Why Interior Designer Patricia Rodi Wants To See Women Picking Up Power Tools

Even if you don’t recognise her name, you’ve probably seen Patricia Rodi – or at least her house – before. If your algorithm is anything like mine, videos of her Nancy Meyers worthy home renovation (and romance) are likely to be a frequent feature of your Instagram reels page – cue the descent down the rabbit hole as you too start dreaming of designing your perfect home in the Scottish wilds. Having near literally bumped into her now-husband on a rustic Yorkshire walk, and uprooted her life in Sweden for the UK, the pair bought a fixer-upper on the Scottish coast and brought it back to life for the world of social media to see.

Now with 600k Instagram followers (including Aimee Lou Wood) to her name, Patricia is keen to use to her platform to re-shift the narrative. In a world of glossy ‘after’ shots, where women are relegated to wallpaper browsing and men to its application, Patricia wants to see women pick up the power tools and give DIY a go. 

The co-founder of design agency Rodi and Cécile Studio, the French-Swedish interior designer has collabs with everyone from Laura Ashley and Vinterior, to Loaf and Ruggable under her belt, and it seems she’s not planning on slowing down any time soon. Following on from her recent collaboration with Scandi homeware brand Bemz, plus the launch of her Lannan Pantry project in Edinburgh, we sit down with Patricia to chat de-influencing, sustainability and how to have the perfect Christmas.

Q&A With Patricia Rodi

 

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Hi Patricia, your social media is all about de-influencing the process of home renovations. Why is de-influencing so important to you?

When I started sharing my renovation online I wanted to challenge the norm. I think homes have become these arenas of expectations, especially how they should look and how women should behave within them. I think that when you see women with paint brushes, holding power tools and learning as they go that shifts the narrative.

Creating a home takes time and I think we’re so used to seeing the ‘before and after’ on social media and in magazines. But for me, it’s about showing the process behind it: the uncertainty, the mess, the small wins and the setbacks. Inspiring women to do DIY is important because a lot of women, specifically me when I started, feel really disconnected from the DIY culture because it seems overly technical. It’s very male dominated but you don’t have to be a tradesperson to partake. You just need curiosity and the willingness to try. That’s enough.

Why do you think women are expected to take charge of home decor but not the more technical jobs it involves?

I think that the DIY culture seems overly technical and therefore we don’t even give it a go. I don’t want to degrade my own experiences as an interior designer, but choosing paint colours for example, even though it can be quite overwhelming, it seems manageable. 

I built my own window seat and I was so overwhelmed by it at the start because I thought ‘This is super technical. We need drawings. We need to do X, Y and Z.’ But actually just starting, just trying it… Yes, we got it wrong. Yes, we had to restart it a couple of times. But it was actually the willingness to try that was enough, because then you do it again and you’re better. And then you do it again the next time and you’re more confident. And then you do it again the fifth time and you know how to use a power drill. Even just the smallest DIY task – painting, removing wallpaper, sanding – that might seem overwhelming. But it’s just the first step. And like everything, the more you do it the better you become. 

How did you teach yourself these skills?

It’s a mix of everything. I was really fortunate when we renovated our first house because we had a friend who’s a joiner who used to come round and show me how to do things. But I’d also recommend YouTube and reaching out to people online that you admire. If you’re going to sand your own floors but you’re getting lots of different advice online then just reach out to someone and ask ‘How would you do it? This is the type of floor that I have.’ People like me are very happy to give advice when we can.

When showing your life and home on social media, how do you balance aspiration with realism?

I think it’s about showcasing that transformation and making sure that people know that it’s not a clickbait transformation. It’s not about disposable trends. I try to hammer home the message of sustainability. It takes time. We have a big house and we’re not done renovating. Even if a room in my home seems perfect online, when you’re in them you’ll see that my shutters aren’t painted – I haven’t got to that. It’s understanding and really highlighting that there is a lot of value in slowing down and taking more of an intentional approach. That’s why I’m trying to showcase restoration rather than replacing, and creating spaces that very much reflect how we live.

My spaces are like this all the time. I don’t showcase. I tidy-up when I take a picture but this is very much how I live. That’s also what people want to see – they want to see how you live. I think that’s quite flattering and beautiful as well: to showcase that we’re all individual and we’re all messy. My bed is never perfectly made and I show that. It’s a balance between showing the real and the more curated realness. 

How do you relax at home when your home is part of your career?

It’s very difficult. We all go through busy spells. Right now the other side of my house is filled with boxes and that area needs a whole redecoration. I think there’s always a part of me that is stressed because I work a lot from home. And so your studio is your home and your home is your studio. I think it’s about being intentional in the space and saying: ‘From 8am to 10am I’m sitting in the kitchen; this is my workspace.’ And then you move somewhere else so that your home doesn’t feel too intense and small.

When working with your clients how do you help them to side-step trends and focus on what they love?

In the studio we approach every project with the same ethos that drives our own homes: to design with intention. We always ask a client for inspiration images and they pull together a Pinterest board, and then from that we try to assess what they actually like. Is there a red thread? Have they just seen this picture and thought it’s beautiful visually? Would they actually want to live there and be in that space every single day? It’s about understanding how we live so that we can create interiors that feel personal rather than performative. 

You recently designed the new Lannan Pantry in Edinburgh. How do you approach projects like this?

We have a very long conversation with the client about what they want to achieve. Our client Darcie gave us quite a lot of free rein of what we could do. But we share a lot of similarities: we love antiques; we love local craftsmanship and repurposing items, so she really wanted to focus on that. We created a moodboard that drew inspiration from old world pantries like French boulangeries, with French antiques and design combined with Scottish craftsmanship. And everything was made bespoke because it was an old tenement building. Regardless of whether it’s a commercial project or residential property, it’s about understanding what the client wants and how we can incorporate that to create a playful and characterful space. 

You’ve got both French and Swedish heritage – does this play into your interiors style at all? How would you define it?

For me personally, and the studio, I would say it’s eclectic, playful and characterful with a sustainable focus where we mix French, Swedish and British cultural influences into our interior design. 

Where did your love of interior design come from?

My partner’s dad is a retired Sotheby’s auctioneer working with furniture, silver and wine and when I met my partner that really changed my path. I had someone that I could talk to about it and get a better understanding of antiques and restoration. He helped me see how history and storytelling and craftsmanship are intersected through objects and spaces. So that was the catalyst.

Interior design is something that I have always been interested in, because I studied history, art history, politics and cultural studies in Sweden and there was a very strong focus on buildings and how people live in them. After university I worked in politics and communication for some years but design was always calling. Because I’m half French and half Swedish and we have family there, and in Czech Republic and Italy, I’ve seen so many different homes. For me, creating spaces has always been about feeling rather than how something looks. When I worked in communications I learnt how to communicate someone’s vision into an actual idea. That’s what I took with me into interior design.

You recently designed a collection with Scandinavian upholstery brand Bemz who design luxe coverings for IKEA furniture. Why was this project so important to you?

This is such a personal project and one that I’m so so incredibly pleased with and very proud of. Working in interiors, we have a responsibility when it come to sustainability. For me, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. It’s not just something I throw around because I like to be on a pedestal or in a category. I think that sustainability is a mindset. The collaboration with Bemz is a very good example of that philosophy, because so many of us have IKEA furniture. It is one of the most common items that we can find secondhand. They’re everywhere.

I had two really old IKEA chairs which were just sat there. I always felt that instead of sending them to landfill, buying new ones and contributing to over consumption, I wanted to find a way to give these pieces a new life. The collection was about rethinking what we already have, and turning something ordinary and mass produced into something unique, individual and chic.

Furniture is expensive, so being able to buy a really cheap secondhand IKEA sofa and putting an amazing, really individualistic and beautiful cover is great. Sustainability doesn’t have to mean compromise. You can have character and it can coexist with beauty. I think that circular interiors are the future.

With the approach to Christmas, what’s your advice for doing the holiday season sustainably?

I’m such a nostalgic person and Christmas is super nostalgic. You want to have those old things that you once had when you were a child. I don’t live in the same country as my parents. My father is in France and my mum is in Sweden. I’ve had to make my own Christmas stuff here in the UK with my partner. I don’t necessarily think that we need to buy loads of things. We can do DIY. I saw this trend on Instagram where pepople were making baubles out of papier-mâché and I think that’s a really good idea. Just go to your charity shop: there will be loads of Christmas decorations there, or swap with your friends. I don’t think everything has to be so curated and perfect when it comes to Christmas – just use nature. You don’t have to buy a garland; pick some greenery. We can make a little go a really long way.

How are you finding balance this festive season?

By deciding that I am off. I’m taking a break from everything. I think that we are in such a fortunate position to have people around us and I think that it’s so important to make time for the people that you love. Even if it’s just seeing someone over a coffee or FaceTime-ing people. It doesn’t have to be this big thing. I think the small moments are really important – that’s what I look forward to, just having a little FaceTime and a cup of tea with my mum or going for a long walk with my husband and my dog.