The Chairish Podcast

The kitchen is the heart of the American home—and the hardest working room in the house. But it is also an ever more important canvas for creativity and style. Three kitchen-design experts—Barbara Sallick, Matthew Quinn, and Sophie Donelson—weigh in on why kitchens are more crucial than ever, evaluate all the latest trends, and reveal why efficiency is over-rated and why an old-fashioned table lam...

Summer is the best season for entertaining, whether bringing together family and friends for a casual lunch or an over-the-top wedding. But entertaining can be stressful. Is the food you serve au courant? Is your table-setting up to snuff? Will your party prove Instagram worthy? Three party planners extraordinaire—Lulu Powers, Bronson van Wyck, and Tara Guerard— talk about what’s new in summer ent...

It’s not easy to run a business, but interior design can be more difficult than most. On top of coping with the day-to-day issues—from screwed-up deliveries to overbooked artisans to indecisive clients—designers are expected to be constantly creative, nourishing their visions and endlessly coming up with clever solutions. No wonder creative burnout is an issue. Three top designers—Nina Magen, Liz...

How do you keep a historic brand from ending up on the dust-heap of history? Two heritage fabric houses with storied pasts show how it’s done. Morris and Co, founded in 1861 by William Morris, the brilliant British designer and social reformer, and Braquenié, a favorite of Marie Antoinette now celebrating its bicentennial, have managed to remain as relevant and as sought-after today as when they w...

New York designer Alex Papachristidis creates interiors that are traditional but never old-fashioned, bringing new energy to the old-school traditions of decorating. He deftly mixes bold patterns and jewel-tone colors, rare antiques and contemporary designs, to create homes that are lush but modern, elegant but exuberant. In an exclusive interview, the larger-than-life designer tells how a friend’...

Lighting is one of the most important—and most amorphous—elements of design. It affects everything we see and has a big impact on how we feel. Yet lighting design is too often misunderstood—or completely overlooked. Two professional lighting designers, Nathan Orsman and Stephen Bernstein, share why they consider themselves the back-up dancers of design, how LEDs have transformed the world and chan...

It’s a common complaint among designers that it is nearly impossible to find skilled artisans and craftspeople. Why is there such a shortage, and what can designers do to inspire more young people to work with their hands? Three outstanding practitioners—decorative painter Caroline Lizarraga, floor painter Chris Pearson, and upholsterer Luther Quintana—weigh in on how they learned their craft, and...

Good art is essential to a great room. But the art world is strange and intimidating, the art market seems to reach new heights every year, and art fairs are overwhelming and bewildering. How do you navigate all this to find works that your clients will love and are worth the often-considerable investment? Two art advisors, Laura Solomon and Andrea Feldman Falcione, explain how they guide designer...

Proper organization and storage are crucial to any successful home. But storage has gone far beyond the utilitarian. Luxury closets have become potent fantasies for clients and stars on social media. Creating spaces for everything from an array of Hermès handbags to a hand-made carbon fiber bicycle is an opportunity for designers to dazzle their clients—or disappoint them. How can you satisfy the...

The collaboration between architect and interior designer is crucial. At its best, it can push both to new heights. But creative differences, miscommunications, budget disputes, and client conflicts can all complicate this intense working relationship. And how much more fraught is it when the architect is married to the designer? Architect Peter Pennoyer and designer Katie Ridder, a couple who oft...

Trends are inevitable. If anything, the pace of what’s in and what’s out seems only to accelerate. It’s harder than ever to keep up—and to distinguish the best of what’s new. Shannon Wollack and Brittany Zwickl of LA-based Studio Life/Style, and San Francisco designer Jonathan Rachman joins Chairish's VP of Merchandising, Noel Fahden, to look at the trends likely to shape interior design in the ye...

No other store in New York is as glamorous and fashion-forward as Bergdorf Goodman. And Bergdorf’s seventh floor features the ultimate high-style home store, a long-time favorite of designers. Now, as Bergdorf’s unveils the new Chairish Art Gallery, Anna Brockway, co-founder and president of Chairish, joins Bergdorf’s Andrew Mandell to talk about how this exclusive collaboration came about; how Be...

Every design project has its problems. But then there are the major disasters. How do you cope with fiascos ranging from monthslong delays and damaged deliveries to rejected custom pieces and recalcitrant contractors? Who bears the burdens and costs? How do you minimize mistakes and keep your team motivated in the face of major setbacks? Designers Heidi Caillier, Keita Turner, and Crystal Sinclair...

After starting out as a humble potter, Jonathan Adler has grown to become a well- established design force, with his signature witty and colorful touch evident in everything from vases and pillows to furnishings, accessories, homes, and hotels. Yet he still has his hands in the mud. Here he tells of his amazing rise; why, despite his love for design history, he has always considered himself a desi...

Toronto is one of the fastest growing cities in North America—and one of the most stylish. Three designers based in the city—Colette Van den Thillart, Cynthia Ferguson, and Louise MacDonald—weigh in on why they love Toronto, how its many different neighborhoods shape their work, and the increasing sophistication of their clients. But they also address the unique problems—from shipping complication...

To celebrate our 75th episode, we decided to flip the script! Chairish’s co-founder and president Anna Brockway sat down with the esteemed host of The Chairish Podcast, Michael Boodro to discuss how he got his start and how he became one of the design world's most successful and beloved editors. In this exclusive interview, he takes us back to his beginnings in the publishing world, what it w...

For two decades, Jean-Louis Deniot has brought a cool, contemporary edge to French glamour, and endowed projects around the globe with his unique French accent. His work is lush but never overdone, contemporary but always inclusive of the past, and bold yet always comfortable. In this exclusive interview he tells why he always looks first for the flaws in any project, how important it is for a des...

When Jamie Drake, one of New York’s most successful and beloved designers, announced seven years ago that he was forming a partnership with Caleb Anderson, the impact was immediate. The firm has expanded without losing any of its characteristic verve, color, or luxe, and maintaining its quality and status. In this episode, the partners discuss how they work together, why their strengths are compat...

Americans have long looked to British homes for inspiration. But for a young British designer, can the weight of history sometimes seem too much? How do you update tradition so that it remains relevant and works for realms far beyond the grand country house? The principals of two rising British design firms—Bunny Turner and Emma Pocock of Turner Pocock and Mary Graham and Nicole Salvesen of S...

As with so much else, the pandemic had a huge impact on the vintage market and changed what and how people purchased items for their homes. As any stigma about buying used furnishings diminished, and as awareness of the importance of sustainability increased, vintage items became more sought after than ever. With Chairish about to issue its second status report on the state of the resale market, t...

Thomas O’Brien is not only a hugely influential interior designer, but since the founding of his firm, Aero Studios, in 1992, he has been a merchant and shopkeeper, and has designed numerous successful lines of furnishings for a range of companies. From faucets to furniture, towels to tableware, he seems to have designed it all. Here, he tells of his early years in New York working for Mario Buatt...

In an era where the internet has made virtually everything available to anyone with a click, and when social media has revealed design to be a passion for multitudes, what does To-the-Trade mean anymore? Does it matter if a product is exclusive to designers or does the world of custom orders, long lead times, and the mysteries of net versus list pricing simply confuse clients? And what is the role...

With the pandemic shutdown, the interest in gardens seemed to skyrocket. Did this mark a significant and permanent change in how we approach nature? Will the garden become a place to be lived in and not just looked at? Do concerns about the environment and climate change affect how people interact with their own outdoor spaces? Landscape designer Edmund Hollander and garden writer Catie Marron dis...

When an architect and a designer collaborate, the results can be greater than either of them, or the clients, expected. But it can also be a difficult relationship, with clashing visions, disputed budgets, and creative misunderstandings. Two top talents—architect Gil Schafer and interior designer David Netto—discuss the success of their past collaborations, why a shared vision is important but dif...

After two years of unprecedented growth, is the design industry heading into a slowdown? Inflation is rampant, interest rates are on the rise, and the stock market is down. What does this mean for the high-end designer? Heads of two major companies that cater to the to-the-trade market—Gale Singer, president of Visual Comfort/Circa Lighting and Timur Yumusaklar, president and CEO of F. Schuma...