Kristie Ramirez lives and breathes good taste. She works as a columnist for Texas Monthly, a freelancer for FD Luxe and teaches a fashion journalism class at SMU. She also has a blog called Texas Style and Substance. Ramirez and husband Tom Hoitsma, executive producer of Texas Music Scene, have two kids, Cruz and Pilar.

Her eclectic 1950s ranch-style abode — which welcomes guests with white-washed brick, paddle cactus plants and large stone slabs that serve as a walkway — gives just a hint of Ramirez's effortlessly chic style. That and her "uniform" — a tee, pants and a blazer with heels— which seems anything but ordinary on her svelte frame.

But her favorite room in the whole house? "My office — where I spend a whole lot of time," she says.

The most unexpected part about the small and light space is that it's filled with surprisingly inexpensive items — like the homemade curtains, sheepskin Ikea rug and the Derek Lam skateboards from Neiman Marcus + Target that hang behind her desk. Only Ramirez would think to use them as art.

"I just liked the graphic nature of them," she says.

Aside from the Moleskine notebooks and 10-year old lattice-design desk, Ramirez has incorporated many cherished, sentimental pieces into the space. Next to her bouquet of hydrangeas, she keeps her favorite photograph by Laura Wilson (with a personal note written on the back).

She points to an open card — covered in notes and signatures — on the side table behind her desk. "This is from my SMU students," she says. "It's cool because that was a year ago — and half of them now have amazing jobs."

In the corner of the room, Ikea fur drapes a metal chair and frames a bright pink catalog from photographer David LaChapelle, which came with a piece of art. Underneath rests a square basket of Texas Monthly magazines; beside it is a homemade painting of her favorite cat, Chicken, who passed away a few years back.

Beneath a clear table from CB2 are two baskets topped with Hoitsma's favorite coffee table books, including The Beatles Anthology and Manolo Blahnik. On the table, under an Aztec-y mirror, there's an assortment of blue dogs from Avant Garden and Pearl River in New York City — and more books. "My friend, Jackie Bolin, bought the Lacroix book for me on one of her trips to Paris," she says.

A flower-shaped bowl, which friend Niven Morgan gave her, rests on the Lacroix. It's filled with Chanel pins.

"Did you get that press release about a year ago with all of these Coco Chanel pins?" she asks.

Um, no. Even if we did, we doubt that we would have figured out such an inspired way to display them.