10 Things To Know About Vagabond Ruth
#1
I do this because I love it. The home design aspect of my buisness started by friends asking me to “come do that thing where you move things around, make them look pretty , and then tell me what to buy”. Then another friend asked for help. Then another. I am a home stylist- not an interior designer. I can pick out things but do not draw up plans for contractors.
#2
Vagabond Ruth strives to encapsulate the spirit of each unique family and reflect that in a home that is beautiful, livable and ready for life.
#3
Vagabond Ruth makes stuff. I make baby quilts, paintings, mixed-media, and plant art. My creations reflect my love of color, pattern, whimsy, and nature.
#4
Vagabond Ruth is here to help. I consider it an honor to be invited into someones home to help and do not take this honor lightly. I have deep gratitude for my repeat clients and always aim to have another job for us to do together.
#5
No need to clean up before I come over. It helps me to see how you live in your space day to day and how we can make your home work better for your needs.
My am there to help, not judge.
#6
This is very important to me. I am committed to doing work that is authentic, creative, and good quality. I want to make you happy and work to do my job well. Please let me know if there is any way you are dissatisfied or if there is something I can do to fix or make something better.
I will do everything I can to make it right.
#7
I get it. We are all trying to make a go of it and doing our very best. I aim to do a job according to your vision and at a budget you are comfortable with. I have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough and mine the beauty out of things that may have lost their luster. My own home is a treasure trove of items found at stores, flea markets, garage sales and perhaps on the street in San Francisco. Know that I will do my best work for you and will stay within whatever budget you have.
#8
This is real. The whole Vagabond Ruth spirit is me and my crew. My house is a space created to be shared with kids, dogs, and friends/family over for wine. We love art, travel, music, friends and fun. We are Vagabond. My grandmother, Ruth, was about family, food, and simply made everything beautiful and feel like home. Vagabond Ruth.
#9
I tell you this as your friend. I am working with you because I like you. I aim to be honest, direct and kind. If I recommend something its because I think it will help you. I would not put something in your home I would not put in mine. Know that this is the heart with which I approach our work together
#10
I may not be for you. Or maybe I am. Both are ok. Vagabond Ruth is for you if you are looking to breathe fresh life into your home, need a little help or just want to see how to use what you have in new ways. are the same because they are for unique people and families. I do aim for each space to be beautiful, clean, calm and cozy.
The Vagabond RUTH Stories
A Place of Their Own
I always think about what an honor it is as well as a crazy privilege it is to do the work I do. And I love it. An example- earlier in the year I had a client who asked me to do separate bedrooms for her son and daughter, ages 8 and 10. The kids had shared a room their entire lives and each needed unique spaces of their very own.
When I met with the kids I asked them each to go to their room and bring me back their three favorite things- and to be ready to tell my why they had chosen those things to show me. A game of sorts, right?
The items they came back with were amazing. The older one, a boy, brought me his shoe (pictured, a classic, black and white Adidas), a book, and a colorful necklace. Why did he bring me these things? Well, he said he liked the simplicity of the shoe. It just worked for him. The book was chosen because he loves to read and the necklace because it represented how much he had run in PE class and he just liked the different colors.
The little girl brought a gold jewelry stand with a gorgeous tassel, her beloved stuffed cat and a beautiful jar she had made full of water and glitter that she found meditative and calming. The jewelry stand was chosen, she said, because it was fancy and she might be a little bit fancy. The cat was chosen because it was a stuffed friend that brought her comfort, and the jar because we all need things that bring us peace.
I listened, photographed their items, thanked them for sharing them with me and then got to work using their treasures as inspiration pieces for their respective rooms. I wanted the rooms to reflect both of the children as individuals- because that to me is everything. Shouldn’t our spaces reflect ourselves?
For the older son, the shoe became the slightly industrial, basic base for the room design creating a warm, crisp, functional space. The book became a wonderful reading area in the corner, complete with a lamp, side table, pillow and blanket- ready for hours of reading. The necklace became colorful art over his bed that showed his love of color and fun.
For the daughter, the fancy jewelry stand became bits of gold, glitter and sequins that I threaded through the room in the form of frames, pillows and hangings. The beloved cat became art of a similar likeness and the glitter jar became a beautiful desk that looked out the window so she could work, draw and dream. Their rooms came together quickly and turned out beautifully, just like the children they are inspired by - reflections of who they are as people, and their interests based on the treasures they shared with me.
I love this work- it is fun and inspiring, yes,- but mostly I enjoy the opportunity to see people- literally in their element- for who they are and then make their environment a reflection of that. And I never lose sight of the fact that it is an honor my clients even let me in the door.
Our homes can tell our story- who we are and how we live. Let me know if I can help make your home a reflection of you. It’s my favorite thing to do.
