In a new interview exclusive to REAL SIMPLE, Drew Barrymore is even more relatable than I already knew she was.

She jokes about her closet-less home, owns the cracks in her bookshelves (something that would otherwise make an avid reader like me run), and she reminds us that design doesn’t have to be perfect to feel beautiful.

As someone who is constantly bombarded both at work and on social media by homes that are perfectly styled and professionally staged, I often find myself exhausted by it all—too many interiors that feel perfectly curated for Pinterest, but not for regular people with smaller bandwidths and budgets.

Barrymore’s take on design and creating real spaces struck a chord with me, especially since she has used her design chops to contribute to 2025’s REAL SIMPLE Home.

Cracks in the Bookshelves, Clutter in the Closets—And Embracing Flaws

There’s something strangely comforting about the fact that Drew Barrymore—a woman known for selling out her home goods collection at Walmart—openly shares that her home is far from flawless, but that’s just part of her charm. She’s not performing for social media or trying to present a perfectly curated space to a client; she’s just being herself in her own space.

“My bookshelves have cracks in them because they’re separating from the wall,” she told REAL SIMPLE. “My kids’ closet is a sh*t show. It’s not even technically a closet.”

I think this is something many people can relate to—especially renters, who sometimes have to sacrifice closet space for more open space.

According to Barrymore, her friends even tease her about buying homes “with no closets”—but instead of treating it like it’s solely a design flaw, Barrymore sees it more as a quirky detail adding more charm to her space.

It’s a refreshing contrast from the “everything needs a place” aesthetic that dominates so many interiors today. It’s especially realistic for a home with kids—sometimes things can’t be as aesthetically pleasing as we want, and that’s okay.

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A Feel-Good Space (But Just a Little Messy)

Barrymore’s contribution to this year’s REAL SIMPLE Home was a “feel-good” room—her take on a wellness space—and it wasn’t about just the clean lines and blank walls we’re used to seeing in places that are meant to be “peaceful.”

For a wellness space meant to have a spa-like feel, it’s easy to embrace a trendier, minimalist approach. Instead, Barrymore went for what she’s described as an “enveloping, calming, and soothing” space with cozy elements like a striped couch, warm colors, and personalized touches throughout.

“I had to decide what wellness means to me,” Barrymore told REAL SIMPLE. “It means remembering to even put yourself in the mix, let alone first.”

From the photos alone, it’s a place that truly invites you to just sit down, turn your brain off, and just be—even if that means leaving your shoes scattered haphazardly at the door.

The Joy of Making It Up As You Go

When asked to define her design style, Barrymore isn’t ashamed to admit that she’s given minimalism a try, and it wasn’t for her.

“I did try minimalism for a minute,” she said. “But when I tried to take things out, I couldn’t see my life around me anymore.”

Instead, she strays away from using your run-of-the-mill buzzwords to describe her style, opting for her own term that feels right to her.

“People will call me bohemian or eclectic,” she said. “I’ll go with ‘downtown rustic’. I like the feeling of city and country.”

Even her home appliance line was born from making it up as she went along, focusing on what she couldn’t find on the market and working from there.

“If I imagine something and I can’t find it, I want to make it,” she said. “That really lights my fire. And then once the fire starts, it’s hard to extinguish.”

For her Beautiful home appliance collection at Walmart, Barrymore wanted to create high-level tech “but with more color and happiness added to it”—something that’s often not a priority in the design process.

For those of us wanting beautiful spaces while juggling real-life messes and limited square footage, Barrymore’s approach doesn’t just resonate—it reassures.

Hey guys I’m not sure if you realize this or not but Flower Beauty has been around for 13 years. Why does it feel it launched yesterday? Yup, in 2013 Drew Barrymore officially launched Flower Beauty at Walmart and for a while the brand was exclusively available at the evil empire and later branched out to other stores like Ulta and even CVS. One of the biggest drops from the line that we all went crazy over were the Flower Beauty Flower Pot Blushes. This was a time when packaging was everything in my makeup life and I think a lot of you felt the same. I’m actually trying to remember of Flower Beauty introduced their blushes first or was it Milani who dropped Rose Powder Blush first! Remember they looked identical to each other!

But yeah, here we are 13 years later….! Drew has moved on to other things at good old Wally World. She has appliances, home furnishings, and more under the Beautiful logo. Yeah, I brought the toaster judge me if you must. Why am I telling you this? Because Flower Beauty is 50% off at ulta.com as well as at CVS and other drugstores. Hmmm…! I’m a little concerned Flower Beauty is being discontinued so I’ll be stocking up on Plump Up Gloss Stick just in case! You can even use promo code MEMBERSONLY for an extra 20% off.

With brands going down like the Titanic it’s not too farfetched an idea that maybe Flower Beauty is going out of business. Or maybe they are just prepping for rebranding? Which do you think it is? Drew is really pushing the home collection lately and that collection gets new seasonal additions constantly but it’s been a while since we saw anything new from Flower Beauty.

Let’s hope I’m wrong and that Flower Beauty is just preparing for a rebranding! What do you think?

Where to buy

Ulta

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