Welcome to DoubleTake Décor—the home-making haven created by women with real-world design chops for women ready to refresh their spaces without breaking the bank or sacrificing comfort. Our mission is simple: help you give every room a “double-take” moment—where familiar pieces get a fresh perspective, budgets stretch further than you thought possible, and style grows right alongside you.
What We Believe
Age-positive design: Beauty should grow with you, not work against you. We spotlight ergonomic layouts, soothing colour palettes, and smart storage that fit evolving lifestyles.
Learn-by-doing empowerment: From power-tool primers to low-stress upholstery tricks, we break projects into clear, confidence-building steps.
Sustainable choices: Vintage finds, low-VOC finishes, drought-wise landscapes, and eco-friendly textiles are woven into everything we share.
Global inspiration, local flair: Desert hues, Hill-Country textures, Mediterranean tile patterns—our team pulls ideas from around the world, then adapts them to real American homes.
What You’ll Find Here
Explore our Room Refresh Guides for step-by-step makeovers that honor both your budget and your schedule, then dive into the DIY Corner where weekend builds, tool tutorials, and up-cycling projects transform “I can’t” into “I did.” Need outdoor inspiration? Hill Country Greens delivers climate-savvy gardening wisdom—whether you’re nurturing patio herbs in the north or designing a low-water xeriscape in the south. Our Global Style Spotlights trace the stories behind textiles, color palettes, and artisan techniques, sparking fresh takes on classic looks, while the Translation Hub brings every article to life in German, Spanish, Hungarian, French, and Slovak so that a welcoming home is only ever a read away.
You’ll find daily inspiration and behind-the-scenes peeks on Instagram and Pinterest, where we post as @DoubleTakeDecor—come say hello and make yourself at home.
Meet the Team
Editors
Evelyn Brooks-Callahan
Evelyn Brooks-Callahan is the creative force behind DoubleTake Décor. A lifelong Austinite and NCIDQ-certified interior designer, she pairs a B.S. in Interior Design from UT-Austin with a master’s in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School. Over 25 years of styling homes and leading national editorial teams, her posts weave age-positive design tips—ergonomic layouts, heirloom refreshes, budget-smart upgrades—into relatable stories drawn from real Hill Country projects. When she isn’t treasure-hunting at weekend estate sales, you’ll find her chatting with readers in the “Hearth Circle” community or keynoting design talks across Texas. Welcome to DoubleTake Décor, where every room deserves a second look—and a second life.
Nora Hayes believes a cordless drill and a splash of courage can change a room—and a mindset. Trained in furniture design at RISD and seasoned by years of sawdust-coated entrepreneurship, Nora turned her knack for clear, confidence-boosting instruction into the popular “Weekend Build-Her” video series. Now writing the DIY Corner column for DoubleTake Décor, she breaks projects into bite-size, budget-friendly steps: from custom closet organizers to heirloom-worthy porch swings. Off the clock, you’ll spot her scouting Asheville salvage yards or teaching one-board-bench workshops at the local makerspace—always reminding students that great design starts with picking up the tool you were sure you couldn’t use.
Grace Lowell grew up coaxing tomatoes out of dusty West Texas soil and never stopped experimenting with what a yard can do. Armed with a horticulture degree from Texas A&M and two decades of hands-on nursery and teaching experience, she now shares tough-love plant wisdom—plus plenty of encouragement—through DoubleTake Décor’s garden column “Hill Country Greens.” From drought-proof flower borders to patio herb planters that practically water themselves, Grace shows readers how to transform any patch of earth into a resilient, beautiful retreat. When she’s not tending her pollinator-packed backyard in San Antonio, you’ll find her leading Saturday composting clinics or swapping seedlings at the local farmers’ market, always ready with a joke, a jalapeño cutting, and the reminder that even in Texas heat, gardening should feel like a breeze.
Marisa Reyes brings desert-sunlight optimism to every article she crafts. Raised among the saguaros of Tucson and trained in interior design at ASU, Marisa translates design theory into real-world tips—think terracotta accent walls, renter-friendly peel-and-stick tiles, and native-plant centerpieces that thrive in low humidity. After four years documenting Arizona’s boutique-hotel scene, she turned her eye for texture and color into engaging how-to articles and TikTok quick-wins that have helped thousands refresh their spaces on a shoestring. When she’s not scouting vintage kilim rugs at the Mercado flea market, you’ll find Marisa photographing desert sunsets for palette inspiration or teaching beginner décor workshops at the local community college. Her guiding motto: “Good design should feel as effortless as a desert breeze—refreshing, warm, and totally you.”
Sofía de la Vega-Morales grew up beneath the orange blossoms of Seville’s Barrio Santa Cruz, where every courtyard told a color story. After earning a master’s in translation on California’s coast, she spent two decades bridging languages for design brands, museums, and sustainability nonprofits. Now based in rain-kissed Portland, Sofía brings her Iberian flair—and a meticulous eye for shade names and fabric textures—to DoubleTake Décor. Whether she’s refining ergonomic-lighting tips for Spanish readers or localizing Grace’s drought-smart garden guides, Sofía believes translation should feel hand-stitched, not machine-pressed. Off-screen you’ll find her perfecting paella for neighborhood potlucks or sketching tile patterns at the Portland Japanese Garden. With Sofía at the linguistic helm, every post welcomes Spanish-speaking readers home—con estilo y calidez.
Ingrid Bauer-Schmidt
Ingrid Bauer-Schmidt brings a touch of Hill Country Gemütlichkeit to every word she translates for DoubleTake Décor. Raised speaking a lively mix of Texan drawl and her Oma’s Schwäbisch, Ingrid turned her heritage into a vocation—earning a master’s in Translation Studies at Heidelberg before returning home to Fredericksburg, where half the street signs are still in German. Over two decades she’s localized everything from craft-beer labels to botanical garden tours, but her passion is helping 40-plus readers feel at home—literally—in both languages. When she’s not fine-tuning color-palette descriptions for Evelyn and Grace, you’ll find her quilting with the local Vereins Kirche guild or tending a backyard orchard of persimmons and fig trees. Ingrid believes great translation is like good design: clear, welcoming, and built to last—wilkommen to every word she touches.
Claire Beaumont-Legrand
Claire Beaumont-Legrand grew up in a family of antique dealers in Lyon’s Croix-Rousse district, spending weekends polishing Art Deco mirrors and learning the stories behind every piece of furniture. That early love for interiors led her to a translation master’s at the Sorbonne and a side study in British design. Over the past fifteen years, she has localized catalogues for boutique furnishings, scripted subtitles for renovation documentaries, and crafted bilingual style guides for eco-friendly paint brands.
At DoubleTake Décor, Claire ensures every shade description, upholstery tip, and desert-plant hack feels naturally French—never literal, always inviting. When she isn’t fine-tuning color-palette prose, you’ll find her hunting vintage linens at the Les Puces du Canal flea market or nurturing an urban balcony garden overflowing with lavender and climbing roses. Her philosophy: “La maison doit raconter votre histoire—et la langue aussi.”
Eszter Nagy-Kovács
Eszter Nagy-Kovács is passionate about turning words into beautifully livable spaces. A native Hungarian and certified translator with a master’s degree from ELTE, she’s spent the past decade localizing lifestyle and design content for global brands. Eszter’s love for interiors started while renovating her own century-old Budapest apartment, where she learned firsthand how the right details transform a home. Today, she brings that same care to every DoubleTake Décor article—ensuring tips on color palettes, cozy textures, and sustainable styling feel authentic and inspiring in Hungarian. When she’s not translating, Eszter is usually exploring flea markets along the Danube, photographing hidden courtyards, or hosting DIY upcycling workshops for friends. Her belief: great design—and great language—should make people feel at home.
Zuzana Vavrová
Zuzana Vavrová cut her linguistic teeth translating English design blogs while renovating her first flat—a 1930s walk-up in Bratislava’s Old Town. Armed with a translation degree from Comenius University and a dash of Italian design schooling, she has spent more than a decade bridging English inspiration and Slovak sensibility for furniture retailers, craft-paint brands, and sustainable-living magazines.
At DoubleTake Décor, Zuzana turns Evelyn’s age-positive design tips and Grace’s drought-wise planting guides into Slovak that feels as welcoming as a bowl of bryndzové halušky after a snowy hike. Off the keyboard, you’ll find her browsing Pezinok flea markets for mid-century lamps, teaching beginner “design-Slovak” workshops for expats, or coaxing heirloom tomatoes on her apartment balcony. Her motto: „Pekný domov začína dobrým slovom“ — beautiful homes start with the right words.
Every room deserves a second look—and a second life. We’re thrilled you’re here to take it with us.
