Sharrah Stevens: Family Happiness Starts at Home

Sharrah Stevens is an interior decorator and influencer with a large following. But, of all that she has created, her family is her most valued. She loves being a mom to her two boys, ages 2 and 1. Her popularity as a social media influencer began on YouTube, where she has an established community of loyal followers interested in her interior design expertise for any home no matter the size or budget. Originally from California, she and her husband, Tyler, relocated to Tulsa in 2020 and shared the entire process of moving – from the decision and city selection to the relocation – all on social media!

TK: Tell us about yourself.

Sharrah: My husband, Tyler, and I have two little boys, a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old. We moved to Tulsa in 2020 from San Diego before my kids were born. My kids are officially Okies! And we have loved it here ever since.

I’m an interior designer and also an influencer. I started on YouTube about 10 years ago with the heart and intention to help women make their homes beautiful. I wanted to teach women that there are certain basic principles of interior design, and if you can understand those principles, you really can transform your home.

TK: What was the process you went through in deciding to move to Tulsa?

Sharrah: We started to consider moving from California in 2019. My husband and I wanted to move, and since my mom (Rebecca Roberson) and I are in business together, she decided to move with us. We actually started with a list of 25 cities that we were all interested in, but we knew we could never visit them all, so we worked with a relocation consultant. We shared all the things we wanted from the city, and he helped us narrow our list down to five. We traveled to all five cities and met with a real estate agent to get an idea of each city. We wanted all three of us to agree on a place. We took our followers along on our journey by posting to social media.

We traveled to Boise, Idaho; Charleston, South Carolina; Dallas/Austin, Texas; and Tulsa. We were supposed to go to Nashville in March of 2020, but all travel was cancelled due to the pandemic lockdown. So, we never saw Nashville, and decided to move to Tulsa. The Tulsa Remote program also added a nice incentive to relocate.

TK: What do you enjoy about living in Tulsa?

Sharrah: We are just blown away by how nice everybody is. And we were so impressed by how beautiful it is here. I just never really thought Oklahoma would have so many trees and hills; they’re not mountains, but I just pictured it flat and dry with tumbleweeds everywhere, which is truly so naive of me. But coming from San Diego, it’s just like that’s what you see in the movies, and so that’s what you think. Also, a big thing for us moving was the low cost of living. Leaving San Diego, obviously the housing market was just so crazy.

TK: You want everyone to have a home that they love!  What makes you so passionate about this?

Sharrah: I do think that a beautiful home can change your life. Obviously, everyone has their own definition of beauty, but I think it’s important for a space to be clean, uncluttered and reflect your personal style. I believe your home really does impact how you and your family function. I think the happiness of your family starts at home, so that’s one of the reasons I am so passionate about creating a beautiful space to live no matter the size or budget.

TK: Your interior design business has taken off, in large part, because of social media. How did you get started?

Sharrah: I started making videos teaching people how to decorate on YouTube. And then made a business out of it, which I’ve really enjoyed. I literally started with decorating my college dorm room, then my first apartment by the beach all the way to our 100-year-old home in Tulsa.

TK: How has your career focus and social media content shifted since becoming a mother?

Sharrah: I absolutely love being a mom! So, in this season of life, my focus is shifting. This year, I’ve really pulled back and said no to a lot of things, which is very hard for me. I like to say yes to everything. I don’t want to let people down, or I see that they really want me to be involved in something, so I try hard to deliver. But I’ve learned that there’s a cost to all those things, and time is so precious. As my kids are getting older, I’m taking a little step back from my design business to be with my kids more. I’m intentional about sharing content that is more parenting focused because that’s the season of life I’m in.

TK: Tell us about buying a home that you turned into a Tulsa Airbnb known as The Stone Cottage?

Sharrah: We’ve made videos for 10 years about either our clients’ homes or our own homes. We had never really made content about a house where our viewers could come stay. I felt there weren’t a lot of really cool Airbnbs in Tulsa that are well designed, so I wanted to create a space that caused people to want to travel to Tulsa, and then also get to stay in a beautifully designed home. Sharing the growth and the renovation of it on social media and then letting guests see it in real life was such a cool concept to me.

During the reveal party, there were people who drove from all over to see it in real life, which meant so much to me. When I post online, I see numbers, but typically don’t get to meet people in person, so when they showed up, it was really special.

TK: You are the co-founder of Kinwoven with your mom, who also relocated to Tulsa. Can you share what this is?

Sharrah: My mom and I are both very passionate about being able to empower people to decorate by themselves, and so we came together in 2019 and created Kinwoven, a name we came up with: “Kin” meaning family and “woven” because we’re all in this together.

We decided to make instructional videos and courses for people to assist them on how to tackle any room in their home, whether they are decorating or renovating. We wanted it to be affordable for every budget, accessible for every stage of life and organized; there is a workbook and videos that go with each lesson.

We actually go through like a lot of exercises within the workbook that are kind of therapeutic. For example, asking, “What is it that you want to do that would make you happy in this space?” Once you land on those answers, we teach you the practical tools on how to get started and follow through with your design plan.

TK: Now that you’re a mom, have you started a new holiday tradition with your kids? If so, what is it?

Sharrah: In our house we decorate for Christmas at the end of September so that we have enough time to film and edit our Christmas decorating videos in time to upload them to YouTube by November 1. My sweet kids are going to be very confused once they’re old enough to understand how strange it is to have Christmas up before Halloween.

I’ve noticed it’s hard to conjure up the Christmas spirit once it’s officially “time” since it’s been up so long, so this year I started a new tradition. We picked one day in November to make our Christmas kick-off day. We woke up early, got in festive Christmas cozy outfits, then had the boys help us decorate their rooms for Christmas. We also watched our first Christmas movie of the season and made Christmas cookies. I’m excited for this to be a fun way for our family to make special memories and include them in the decorating festivities.

You can find Sharrah online: Instagram: @sharrahstevens & @kinwoven; YouTube Channel: Sharrah Stevens

Nancy A. Moore is a Public Relations Coordinator at Montreau, Adjunct Professor at Tulsa Community College, and has been writing for TulsaKids for almost 20 years.