5 Under40: Erin Gates

The countdown to our September 14 “5 Under 40” celebration continues. Please meet 2017 honoree Erin Gates.

To say that Erin Gates knows a thing or two about style would be an understatement.

Ten years ago, Gates started her now-iconic Elements of Style blog, which became the impetus for a successful interior design business, a New York Times bestseller (with a second book on the way), and an eponymous line of affordable home -accessories.

Photograph by Bruce Rogovin

Today, Gates still writes each post herself (three a week) and the blog gets more than half a million views each month. Thanks to the blog’s popularity, she gets interior design requests from all over: recent projects include a vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a ski house in Stowe, Vermont, and a nursery in San Francisco, California. Other than an inherent stylishness, Gates’s interiors don’t adhere to a particular approach. She tries not to repeat elements, ensuring that each space is unique. “My goal is always to make people’s homes look like a lovely version of themselves,” she says.

Photograph by Michael J. Lee

Her designs are indeed lovely, and with such constant pressure to produce, it’s lucky that she finds inspiration all around: in the work of her peers, through magazines, on social media, while traveling, and even from the past. “I think a lot of people are drawing from historical influences in design, and looking back at traditional roots in decoration,” she says.

Gates is also looking forward, at work on her second book and about to release her latest collection of pillows, lighting, picture frames, throws, and other home accessories—all priced under $150—for Elements by Erin Gates. “I wanted to look at trends and things we’re doing for higher-end clients, and translate them to something anyone can afford to put in their house,” she says.

The “5 Under 40” celebration is open to the public. Join us by purchasing your tickets here.