Simplifying Fabulous! with Beth Greene of Kravet Inc.
ABOUT Beth Kimless Greene is the Executive Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Branding of Kravet Inc. , one of the design industry’s leading distributor of decorative fabric and furniture, and one of my absolute favorite fabric houses! Beth Greene lives in Hewlett, New York with her husband Marc and their children Benjamin and Amanda.In this two part Fab Friday series, Beth talks about the inspiration at work and at home. Here in Part 2, Beth takes us into her home to show how she simplifies fabulous! 
Robin Baron: You work with some of the most beautiful textiles on a daily basis. How did you choose to decorate your own home? Beth Greene: I am like the shoemaker without the newest shoes…well sort of. Originally, my mom did my home from soup to nuts. She even accessorized and designed the books in the bookcases. I have such a hard time choosing from our beautiful products, fabrics, furniture and always want to live with our most updated collections, therefore I usually take something from a shoot and use it in an eclectic way to change it up in my home. I have solid sofas and chairs and change pillows constantly. It changes the entire feel of a room so easily and even the way I entertain in those rooms.I am also really into wallpaper. When I first moved, I hung over 100 rolls in my home. I have since pulled some down and or replaced with textures and grasscloths. I am just about to pull down my master bath paper and replace with the well known Cole and Son’ s Into the Woods in neutrals. I have been marketing it for so long, I think I need to see what it is like to live with. RB: What do you love most about your home and why? BG: I love my red dining room. Red on the walls in a dining room is known to get your heart racing and your digestive system working! It’s the perfect color to use if you want your guests to immediately love what you are serving! Originally my dining room was painted yellow with a white chair rail and moldings. One Valentines Day on a whim I picked a deep bluish red paint, and called my painter and had him paint three coats while my husband was at work. He walked in to a very red surprise for Valentines Day! We just love it.
It makes me smile, along with my collection of blue-and-white Wedgewood pastoral scene plates that adorn the walls and match the blue toile drapery panels. I have a set of dishes designed with small flowers in primary colors. When we use these dishes in the red room, I just smile through the whole meal, even if it’s Chinese take-out! I swear the food taste better!
RB: Do you have any fun decorating traditions? BG: We are a family of collectors. We elected to keep our magnetic fridge when we remodeled the kitchen so we could collect a magnet from everywhere any of the four of us traveled whether on vacation or for business. It is a family tradition and necessity no matter where we go to stop and buy a magnet. The doors of my fridge are adorned with many, many magnets from places we ‘ve traveled. Just recently we drove through Plymouth, Mass. and I made them stop so I could get a magnet of Plymouth Rock!
Even my kids get into the act with the magnets–each of them have bulletin boards in their room which hold a collage of ticket stubs from baseball, football and basketball games for my son to concerts, dog and horse shows and Broadway theater for my daughter.
RB: What design elements in your home have you personalized? BG: I love my vintage and family furniture and art mixed in, of course with Kravet furnishings as well as my family photos. I believe a house is a home when there is life breathed into it.
The pictures on my walls and every possible hard surface does just that. I constantly change them as well. I move them around almost to surprise myself as I sit on a sofa or spend time in a different space.
Thank you Beth for inviting us into your home and sharing your daily inspirations with us!!