I grew up in Coastal Georgia, and although I've lived in New York and Paris since graduating from Yale, the South will always be home in my heart.

After nine years as a fashion publicist after college, I listened to the best advice my mom has ever given me following a very "Devil Wears Prada"-style fight with my Vogue editor, and turned a passion into a career -- I've always been obsessed about interiors and living a well-mannered life with style. I headed to the New York School of Interior Design and landed a job with architectural and design behemoth Peter Marino, and then went out on my own in 1999.

Although I was legendary for my reality show bossiness on NBC's design competition show, American Dream Builders, in real life I make it a priority to listen slavishly to my clients. (And I'm a sweetheart.😌) My 2009 book is called Design Rules: The Insider's Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator (Gotham), but the one rule I'll never break is that houses should look like the people who live in them. I want your home to reflect where you're from, where you're at, and where you're going. And I want you to love it.

I live to help others create warm, stylish, nurturing spaces that equip them to head out into the world daily, and then welcome them home every night. You'll always find chic at every price point in my projects -- beautiful rooms should whisper "cozy" and not just scream "expensive" (no matter the price tag).

Living in a well-designed space is life changing and addictive. Because after family and health, home really is the most important thing we have, and what your house looks like, how you live in it, and how it makes you feel . . . matter.

I'm a denizen of NYC and live in Harlem, the most architecturally mind-blowing neighborhood in Manhattan. Divorced since 2012, I have two cats that I'll confess are spoiled rotten. These days, I'm dividing my time between Georgia's Golden Isles -- my childhood home -- and Manhattan, and it's thrilling to be working in both.

Catch me regularly on the Today Show, in Better Homes & Gardens and other home magazines, and commenting on the latest goings-on, design trends and happenings about town on social media.