Dear Alice | Interior Design

Today we want to talk about how we like to make our homes feel cozy during these winter months and our favorite layers we like to use to make our homes feel warm and inviting. There are so many warm and welcoming colors to add to your porch, such as pumpkins and velvety plants to match the season. This is the time of year you’re going to get a lot of guests and visitors, so filling up your porch w...

We all have a space that we want to feel roomier. These are some tricks of the trade to create the illusion of a larger space. Everybody’s had a small space before. That starter home or rented space, a dorm room, first apartment, so we have a lot of space expanding tips we want to get into today. Sue tells about what she has done with color in her own home to make the room feel larger by treating...

This is something that seems so normal in our lives as we are constantly interviewing our clientele to learn about the way the rhythm of their life goes and then design after that rhythm. We’ve had a client who had their kitchen done and everything was designed and organized according to how she operates in her kitchen, not only making everything look really nice, but it was all very neat and conv...

In this episode we have the pleasure of speaking with home organization guru, Sabrina Gardner, who just started a company called Salt, a customer organization company that specializes in customer acrylic drawer organizers. Sabrina has a five step process to really help people narrow down how to get started. Step 1: Go into your space and assess the space. Step 2: Assign a purpose to every drawer o...

Today we have Rami Mekdachi, who is the founder of Lola James Harper, our favorite scent line here at Alice Lane. We’ve been air-freighting these scents out here to sell them for the last 3 years so we can get the best fragrances to our clients. We talk about what inspires the scents Rami makes and how he is able to create custom aromas for people based on where they reside or where they have plan...

We’ve already done an episode on drapery, but we felt like since we’ve had so many more questions on drapery recently we would go into more detail on this subject. There are different places to use different patterns and tones of saturation. We do a lot of the light linen when you’re trying to create a softness and draw less attention to those windows, kind of like nice background music. Every tim...

We are talking about one of Sue’s favorite topics today: How to add charm to your home. Lighting often is something that everyone can improve even if you’ve been in your home for a while. Boob lights are a great way to fill your room with light, but aren’t the most charming piece of lighting. We love sconces and Sue suggests just taking the cover off the ugly lights as this can look better than wh...

Today we wanted to introduce our Home Furnishing Design Team, which we developed specifically for those people that live in a home and just need furniture. Often we will present the client with about 2 options and they’ll ask why we’re only presenting two, but we go through a whole process of looking at multiple options, and then narrowing them down until we have 2 that are curated for their uniqu...

Last year in May we had a fun episode where we answered a lot of questions from our listeners, which seemed to gain a lot of interest, so we wanted to do the same thing today. We talk about our dress styles, Jess’s preference being something without a repeating pattern, whereas Sue prefers the pattern, like walking art. We talk about finding our divine callings in interior design and how we got to...

Today we wanted to talk about a home we dedicated to tiger oak that was in the Parade of Homes in Utah and won many awards for its beauty. We discuss the various designs and choices we went with for our client, which you can see in our portfolio on our website linked below. We chose the paint color and style before choosing the furniture or finishing, which helped guide us in deciding on how to ap...

Another request was given to us to talk about wallpaper, which is one of our favorite topics right now and we haven’t focused on in the podcast yet, so today we want to discuss this fun topic. There are various different types of wallpaper, such as murals, which can evoke a unique scene in each room and give your space a greater sense of adventure or specific emotion you want brought out, and then...

We’ve had a request from you guys to talk about libraries, so that’s what we wanted to go over today. Libraries have been quite the necessity during 2020 and 2021, and they can be a great place that provide space for study or alone time where you can go to ponder and think. You want to make your library reflect you and your family, so whatever it is you do or love, that’s how we’ll decide to space...

Today we are on site at the fabulous library of Rachel Parcell, one of our favorite clients who is a blogger, influencer, business owner, and inspiring woman to over a million followers on Instagram. She tells us how she got into interior design, starting in high school when she needed to fill her schedule with some extra classes. That’s when she realized her passion for design and she began pursu...

We had a recent question from one of our listeners asking if we could do an episode dedicated to putting up artwork in your home, so today that’s what we will be talking about. When trying to figure out how to decorate your home, first think of what kind of art you like, and then we recommend using Pinterest where you can create your own compilation of artworks that you like. We discuss some of th...

Today we are talking about a highly visual topic, so you’re going to need to tap into your visual mind to really understand this one. If you share your life with somebody, you most likely have different tastes, so we want to talk about how you can style with clashing tastes. We suggest creating a North Star, or a spot where you can both compile visuals of what you want in your home so that you can...

We’ve received a question from one of our listeners asking, “We want to know how to decorate a rental.” and we realize a lot of you might be in that same situation and want to know how you can make your rental feel beautiful and homey. We talk about how you can hang art in your rental and the best way to go about that using art hangers, and the brand we recommend is OOK. Being in a rental is also...

In this episode we are going to talk about if you are a person that’s going to do better if you buy a home, build your own home, remodel an existing home, or hire a designer to help you. Remodels are perfect if you want something with history and are okay with redoing things, which can turn out more expensive, but at the same time more rewarding. Doing a new build is recommended for anyone who wan...

Today we’re talking about accent pieces, which is the stuff you put in your house that contradicts the ordinary. These are the things that none of your friends would buy, the stuff that tells your story, and it can be placed throughout the whole house but really tells who you are. We like to see feet on our pieces, such as hooves on chairs because it just adds character. You can put a rug on your...

In this episode we’re going to be talking about staircases, a designer’s guide to staircases, decorative railings, and runners. The Newel Post isn’t as important as getting a balustrade for your railing, and then when it comes to metal, we want a natural feel with a natural forge to it. With stair runs, if you have a straight run, a stair rod is something great to use to make things look more expe...

Today we are going to give you a refresher on what we are loving for countertops right now and kind of break down all of the different types and price points for various usages. We discuss various different materials you can use for your countertops, including quartzite, which can go really well on bathroom surfaces, and then marble can look great, especially over time as it becomes more worn, as...

In preparation for this episode we got on the phone with our favorite people and we interviewed them to get all of their findings and best practices of what’s hot and what’s not, and kind of what categories of carpet are surprisingly doing so much greater than ever in the history. We talk about where we would put carpet, such as in a bedroom or somewhere you want to be more comfortable, especially...

In this episode we’re gonna be talking about outdoor living spaces. Some people have decks, some have really nice patios and it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a pool, but it’s just a really nice gathering spot. We’re going to focus a lot on the firepit because this can just provide such a great place where everyone can be together next to the warm cosy fire, under the night sky and get...

Today we're talking about using different textures, which is especially interesting in any room where you’re doing furnishings. Something that at times is overused is shiplap which we discuss, as well as using too much of one thing. Many people may not realize that velvet can be dry and so we discuss other textures with dry or wet looks. People used to style their homes with all whites, but now ap...

Today we are answering the request to do a whole episode dedicated to the pool house and pool bath. Now is the time of year when everyone will start setting up their outdoor furniture outside! The pool house can be a great place to go inside and get out of the heat during summer time. Having a dressing room that’s separate from the toilet is perfect for when you simultaneously have people changing...

We are going to be talking about the Spring market trend forecast. We feel that everybody is ready for rejuvenation, to understand what’s new or trending, and where we are going with designs and styles. We tend to stay away from things that are highly trendy, so the things we suggest in this episode will only be somewhat trendy. We talk about switching from an OG edge to a straight edge, and then...