This Oak House: A Renovation Story with Annie Meyers-Shyer

Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production

Ariel Okin interviews Annie Meyers-Shyer about the completion of her Los Angeles home renovation and the launch of her debut book, 'This Oak

Key takeaways

• Annie Meyers-Shyer transitioned her Instagram renovation journey into a published book and a retail collection with Target.
• Personal style should be defined by what feels harmonious and beautiful to the individual rather than following trends.

Main topics

• Home Renovation
• Personal Style Evolution

Notable quotes

Anything is possible. I started this random account. Now it's a book. Now it's a target.

Conclusion

The episode serves as an inspiring guide for homeowners to trust their

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) I will also say like, you know, I was very content. I wasn't working anymore. I had left fashion. Like I wasn't yearning for something. I was really happy. I was really fulfilled. I was really happy. But again, there was something still lit inside of me. And so I do look at this journey and I want to say to anybody, like anything is possible. I started this random account. Now it's a book. Now it's a target. I mean, it's like anything is possible. Speaker 1 (0:27) Welcome to Talk Shop. I'm Arielle Okan, a New York-based interior designer, writer, and editor looking to bring a little bit of magic into our homes every day. After years as a writer and editor in the interiors world, I founded my own editorial site, Fenimore Lane, in 2020, and the Talk Shop interview series was born. Each week, I delve into the personal experiences of the top interior designers and tastemakers around the globe. Speaker 2 (0:52) We have two bonus episodes coming your Speaker 1 (0:55) way before we officially kick off season six this fall. I'm so excited to start with a returning guest and my friend, Annie Meyers-Shire. When Annie last joined me on the show, she was still very much in the middle of renovating this oak house, her 1940s Gerard Colcourt home in Los Angeles. What started as a personal renovation and a way to share the process with friends and family has since grown into a beloved platform all its own. documenting Annie's incredibly thoughtful approach to design, craftsmanship, history, and creating a home that is actually meant to be lived in. And now the house is finished and Annie has turned the entire experience into her debut book, This Oak House, a renovation story with interiors to inspire your own home. Officially on sale now. The book takes us room by room through the finished home, but also shares the lessons, decisions, and realities behind bringing it all together. So today we're picking up where we left off. We're talking about what Annie learned from finally finishing the house, how her own creative confidence has evolved, and what it was like to turn years of work into a book, and what she knows now that she wishes she knew at the very beginning. Please join me in welcoming Annie back to Talk Shop. Speaker 1 (2:09) Annie, Speaker 2 (2:10) welcome back to the show. I'm so happy to have you back. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me back. I think you were my first podcast ever. Oh my Speaker 1 (2:19) God. And Speaker 2 (2:20) actually now I think this is like my last in this run. So it's pretty great bookend. Thank you for having me. I'm very, very thankful. That Speaker 1 (2:27) makes me really happy to hear. I didn't know that. It's like especially special to have you here because the last time we talked, you were... I was in it. Speaker 2 (2:36) Very Speaker 1 (2:36) much. Yeah. You were like very much in the middle of the renovation. And now not only the house is finished, but there's an actual book, which is incredible. And I can't wait to talk about it. And you have a target line, which is unbelievable. A Speaker 2 (2:52) lot has happened since we last spoke. Speaker 1 (2:54) It's crazy. You should be so proud of yourself. Thank you. The last time we started our conversation. I asked you what I ask everyone, which is to describe your style in three words or less, and you said timeless, warm, and unfussy. So is it still the same? Okay, so I'm going to, yes, yes, and, yes, and. Speaker 2 (3:17) Okay, so here's what I've really, you know, I've been thinking sort of a lot about. my style and personal style. And like my new theory on it is that my style is unique to me. And the way that I was able to really identify that during this process is like on a bunch of fabrics were put in front of me. I just knew immediately, right? Like some things like jumped out at me like, oh my God, I love that so much. There was this one rose tarlo fabric I remember for our dining room and it just like jumped off, you know, the tray into my, I was like, I need that. You have to figure out that, Speaker 1 (3:50) you know? You have such a strong point of view. Well, Speaker 2 (3:53) unfortunately, I have a strong point of view about everything. Speaker 1 (3:57) But it's good because it's a guiding intuition, you know? It is. Speaker 2 (4:00) But that's what I think is about, like, that's what I have now identified as my personal style. The things that really feel... harmonious and beautiful just in my eyes. That's how I define my style. And I think that's what I want for everybody else, right? Like whatever your thing is that makes you feel good in your space. You know, I'm going to New York next week and I'm staying in one of those kit camp hotels and I'm so excited. They're so fun. So fun. So loud. I love being in it. And I also can't wait to come back to my mellow, dreamy, dreamy. Speaker 1 (4:36) I would say my style, Speaker 2 (4:37) of course, hasn't changed. But the way I think about it is just like personal style should just be what really appeals to you and your eyes. That's how I feel. First of all, Speaker 1 (4:48) it's true. Because when something isn't in interiors, when it's not personal, it doesn't sit right when you're living in it. And it will never feel like you. And I know we were talking about this before we started recording, but I was reading the book. beyond. It's so good. And reading it sounds like talking to you. I'm so happy. It's just, it's so your voice and it's so you, and I know you wrote it yourself and you didn't have anyone help you. Like it is so you. And I think that translates to what you just said. It's, you know, the importance of really being true to yourself in your interiors and following where it takes you. Speaker 2 (5:27) You know, Speaker 1 (5:27) it Speaker 2 (5:27) was really important for me that the people who followed me, because that's, that's how this whole thing began, right? Yeah. With an Instagram. And then, and my last acknowledgement is to my followers, like nothing would have been possible without. the community that grew around this. And unlike you, I'm not a writer. And also unlike the people- But you're Speaker 1 (5:46) a Speaker 2 (5:46) beautiful writer. I'm related to. I'm related to a lot of... And I've always figured that it just skipped me. It was very funny. At one point during the writing process, I sent a text to my mom and my sister and I said, is it funny that I'm the only one in the family currently being paid to be a writer? Speaker 1 (6:01) What a twist. See, isn't it funny how things happen like that? Speaker 2 (6:06) It is. It's really funny. It found you. I really wanted... my book to feel like my Instagram, right? So like part like tips and tricks, which is definitely what my Instagram is. And then I wanted it to be part the thing that everyone who's followed me has been waiting for, which is all the photos of my home, you know, all the beautiful, you Speaker 1 (6:25) know, Speaker 2 (6:26) classic coffee table book imagery that one would expect. And then there's also a part in the book. for me, at least where I hope like anybody can take something away from it. You don't have to be in a renovation. It's just for people who want to talk about a tablescape or how to, you know, arrange a bookshelf, whatever that may be. And then, you know, I'm kind of like, my voice is, is definitely throughout the book. Like I'm, I'm very much myself. I wrote it sort of just the way I talk and think. And I was afraid my editor wouldn't. be into it. And she was very okay with it. So I was I felt really, really happy that she embraced it. Speaker 1 (7:02) It's true. Because look at the community. You've built this huge community, which is unbelievable. And they're there for you. You know, they want to hear what you have to say. Yeah. That's the beauty of the book, honestly. And I also feel like when When we last talked, when you were on the show, you described yourself as, which I love, I'm reading this and laughing, a mom slash renovator slash roofer plumber. And look at how much you've, like, you are a phenom. It's unbelievable. What would you say you are now? Well, Speaker 2 (7:36) things have definitely changed. I will say when I was on the podcast last, we were mid-renovation, like, I knew in theory we would live in this house, but I don't actually think. I ever thought that that construction site would turn into our home. It was almost like a place I went to work. It's Speaker 1 (7:52) hard to Speaker 2 (7:52) see Speaker 1 (7:52) the end. It is. It's really hard to see. Speaker 2 (7:55) And I was so in it. So now I would definitely describe myself as a lot of those same things minus the roofer and plumber. But I'm now an author and – And Speaker 1 (8:06) a founder. I mean, it's amazing. Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:09) And I'm really enjoying the creative process. You know, when I worked on the target line, the actual meetings where we, where I'd get a sample and they'd be on zoom and I'd say, I love the lip on this, but let's change this. Or could we make this? I mean, Speaker 1 (8:23) that to me was like, Speaker 2 (8:26) I was firing on all cylinders. It was like, it was so exciting. And I have some future collaborations coming that we've, I've started meeting about and working on. And to me, that's. the absolute greatest part. I am like really excited about that. Well, Speaker 1 (8:43) because you can really bring the vision that you show behind the scenes to life in exactly the way you want to. Yeah, Speaker 2 (8:51) it's true. Which is the coolest Speaker 1 (8:52) process. And just the collection process in general is so fascinating because it's born out of your... inspiration. Yes. And then they're bringing you like these real concrete things to approve or not approve and tweak. And it's just, it's so cool to see it come to life. And I'm, you know, I'm very clear in those meetings. Like I can see what I like, I see Speaker 2 (9:12) what I don't like, but there also has to be the space to create, right? And so when these meetings are happening, like I keep looking at my calendar, I'm like, I need. time. I need Speaker 1 (9:22) time to get inspired. And Speaker 2 (9:24) I'm sure that's how you feel when you're coming up with a scheme or something. It's like you have to have that freedom in your brain to be creative. And I'm enjoying that hugely. That's been really, really fun. And the target line is very small, but we wanted it to come out at the same time as the book. And so I chose to have less items and have them be exactly what we wanted than a bigger assortment and have sort of less control over it. They're Speaker 1 (9:54) also so you. They are. I was like, this came right out of Annie's house. Speaker 2 (9:59) Well, here's the thing. So you can obviously readily get a 20 by 20 or a 24 by 24. Those are around. But getting this size pillow that will sort of layer beautifully in front of a 20 by 20, we had to do all of ours custom. You can tell though. Yeah. So the idea that now you can readily get this size, which works obviously on a chair or layered in front of a regular sized pillow is I'm just happy that we were able to sort of do that and bring that to people. Speaker 1 (10:29) I love that. I mean, you just have such an attention to detail that I think it comes through in the book. It comes through in the collection. And the last time we spoke, you said you described yourself. which this is funny fitting the conversation we just had, you described yourself as having more of a discerning eye than a creative bone, which I disagree Speaker 2 (10:48) with. I think you have creative Speaker 1 (10:50) bones and spades. And we talked about the importance of trusting your gut. I Speaker 2 (10:56) would disagree with that also, actually, at this point. Yeah. You Speaker 1 (10:59) know, Speaker 2 (11:00) I think when we last spoke, I was so like in the weeds. It was so many details and you're doing so many micro decisions every Speaker 1 (11:10) day. I mean, it's just endless. So there Speaker 2 (11:12) didn't feel, and we were kind of past the creativity part. We were more in the implementing part when we last spoke. So I definitely think I've been enjoying the creativity. I would say like, in a way, like I had this like pilot light on inside of me that was just brewing. Yes. Speaker 1 (11:28) And Speaker 2 (11:28) through this process, like. that's now been ignited. Yeah. Speaker 1 (11:32) And we've talked about the power of manifestation. It's like you, you really, this lit you up out of nowhere and you like just manifested it honestly. And I believe in that. I really do. It's interesting Speaker 2 (11:46) for sure. I've been, I never saw any of this coming. I, I listened to Ina Garten recently on the. daily podcast. It was so good. It was so good, wasn't it? And Speaker 1 (11:57) she said she wrote her first cookbook in Speaker 2 (11:59) her 50s. Yes. Couldn't believe it. I was stopped in my tracks. I was like, I am shocked. Isn't that crazy? Did you read her memoir? I didn't. I think I need to. You Speaker 1 (12:12) have to. Oh, my God. And you can listen to it. She narrates it. I Speaker 2 (12:16) think I'm going to. Maybe I'll download that for my flight. It's so Speaker 1 (12:19) applicable. in that way of what you're saying about like starting a second career and like just kind of trusting your gut and, and just diving in. And it's, it's amazing. I Speaker 2 (12:32) will also say like, you know, I was very content. I wasn't working anymore. I had left fashion. Like I wasn't yearning for something. I was really happy. I was really fulfilled. I was really happy. But again, there was something still lit inside of me. And so I do look at this journey and I want to say to anybody, like anything is possible. I started this random account, you know, I was in the bathtub. Now it's a book. Now it's a target. I mean, it's like anything is possible. Speaker 1 (13:02) After years of me, because it's been years at this point since the renovation started and you sort of starting the Instagram, making decisions, sourcing, renovating the book, a target line. Has your... confidence in all of this kind of change from the beginning and now you sort of feel ready to go into this next step? Speaker 2 (13:22) I mean, yes and no. I was speaking to somebody recently who, she's actually a media trainer. I was talking to her and I said something, I mean, and of course, you know, I just was honest and I said, I have like imposter syndrome. And she said, I want to tell you something. The CEOs of the biggest companies in the world have imposter syndrome. Yeah, Speaker 1 (13:43) everyone does. I want to ask you about what it's like to actually live in this house because you spent so much time thinking about it and like years planning it and so much went into it and now you're actually there. Is it what you had envisioned and are there any spaces that you use differently than you had imagined or anything that came out differently than you imagined or something that worked better than you thought it would? Well, a couple of things. One is because we were shooting the house, I had to have it like Speaker 2 (14:12) done. And I think in a lot of ways, houses evolve over time. And it's nice to add to things. And art goes up on the wall over time. I didn't have that luxury. I had to have art up on the wall. We had to be, you know, it was prime time pretty early on. And so that was very pressure filled for a while to make sure we were ready. But I will say, like, as soon as that shoot was over, I was like, okay, kids, you can have a bag of chips on the sofa. Speaker 1 (14:36) Like, I was able to sort of like relax. Meanwhile, Speaker 2 (14:40) if they listened to this, they were like. they would definitely say like, mom does not let us eat on the sofa. But I Speaker 1 (14:44) mean, same, most moms don't. Speaker 2 (14:47) Right. So I would say like my house was very, got very ready in a short amount of time. So that was nice. But you know, I walked by my son Charlie's room this week and he has a little reading nook in there and I popped my head in and he was in there. Like his back was on the cushion, his