On this Tuesday edition of the Chaise Lounge, Nick’s guest is author/influencer/designer Erin Gates, the woman behind Elements of Style. She grew up in her family’s clothing store around women’s fashion and her architecture-inclined father’s architecture business, so, after graduating college with a degree in collage, she found a way to synthesize those influences into a career designing interiors

Learning on the Job

Gates only took a few design classes. Despite her father’s success in architecture, he never went to school to become “an architect.” He was self-taught and built a business that would allow him to hire people to do any of the things he wasn’t allowed to do. When Gates was considering taking a masters in design, her father encouraged her just to try it on instead. In her trial year, she began her wildly successful blog and launched her design business. By the end, she couldn’t turn back, and that was 13 years ago.

Visit both Erin Gate’s websites at ErinGatesDesign.com to see her design work, and ElementsofStyleBlog.com to read about her feelings on everything. Follow @ElementStyle for a little of both.