Business of Home Podcast

Episode: Madeline Stuart is so over 'scavenger decorating'
Host: Dennis Scully
Guest: Madeline Stuart
Date: February 2, 2026

Overview

In this episode, renowned Los Angeles interior designer Madeline Stuart joins Dennis Scully to reflect on her three-decade career, unpack the perils of "scavenger decorating," and share unfiltered wisdom from her journey through Hollywood client drama, design industry trends, and the art of walking away from the wrong projects. Known for her deeply layered, research-driven work and signature candor, Madeline offers a compelling critique of current sameness in design, emphasizes the importance of historical knowledge, and discusses balancing creative vision with client relationships. The conversation is fast-paced, witty, and packed with actionable insights for design professionals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Influence and Inspiration

• Madeline’s passion for reinvention draws from her admiration of David Bowie’s artistic chameleon quality:

  “He was never content to stay in his lane.” (03:01)

• Her approach is defined by continual learning and never repeating herself.

  “They say an old dog can’t learn new tricks, but this old dog is learning new tricks all the time.” (04:04)

2. Recognition and the “Legacy” Conversation

• Recently honored with the Institute of Classical Architecture’s Legacy Award, Madeline jokes about changing her name to “Madeline Legacy,” but clarifies she has no intentions to retire:

  “The award that was bestowed upon me did not mean...I was bowing out or taking my leave...I’m still too passionate about what I do.” (04:20)

• Emphasizes her commitment to lifelong learning and contribution:

  “What good would it do me if I just, you know, retired and started growing vegetables in my backyard?” (05:01)

3. Working with Celebrities: Stories & Highs/Lows

• Early clients like Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld) and Larry David pushed her creatively, often to humorous or maddening extremes:

  “We created this absolutely fantastic kind of old English country house environment. But it always had to have a twist...” (06:17) On complex, whimsical furniture requests: “This really...pushed me to the end of both my patience and my talent.” (08:13)

• Madeline is candid about client relationships, including “firing” clients but maintaining friendships:

  “I said, but I didn’t fire you as a friend.” (09:18)

• On the challenge with demanding clients:

  “I once said to a client, ‘You are so committed to your own personal unhappiness that I can’t continue.’” (42:23)

4. ‘Scavenger Decorating’ and the Sameness Plaguing Design

• Responds to a quote from Meyer Russ:

  “Pinterest scavengers masquerade as professional decorators...Madeline’s insistence on the old school virtues of design, artistry, and craft is all the more refreshing.” (11:21)

• Madeline’s take:

  “So much sameness in the design world today...I could go on and on about this ad nauseam, should you choose to be nauseated.” (14:41)

• Defines “scavenger decorating”:

  “Scrolling through a bunch of Pinterest images and just culling whatever you find and throwing it into a pot and serving it up to a client with very little thought or inspiration or originality.” (56:23)

• Laments “exploited to the nth degree” trends and the lack of fearless originality:

  “Everyone complains about beige and greige and lack of this, that or the other, and yet it seems like that’s what everybody’s doing...” (56:59)

5. Value of Research, Depth, and Historical Reference

• Her process is built on extensive research, often using her deep library for inspiration:

  “I usually mostly confer with my books. I have an extensive library...” (31:45)

• Each project draws from the site, client, and era, but always with a unique, thoroughly researched twist.

  “I want to be referential and not reverential. That became our motto.” (34:24)

6. Design as a Business: Lessons & Transparency

• Frank about fee structures and the business side:

  “I still have no idea what the fee structure should be...” (27:47) “You have to run this like a business. You can’t just be a decorator who flits about and finds beautiful things.” (28:37)

• Learned to charge for the process, especially when clients require exhaustive sourcing:

  “Some clients...want to see every blue velvet that has been manufactured here and abroad...if that is your client, you need to be compensated.” (30:36)

7. Client Dynamics: When and How to Walk Away

• Urges young designers to value themselves and leave toxic relationships:

  “If you have a client who you feel is combative and aggressive and fighting...bow out. Because it’s never going to get better...” (40:21)

8. Celebrity Projects: Publicity, Privacy, and Merit

• Many celebrity clients don’t want publicity; claims working for celebrities isn’t about getting published:

  “A lot of my clients...would never wish to be named in a publication. That’s not what drives me.” (46:09)

• Critiques the celebrity-driven nature of design press:

  “Design should be a meritocracy...it should not be because so and so lives there...” (51:14)

9. Lack of Critical Design Discourse

• Laments the absence of true criticism in the field:

  “We don’t have that in our industry. I am one to call out the fact that the emperor has no clothes...” (53:04)

• Hints at a future “Design Crimes” project outing industry clichés:

  “When I decide to retire, that’s when I will write my own version of the Testy Tastemaker and I will lay it on the line.” (54:12)

10. Respect for History and Design Education

• Stresses the need for today’s designers to know their references:

  “An abstract expressionist still needed to learn how to draw...I feel the same with design. You should know who Nancy Lancaster is and her yellow room... Jean Michel Frank... Dorothy Draper...” (58:47)

• Draws parallels to music sampling and historical lineage:

  “Even a hip hop artist...is looking to the past to influence their music today...” (60:39)

11. Film, Hollywood, and Personal Background

• Childhood in Hollywood, her father producing Willy Wonka, and a real cameo in the film:

  "The movie was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I got a starring role...Well, all right, to be honest, it wasn't a starring role. It was one line." (19:13)

• Her mother, a decorator, and why Madeline rebelled against following in her footsteps (before ultimately doing so):

  “The last thing a young girl wants to be is her mother.” (22:44)

• Details her “trial by fire” self-education in design:

  “I went out and learned the hard way...It was by dint of hard work and study that I learned what I learned.” (25:13)

12. Personal Aesthetic & Approach

• Projects are driven by site, architecture, client, and rigorous research—resisting trends, she strives for authenticity and longevity:

  “I don’t want my interiors to be carbon dated...it needs to be authentic to the client, to their life, to the architecture. I loathe pretension.” (37:29)

• On client collaboration:

  “It can’t solely be a reflection of my instincts and my desires. It has to look like their house.” (37:53)

13. Lightning Round: Opinions & Pet Peeves

(Timestamps approximate as rapid-fire segment from 67:10)

• Most overrated color: “Greige.” (67:15)
• Item never to skimp on: “Sofa. Everyone says sofa, but it’s true.” (67:23)
• Least glamorous job task: “Deciding which side the toilet paper holder should go on...” (67:30)
• What’s more dangerous: Pinterest or TikTok? “Pinterest...because really, when I have had people in my office, when we’re looking at it, it’s deadly dull...” (67:51)
• Design icons for a dinner party: “Frances Elkins, Jacques Grange, and probably between Jean Michel Frank and Albert Hadley.” (68:40)
• Design pet peeves:

  “It’s that damn draped bedspread all over the ground...” (69:53)
  “Enough of the marble waterfall island.” (70:29)
  Cabinets not extending to the ceiling—“unless you have a side gig as a dust collector...” (71:29)

• Favorite design books:

  Spanish Revival books by the Bynes, focused on Hispano-Moresque architecture. (72:53)

14. Advice: Authenticity and Growth

• On her own journey from insecurity to confidence:

  “I think my younger self would be surprised to know how confident and self-assured and secure in the knowledge that I am as my older self.” (74:41)

• Final message:

  “To thine own self be true, be authentic.” (75:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On originality:
  “Why use the same thing twice when there are...abundance of inspiration everywhere you look?” (13:39)
• On design journalism:
  “If I didn’t have this pesky day job, I would do [Design Crimes] all day long, because I am one to call out the fact that the emperor has no clothes...” (53:09)
• On timelessness:
  “I want to reinterpret the past, to be contemporary...I just don’t want to do things that feel of a period.” (36:13)
• Hollywood reality:
  “I don’t work for as many Hollywood people now because, let’s face it, they’re all crazy.” (43:06)
• On design education:
  “Take a minute to know what you’re referencing...we are all influenced by the past whether we know it or not.” (61:11)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:52] Bowie influence / Never staying in one lane
• [05:23] Stories of Jason Alexander and celebrity clients
• [11:21] Meyer Russ quote / “Scavenger decorating” intro
• [18:17] Growing up in Hollywood; family background
• [27:26] Business of design—fees, transparency, professionalism
• [31:45] Madeline’s research process & use of books
• [37:22] Avoiding timestamped, “carbon-dated” interiors
• [40:21] Walking away from bad clients
• [46:09] Hollywood/celebrity clients and media
• [51:14] Design versus celebrity culture in publication
• [53:09] “Design Crimes” and critique
• [56:23] Deep dive: “scavenger decorating”
• [58:47] Design needs foundational education
• [63:03] Influence of film on her aesthetic
• [67:10] Lightning Round (rapid Q&A, pet peeves)
• [72:53] Favorite design books
• [74:41] Growth & advice to her younger self

Tone and Style

Witty, ruminative, frank, and unapologetically opinionated, Madeline delivers a masterclass in design fortitude. Her comments are peppered with humor, candor about failures and successes, and unflinching critiques. The conversation strikes a balance between irreverence and deep professional insight, making it simultaneously entertaining and instructive.

Takeaways for Designers

• Value depth, research, and originality above trends
• Run your studio like a business, not just an atelier
• Don’t be afraid to leave toxic clients—your happiness & creative energy matter
• Honor design history—know your references and build on the past thoughtfully
• Strive for timeless, client-specific work, resisting the pull of “sameness” and superficial trends
• Have opinions; advocate for excellence; don’t fear being “the old battle axe” if you’re speaking truth

A must-listen for designers seeking both inspiration and straight talk about the realities of a long and uncompromising career in the decor industry.