Inspiring Conversations with Géraldine Morin Johnson of White November Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Géraldine Morin Johnson.

Hi Géraldine, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Bonjour, I’m Géraldine Morin Johnson, a wife, a mom, an interior designer ( White November Studio).
I was born and raised in Nantes, France, but I’ve been living in the U.S. for the past 28 years.
I grew up on the west coast of France, in the Loire Valley, and moved to Marietta, Georgia when I was 21. The plan was to stay for a year, improve my English, and travel the world. I didn’t expect my life to take such a turn when I met Jeremy ( my husband for the past 27 years. we have a son Téo).

Fast forward to today: I’m a French girl living in the U.S., designing homes.

Growing up, I moved about 12 times before I left France, but always within 20 miles of Nantes. It wasn’t a nomadic life, but each home was a fresh canvas. My parents redecorated everything, paint, floors, kitchens, window treatment, you name it, they did it. They made every space feel like ours. My sisters and I always had rooms tailored to us, our opinions mattered, and our spaces reflected that. We created a peaceful, nurturing environment for our family.

That mindset came from my grandmother. After WWII, she would travel to Paris to select wallpapers, fabrics, and furniture for her home. Her interiors were always planned, modern, and harmonious.
I didn’t realize until much later how deeply those experiences shaped me. Designing came naturally, it had always been my normal. But it wasn’t until close friends asked me to help with their spaces that I understood: not everyone sees rooms the way I do.
That’s when everything clicked. I loved every second of helping them. I had always devoured magazines and wandered through design shops, but I never imagined it could become a career. So, I enrolled in a certification program to ground my instincts in professional knowledge and I knew immediately I was in the right place. Space, scale, color, it was familiar.

And that’s how it all began: I followed my heart to a boy… and then to a career I didn’t know existed, but had always been a part of me.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a French native living in the U.S. before the 2000s (no Internet) it was, at times, incredibly lonely. I didn’t have a community of fellow expats around me, and I often felt out of place. I was (and still am) different, raised in another culture, shaped by a different way of thinking.
For years, I struggled to fit in, trying to blend in when I never truly could.

Eventually, I stopped fighting it. I began to embrace the difference, to lean into it, and discovered the beauty in living between two worlds.
From the U.S., I’ve adopted a mindset of boldness, resilience, and always moving forward. From France, I’ve kept our cherished art de vivre, that effortless “je ne sais quoi” that brings beauty, meaning, and warmth to everyday life.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
White November Studio is my interior architecture and design practice, it’s a reflection of who I am and how I see the world. I was born and raised in France, and I’ve lived in the U.S. for many years now, so my work naturally bridges these two cultures. What I do is really about creating homes that feel luxurious in a quiet, effortless way, homes that are both deeply personal and highly functional.
I like to say that I bring a sense of modern savoir faire to every project. That means an intuitive understanding of space, proportion, and beauty that comes from my upbringing, watching my grandmother travel to Paris to select the perfect wallpaper, or seeing my parents transform each home we lived in, no matter how temporary, into something thoughtful and inviting.
At its core, my work is about transformation. I help people fall in love with their homes by reimagining them in a way that feels aligned with their lives. I care about the materials we use, the way a room flows, and how it supports daily routines without sacrificing beauty.
White November Studio is a space where French design sensibility, the art de vivre, that sense of ease and refinement is translated into the American context. My clients often come to me because they want their homes to feel elevated, but still livable. They want a space that feels like them, just a little more grounded, more elegant, more intentional.
I design homes that feel like a true reflection of the people who live in them, with a blend of warmth, function, and quiet luxury that comes from both sides of the Atlantic.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Following my heart was a real risk. Leaving my country, starting over in a new culture, facing immigration challenges, living far from my family, it wasn’t easy but I did it anyway and I’m grateful I did.

I believe that every choice we make in life carries risk., even the small ones. Choosing one path means letting go of another and that can feel unsettling, especially for someone like me, who finds comfort in certainty but I’ve learned that risk is part of growth. There’s no way around it.
What matters is understanding that while risk is unavoidable, we’re never without power. We get to decide, we make the choice. If it doesn’t work out, we can shift, adjust, even start again. Some choices ask us to be patient and stay the course. Others ask us to be brave enough to change direction.

In the end, it’s not about getting it perfect, it’s about learning, evolving and owning the path you’re on. That’s where the real strength is.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whitenovemberstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitenovemberstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitenovemberstudio
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/white-november-studio-i-geraldine-morin-johnson-28353125/

Image Credits
Pictures of Interiors by Marc Mauldin – Marc Mauldin Photography, Inc
Portait by My Phuong Tran