There wasn’t much I could do around Elliott’s kitchen. I didn’t want to mess it up. I made some French press coffee and took a piece of leftover brioche to his Magimix toaster. I was the sister of a Michelin star chef, and this was the best I could do. I retrieved some marmalade and cream from the refrigerator and decided to eat my breakfast in the living room. It was the room we had spent the least amount of time in, and it was the one that intrigued me the most.

Penny Prichard had done an amazing job creating this color palette. The walls were painted a dove gray. The rest of the color palette was done in cozy beiges and warm pinks and silvers to conjure up the feeling of mother-of-pearl. Even the bound rug had a nice texture to it and was tone on tone in colors of the dove gray and mother-of-pearl family. The artwork perfectly complemented the cream sofa and the sheared-lamb rug. Gone for good was the heavy, masculine feel of the place. This was a place I could’ve designed for me. I loved the introduction of the apricot color and the touches of blue and green thrown in for good measure in the three plump pillows on the sofa—adding a certain uniqueness and whimsy. I couldn’t help but wonder: what if the colors of the pillows were recreated in the rug and simple apricot-colored pillows piped in blue or green were placed on the sofa? What dimension would that add? How would that change the vibe in here? I found myself taking pictures of the rug and the artwork and the mix of colors. I curled up on the sofa. Before I started my research, I checked my texts.

Three were from Reggie, all wanting to know how things were going, ending with her signature word—hugs.

Four texts from Elle. The first one asked: “How was it?” and was accompanied with three winking emojis. Elle never met an emoji she didn’t want to use. The second one read: “How did you like all your lotions and potions?” The third one said: “You can thank me later.” And the last one simply: “That Elliott is a sweetie. How did he like the green nightgown?” with another set of brightly colored emojis.

My mind lingered on her last question before I responded: “Love everything. Including the lotions and potions. How about coming to the restaurant Thursday night for a proper conversation and thank you? We haven’t worked our way to the green one yet.” I also sent one to Reggie with a similar invitation for Thursday night.