbands. Oh ever on her team can
do this, and they're sitting in a room full of
winm men that are presenting their homes, and they're getting worried, like,

(01:06:03):
is my husband thinking that I can't do this? No,
you can't, and I can't cook, and I bet you
cook for your kids and I don't. And it's just
owning again. It's just that power of owning exactly what
you are good at and letting other people own what
they're good at, and and appreciating it, you know, appreciating,
appreciating it verbally, appreciating it financially. Like I'm so impressed

(01:06:24):
by a lot of other people's skill sets, particularly teachers
and doctors, because I don't like to let and I
can't babysit, and so the things that I am not
good at, it's just like I want to lift those
things up. I talk about them often because I really
value that someone's really good at that. And not everybody
can teach, not everybody can be a nervous not everybody

(01:06:46):
can do these things. It's that person's talent, not everybody
can sign. Everybody can cook, and so it's just it's
just as simple as that, just appreciating like what other women,
and that's how you lift each other up. It's not
being everything like I'm everything, so I really need any
other women. No, I'm actually like pretty terrible. So that's
why I've surrounded myself with all these women that are
as why I say Jessica doubled my business. I don't

(01:07:07):
pretend like I doubled my business. She did, you know why?
Because she like spreadsheets and business. Yeah, that's showing the spreadsheets.
I'm like, is that got lines on it? Is it
a drawing or is it a spreadsheet? Like I'm allergic. Yeah,
And but she's sitting there and just like goes to
town on a spreadsheet. And that's how this business has doubled.
And it's it would be sad for me to act

(01:07:28):
like I'm this amazing business owner and I'm this amazing
business person because quite frankly, I'm really not like I'm
a good unifier of people. Obviously hire good people, but I,
um no, I'm I'm not doubling this business. Not not
just I love that April, and I think that's such
a good point that all of us men and women.

(01:07:49):
But I mean I feel like I mainly speak to
women and I relate to women women especially like we
don't have to be at all. We don't have to
do it all. We need to own what we're good at,
what we love of, what our life looks like in
this moment. How to maximize our life in this moment
so we can have the fullest life we can have.
Cut out the noise, cut out all the ship that

(01:08:13):
we let creep into our head that makes us feel
insecure or unworthy or whatever that we have to live
up and do that or do this because she did that.
Screw that. I don't. I don't have energy time, and
I don't want to waste my like you said, my
emotional energy. I want my emotional energy to be on
my family. That's where I want to put it. Yeah,

(01:08:33):
and just being like a real person. You know, one
of my one of my idols is actually my neighbor.
She wasn't indicial freak out, but she actually just found
out that I was an interior designer. She like came
out to me. She's like, you have like a big Instagram.
I was like, yeah, she goes, I just thought that
you were like like kind of did it on the side,
I was like, you know, um, but she's older than
me and she has, um, you know, we live in

(01:08:56):
like a smaller house. And I complained about that house.
It's the biggest house that I've ever lived in. But
then but i got to a lot of clienteles and
I'm like, oh my gosh, should be great to have
like these these entertainment things, and and one day we'll
be there. But then it's her neighbor's house. Um, she's
raised like four kids in that house, you know, and
they're all off like going to college. But she has
become idol. It's not anybody on Instagram. I didn't even

(01:09:17):
know that she was on Instagram. But it's because things
like this, I'm pulling into my driveway after work. She's
said her mom and she's like be bupping out of
her driveway with a beer and I phone and I
can tell she's talking to her girlfriend and she's just
gonna go for a walk and she's just smiling. And
nobody's watching this. It's not on Instagram. It's nowhere to

(01:09:38):
be found. And I pulled this was just recently. I
pulled it in my driveway. I called forward and I
said I might say her name outlive, but I said
her name, and I said, you know, I just saw
her walk out of her driveway with the biggest smile
on her face. I can tell she's on the phone
with a girlfriend, catching up, got a beer in her hand,
going for a walk. And that's real, that's real life.

(01:10:00):
That's who I want to be, you know what I mean.
I want to walk out of my job. I don't
drink beer, but like with wine or whatever. Her on
the phone when one of my girlfriends. It's not documented, Yes,
somebody's watching me, and genuinely be happy like I saw her.
Due she's not. She's not known. Nobody knows who she is.
You know what I'm saying. Um, she's lived in the

(01:10:22):
same house, like, raised all of her kids there. All
of her kids are good kids. I know all of
her kids now, and and she's just happy. She's somehow
managed to find no relevancy in any given job. No, UM,
no aspirate like wild aspirations that I can tell of.

(01:10:42):
UM has raised her kids. She's obviously raised them very well.
They're all one of them is going to an Ivy
League school and um and and whatnot. Her husband works,
but every time I talked to her, there is a joy.
She's going to concerts with her girlfriends and her fifties
and and you know, I'm watching this, and you know,
really watching this, and I'm just like, out of everybody

(01:11:03):
that I've met in the last five years, like I
want to be you because she and joy and peace
in her life life. You know, I think you've been
lost somewhere along the way that has been lost. And
for me in my career, it's really important to be
on Instagram. It's really important to have followers. And so

(01:11:24):
anybody who's listening to this that is a follower, my god,
thank you, please comment because it really matters for our product.
But on the flip side of that, what a joy
it is to just be known to your family and
be worried about what your family thinks about you and

(01:11:45):
your closest friends, and that's what you think about. You
don't think about like what the masses think about you.
Um And, I don't think that was how our parents lived,
you know. And so I think being on Instagram, I think,
you know, even if you are been on Instagram, I
think it's just it's It's a challenge that I think
we should all put on ourselves to, you know, if
we're going to pursue something on Instagram, to still be

(01:12:06):
her you know, yeah, be my extra neighbor. Please. Everybody
would be a lot happier if that's what how they
lived through. Amen to that man, April. You are just
You're so wise. I really admire you because I love
to seek out women who have the joy you have it.
You are your neighbor, and you may not feel it

(01:12:28):
all the time, but you are actively seeking to have
that life like that's your goal. I can tell every
like you can feel it in you. You want your
priorities to be what really matters to you. Your intentional
about how you spend your time, your intentional about how
you run your business. You're very intentional. And to me,
it's always such a gift to talk to women like you,

(01:12:50):
and you in particular, you've You've given me so much
life giving knowledge and advice, and I admire you so much.
I feel like you are that you are your neighbor,
and I'm thankful to have you as someone that I
can talk to and look up to and learn from.
And I know everyone listening to this has just been
filled with so much information and knowledge and tips on

(01:13:13):
how to live at happy life with good, healthy boundaries.
And I think you're crushing it, April, and I'm so
just thank you so much for taking the time to
come on here and share. I want to ask one
more question and then I'm gonna wrap up. What is
your favorite part of the design process, like if you
could have, if you you're the sweet nectar of the

(01:13:37):
process for you, what is it like? What is it
You're like, Oh, this is the part I've just late
love so much. Installing. So I just stall installed our
beach home and I had girlfriends up. We we actually
rented a place there a while back, not knowing that
we were going to buy there, so literally our rental
in the house that I could see them from door
to door. So it's like, I'm gonna go ahead of

(01:13:58):
time and install and then be with my friends. Well,
then the hurricane happened, because you know, it's twenties, so
I've been stalling while, so I, um, you know, I
would go to dinner with them, stay there like two am,
wake up a six go back so I could spend
the day with them, and they literally were just like,
what are you like a machine? I was like, no,

(01:14:20):
I just love this. Like I wake up at like
thirty and I'm like, oh my gosh, you're gonna go
finish installing because I can see it. Because I did
not have my team work on that and do all
the ordering. I had to do all the ordering, which,
let me tell you what, I found a new appreciation
for everybody that has to order on this team. And
I ordered everything, and I had known what it was
going to be, but like seeing it come to life.

(01:14:40):
And so a lot of any timing of a podcast,
people are seeking the tips. So if you want to
tell people, the tips are right here at the end.
To scrorel it, to fast forward to the end. Here's
some tips. If you're designing for yourself because you cannot
afford a designer, this is what I would encourage if
you have a map or any form of a computer.
We use keynote a lot. And what I do, even

(01:15:02):
for my own house which I just had to design
for the beach, I create a pictures board. It starts
off with like a few photos. This is not typically
how we do for clients because we do sketches um.
But there are more elaborate. Like likely if you're doing
your own home, you're not. You're not seeking that like
a gazillion dollar experience. You just wanted to look pretty,
you know, you just wanted to look good for your

(01:15:23):
guests and stuff. So if you're doing that, start a
pintures board. Get some inspo going on, like picture inspoke pictures.
Those inspo pictures should all kind of look alike. They
should be if they're different, pick a path, go down
that path. Then start pinning product. Don't start ordering products.
Start pinning product because likely you don't have access to

(01:15:45):
vendors and things. So go on on, go to a
bunch of different you know stores Pinterest. So actually, if
you're on a product, if you scroll down, it will
actually give you more product like that, pin a bunch
of different stuff. Um as as many as many products
is that you is as you possibly can on a
Pinterest board. Then go over and start your keynote. Literally

(01:16:06):
my mom could probably do this. Get open up a
keynote board. Start pulling the products over, so have one
for your bedroom, one for your living room, one for
your kitchen, and the products that you're thinking for your
bedroom pull them over there. If something looks bad, take
it out and take it off the board and put
another product in and just spend some time playing around
with those visions. And usually if it kind of looks

(01:16:31):
good on paper together, it will actually look good in
the room. And so that is kind of how I
did the beach house. Then you've got to think about
you know, that's furnishing it. Um. Then you've got to
think about like construction, like what are your paint color
is going to be probably the most The biggest question
that I get is, well, what white do use? What

(01:16:53):
you know, what colors you do use? So the whites
that I like are Greek villa and pure white voted
by Sharon Williams. But it and I do say like, look,
if you're not a designer, we use a bunch of
different colors on walls. But if you're not a designer,
the easiest thing that you can possibly do is just
paint it white your walls and bring in color and
your pillows and in your art, and you know, don't

(01:17:13):
go colorless. That's not what I'm saying. Just you know,
maybe you don't do it on the walls because you're
gonna get stuck. Because you gotta make a lot of
we we have like the experience to make a lot
of decisions around that paint color. Um, but I wouldn't
lead with your paint color. So then if your walls
are gray, like gray, which usually spec comes are, if
probably the biggest thing that you can do is painting white,
honestly and keep men freak out over that. But like

(01:17:35):
it's gray, it's like close enough to white. No, because
are you gonna get a white couch? Because if you
have a gray wall, how are you gonna get a
gray sofa? A tope sofa? Those don't go. If you
have white walls, the sofa that you can afford and
you can likely buy and it'll go. You know, you
don't don't worry about it clashing with your wall color
because your wall color is white. So the next step
would be, well, if it's not a new build and

(01:17:57):
I don't get to pick up paint color like Greek
villa or whatever, and I usually paint the trim and
the ceiling and everything the same color, so based off
the white that has already been chosen for your house.
So if you have a like, say like a little
bit of an off white color on your trim, find
out what that color is or get it colored matched,
paint your walls that color. Otherwise it's gonna turn your

(01:18:18):
trim yellow. And the most costly thing that you can
do is paint your trim indoors. So if you can
get away with not doing that and just painting your walls,
that is going to save you a ton of money. Um.
And a lot of people do that with their kitchen.
They're just like, should I do white counters off white cabinets? White?
This white that? No, No, I would not um. If

(01:18:39):
you're if you're looking for a paint color, you know,
kind of throw it in the island with like some
earth tone like camel colors, greens, blues like the more
muted tones are a little bit safer in my opinion,
pick a countertop that might not be you know, pick
a wood countertop or pick a court site is like
one of my favorite materials is quart site. Its durable. Um.

(01:19:01):
The there's a product called fresh concrete that caesar stone
that is a nice topish effect to a white cabinet. Um,
But try not to do white and whine and wine
and white because it really it does come across like
really stark. UM. So those are some of the just
the instant you know, I get pulls off of Etsy.

(01:19:21):
That's like a big pillow source for us. Like they're
so much cheaper than getting customed, but they can they
can kind of be customed. You can pick your fabric
clues and stuff. So that sees a big power player
for us, um, even with some of the nicer homes. UM.
So anyways, those are like I would say, the top
tips of how to start designing your own space. If

(01:19:43):
you're not able, to seek out a designer and start
those boards, play around with those boards. Don't just buy
ship just to buy it, like edit your edit your
stuff down like well, and and make it and make
it matter, you know. Um, if you don't like something
or you're like it looks off like it probably does.

(01:20:04):
So just take it up, you know what I mean,
take it out, give it to charity. You know, there's
lots of people that come off the street homeless and
they have nothing. So you know, find not find that
you know where we live in the world, find that
company that does those things, and and give it away.
You don't feel guilty about it. If you don't need it,
then give somebody who does need it and and so

(01:20:24):
those are like my top tips of how to do it.
I love that. I'm gonna wrap up with one question
before I say that, I have to let everyone know.
April Tomlin is also you are such a kind spirit.
When the tornado hit Nashville, you and Alex White were
spearheading along with a bunch of other women, but you
were taking the lead to find homes for families that

(01:20:47):
were displaced by the tornado. You found apartments for people
that were displaced by the tornadoes, You got them fully furnished.
You rallied women together to donate money to make living
spaces for people who had nothing. It was right when
COVID was hitting at the same time. So on top
of everything that you're doing, you are a leader and
a trail wazer and a woman who gets in there

(01:21:10):
and helps this community when it's literally falling flat on
its face. For people that you don't even know, you're
giving them better lives. And I just have to say
that is such an amazing part of your personality that
you have the energy, you find the resources you make
that happen because you change people's lives in so many ways.
But that is like changing people's lives who would otherwise

(01:21:31):
be on the streets, and so that is just incredible
part of who you are too. Thank you. I appreciate that,
and I can't let this interview go by without taking
note of that, because you have such a huge heart
and you're such an amazing person. I always wrap up with,
leave your light. What do you want people to know?

(01:21:51):
Oh gosh, that I haven't already yet. You know, I
would safe for for me, the one thing that I
would like to leave on this earth for my daughters.
I'm start arting it is what I said before, it
is um. You know, get comfortable with who you are

(01:22:14):
and do not let what people think you should be
and what they project onto you be a part of
who you become. UM, if you haven't figured out who
you are, do it and let it be a person
that you like. I love that. Gosh, April, thank you

(01:22:37):
so much for all this wisdom and sharing, sharing this
conversation with me. I really it's very moving to me.
I learned a lot. I feel a lot from it,
and I know everyone listening well too, So thank you
for your heart and your light and all of this.
You're amazing. You are too, by the way. Thanks. Sometimes
I feel like, I'm dragging these days, but I appreciate that.

(01:23:00):
Thank you. So if you're a new mother, give it
one more year, get it one more year, and it
does get a little, you get your feet underneath you.
And then you have the second one and they're like
eating trees off the floor. You're like, oh, I don't care,
it's totally fine. They're fine. It's a lot easier. It's
a lot harder, but a lot easier. So you're doing great.
The first one is always people are like, oh, it's

(01:23:21):
so easy. I did not feel that way. I thought
the first one is extremely difficult. I didn't know how
it's going to do it with the second one. And
when the truth is is that you know, it's amazing
what you can do when you just have no choice.
It really is. And so with your first it's that
was the most difficult part of my whole life, was
that time, like and finding that really normal because you

(01:23:41):
have to recalibrate your whole life. Yeah, the second one
you don't have to recalibrate. It's there, it's done. The
first one, I mean, the whole first year of their
life and even into the second year of their life.
It's a completely different life, and sometimes it just takes
a long time to adjust, like this body is bouncing
back in two months and ship like that. It just
that did not that was not me. It was like

(01:24:01):
a year and a half and I was still making
excuses and in my mental state was different and and
but I did, I did return. So I love that. April,
You're the best. Thank you so much. I love your soul.
You're amazing. Bye girl.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Host

Caroline Hobby

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}April Tomlin: Interior Designer to Top Celebrities shares her formulas to success and it’s not what you think.