Talk Shop: Gabrielle Savoie // Domino
ABOUT GABRIELLE
Gabrielle is a New York City-based senior editor and creative consultant with over 10 years of experience in the home and lifestyle space. She founded Savvy Home, a popular décor site, in 2010 while living in Australia. She moved to Manhattan in 2016 to work as an editor for Clique Brands before joining Domino magazine as senior editor. Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Gabrielle studied interior design after high school and pursued a B.A. in communication from Concordia University and a graduate diploma in e-commerce from HEC Montreal. We love Gabby for her spot on coverage of the home space and love for all things design related. In her free time, Gabrielle is most likely found antiquing upstate, eating her way through NYC restaurants, digging through 1stdibs in search of a Vico Magistretti chair, or hunting down the newest cool hotels around the globe. We sat down with the writer for her top tips on entertaining,
Describe your style in three words or less:
Evolving, unexpected, personal.
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
It’s cliché, but my family. My grandmother had fantastic style and matched mid-century furniture with frilly chintz effortlessly. My mother always knew how to make a home feel ultra cozy on a budget. She made IKEA and garage sale finds look like a million bucks and always had cozy dimmed lighting on at night. My dad is an architect and an artist and his beach house reflects that: a little modern, a little rustic, and filled with art. My stepdad is an avid art and antiques collector. He has an impeccable eye for furniture, fabrics, and art. All these influences inform the lens through which I see design.
What is your favorite thing about what you do:
I feel so lucky that I get to interact with some of the world’s best designers, architects, entrepreneurs, and hoteliers in my everyday life. I love picking their brains and I learn so much from each of them.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
My mother was a single mom and a media exec for much of my childhood and somehow juggled managing over 100 employees while taking care of a pesky pre-teen. It baffles me how she did it all. She’s taught me a lot about resilience.
What does your home say about you:
I’m a work in progress.
Where do you find inspiration:
Exploring new places and letting myself get bored. It’s crazy how idle time spurs inspiration.
Who are your style icons:
Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert for fashion and Pamela Shamshiri for design. Both always offer a fresh and fun perspective.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
Good music, good lighting, good people, good wine, good food. The rest won’t matter if you don’t get those five basics right.
Do you collect anything:
Linen napkins.
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
The list is long, but to name a few: @beataheuman, @mieketenhave, @sketchforthytwo, @matildagoad, @amyastley, @reathdesign, and of course, @dominomag and @reno_notebook.
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
Getting scale, flow, and lighting right is important. Anything that starts with “Stick to one… (metal, wood finish, style)” is irrelevant, in my mind. It’s all about a personal mix!
What are you working on right now:
This week, I’m working on features about a Litchfield, CT Cape Cod home; a Santa Monica craftsman renovation; and a Montauk backyard makeover. All the while planning ahead for September content.
Wardrobe staples:
This summer, it’s been a rotation of white Frame jeans (or shorts) paired with a black Karla X t-shirt, and croc embossed slides from Avec Modération. I’ve been really embracing the whole capsule wardrobe thing in quarantine.
Best interior advice you ever received:
Don’t pick any finishes or materials that haven’t been around for a hundred years, and your renovation will never feel dated. —Nate Berkus
Best career advice you ever received:
Find what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
Invest in comfortable seating, iconic chairs, custom window treatments, and art; save on basically everything else.
Your greatest extravagance:
Great food and wine. Always. And hotels.
Favorite places to shop for home:
I don’t like to get many pieces from the same place, so there are too many to name. But I do love a good browse through Monc XIII in Sag Harbor or Finch in Hudson. I also often get sucked into hours of browsing on Chairish and 1stdibs.
Most prized possession and why:
A sailboat painting that hung above my grandmother’s fireplace. It reminds me of afternoons spent at her house when I was a kid.
Your interiors motto:
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
Your life motto: If there’s a will, there’s a way.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style: Research obsessively, catalog everything, look for repeating patterns in your saved photos.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: Tacos and lobster (not together)
Drink: Mezcal margarita (with tacos) or Sancerre (with lobster)
Film: Forrest Gump
Hotel: Le Sirenuse in Positano and Kettner’s Townhouse in London
City: Hong Kong
Bedding: Matouk
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Iced latte with whole milk (to-go!)
Playlist: Swing Jazz
Weekend Activity: Antiquing upstate, tennis, and country drives
Design Book: Right now, Pierre Yovanovitch, Interior Architecture
