How To Decorate

We kick off this week talking about some possums and raccoons, flower power, and getting our storage until control. Then, we are joined with fabulous previous guest and design expert, speaker, consultant, and former editor of House Beautiful, Sophie Donelson. Sophie talks with us about her latest essay in the New York Times about why we don’t need our house to be perfect for Instagram, recommendations for picking out a paint color, and what life is like for Sophie in Montreal during this stay at home time. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: Trials and triumphs about good ole neighbor Jim and his possums, labeling and storage containers, cottage cheese, and sentimental yard maintenance. More about the English and French decorating in Montreal, and the amazing views Sophie sees in her community. What are homes can do for us, and how we can have a loving and less combative conversation between ourselves and our homes. What lead Sophie and her husband to Montreal, and the pros and cons of living in a big city.

We kick off this week with some Trials and Triumphs about architects, puzzles, and house plans. Then, our beloved partner and award-winning interior designer Suzanne Kasler joins the show. Suzanne updates us on how she is personally dealing with way more time at home than usual, and the cool products and pieces we can expect from her new line with Ballard in terms of colors, textures, and accessories. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: Some trials and triumphs on a new architecture endeavor, fancy house plans, puzzles, hoses, and a cool wardrobe idea for men. Suzanne collects what she likes as she travels and visits new places. We can pull our design from what inspires us and makes us feel the most connected to our home instead of having strict boundaries or rules. Suzanne explains why people are gravitating towards woven texture, and how to incorporate woven texture with other patterns and textiles in an elevated and timeless way. Our new summer collection with Suzanne features the classic and tried and t

Designer Barrie Benson joins the show to talk about how she creates spaces that are both super sophisticated and also lively and fun. She talks with us about how to start an art collection, why she thinks more Southern homes are embracing contemporary styles, and how to update that traditional chair with a modern fabric. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: How Barrie mixes fun and colorful with sophisticated and well thought out design. Why it’s important to really know your taste when working with a designer, and it’s okay to embrace if your taste is different or eclectic! Ways we can reinvent old family heirlooms or furniture and how just a fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference. It’s great to call a friend (or designer of course) to get a perspective and outside look at what you have going on in terms of your design. Barrie has seen more Southerners mixing traditional and stately with new and lively lately. Ways you can get involved in your local art community and get to really know your taste

This week, Chicago designer Alexandra Kaehler chats with us about editing, when to know a room is finished, and how to make a meaningful antique feel chic. Alexandra also talks about her love of sourcing art, and how we can use art and wallpaper together in a way that works with the scale and intention of a room. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: Trials and triumphs including the obvious of working at home with young children, painting projects, outdoor lighting, and some moss-some yardwork. Alexandra talks about her own home being featured in Luxe Magazine, and how she went into it knowing that she had to take on her own space with the same detail oriented nature in which she works with her clients. Ways in which we can use traditional pieces mixed with the modern and chic to create a beautifully edited space. How Alexandra knows when the space she is working on is ready to be done, and why we can always go in and add more or change things around as time goes on. Alexandra sees less edited collections w

We’ve been waiting to get her on for a while, and this week we sit down with Skye Kirby Westcott, Ballard’s Senior VP of Merchandising and Design. She talks with us about her impressive tenure in design industry and how she seamlessly blends different styles. Skye also shares where she finds inspiration for new products and what trends she is excited to see come (and go) in the future and at Ballard. What You’ll Hear On This Episode Skye is responsible for much of the vision of Ballard, and she pulls her inspiration from many things including her travels around the world. She has an extensive background in design and merchandising and a love of interior design. Yes, it is possible to blend the eclectic and colorful with the modern and contemporary. Skye talks about the different styles within her homes in Atlanta, Connecticut, and even her “tree house” in LA. Skye’s time as an exchange student in Sweden introduced her to how the culture took time and thought to decorate their home, and she soon fell in lo

Virginia and Jessica, who own the boutique design firm Toledo Geller, join the show this week. This design duo who were just named House Beautiful’s “New Wave Designers” talk about the interesting way they met, how their styles compliment one another, and a home should be designed to fit your lifestyle. What You’ll Hear On This Episode The intention behind the way they design spaces Yes, it is possible to meet your next business partner on Craigslist. Virginia and Jessica are perfect examples. How their different styles compliment each other Each of their signature design go-to’s when working on a project Why both women believe we can work around anything, and examples of how they found solutions in challenging times. Projects where they worked holistically and made sure the decor was perfectly trimmed and tailored to the space. Ways that we can work with the architecture and blueprint of the home to decorate it in a way that really brings out how it was meant to be presented. Why we shouldn’t be scar

Luxury home organizing expert Clara Schoen joins the show, to talk about what it takes to be a professional organizing expert, and gives her advice on how we can best use this time to get our home tidy and streamlined. Clara also talks about how we can get our family excited and onboard for organizing, how to get through the sentimental part of throwing things away, and what products she finds the most helpful as an organization investment. What You’ll Hear On This Episode How one gets into the organizing space in the first place, and how it’s different than organizing for yourself. Why labeling things really does help you save time, and how to get your family onboard (and maybe even excited?!) about labeling. What organization products Clara feels is worth the investment, and where we can save money. Clara’s advice on organizing things that can create clutter such as junk drawer items, extra pens, and chords. Organizing can be an emotional or sentimental practice, so how to feel better about ditching th

We are back with a bonus episode, filling you in on exactly what we’ve been up to at home, and sharing our successes and challenges during this time. Whether it’s family cocktail hour or more time with the family, we are definitely finding a silver lining in this time. We also share what we’ve been ordering online, how to decorate using things already inside your home, and which of us is wearing high heels with our athleisure. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: The ways we are passing the time - planting flowers, creating yummy meals, online shopping, tackling long term projects, and a lot of home decorating! How we are all keeping our sanity by creating a functional home office and sacred space to have some alone time in. Even just cleaning a nook once a day will give you a good sense of control and accomplishment. What parts of our home we are just upgrading, and which ones we are completely reorganizing. How we are staying sane with our partners and family being around 24/7. Cute ways to make arrange

Interior Designer Rachel Cannon is a self described Loudmouth Introvert, hence why this is the title of her new podcast. She returns to the show to discuss exactly what a loudmouth introvert is, the importance of having a quiet room or space in the house, and why introverts need a space like this for their rest and rejuvenation. Rachel gives some tips on setting up a quiet space and how we can begin right away with our schedules now being pointed more towards home. What You’ll Hear On This Episode What a “Loudmouth Introvert” means to Rachel, and why our assumptions about introvert and extrovert aren’t always right. How the Loudmouth Introvert podcast was born, and the epiphany she had that the more she designed her show for introverts like herself, the more traction the episodes got. The importance of introverts being able to have a quiet room and space to recharge themselves and take care of their mental health. There are no design rules when it comes to a quiet room, just a separate space that is sooth

While we are inside and schools are closed for the time being, we thought an episode on homeschooling could be helpful. This week, we welcome Erika Ward, owner of Erika Ward Interiors, based in Atlanta, Georgia. As a mother of 5 who homeschooled her children through their education, this supermom has great advice for us on how to create a space that welcomes both fun and learning, what sort of things we can do to transform our home into a homeschooling space, and ways we can keep our home beautiful with our kids running around full time inside of them. What You’ll Hear On this Episode Why Erika decided to homeschool her kids, and how it helped her raise them in a way that was aligned with her values. How to schedule better so that you allow for learning, play, and fun. Ways to create spaces so that kids don’t feel trapped, but they also don’t feel too comfortable. How Erika transformed her home using tables and chairs to set exact spaces for learning, but also provided an area for her kids to get up, move

The planning and event duo Laura Maddox and Sara Parker, who started and run Magnolia Celebrates, join the show to talk about their vast experience in events. Laura and Sara share how event planning mixes with design, the home decor they are seeing used in events, and all you need to know about registries. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Laura and Sara’s combined experience of working both as an Executive Assistant to a CEO and planning over 2,000 events. How we can plan smaller events such as a baby shower and have it be just as beautiful and memorable as a huge one. How to curate a theme and weave in personalized decor and keep it elegant instead of cheesy. What things we can think about to combine both beautiful decor and a comfortable guest experience. If there is an alternative to flowers, and what other home decor items Laura and Sara see currently at events. Registries — what you should pick and how, what you shouldn’t pick, and how we all feel about going off the registry to purchase your gift

We’ve had so many of your wonderful Decorating Dilemma’s come in that we wanted to do a special episode focused just on them. To join us, we welcome Tanya from the Designs Solutions team to answer your questions including topics on how to emphasize existing cool architecture, what the cantaloupe rule is and why you may want to follow it, what paint colors Tanya recommends for certain looks, and her advice on how to decorate for young active kids when you know they will want a fresh start in a short time. Decorating Dilemma: We think a huge full bodied floor mirror would look great on the wall, and you can even get the kind that has a shelf down the middle for extra display options for a tiny entry such as this one. For inspiration, check out our Hollen Entryway Mirror. Add some bright pieces of art. A demi-lune can also be a great solution in a tight space, so you can display items but not have the corners clipping your hips as you walk by. You can add 3 or 4 sconces, and grouping of long pendants with light

Lauren Lowe of Lauren Elaine Interiors in Atlanta joins the show to talk about her unique perspective from moving from the world of commercial design to residential. Lauren discusses her style which highlights the classic and adds a timeless Southern twist. She also talks with us about her new home, rules of thumb for creating seating a room with a limited layout, and her use of both masculine and feminine textiles. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: More about Lauren’s new home including a sneak peek of some of her personal favorite choices for decor. Why she sold an open concept home for a major fixer upper that was half the square footage. What didn’t make the cut including gaudy and the quirky, and how we can know what looks good as old and antique, and what we may want to part with. What she liked about the house structurally, and what things she changed. How the right paint color can make a big difference, and why you want to pay attention to painting the crown, door and ceiling. What the learning

Design duo Lathem Gordon and Cate Dunning from GordonDunning join the show this week to talk about their Atlanta based boutique interior design firm. GordonDunning was recently named House Beautiful’s Next Wave Designers, and we totally understand why. Lathem and Cate works with their clients to honor the story of the house, and this team has a knack for creating beauty in working both with the new and old. Lathem and Cate also chat with us about not worrying if you’ll get tired of a decision, how to use sectionals properly, and why things need to actually be comfortable instead of just looking that way. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Lathem and Cate are very simpatico, but they do share what they disagree on including lights, and toilet paper display! What each of their go to’s are in terms of design and decor, and the inspiration behind them. What it was like to be named as House Beautiful’s Next Wave Designers. What things we should be hanging on to for antique purposes, and what relics we may be be

Scott Shepherd has worked in the floral industry for 27 years, and as the host of the very popular podcast The Flower Podcast, he is the go to guy on all things floral. He shares his expertise to talk with us about how we can tell if a flower is fresh, what goes behind the cost of flowers, how we can utilize our local farmer’s markets, and tricks and tips to keep our flowers fresher and more beautiful for even longer! What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Trials and triumphs on a romantic rosemary hedge, Ninja air fryers and crispers, important dermatologist news, growing plants from seeds, and some drapery workarounds. More about Scott’s podcast The Flower Podcast, and some of the super cool takeaways he has from interviewing people all over the world in the flower industry. How social media has affected the flower industry, and what we now expect from our florals. What it’s really like to work in a flower shop when you have high volume clients mixed with individual personalized orders. How Scott and his te

This week, we switched it up to take a deep dive into lighting with Ballard lighting experts Valerie and Roger. They answer all our lighting questions including, how many light sources we actually need, the rules for wattage and color that can help us get the best brightness and not waste money, and why light fixtures are like the jewelry of a home. They also give their personal picks for the type of lighting that works best in a space, share rules for using shades and finding the right lamp height, and common mistakes we make that can make a huge difference in creating a simple yet beautiful mood in a room. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Valerie handles the “pretty” part of lighting at Ballard, and Roger hands the technical. How Valerie and Roger work together to make things both as functional and aesthetically pleasing as possible, and what a day in their work life looks like. How we know if a room is under lit, and if there is a thing as too much lighting in a room. The rules of thumb for hanging li

Design blogger Kevin O’Gara joins the show this week to discuss the inspiration and background behind his traditional yet youthful style. Kevin is a rising superstar in the world of design, and talks about his blog Thou Swell, the inspiration behind his new maze inspired rug collection, and what trends he is most excited. Kevin also talks with us about using contrast and color in both traditional and modern, how he took his design skill to his very own dorm room, and what it was like working with Suzanne Kasler. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Trials and triumphs including water leaks (yes, a new one!), garbage disposals, and why you should leave it to the professionals to do the fixing. Also, a search for the perfect lamp, the Margot Slubby Velvet Quilt, and finding the right box that is both beautiful and functional. Kevin has always found ways to turn things he is interested in into a business or entrepreneurial venture. He started his blog, Thou Swell, in high school, and mixed his interest in design,

Carson Kressley and Thom Filicia, Emmy winning style makers, designers, and stars of the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy join the show this week. These super fun and successful men answer some of our burning questions including who their design idols are, what has been the bargain of a lifetime, and the last time they got starstruck. Thom and Carson both give an update on what’s next for them professionally, and we chat about design and lifestyle at any budget! What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Trials and triumphs about Staghorn ferns, old doors, a tricky IKEA bookcase and some heavy duty man cave organization Thom Filicia Inc. is one of today’s most influential and respected interior design firms. Hear more about their projects including residential, hospitality, and commercial Carson’s upcoming appearances on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Couched on The Design Network How we can let our interior design reflect our authentic story, and create a home that feels both personal and chic Thom and Carson’s

Athens based designer Jade Joyner joins the show this week to talk about Metal + Petal, the full service interior design firm that she and her husband own and operate. We hear the inspiration behind Jade’s use of bold yet tasteful patterns and textures, and why she believes sometimes less is more. Jade also gives her advice on where to splurge and where to save, why she loves a good console table, and designing living rooms and kitchens for big families. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Where Jade developed an eye for the bold and sculptural pieces we see on her blog and social media Jade’s use of unique silhouettes to create interest in a room Jade’s work with the Alpha Phi sorority to renovate a historic home into a residence for the group of young women Why Jade suggests carrying some aspect of a room’s color all throughout the house, whether it is in an accent piece, paint color, or accessory Don’t be afraid to edit. Jade reminds us that often, less is more. Some of Jade’s tips for using custom tab

This week, Brian Patrick Flynn joins us to talk about his career path as a TV producer turned designer, now working on HGTV Dream Home and Urban Oasis. Brian combines his talents as a producer, writer, personality, and designer to create content, change lives, and bring a “it’s okay to not be perfect” vibe to design. Brian also talks with us about the TBS hit series Movie & a Makeover, his Icelandic getaway home, his own production company, Flynnside Out Productions, and his bucket list wedding in Antarctica. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Brian’s first dream may have been to be an Art Director on MTV’s The Real World, but life had even bigger and better plans. More about how Brian worked his way to HGTV Dream Home and Urban Oasis. Brian’s Instagram is one of our favorites because of his beautiful production quality and storytelling on the photos and stories. Brian shares the amazing story of getting married in Antarctica, including seals, glaciers, and almost an avalanche. How Brian fell in love with