Style Matters

Windy Chien is an artist with several past lives which means she's one of those people you can relate to because her path in life hasn't been a straight line.  She's done many things, tried many things, had ups and downs, all before landing where she is today.  And speaking of straight lines, her medium as an artist has everything to do with lines... and more specifically, with the knots she creat...

I’m really excited to introduce you to a new book written by my guests, Jill Singer and Monica Khemsurov. It’s called "How To Live With Objects," and it’s a compilation of many things: their philosophy and approach to design; a primer that introduces us to history and context around specific objects and schools of design; and an inspirational coffee table book that showcases the homes of people wh...

It is my great privilege to introduce you to my guest today. Newell Turner is a bit of a legend when it comes to design and journalism. He’s responsible for the formation of the entire Hearst magazine editorial division, heading up three big shelter publications: Elle Decor, House Beautiful, and Veranda magazines. He’s just released a gorgeous new book called "Mexican: A Journey Through Design," w...

My guest today is Anjie Cho, designer and author of “Mindful Homes: Create Healing Living Spaces with Mindfulness and Feng Shui.” What makes Anjie and her book so helpful is that she explains the principles of this ancient Chinese approach to creating spaces in a way that we can use in our modern lives and contemporary homes. Even if you’re skeptical about alternative medicine (and Feng Shui is ki...

This is such a delightful episode thanks to my guest, stylist Dee Campling. She’s just come out with a book called “Camper Heaven: Van Life on the Open Road.” And if you’re imagining hippies living in VW buses back in the 70s, you won’t believe how that lifestyle has evolved! Dee shares the many ways and reasons people are creating these homes on wheels, from decked-out ski chalet-style horse trai...

My guest today is Sara Hillery, a designer in Richmond, VA. One of her great talents, in my opinion, is her ability to mix the qualities of elegance, something that’s been a hallmark of southern homes for decades, with a feeling of energy. In other words, she is able to combine youthfulness with wisdom and grace, as well as a maximalist’s penchant for detail with the sensibilities of minimalism. Y...

We’ve had Ki Nassauer on the show before—a couple of times, actually—and that’s because she loves antiquing, thrifting, repurposing, and collecting anything vintage. And if you know me and my Slow Style approach to decorating our homes, you know that I think that every house and every room really needs to have at least one thing that’s from a different era than the one we’re living in. Ki has spen...

My guest today is gallery owner and art advisor Liz Lidgett. She’s just as passionate as I am about getting more people to embrace their inner art collector. And we both think everyone has one of those inside us! But there are so many mental blocks to get over...what should I choose? Where can I find it? How much should I pay for it? How do you even conduct yourself in an art gallery? Liz has some...

What a wonderful conversation you’re about to hear with my guest, Kacie Cope. She’s a designer and now a shop owner in Pittsburgh with an obvious passion for home. And by “home” I mean the creation of experiences, not the walls themselves. We talk about how to afford buying things that are handmade, artisan designed, and well-crafted and how we can shift our thinking to uncover their actual value....

Hilton Carter is a very busy guy, he’s a stylist and matchmaker between plants, people, and their homes and he also owns a plant shop. He is constantly in the media as a plant expert and he’s just written his 4th book in as many years. If you’re new to plant care, go back and look through his other books. But if you’re ready to take your plants to the next level and really think of them as dynamic...

My guest today is Jessica Shaw, The Director of Interiors for the Turrett Collaborative. The firm typically works on high-end architecture and interior projects, but what Jessica has to share, and what she believes, is that creating a space that gives something back to you, in a positive way, can happen on any budget. And that’s because she implements what we’ve learned from neuroscience into how...

My guest today is Jane Pollak, who walks the line between artist and artisan. You know I love to get the story behind pieces of art to help us all understand and appreciate their value. And Jane tells great stories! She’s taken a centuries old craft called Penny Rug Pillows and reimagines them with new colors, patterns, and motifs. In this conversation, we talk a lot about what it’s like to keep r...

My guest today is designer Nikki Klugh, whose approach is centered around the idea of creating sacred spaces. We talk about what that looks like in design terms and why activating all of your senses in your sacred space is so transformative. Since Nikki is a mom of four, I had to ask her some questions related to living with kids while also creating beautiful homes, and she had a lot to share on t...

My guest today is Delyse Berry, co-owner, with her husband, of Upstate Down, a real estate company, interior design and lifestyle company located in the beautiful Hudson Valley north of New York City. The region stretches all along the Hudson River, so depending on how far north you go, you're anywhere from about a hour to two and half hours away from Manhattan. In this episode, we talk about a pa...

I have a lot in common with my guest today, designer Lisa Kahn. She lives and works in Florida, near the town I grew up in, she and I both have kids with intellectual disabilities and We’re in complete alignment in terms of how we think about the connection between our overall well being and the built environment. In other words, how our physical spaces affect our sense of self and happiness. I th...

I had a delightful conversation with my next guest, Lizzie McGraw. We talk about how she started and developed her popular boutique, Tumbleweed & Dandelion, in Venice Beach, California, and then went on to create interiors for many of her repeat clients. She’s recently come out with a beautiful book called "Creative Style," in which she shares her thought process on design, which prompted my i...

When was the last time your table prompted you to think about big life questions? Do you have a candle holder that doesn’t just illuminate with a little flame but demands you become meditative when lit? This is how I think of the furniture designed and made by my two guests today.  Angie West and Alberto Velez have joined forces to create a new furniture company called Refractory, where they bring...

Bertille de Lestrade is an artist and on her Instagram account called Darling Toutim, she primarily shares her sculptural and mixed media pieces.  Her other instagram account is called Cette Maison Bleue, and that's where she showcases her paintings of private interiors... living rooms, bedrooms, etc. and that's why I wanted her to come on the show... to talk about the connection she makes between...

There is a genuine warmth emanating from my guest, Marie Flanagan.  She's a designer in Houston, TX and she's just come out with her first book called The Beauty of Home.  Now, I gush a little bit about the book in the very beginning so let me just say here that I found Marie's chapters to each be a foundational lesson in design that clarifies so much of the intangible elements such as composition...

Monica Leed is a pro organizer and author of the book, Simply Spaced.  In this episode we cover things such as how a good decluttering is growth for the soul, how getting organized is empowering, how to agree with your spouse or partner on what "neat and tidy" actually means, and why style is critical to staying organized. 

The first episode in this round of interviews from the archives is with Ariane Bethea, who just had a big feature in House Beautiful magazine.  In this episode, we talk about her work as an antiques and vintage dealer, her work designing for other people, and the work she's done in her own home.  She's a bold, maximalist, storyteller and she gives us the reasons why.  

Today, I'm talking with designer Aamir Khandwala.  From our conversation, I gathered that he has a gentle soul, sensitive to all aspects of a space, honoring both the history of design and the cultural essence of a country he's drawing from for a given project.  He speaks softly, so you have to listen closely.  But I think that's part of his charm.  You'll want to lean in to this one, soaking up e...

Get ready to think on a totally different plane because in this episode I talk with Susan Domelsmith Cabral of Clear Space, a modern feng shui practice for residential and commercial settings.  What you'll take away from this is the understanding that there's a lot going on inside our homes that we can't see.  And as a feng shui practitioner, it's Susan's job to use ancient tools that reveal the e...

This episode is a quiet one.  It's personal.  And I'm really happy to share this designer with you.  Her name is Christine Vroom and she works out of California and primarily does luxury design.  We talk about 2 of my favorite projects of hers, and you'll have to check the show note page for this episode at littleyellowcouch.com to see some of the stunning photos.  But Christine, generously, also...

My guest today is Darcy Guttwein, author of "Hotels To Home: Living The Luxury Hotel Experience At Home."  But I don't think that title actually does the book justice.  Yes, we can steal some luxurious design ideas from fancy hotels, but Darcy goes so much further, excavating our deepest desires when it comes to what we really want our homes to do for us.  She's a traveler.  And so her backdrop fo...