HOMES + INTERIORS
At Home with
DANA SKOTDAL | BY HELÉNE RAMACKERS
ALL IMAGES BY RAFAEL SOLDI PHOTOGRAPHY
Her affinity for turning a house into a home inspired Dana Skotdal to start her own interior design firm, Merrill Interiors in 2002. Allowing us a peek into her beautiful home, she spoke exclusively with Upscale Living magazine about how she created her own dream space. Dana, please tell us a bit about yourself. Thank you for talking with me! I live in Seattle, Washington with my husband and children. My perfect day would include playing tennis in the morning, working on an inspiring design project and hand drawing elevations (I love the hand drawing process), a walk with my dog, arranging floral bouquets from my garden to surprise a friend, and ending with a great meal and laughter with my family. There is nothing better than having all of them laughing together. An evening with good girlfriends and champagne also tops my list. If this perfect day could also include yoga, doing something creative like oil painting, reading a great book, that would be amazing. If I could have a superpower, it might be bending time (or maybe not needing sleep?) to accomplish it all. Did you have an influence in your youth that shaped your career path? I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by talented and creative people in my family and extended family, which helped cultivate my design aesthetic. I’ve always loved beautiful homes and gardens. As a kid, I loved to draw and always drew my ‘perfect’ bedroom or what I imagined my future home would look like. Not having smartphones, social media, or much in the way of television really was helpful in cultivating creativity. We had to imagine new worlds - there wasn’t the internet to show it to us! Please tell us more about your home. My family has been in our current home now for ten years. My husband and I had walked by this home for years. It was barely visible from the street, covered in trees and shrubs, in need of a lot of love. 60 | UPSCALE LIVING MAGAZINE | AUG/SEPT 2023
