Style Matters

My guest today is the perfect example of someone who has taught herself how to train her eye and create a signature style.  Ariene Bethea is the owner of the antique shop, Dressing Rooms Interiors, in Charlotte, NC, which has been getting a lot of attention from interior designers and magazines.   But her home is just as compelling as the shopping experience she's created.  In fact, the way she so...

When I first saw Philip Mitchell's book, "Collected Interiors: Rooms That Tell a Story," I knew I had found a master of the mix. He's created my very favorite kinds of homes... those where every detail is fully considered and every composition and pairing of objects tells an arresting or unexpected story. 

Melissa Penfold is a well-known Australian journalist in the field of interiors and she's just come out with her first book, "Living Well By Design."  We talk about developing your confidence, creating a sense of place, the missing wow factor ingredient in many homes... hint... it's about scale... and of course, why style matters.

"On The Little Yellow Couch" where it's just you and me.  In other episodes like this, you've heard me go over the principles of Slow Style and the path or phases you'd go through to apply this approach to decoration and design.  Today, I'll give you some concrete ideas about what exactly a Slow Style home looks like.  There are 5 main elements that I've come up with that I think pretty much cover...

  We're going to hear about the beauty of Cheryl's natural environment, feng shui, her artwork and the importance of art overall when it comes to creating a home that gives something back to us.  Here's Cheryl.  

 I've wanted to interview many Australian designers but haven't been able to make the difference in time zones work.  Until now!  You're about to hear my conversation with Jen Kingwell, fabric and pattern designer, quilter, and now author.  She's just written a book called Quilt Recipes, and I fell in love with the gorgeous photos showing how her quilts are used in interiors.  Not only can you fol...

I'm very happy to have Marian Parsons open up this new season of Style Matters for us.  You may also know her as Miss Mustard Seed, which is what she called herself when she started a blog over 10 years ago.  From the blog came other business pursuits such as creating a line of milk paint, creating fabric and product designs, and selling her original artwork.  She's just come out with a new book,...

Melissa Parks is a hunter and seller of vintage goods just outside of Chicago, Illinois.  She's also a regular contributor to the digital magazine, Lived-In Style and wrote for the print publication Flea Market Style before that.  You may know her as "Megillicutti," which is the name she uses on Instagram where she has over 26k fans.  n this episode we talk about how she approaches the “hunt,” wha...

Jamala Wallace shares her many room and furniture transformations through her personal blog, Viva La Vintage.   In this conversation, we really zero in on the idea that beauty comes from the act of finding and creating it, rather than acquiring it.

Emmy Ellison, founder of de Maroc.  Her mission is to bring the beauty of handmade woven rugs from Morocco into all of our homes.  I'll let her tell you her story, starting with her wandering around Morocco, following the trail of the centuries-old tradition of designing, weaving, and dying these beautiful, soulful pieces.

People often ask me which episodes they should start with if they're new to the podcast. And so I thought an interesting way to answer that question would be to go over some of the best eye-opening perspectives that I have heard from my guests over the years. We'll cover a few things such as how do we really define a personal style in the first place, and why does it matter? We'll also get into wh...

Today, I'm talking with designer Rachel Fowler who's out with a new book, "My Happy Place: healthy, sustainable and human design for life and work."  She's going to get the ball rolling here in that the bulk of what we talk about is the big picture of what's really going on with how we purchase, consume and dispose of home-related things.  

"House Story: Insider Secrets to the Perfect Home Renovation."  I talk with Jasmine on the Style Matters podcast about the questions, mis-steps and small victories won when going through a home renovation.

I'm delighted to share this episode with you.  I'm having a conversation with one of my favorite fabric and wallpaper designers, Mally Skok.  And she's also a really fabulous interior designer.  Originally from South Africa and now living in the States, near me, in Boston, as it turns out, Mally has just written a gem of a book.  It's called "Mally's Little Handbook: A guide to finding your joy th...

My guest today is one of my favorite interiors photographers and she's also an accomplished, sought after designer. You'd never guess that her life was kind of in shambles a decade ago. I'll let Carley Summers tell her own story. Let me just say that I'm so happy to have met her and been introduced to her work. Along with her personal journey, we also talk about how to make sure you're making good...

Today I'm talking with Aldous Bertram about his first book called "Dragons & Pagodas: A Celebration of Chinoiserie."  He traces hundreds of years of the development of the Chinoiserie style, into what reads like a novel.  And then gorgeously illustrates all of the major motifs under the Chinoiserie umbrella.  

Several years ago, passionate philanthropists Kelly and Scott Meuller had a vision for expanding and sharing their private art collection with the public through an endowment to the Cleveland Museum of Art. They went to the firm Peter Pennoyer Architects with this idea.  What has emerged is Rowdy Meadow, a property that is both home and museum, as well as a 150 acre sculpture park with 30 pieces b...

Today I'm talking with cookbook author Elizabeth Van Lierde. We talk about several different types of gatherings with her eye on creating experiences inside her home that make for the best kinds of parties... the ones where everyone, including the host is relaxed.

My guest is Margie Grace, founder of Grace Design, a landscape design company in southern California and we're talking all about our outdoor spaces today.  Margie tells it like it is when it comes to residential backyards and gardening in terms of what you should and shouldn't plant and why being honest with yourself about maintenance is so important. 

My guests today are Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry, founders of Pulp Design Studios, two amazing interior designers with many awards between them.  I wanted to approach this interview a little differently than I have in the past.  I thought it might be helpful to treat this almost like a masterclass in design by choosing one of the rooms they've worked on and break it down into its component...

Today, I have a very special guest to wrap us up for the winter season. I'm talking with the one-and-only Marlo Thomas. That's right. THE Marlo Thomas! She has recently collaborated with Williams Sonoma on a 10 piece collection of that's perfect for when we're all able to start hosting friends again! We talk about how this all came about and the inspiration behind it, but of course, I had to also...

Mina Starsiak Hawk is the co-star of HGTV's "Good Bones" and run her own construction company, Two Chicks and a Hammer. We talk about the importance of belonging to the fabric of a community.

Michelle Ogundehin is a leader in the interior design world. Most recently, her first book, called "Happy Inside: How to Harness the Power of Home for Health and Happiness" has just been published. The interview you're about to hear is one of the most substantial conversations I've ever had about design, on a personal scale. How design affects real people, in real homes.

My guest today is Ariel Garneau who is known for her bold, colorful, quirky, somewhat retro, mash up of styles. I went in to this conversation hoping to see if I could uncover what makes her tick because she's one of these people who have developed a very particular style that's unmistakeable. And I wanted to know where it comes from, how she defines it and how it's evolved over time. Eventually w...

David Supple is the founder and CEO of New England Design & Construction. Schooled in architecture and trained in carpentry, David is about to explain how the profession of architecture has come to be and how it has estranged itself from its roots where craftsmanship and design went hand in hand. Now, David has a great personality so, he's very entertaining and makes history interesting.