Few possess a résumé quite like Kristin Cavallari. You may know her from MTV's Laguna Beach or The Hills – or more recently, you may have seen one of her cookbooks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list (where you can expect to see her again, following the release of her new title Truly Simple today).
Alongside her latest book, the lifestyle tycoon is now making waves in the interior industry – beginning (unsurprisingly) with her walk-in closet. As the founder and CEO of the lifestyle brand Uncommon James, Kristin knows about style, so it seems only fitting that this is reflected in her closet.
'I like having that airy, light feeling in my whole house, but especially my closet. I knocked down a wall to create the closet you see today. I wanted a lot of natural light, and I wanted it to be a space where I enjoyed being,' Kristin says in an exclusive interview with H&G.
'Much of my life is essentially based around outfits and jewelry – and I just wanted it to be a really feminine, light, airy space without being over-the-top girly. It was my designer’s idea to do the light wood, and I loved it.'
Kristin Cavallari is the founder and CEO of the lifestyle brand Uncommon James, which spans jewelry, home goods (UJ Home), and clean skincare (Uncommon Beauty). Before launching her lifestyle empire, Kristin appeared on MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills before receiving her own E! reality series, Very Cavallari (from 2018–2020). Kristin has written two New York Times Bestsellers, True Comfort and True Roots, and just released her new cookbook, Truly Simple, through Random House.
Kristin's exemplary ability to decorate with neutrals is perhaps the most striking part of her space – but there is much to be admired – not least her shoe storage, which dominated the main wall.
'When we were figuring out what to do with the walls, I instantly knew I wanted that one to showcase my shoes,' Kristen says.
'It was a no-brainer for me because they are easy to keep organized. Say, if a couple of shoes look out of place – it still looks beautiful. And I don't feel the pressure to have it perfect always.'
From her shoes and bags to her clothes and jewelry, we can all learn a lot from Kristin's closet organization. The secret, she says, is to group similar items – and tidy as we go.
'I have similar things altogether. I have all my blazers, cocktail dresses and beach dresses hanging together. I try to organize them that way so they're all in categories. My biggest thing to do is to clean up as I go. Rather than creating one massive mess, I always try to stay organized, so it never gets too out of hand.'
'I am an organized person naturally; it’s how I stay sane. There’s nothing that makes me happier than cleaning out my closet, so I am always gravitated toward putting things together. At one point, I thought about color-coordinating everything, but that felt really overwhelming.'
The designer's space is an example of how to master storage – however, a small closet mistake did teach her a lesson on how to store pants. And we can all learn from the process.
'I have all my jeans and pants folded, and sometimes I forget about a certain pair,' Kristin says.' I'm very visual, so ideally, I would have them hung up to browse through easily.'
Taking the focus from the closet to the kitchen – you can shop for Kristin Cavallari's new cookbook below.
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