Tara McCauley is an interior designer based in downtown Manhattan. Her work is romantic, layered, and often inflected with a dash of humor. With history as an anchor, she finds beauty in the juxtaposition of periods and unexpected materials.

I sometimes feel like I’m a dabbler, what you might call a “master of none.” I’m most inspired by listening to someone with a singular obsession or expertise talk about what they’re passionate about. Two of my best friends are textile designers with a line called Makrosha, and I recently listened in on them discussing the weaving process when developing a new design. That was very inspiring.

My sense of curiosity, which may explain my tendency to dabble in different interests. Curiosity is my biggest motivator in life and it makes me sad to see how many people become less and less curious as they grow older. I never want to become jaded.

The term “effortless” has never really resonated with me. What’s wrong with showing that you put thought and care into something? It goes back to my sense of curiosity - I’m interested in seeing “how the sausage was made” so to speak.

I think of wellbeing relative to what I have control over. As I’ve closed the door on my 20s, I see that I was learning how to articulate my needs and my boundaries to myself. As I enter my 30s, I’m making an effort to hold myself accountable for them. In terms of physical and mental wellbeing, I feel best when I’m not making excuses for myself or others. I’m protecting my time more; I try not to let people waste my time (figuratively) and I spend more time (literally) on things that will serve me long term, physically or mentally.

Most New Yorkers have very minimal kitchen counter space; you can tell a lot about a person’s priorities by which appliances and gadgets make the cut in a tiny kitchen. The only thing I have on my counter is a reverse osmosis water purifier my mom gave me. She’s very into that kind of thing. I don’t always remember to drink enough water, but when I do drink it, it’s ultra clean - just like my shower water!

Another New York real estate complaint - my apartment has no medicine cabinet and one of those small standing-room-only showers, no tub. Maybe a boring answer, but I wish I had a bigger, more luxurious bathroom.

Black tights, chunky shoes from Camper or John Fluevog, thick mineral sunscreen, Glossier Pro Tip eyeliner, gold safety pin earrings, and Adam Selman cat eye sunglasses (which I recently had to replace after my last pair were broken when a goose flew into my head while I was jogging on the West Side Highway. Wish I were joking.)

“I really hope my neighbors enjoy the musical stylings of Burt Bacharach, because it just occurred to me that they can absolutely hear everything I play on my bluetooth shower speaker.”