Meet Linda Graveline

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Linda Graveline. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Linda with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

There are two main sources of my work ethic: my parents and my time living in New York City in the 1990s.

My parents instilled a sense of integrity, hard work and attention to detail in me at a young age. As kids, my brother and I observed our family business so keenly that one of our games at home on rainy days was playing “office” in the guest bedroom with friends pretending to answer phones professionally, type quickly and accurately and politely greet customers. We took that play time very seriously. Our parents must have gotten such a kick out of it.

When I moved to New York City to start my internship at AEFFE in 1993, I was so efficient, hard working and detail oriented that the VP created a position for me to stay on permanently. Over the next 3 years I was given tasks such as deciding where to seat stylists, editors and celebrities at fashion shows, managing communications for a Moschino catalog and being the point person for the VP for the construction of our new showroom building. I also coordinated high profile events including a fragrance launch for Rifat Ozbek, a holiday party for Jean Paul Gaultier, store opening and fashion show for Moschino and a launch party for the new AEFFE showroom. It was crucial to stay on top of every detail, get in front of things before they could become problems and keep notes of every single thing I did in case I needed proof of my work. This intense but exciting environment shaped me into the business woman I am today.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I began my career in home staging by working for Bettershelter for a few years as a staging assistant. It was there that I learned how to think outside the box and use creativity and humor to make a staging feel inspiring for buyers. I founded Eleven Interiors in June of 2014 and have staged hundreds of homes, helping agents break countless sales records across the Los Angeles area.

For most people, their home is their largest and most important investment. I want everyone to have a comfortable retirement so helping people make the most of the sale of their property feels great! They can use their equity toward their next home, invest it in a rental property, put it into a retirement account or hand it down to family and friends. Extra money can create a whole new level of ease for people. I love being able to exercise my creativity and help people generate financial security at the same time.

Although I stage in styles from traditional to edgy, Eleven Interiors has a distinct modern style and I’m told by other Los Angeles stagers that they can tell it’s my work. One clue is that I often include some black here and there, for example in a rug, accessories, nightstands or a console table. It creates contrast, adds sophistication and define spaces, I’ve also been leaning more toward lighter neutrals and earth tones lately. Many stagers are following the all white and beige trend with some soft earth tones or embracing curvy postmodern furniture, which is “all the rage” at the moment. I’m happy to embrace some aspects of trends, but to best serve my clients, I tune into what the home needs to look its best, not what Instagram prefers. I’m told by some agents that all white staging can make a home feel unrelatable and untouchable, that people don’t feel as comfortable in all white interiors. The point of staging is to make a home feel like potential buyers could live there, so I make sure it feels cozy, functional and approachable.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Having a mind that’s like a design encyclopedia helps when you’re a designer. For most of my life I’ve soaked up interior design and decorating images like a sponge, poring over shelter magazines like Elle Decor, Dwell, Architectural Digest, Milieu and Interior Design. They helped me understand scale, pattern and balance, encouraged me to be creative and open to thinking differently and developed my appreciation for different styles. I also like to go down the rabbit hole on design websites like Dezeen, The Local Project, Designboom, Coolhunter and Wallpaper for inspiration.

Efficiency has also been an important part of my career path. It’s THE thing that helped me land a coveted fashion job at AEFFE, do great work at USC and start my home staging business. It also helps me stay on top of the details of daily life so I don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of things I need to juggle. Being efficient requires discipline and intentionality. I often feel good about what I’ve accomplished in a day, which helps me sleep better at night.

I recommend living in New York City for at least a year. I say this to all of the high school and college graduates in my life because I think it primes a young person to level up, think big, get a good sense of who they are and expand on their capabilities. NYC kicked my butt at first but by the time I left 8 years later, I was a bad— who could talk to anyone, do what I set my mind to, avoid trouble, gravitate toward great people, experiences (and parties) and it brought me to a new level of character, humor, skill and confidence that I didn’t have before. You really can make it anywhere if you can make it there.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

When I have moments where I feel stuck and hopeless, and it builds up into a sort of storm in my head, I push my chair away from my desk and do one more of these: breathe, drink water, snuggle with one of my dogs, take a quick nap, go downstairs for a snack, listen to a song I like or call my mom. It’s important to know when you’re in a state of overwhelm, pause for a break and to acknowledge that it’s ok to feel like it’s all too much and step away to take care of ourselves. We need to remember that whatever it is that’s frustrating us, it will pass.

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