Marina Bargouti: Designing Emotions

We all have dreams; we all have desires—it’s natural to experience them all in our physicality. But really, that dream and desire take a blimp of a moment compared to the journey we take to crystallize them. What if we shift our focus from the “goal” (accomplishing the desire) to the “goal” (discovering the journey towards what we want)? Perhaps it will feel so much more satisfying along the way, and the desire wouldn’t feel like a miracle anymore, but a natural way of receiving what we want.

Marina Bargouti, an artist who expresses herself through the beauty of styling interiors, says, “Although I consider myself a simple girl, I do have big dreams, and I work every single day and night to accomplish those dreams. And the most inspiring part about it is that I feel every day that the sky is the limit; that we can go as high as we can if we believe in ourselves; if we work hard, and of course, if we stay kind and humble.”

Marina, originally from Siberia, Russia, is filled with appreciation for being also an American Citizen. We often have preconceived beliefs around some contexts, especially when it comes to our upbringing. In this case, Marina’s change of contexts, moving from Russia to the US, brought her to open up in creating new beliefs that reflected infinite opportunities for self-expression. It also made her succeed in doing what she loves most. That was when she started discovering her passion for interior styling and decor. “I am self-taught and pretty much a self-made interior stylist and decorator,” she says.

Especially when it comes to our home, interiors relate to intimacy, family, and hosting friends; it’s one of the essential spaces we care about. Emotions are triggered not only by the ambiance but also by functionality, circulation, and even the scent we associate with warmth, beauty, and love. Marina, being a mom of two beautiful children combined with her exquisite sense of composition, translates those emotions into a creation of stunning, eclectic, and unique elements. She still remembers the first time a client reached out to her asking to design their home: “Until that moment, interior design and decorating was just my biggest passion that I loved doing. It was my hobby because I wasn’t making any money off that yet. So, I was just doing it to express my own style, my feelings, my emotions. And then there was the moment when somebody actually reached out to me and said, ‘Oh, my God, I love your style, can you please design a home for me?’ It felt right, and I did the project. I was so in love with the whole process. And once I got that feedback of recognition, it became my career, my income, and my source of living. From there, I took to the next level.”

Our perception of success expands to a fuller expression. At that moment, this first project was a success and a pivotal moment for Marina to attract the perfect client. Now that she has designed many homes, she shares her sense of style through her social media, aiming to inspire and contribute to the beauty of life with others.

“For me, it is all about giving back to the community, your clients and audience, brands that you work with, and every single person who is around you in every aspect and area. And I’m all about collaborating, empowering, inspiring, supporting each other, growing together, and sharing success. I want to give back—it’s always nicer to share all your success with someone. I surround myself with people who want to share the joy of climbing those mountains together,” says Marina.

We all can sense this life force flowing through us, this energy that creates worlds and wants to express itself through our focus, through our attention, through our physicality. Marina’s connection to her design projects is astonishing—it allows her to feel a profound sense of composition beyond the physical elements. She designs emotions.

Marina emotionally says, “I’m already feeling honored when people reach out to me to design their home. They trust me to be part of their home. I’m feeling so blessed and grateful that I am becoming part of their homes, even after the project is completed.”

As far as the design process goes, she shares, “Key point for me is to look outside of the box. Whenever I walk to space, I just get so excited. And when I design, I do it as my own home. I aim to translate the emotions into a physical space. Although it’s extremely important, of course, to have a profitable business and stable income, enjoying the process is the most important to me, and the money part comes as the result of that feeling of joy. I style spaces that look very luxurious. But a luxury to me is not about a price tag; it’s about the overall composition of unique pieces that represent that which I see in my vision as an emotional experience.”

For a year, the entire world is focused on a topic that brought us a different perspective and new values. One’s most important relationship is with us, as you can give to others that which you have. And Marina looks with appreciation and reflects on it, saying, “Life can change and turn 360 degrees so quickly. Now, we all know that it can change overnight. It’s so important to keep investing in putting out genuine positive energy and celebrating your achievements and wins. And the most important thing is that we have to celebrate it by not proving to others that we can do it, but by celebrating ourselves, cherishing ourselves, and applauding ourselves for our wins.”

Marina also adds, “What I learned over the last year, and what I’m taking with me is to focus on the love within—the self-love. The reason is that I realized we could blame everybody, everything around and be miserable, or we tune in to the love within, and then we don’t need anybody to depend on or make us happy; it’s unconditional. And the best part is that you give that love to others.”

Like Marina, we all make our own choices, and we all choose what we want to see, which, like she also does through her design projects, we design our own emotions.

Connect with Marina and her beautiful designs and emotions.