Dru Adams is a force of nature! She greets me at the door, introduces herself, steps back so I can come in, and starts talking. "I'm not into the social thing, and I don't get The Voice/ she says by way of introduction. A whirlwind of energy, she takes me into her kitchen that's open to a room with a very long farm table and 12 black Windsor chairs. That room is open to the TV/family room. It's all very Ralph Lauren: very cozy, very rustic, very casual. I sit at the end of the enormous table that she had custom-made. Meanwhile, she makes us coffee.

The table is a dead give away. Nobody has a table like this who doesn't love their family and want to spend time with them. The table says everything about Dru. It's chic yet rustic, it's homey, and she can cook while her family visits with her. It's so her! Even better is the view. The table looks out onto a patio that she and her husband, Wesley, laid the stones for, surrounded by her gardens and a beautiful lawn for the children to play on.

Dru doesn't miss a beat... she is animated, funny, and full of fire. I ask about the 13 things that inspire her, but she starts with her dislikes, "I hate trendy things. It's all the wow! right now. I don't like that." She also isn't fond of anything Victorian or Baroque. As we start going over her list of 13 things, I look around and see that each item she mentions is displayed in her house. So, suffice it to say, if it's in her house she loves it, and she put it there for a reason.

As for her family: Morgan, 16, Carson Ann, 14, Price, 12, her husband of 19 years, Wesley, and her rescue animals: three dogs and three cats. She is passionate about them and loves spending time at home. Her house is a working house. It's all there to support her family and the varying cast of animals. Dru loves to cook, so when she remodeled the house (which is her childhood home) she designed an open kitchen/dining room.

This is the kind of house that has a lot going on and if the action isn't coming from the kids, cats, or dogs, then it's from Dru. Although I didn't meet Wesley, she says he is "my voice of reason, the calm in my storm." Dru admittedly says she can get a little hysterical and he "talks me off the ledge."

Being quite capable with a big personality, Dru approaches both her business and family with a direct, humorous demeanor. While I ask her questions, she directs Melissa, the photographer, "Make me look like Heidi Klum. I saw her doing a thing on TV about children with cancer. She's a good girl."

Dru has a definite style. I ask about the lamps scattered around the room. She takes old iron farm equipment parts and has them wired to make a lamp and puts a cool shade on it. Voila! Fabulous. Just like her, the lamps are strong, sturdy, with a quirky edge.

As we sit for awhile in the TV room Dru says, "I love to go to the beach." Not surprisingly, she follows this with, "I hate Destin! I hate the trendy places. Every corner is a Kmart. I don't want to go to Michael's when I'm on vacation! I like being out in the boondocks." So, her choice for a beach vacation is outside Beaufort, South Carolina. "It's where they filmed The Big Chill. I love South Carolina. It's so beautiful."

As we continue wandering from room to room, looking at all the wonderful designs, fabrics, paintings, lamps, and accessories, I am enjoying her great sense of humor and hysterical stories about her children and husband. One of the last things I comment on are the great black and white charcoal drawings of her children that her best friend gave her for a birthday/Christmas gift. "Aren't they great! If I see one more oil painting of someone's child in a smocked dress I am going to throw up!"

So, there you have it, Dru in a nutshell. No need to ask, "Tell me how you really feel."