A biography for Alexandra Stoddardhasn’t been written yet.
“I like people to really get a feel for the house before they do anything to it.”
“Being a mother and grandmother is the best of the best in my life. My grandchildren multiply the joy my daughters bring me.”
“We can finish a house, but never a home. Once you fall in love with a house, you find continual pleasures in fixing it up and making innovations that satisfy your creature's comforts.”
“If we have authentic, honest, earthy materials in our houses, we'll be more authentic, honest and natural.”
“I have my clothes made in Hong Kong, but I love Shangai Tang in New York.”
“I think of myself as the little girl Renoir painted with the watering can. I loved the garden colors.”
“The home is the center of your soul; it's a total reflection of your inner life. If you have a dreary home, it means you are dark inside.”
“Don't feel you have to buy something to sit in or at. Buy something you are emotionally attached to and build your design around that. One Matisse cutout poster could provide you with your whole color scheme!”
“I want my readers to find their own way.”
“We can live closer to our dreams if we are willing to dream them. And we can create a life as we want it to be.”
“A home should be an intimate autobiography of the things that you like. One of the things I'm so keen on expressing is that, if you don't do it for yourself, if you're always seeking affirmation from outside, you'll never have a home. It'll just be a house.”
“You can't be a resource for others unless you nourish yourself.”
“My message is that happiness is the first principle of life. But you must choose it. We all have pain, but suffering is a choice. You can be happier if you make some changes in your life.”
“When I was little, I got to pick my hair ribbon from my mother's collection that hung over her dressing-table mirror. I have an entire room of ribbons in my New York apartment.”
“I want to fill my mind with life-enhancing, positive, beautiful memories. The dark experiences can remain buried without a funeral.”
“We can raise our sights high when we're willing to break free from being conformists who live a conventional life simply because we are too afraid to express our uniqueness.”
“How we feel about ourselves as we read the newspaper, set the table, wash the dishes, recycle the trash and wash our clothes... is essential to our overall happiness and well-being.”
“I love people and care about them, and I felt I had a gift to cheer people up. If I could get into their homes and make their environment more attractive, they'll be happier, and it would be very rewarding for me.”
“Each of us must become impassioned, finding meaning and self-fulfillment in our own life's journey.”
“I want to inspire through example. I hope my books motivate others to open doors and windows that will help them to embrace their own truth, light and joy.”