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Beth Birkett Gibbs wants her work to feel off-kilter. “When I create a space that is too safe, it doesn’t feel authentic,” she tells Domino deputy editor Julie Vadnal in the latest episode of Design Time: The Rebellious Ones (out today on Spotify and Apple Podcasts). “It feels like, ‘Ooh, you’re scared. So you went obvious.’ I like to push myself to do things that I haven’t seen before.”
From opening the Los Angeles streetwear storefront Union, which she co-owns with her husband, Chris Gibbs, to launching her creative design studio, Bephie—and collaborating with brands like Nike, Jordan, and Converse—Gibbs has a more-than-impressive portfolio thanks to her risk-taking.
In the episode, Gibbs shares why she won’t pick a paint color from a Pantone book, the reason she used Roman Clay instead of limewash on her walls, and the room in her vibrant L.A. home she thinks she designed on the safe side. (Spoiler alert: It’s not the living room where her green hand-dyed RH Cloud sofa lives.) She also answers all of our Never Have I Ever questions. Here’s a sneak peek:
Never have I ever…accidentally killed a plant.
I have killed plants. It’s a struggle, but I’m figuring it out.
Never have I ever…bought a piece of furniture at Target.
Oh, have I ever? Of course I have. Target’s so great, but it gets you in trouble.
Never have I ever…fought with a significant other over a decor item.
You know what? Never have I ever. [Chris] is very laid-back, Canadian. I want him to have more of a say. He’ll just bring in an art piece or purchase a lamp, but it’s not really a conversation. He’s like: Do you, and I’ll do me. And that’s our design style.
Never have I ever…hung art upside down.
Never have I ever. I do not hang art, because I will hang it upside down.
Never have I ever…cried while building IKEA furniture.
Oh, have I ever. Yes, of course. Those instructions are a nightmare. I don’t know who they’re for. Actually, I’ve tried not to buy IKEA as much for those big things. That’s one thing my husband I had to talk about, because when we were younger, that’s all we could afford. And now we’ve changed and we’re trying to do less and less. Hold on to that IKEA, though—who would have known they would become classics.