Sue (2:12)

Okay Sophie, great question. I will say like in all houses.

Jessica (2:16)

Let me first.

Sue (2:17)

Okay, Jess, go.

Jessica (2:18)

Well, I just want to quickly say to Sophie and to all of the audience the standard baseboard height in a standard home is 4 inches. So if you're buying a builder grade home, that's generally what you're getting. If you're buying an older home, smaller ceiling heights and whatnot. The standard used to be 4 inches. So now sue, tell them what is considered luxurious.

Sue (2:38)

Yeah, I think the high. If you're looking through a millwork catalog or something that your builder's telling you, hey, choose a baseboard. I think the 7 inch is really, really nice. I think anywhere from 7. Most of our projects are 7 to 10. If we're ridiculous and you like have really tall ceilings or you like a really stacked base with like lots of curves. Definition 12 is awesome. I will say in regards to the ceiling height. Yes, a taller ceiling, definitely you should have a taller base. Shorter ceiling. You can have a shorter base. But I lived in an attic that was built in 1911 with pitch ceiling starting at 5, 6ft, even shorter in some cases. And we have the 10 inch baseboard because it was historic and it was amazing. So. So to all you shorties out there, do a tall baseboard anyway, I love it. That's what you're going to do. So go 10 inches y why not?

Jessica (3:26)

So scale will always make you feel luxurious and that that scale of anything. So of course scale of the baseboard is going to just absolutely feel so well finished and it's always going to feel custom.

Sue (3:38)

Yep. Go big.

Corey (3:39)

Like Jess said, the standard is in the 4 inch range.

Sue (3:43)

Yeah.

Corey (3:43)

They typically make that same profile in a few different sizes and I think seven, around seven inches is where that max out. So if you want to taller than that and you don't want to get a custom knife baseboard made, you can stack like you were talking about. So get either flat stock and put that on top of it and layer something in front. So there are a couple of other options without getting like knives cut. I know you like got knives cut for your house and stuff like that. And it does get kind of pricey just doing it for one home. So that is an option as well.

Sue (4:08)

I will say aside from paint finish work is especially baseboards case that is the next least expensive thing you can do to upgrade your house.

Jessica (4:15)

Yes.

Sue (4:15)

And we're in again, we're in a really traditional trending and we're in a real decorators mood where we are getting a little bit more curve and we are getting a little bit more stacked on our moldings. So it's a really fun game to play right now if you're into it. So go crazy.

Jessica (4:29)

Also, I'll say this, I don't know where the going rate is on getting a knife cut, but I built my house 10 years ago and it was only 500 to cut and to get a knife made. And I really wanted to do a custom base mold. All of you guys listening, you love design, so having something that nobody else has feels really special. And I was able to use that same knife. We just cut the back end of the. The baseboard off and I use that 4 inches for all my case around my doors and windows. So for $500 to skin, you know, the entire 5, 000 square foot home with a custom knife felt really affordable. Again, I don't know what the. I don't know what a knife costs today.

Sue (5:08)

I'm not sure. But I think for depending on how big of a home or how. How into it you are, again, I think it's. I think it's a good investment. I really do.

Jessica (5:15)

Yeah. Or you play the stacking game. Like Corey said, there's a lot of ways to skin this cat, but there's

Sue (5:19)

so many cool companies that are, I think, like coming. Maybe it's my algorithm. I don't know. I think it's decora d c o r a to have really gooey little trims and pieces. You can even add on to base case, moldings, shelves, everything. Anyway, so if you're into it, this

Corey (5:35)

is a great time start get that in your app.

Sue (5:37)

Get in it. Yep.

Corey (5:38)

The next question is from MT Love, the podcast. Quick question concerning ceilings. Are coffered ceilings in or are they out?

Jessica (5:47)

Juicy question.

Corey (5:48)

I'm gonna say yes.

Sue (5:50)

You're.

Jessica (5:50)

Yes to what? Yes, they're out.

Corey (5:52)

In.

Jessica (5:53)

Oh, fascinating. I was gonna say the opposite.

Corey (5:55)

Okay.

Jessica (5:55)

I mean, if we inherit one with a remodel, we will embrace it and do things to it. But today I don't think we're putting that treatment in. We're gonna put a different treatment in instead. But addressing the ceiling is in. Yes, you should definitely do it. Trims are in.

Sue (6:13)

Traditional's into. So again, if you inherit a coffered ceiling or if it feels historically cor. Home, go for it.

Jessica (6:19)

Yes.

Sue (6:19)

I think what we're doing more than anything, again, ceiling treatments for sure. But depending on the look, we're getting bigger windows in our homes. And so therefore those are going higher. And so you just don't have as much like headroom, you know, from ceiling to the top of window. So we're doing more shallow treatment. So there's still interest, you know, whether That's a shallow beam and a more interesting rhythm. That's what we're doing a lot of. Or interesting cool applied moldings and. And things like that, just to decorate the ceiling, but not necessarily take away height, per se, depending on the situation. So traditional coffer. That's heavy. That feels like you're in a library.

Corey (6:54)

That's where I'm thinking. Like, if I had a cool speakeasy style, I would be down with that and just hanging out and doing something creative in it.

Sue (7:00)

Yeah.

Corey (7:00)

Feels great to me.

Jessica (7:02)

Yeah, it is handsome. I think of those. Those spaces, and I think of men's spaces. So when you're talking, I'm like, that feels like the right thing for that.

Sue (7:10)

But I wouldn't do just do, like, straight stacked boards creating the grid. I would do something more interesting.

Corey (7:15)

Yep.

Jessica (7:16)

It felt like that was the. The one move that you could play on a ceiling in the 2000 oughts. You know what I mean? And now we've got more. Now we've got more tricks to play.

Sue (7:26)

So if you're into mt, if you're into the coffered ceiling, do it. Just be creative about it. That's what I would say.

Corey (7:32)

So great advice. Aish. One of the coolest names I know.

Sue (7:36)

Hi, Aish.

Jessica (7:37)

Now I'm mad at my mom for giving me Jessica.

Corey (7:41)

There's something eternal and transcendent about the way you all speak design, and I love it.

Jessica (7:46)

A.

Corey (7:47)

It's so nice. It is clear that it matters to you, to each of you on a deep, deeply personal, and even spiritual level.

Sue (7:53)

Heard. Thank you.

Corey (7:54)

Yeah. So nice. Can you talk more about why creating beauty matters and the power that beauty and design have to transform a home and an individual? That is an insanely good question.

Sue (8:03)

That's a great question.

Corey (8:04)

I don't expect anything else from Aish.

Sue (8:06)

You win. I'm so glad that you asked this question, Aish, because, like, creating beauty around you is something that we can control, and I think it is absolutely important. I think we're in design all day, but it's. It's fun when we get to bring it home and we get to actually employ these tricks in our own lives and watch what it does to ourselves is when we can talk about our individual experience. For example, I just finished my bedroom. It's not big, but the design is. And I will tell you, I live differently. I act differently. I get ready in the morning differently. I want to make my bed because it brings me joy. I want my husband to enjoy the space. And as well, that's why? You know, we just make it. We make it beautiful, and we light the candles and we care about the lighting and how it smells and all the things. And you dress a certain way, you get ready, and you pay attention. I'm like, my skincare is more important to me than any. Than any other time because I just have this gorgeous environment to get ready. And I'm like, am I at a boutique hotel? Maybe I am. But it does definitely affect how you act and how you act with others, too. And so the feeling, it cores deep,

Jessica (9:07)

it changes you as it changes you.

Corey (9:09)

I was gonna say it's enriching. Like, it's inspiring. We've all felt the feeling of being somewhere that kind of, you know, heightens our senses, like, gets us excited or wherever that place is. And I think. I mean, that should be the place that you wake up in the morning, you know, or spend most of your time at.

Sue (9:23)

At home. Yeah. And. And I will say, the reason why I think it's so deep for myself and Jess is because we spent so much time really figuring out who we are and why we tick the way we do, you know, and so. And what colors resonate and what, you know, depth of color resonates. And anyway, so I think it's. It's so important for everybody to really figure out what do you want to be surrounded by, Even if it's just the paint color. Surrounding yourself at even. Just that level, you know, and building upon that, you will act differently and you act more like yourself. It's a discovery. It really, really is. And it's so important.

Jessica (9:56)

I feel like our last. Your last space that you did, your bedroom and me, my living room. I feel like we asked more from ourselves when we did these spaces. We had to dig deep and go, we're using color, and we both used gloss. And so we reinterpreted our rooms in such different ways. But to figure out your color is kind of a process. Like, you had so many shades all in the same sort of range up there, but you were looking at it in different times of day, in different light. And same with me. I mean, it was really asking so much, like pulling something out of the inside of your body out onto the wall. And there is something, I love this question so much where you say, can you talk more about why creating beauty matters? Being in creation is a really spiritual thing, being able to create something. And I just think it's powerful to do that work. And we're so fortunate that we get to do this for others, and we get to pull this out of people's insides, and we get to get that on the wall. And it's so fun to get to be in a design presentation and have somebody cry because they feel so seen. And this comes from their heritage, from. From their lived experiences, from their combined lived experiences. And getting to have a designer that sees you and asks the right questions, to be able to pull this out is so powerful, and it is transforming. This is kind of a step sideways. But my husband was just barely talking. He was like, oh, man, I've really got to invest in new. Some new pieces for my wardrobe. He said Neil Patel was just. He has a marketing podcast. Some of you, of course, know who Neil Patel is. He said that somebody had talked about this study that was done. And so Neil said, I'm going to go out and take this challenge, and I'm going to. I think he worked with a stylist, and he spent $200,000 on a new wardrobe.

Sue (11:41)

So Neil.

Jessica (11:42)

And he said, I wanted to say that it wasn't going to make a difference, but I wanted to do the work anyway. So he went and he got the new clothes. And the way he showed up and the deals that he closed from there were 6x what he had done before. It matters the way you show up. It matters how you dress. It matters how you live. These things affect our performance. They affect how we live. I don't know. It does. It affects your spirit, affects how you show up. It affects how you wake up. It affects how you want to make your bed and have pride in. In your setting. You know that. That you're just like, oh, you know what? I'm gonna clean up my nightstand because this is so pretty. I just made my bed. Or I'm gonna throw that little thing away. Or, I don't know. You just have more pride of ownership. You want to take better care of your stuff. You. You want to live beautifully.

Sue (12:25)

Yeah, I was going to say. And it teaches. I have little kids, but it teaches them what is a priority. Like, in the morning, you make your bed.

Jessica (12:32)

Yeah.

Sue (12:33)

You know, you take care of your things.

Jessica (12:35)

Pride in yourself.

Sue (12:36)

You put on your cologne, you wear deodorant. Sons. And you go to school. You're a hall. Darn it, get there. So I. Yeah, I love that. And, you know, at whatever level you're at, too, whether you have $200,000 or you have 10,000, $10,000 to invest in your home, whatever you do, you're going to just, like, love it so much because you're going to Dig deep and create something beautiful, and that is spiritual.

Jessica (12:57)

Great question. Thank you.

Sue (12:58)

Send in more for real.

Corey (13:00)

Catch you next time. The next one comes from crystal. And she asks. I know how we all feel about the dreaded accent wall, but how do we feel about Venetian plaster on one wall and then a color drench on the remaining others, including ceiling? I want to do something funky in my home office, and I just love the look, texture of the Venetian plaster. Do I do it on one wall or all of them? Ceiling too much. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Sue (13:27)

If you can, you do it on all of them. You do it on all the walls, and you do it on the ceiling. I will tell you for an example. We did a home with a great client. She wanted the wall to be dark black, like her favorite hotel room in Capri. We specified to do it in plaster. So moody. And when you do get that up over the ceiling, I think the ceiling's the most magical part of it because you get to feel like you're just like, cocooned. You're enveloped in it completely. When I went to the site, they decided to cut costs and they just did the Venetian plaster on the walls. No ceiling, and the ceiling's pitched. And they went to a paint, and I was just like, bummer. That could have been great. You spent all that money and all I can see is where those two finishes meet. And it's disappointing. It really was, like, such a bummer, too, that I know that we're both big advocates for just, if you can't afford to do the whole thing, do the ceiling. That's the accent wall. Don't do just one wall on the vertical plane. Go hit the ceiling. And that's what we did in our Odessa, our Desert Oaks project. In the pantry, we had specified it to be coved, and I think we were just going to do a neutral at the very end. We called an audible and I'm like, that should be a more interesting color. I want my eye to know that that's plastered, and I want it to see the COVID And so by doing that little architectural detail and then plastering it with, we highlighted it and we like, gave. Gave everybody something to look at. And that was in an accessory kitchen, a pantry. That's utility, but it felt special all of a sudden. And we have a couple pictures here to show you, because it's one of my favorite things. And you're in, again, this kind of blue collar community, and you feel this glossy level of denim or something. It was. It's such a cool Color that I think everybody would feel comfortable in. It's what we have. We, you know, we wear this color. We wear denim every day, and I just. I love it. So definitely hit your ceiling. If you can't do the whole room.

Jessica (15:13)

And if you guys are tuning in and you're watching this and you can see these images, there's something magical about plaster. Probably most of you know this. If you don't, the more that they burnish the plaster, the glossier it gets. So you can get that beautiful matte, ethereal plaster look. As you picture plaster here in the photo, you can see the light reflecting in from the window. And. And you can see some of the glossiness because this was burnished. And there's this really beautiful sort of difference in texture between the satin of the paint cabinets and then the glossiness of the ceiling plus the color and the different finishes. I don't want to see this pantry without that ceiling. It is the big move. Like, this is such a feeling in here. Crystal, definitely plaster your ceiling. I think this will give you a lot of confidence that if you're only going to do one wall, it's the fifth wall that you're going to do.

Corey (16:02)

Awesome. Great advice. Would you, if you're going to color drench, do the same color? You know, would you do the walls the same color that you do the plaster or just let the plaster be its own thing on the ceiling?

Jessica (16:13)

So he's saying, like, in this room, if you have a blue plastered ceiling, would you take, obviously, this is a kitchen, so all the walls are cabinets. Would you take blue down onto the walls in plaster as well? Or you're saying in paint?

Corey (16:25)

Well, yeah. Crystal's question was just like, she was going to do Venetian plaster on one wall. So if that wall became the ceiling and then color drenched the rest, would you have that match the same color of the ceiling?

Sue (16:35)

I think for a whole room experience, and I can only do one, like, yeah, you're going to go high glass, burnish the ceiling. And then I would take either that same. Because again, as we know, the ceiling, even if it's all the same paint color base is the paint color for everywhere plaster. This is what you're going to base your plaster finish on. This color. It's going to look different on that ceiling. So whether it stays the same color, you're still gonna feel the difference. And yeah, I for sure wanna see that on the walls and the ceiling. And it does. If you do wanna kind of play the color blocking game and do like a Lighter blue or a darker blue or kind of play with it with the ceiling plane in your walls. I think that that's also really fun, too, because we know it's gonna feel like a different finish or, you know, it's gonna feel more flat on your walls and high gloss on, plastered on your ceiling. And so I call attention to. And change the color.

Jessica (17:22)

I agree with what you're saying, because having. Let's just say that you give your. Your plaster guy a Sherwin Williams color. I wouldn't mix that same Sherwin Williams color for the walls. I would do something that's a different. A different shade or a different color block, because they're not both plaster. And it will feel like that initial bedroom you were just talking about the Black Boutique hotel, where you see in the corner that. That you didn't go for it.

Sue (17:47)

Yep.

Jessica (17:48)

Then the walls are plaster, and then the ceiling plastic. You have to make it feel really intentional and do a different shade.

Sue (17:54)

Yeah.

Jessica (17:55)

Of, you know, blue in this case that we're talking about. And then that's. That's why you switched it.

Sue (18:00)

Yeah.

Jessica (18:00)

I think you got to make a reason why.

Sue (18:02)

Yeah. And we see that all the time in fashion right now with the color blocking, you know, whether it's two different colors or just different versions of the same color. And it's so cool.

Jessica (18:10)

I love that.

Sue (18:10)

It's so, so, so cool. So definitely, like, play that up. I think it's a real fashion move. Jess. I just got a new comforter from Cozy Earth, and it is my favorite new thing. You know how much I love to get into my bed at the end of the day. I am tired.

Jessica (18:24)

Yes.

Sue (18:24)

And their comforter, like, everything that they do is cool. It's like a cloud. And, like, when I put it on myself at the end of the day, it's just, like, it's perfectly, like, regulating. But the temperature for not only me, but for Tom as well. Like, it is the perfect weight, and it looks so pretty. The construction on it is perfect. The stitching's lovely, and I just. I cannot tell enough people about this, and I want to give it to all my friends and family.

Jessica (18:49)

Oh, I love that. You know what's great about Cozy Earth? I just feel like the quality is so great. I've never. I've never been disappointed in anything, ever. The comfort, the hand, the drape. I know that this comforter is got to be the most beautiful thing. I cannot wait to see it on your bedroom. You got to show it to me tonight when I drop you off.

Sue (19:05)

Okay. I'm so excited.

Corey (19:07)

Every purchase from Cozy Earth is risk free because they have a 100 night sleep trial. Try them for yourself. Every detail is designed to feel effortlessly comfortable. Returns are easy, but after feeling this level of comfort, you won't want to let them go. They also come with a 10 year warranty. Discover how care in every detail transforms simple routines into moments of true comfort and ease. Head to cozyearth.com and use our code Dear Alice for up to 20% off. That's code Dear Alice for up to 20 percent off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Experience the craft behind the comfort and make every day feel intentional. The next question is from lt. They asked, is it worth refinishing an existing door or is replacing it usually the better investment?

Sue (19:54)

Corey, our doorman.

Corey (19:55)

Yes.

Jessica (19:55)

You guys are so lucky. I don't know if you know this about Corey Place, but he worked in a door shop for how many years?

Corey (20:01)

Nine.

Jessica (20:02)

Nine years.

Corey (20:03)

I built custom doors.

Jessica (20:04)

Corey, will you help us answer this question?

Corey (20:06)

Definitely. I'm gonna try to take my bias out of this, but this is if you're gonna consider refinishing your door, like let's say your house, for instance. You lived in it for seven years before you refinished it.

Jessica (20:17)

Yeah.

Corey (20:18)

You just have to know if I refinish this in seven years, it's going to look the same as it does now. If you want to do that and repaint it again. Refinish it. If you're cool with that.

Sue (20:26)

If you like your door.

Corey (20:27)

Yes. If you like your door.

Jessica (20:28)

I love my door.

Corey (20:30)

So. Yeah, I think that's. Yeah. And yours is. Is facing the right direction. It's getting morning sun rather than all the evening sun and really doing a ton of damage. You have a good overhang.

Jessica (20:39)

Yeah.

Corey (20:39)

So I think for you it totally makes sense.

Jessica (20:41)

I. I am going to have to repaint it again though. Like, I can already tell it's been two summers and.

Corey (20:45)

Yeah, I mean, you just have to know, however it looks now, it's going to look like that again if you're just refinishing it. So if you're cool with that, I'd say do it. And if you love your door, by all means.

Sue (20:53)

But if you have my door that you inherited on a 1970s ranch you're probably just going to replace. I could refinish it, but I want a different door.

Jessica (21:01)

I. This is going to take us off path, but I have a question. Yeah. I don't know if your Door is wood. I think it's fiberglass.

Sue (21:08)

It's solid wood. Oh, it is.

Jessica (21:09)

Yeah.

Sue (21:09)

That sucker. I think that one is solid.

Corey (21:11)

Totally. Yeah.

Jessica (21:12)

So. So you could paint her door, then?

Corey (21:15)

Yeah.

Jessica (21:15)

If you liked your door. You don't like your door?

Sue (21:18)

No. But you know what? Anyway, it's been fun. This is again, you're going to edit the crap out of this one, guys.

Corey (21:22)

I'm sorry.

Sue (21:23)

Anyway, but it's taught me a lot of things that I do want. I love having they had textured gl okay in there. And I love the reflections when light does hit that onto the wall inside.

Jessica (21:34)

And I think you need that little window.

Sue (21:36)

You do?

Jessica (21:37)

Yeah, you do.

Sue (21:38)

So I'm like, whatever door I end up do having, I probably will pay homage to the 70s for sure. I will have textured glass. You're gonna go, but I'm gonna.

Jessica (21:45)

Springs on your front door. Yeah. It's gonna be such a mood.

Sue (21:49)

We're taking it. Parker hotel right there.

Corey (21:51)

The other wrinkle to this is that if you replace your door with the same material, you know, like, it's a oak door, and you get to buy another oak door. You're gonna. Again, you're gonna have that same thing.

Sue (22:02)

Yeah.

Corey (22:02)

Same issue.

Sue (22:03)

Yeah.

Corey (22:04)

So if you want to replace and not have to paint it as often. I am a fan of the fiberglass door, and then they make a composite jam. So it's. It does really well against, like, the sun and all the elements. They used to just do fiberglass doors, and then you would still have, like, a wood frame and wood jam and brick mold and all of that. But then that all rots away, and you gotta, like, fix that.

Sue (22:25)

Yeah.

Jessica (22:26)

I have so many questions for you.

Corey (22:28)

Yeah.

Jessica (22:28)

Fiberglass door. So here's what I love in a front door. I want it to be really heavy. I want you to really feel like you're, you know, like it's the front door.

Corey (22:37)

Yeah. I mean, it is. It's like that fiberglass heavy. Yeah, super heavy.

Jessica (22:40)

And then I was picturing it super lightweight.

Corey (22:43)

No. Yeah, it's heavy.

Jessica (22:44)

It's a heavy front door. How can you get a good look out of fiberglass?

Corey (22:49)

I think so. Yeah. I mean, they have, like, standard ones that are.

Jessica (22:51)

You can put any finish on it. You could do, like, a glossy. Anything.

Corey (22:55)

Any paint. Yeah, it paints like.

Jessica (22:56)

And you can you put any hardware on it?

Corey (22:58)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It bore. It'll bore and route like a wood door and everything.

Jessica (23:02)

So your best advice to all of us is go with a fiberglass door and not paint It. What do you do? You put a composite.

Corey (23:09)

I mean it'll, it'll take any finish. Actually. You could lacquer it if you want to. They'll have to like, you know, scuff it up a little bit, but it'll take any finish.

Jessica (23:15)

You don't have to refinish the.

Corey (23:17)

Not as often anything outside. You're going to have to at some point. But it's probably instead of if you're like really your recommendation, someone's going to tell you every five years.

Jessica (23:26)

Yeah, I would say so. For sure.

Corey (23:28)

This is more like 10 to 15 year finish.

Jessica (23:30)

That is really great advice.

Corey (23:31)

Yeah.

Jessica (23:32)

Do you have a favorite brand of fiberglass door? If you're shopping to get a good looking style that feels like a custom door, I don't.

Sue (23:40)

He's like, I did custom doors.

Corey (23:43)

Yeah. I mean I had mine where I used to work Sierra doors. So I got mine from them. Yeah. And it was custom.

Jessica (23:49)

So you had a fiberglass custom.

Corey (23:50)

A fiberglass. Yeah. Yeah.

Jessica (23:51)

You can get a fiberglass custom door. That's fantastic.

Corey (23:55)

So that's, that's my preference. But if you're, you know, people love like wood doors and so by all means, if that's your thing, I say do it.

Sue (24:03)

Yep. And then you get to pick a new color every five years.

Corey (24:05)

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Jessica (24:07)

Yeah. So back to lt. Is it worth refinishing an existing door? Is replacing it usually the better investment? You would say lt. If you're living with a wood door, it would be worth it for you to replace it with a fiberglass door and not have to refinish it as often.

Corey (24:23)

Absolutely. Yeah.

Jessica (24:24)

And you can get all the style you want out of fiberglass door.

Corey (24:27)

Yes. I don't like the wood grain on the fiberglass, so I would just go, no. Yeah. If, if you want the wood grain, just do real wood and then just be prepared to refinish it every five years.

Jessica (24:40)

Fantastic advice.

Sue (24:41)

Corey Knox Render. He'll know that it's fiberglass.

Corey (24:43)

I'll be able to tell, that's for sure.

Sue (24:45)

Wood tile, guys, don't go there. That's great.

Corey (24:48)

Okay. The next question is from km.

Sue (24:50)

We have so many acronyms.

Corey (24:52)

Come on. I love it.

Sue (24:52)

LTMT Cam. Okay.

Corey (24:54)

Love all these tips and rules you guys give every week. But that made me wonder if there are any rules you guys break for your homes. So many budget constraints, unfortunately. Sometimes you just have to.

Jessica (25:07)

We have designer budgets.

Sue (25:08)

Yep.

Jessica (25:09)

Yeah. We don't have our clients.

Sue (25:10)

Budget, Designer taste, Designer budget.

Corey (25:12)

Yeah.

Sue (25:12)

It's creative.

Jessica (25:13)

I'll talk about A rule that I broke in my own home. Since we're Talking about the fifth wall, I did an accent wall in my office 10 years ago. I used Dick Blick papers hand marbled on one back wall because I knew I was going to be putting these big brass shelves in front of it. And I wanted it to read like you opened an old first edition novel. And you know how they had the old marbled papers in that. I just knew it'd be a beautiful texture. Behind all my piles of design books, I would tell everybody that they should not do an accent wall. But I knew what I was going to be doing with it. And Suzanne has said it feels like an art installation.

Sue (25:52)

Yeah.

Jessica (25:53)

And so we can look the other way on it.

Sue (25:55)

And every single other wall there, you have a massive opening looking into it. You have French doors and a set of windows, and then you have your big arch window. So I'm just like, it really is the only important wall.

Jessica (26:05)

Yeah.

Sue (26:05)

In that space. So I'm like that. Yeah, definitely. I'm like, don't just go accent wall. You know, four solid walls. Don't do that.

Jessica (26:12)

But to KM's point, that is a rule that I broke.

Sue (26:14)

Sure did hard.

Jessica (26:16)

Yeah, I sure did.

Sue (26:17)

Yep.

Jessica (26:18)

What are the rules? What are, what are you breaking at your house? Oh, I know what you said yesterday. You. Suzanne just barely decided to paint all her interior doors a color.

Sue (26:27)

Yeah. Coral. Eff it up with some coral. And it's really fun. And so, yeah, a lot of times we're giving general advice to the general public. Yeah. Like stay neutral on your doors because it's not something that you're going to want to redo every door in your house. But I broke that rule.

Jessica (26:47)

Susan's an artist.

Sue (26:48)

Because I'm an artist and I have a lot of art and everything. And again, I plastered the whole place in white. My floors are white, my walls are white, my ceilings white. So I'm like, I should have colored doors. You know, all my rooms that you go inside are colored, so coral looks great with everything. So.

Corey (27:03)

Yeah.

Sue (27:04)

So that was a rule that I broke.

Jessica (27:06)

And it's fantastic.

Sue (27:07)

It's fantastic.

Jessica (27:08)

It's paying back in such a great way. And it feels so you.

Sue (27:10)

I know, right?

Jessica (27:11)

Because you're kind of the signature lip girl. I know you're a red lip, but just kind of feels like you.

Sue (27:16)

I love coral.

Jessica (27:16)

I love it.

Corey (27:17)

This makes me think I have a ton of rules that I break in my house, but again, some of them come from budget constraints. And then I built my house Five years ago. So I've learned a lot since.

Sue (27:25)

Yes, I've been on the Dear Alice podcast.

Corey (27:27)

Exactly. I'm graduating soon. This. It makes me think of this. I was taking. I taught myself how to play bass guitar, and then I started taking lessons when I started college, and that was the first time I had, like, any formal training. And I took it from a guy named Scott Miller. So what's up, Scott? If you're listening, he's great, Great guy, great musician. And he was like, I. Next time write a piece. These are. These are the parameters. Come back with it. I showed him use my own creative license.

Sue (27:55)

Yeah.

Corey (27:56)

And I didn't stick within those parameters. And he said, it's really cool what you did, but he's like, you got to learn all of the rules before you can break them. So I think of that in design a lot. And I think your guys, both your guys, examples were you broke the rule, but you did it through, like, the lens of how to break it. And you were very thoughtful with doing so. So I think that's the most important thing. It's just not like, well, I broke the rule. Who cares? Everyone does it. That's not the sentiment. It's like, I did it in this way because of X, Y, and Z. And that was the outcome.

Sue (28:31)

We knew it'd be successful.

Corey (28:32)

Yeah.

Jessica (28:32)

I think another rule that you broke in your home, sue, you put your bed in front of a window. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And it looks great. And it's all how you framed it. You'll have to tune in to see the rest of the story. So I don't want to give too much away just to. Km's point is, like, are there any rules that we break in our own home? So those are a few. I'm sorry, Corey, did I interrupt? Did you have a rule that you broke in your home that was. I do like what you're saying, though, is that you have to learn the rules to know how to break them.

Corey (28:58)

Yes.

Jessica (28:59)

Yeah.

Corey (28:59)

So in my front room, I did, like, a version of Shiplap, kind of. And I was doing it definitely after Shiplap was, like, gone. You know, I just saw some images that I really liked, and so I just kind of created my own. It wasn't Shiplap that I went out and bought, and it kind of tongue and grooves together. I just did, like, these huge, wide panels.

Jessica (29:17)

Yeah, Yeah, I know that room.

Corey (29:18)

I would say that maybe. I don't know. That was something that I didn't think I would have done. But then I saw that. And I was like, that's cool. Just make my own and do this. So I kind of use my creative license in that sense.

Sue (29:28)

And I will say that trend interpretations. I know. We're just like, oh, please don't do that. We're so sick of the modern farmhouse. We're so sick of white shiplap. But if you look in all over England, you see shiplap, you see wood treatments. And so it's really just. What version are you doing it? And does it feel like you.

Corey (29:42)

Yes.

Jessica (29:42)

So.

Sue (29:43)

And I think that there's a case for most exceptions. Everything that we see on here, I guarantee you've made an exception to that rule on a job because it was the right thing to do.

Corey (29:51)

Yeah.

Sue (29:51)

There's always room to break a rule.

Corey (29:53)

Definitely.

Jessica (29:53)

Fun conversation. Thanks, KM I know.

Sue (29:56)

That was great.

Corey (29:56)

Okay, the next question comes from Tracy. She asks design Hill you are willing to die on. Mine is thanks to you guys, and that is rugs that are too small.

Jessica (30:06)

Yes, true, Tracy. Yes. Thank you.

Corey (30:10)

I feel like you guys could write a book of design hills that you're willing to die on.

Jessica (30:14)

Yeah. Yeah.

Corey (30:15)

That's a great question.

Jessica (30:16)

Yeah. In fact, Tracy, we just really did a photo shoot for a new upcoming collection, and we had to use a too small rug during the shoot. We. We pulled in this vintage rug at the last minute just to make this little sitting area, and I'm like, oh, man, I hope nobody on the podcast calls me out for this. And now I'm just fessing up.

Corey (30:34)

Break and rule.

Sue (30:35)

We know.

Jessica (30:36)

I know. Listen, Tracy, I know, I know. I know what I did, and it looked great in the shoot. So anyway, yeah, there's always.

Sue (30:44)

There's always those things I would say living finishes. Is the hill that, like. Yeah, that is my mountain. I'm gonna die on that.

Jessica (30:52)

Define for the class what a living finish is.

Sue (30:54)

Living finish is real marble. It's real court site. It's real wood. It's real. Whatever. And just like the integrity. I want my home to have integrity. I want to have integrity. I don't like being with people that don't have integrity. Therefore, why would I hang out with wood tile? You ain't wood.

Corey (31:13)

Yep.

Jessica (31:13)

Your tile or porcelain floor is pretending to be marble.

Sue (31:17)

So even if your builder's just like, nope, the maintenance is going to be so much better on this one. It's going to withstand the flood. In the basement, I would still do engineered wood floor in my basement. I would still do all those things because I know. I know what they are. So anyway, that's the hill that I'd be willing to down.

Jessica (31:33)

Gosh, that's such a good one, Sue. We're never going to come up with anything as good as that one.

Sue (31:37)

You just want to high five it and say that you're on seen hill.

Jessica (31:39)

I do. I, I. Guys, I have, I have so much judgment for other designers when I see them not using a living finish. And it's happened a few times lately, and I was like, no better. Well, I, I feel bad for the client because somehow their designers talk them into that maybe. It's just so flat.

Sue (32:00)

Yeah.

Jessica (32:00)

And it's too perfect. There's the finish on it is a liar.

Sue (32:04)

Yeah.

Jessica (32:05)

The, the veins are a liar. Yeah. There's and. And then the house doesn't get to live up to its fullest potential. And these things all clean, beautifully and even aged. Looks so much better and so much character.

Sue (32:19)

And you know that it's real when you can see that and you want

Jessica (32:21)

to buy that house 100 years from now and look at that marble. Like, it would be so special.

Corey (32:27)

So true.

Sue (32:27)

I can't trust, like, a person that doesn't look their age. I'm cool with Botox. I'm cool with refreshing, hydrating and stuff, but if you don't look your age, I'm like, how am I supposed to trust you that you have the wisdom that you're imparting on me right now? Well, if you can't look right, I went there. But it is the hill that I will die.

Jessica (32:44)

I love it.

Sue (32:44)

A slow death on.

Corey (32:46)

Okay, this is our last question from the day, and it comes from Tricia. First, she says, love the podcast.

Jessica (32:52)

Thanks, Trisha.

Corey (32:53)

We never get bored of hearing that. And then she asks, I would love to hear what your go to finishes are for faucets, hardware, and lighting. Which metals do you perceive as timeless? Which metals you prefer to mix together or layer? Or do you keep everything the same?

Jessica (33:08)

Tricia, this is a great question. I'm sure we've answered this before, but it's time. Again, I am a big fan of polished nickel when it comes to faucets, anything. Because in the kitchen, you're usually dealing with some type of stainless stove, dishwasher handles, microwaves. You know what I mean? Like, silver is going to be in the mix anyway. And so I see the faucets as some type of utilitarian thing. I'm going to say something really bold. I don't want to see a brass faucet in a kitchen. I know we're going to break that rule for somebody who really wants it. But I really just love a faucet. I'm going to say in a bathroom as well. I don't want to see any faucets that are brass.

Corey (33:44)

I'm going to say this about that. And I do. I do agree with you.

Jessica (33:47)

Yeah.

Corey (33:47)

But then I see stuff like our Beatrice in a bathroom and it kind of like is, you know, succumb, like aging just a little bit and has to me, I think that's so. I don't know. Maybe it's just my mood right now, but I love that.

Jessica (33:58)

I love that too. I don't know why. I just love that a faucet is. I don't know. It just feels everlasting and without trend to go with some version of.

Corey (34:10)

That's where I do polished nickel. I feel like it's more timeless.

Jessica (34:12)

I love it on a tub. Now we have those romantic clients and people that love brass and people are doing unlacquered brass. And there's beautiful finishes for myself and for my best friends and. Or my mom or anybody that's advising, like, what would you do? And Trish, I feel like that's you and me right now and we're alone. And I'm telling you, just go polish nickel and you're not going to regret it. On your faucets, your hardware, it's going to depend on the scene. I'm mostly a polished nickel hardware person. There's going to be a fancy closet. We're going to use brass. You know, it depends on the client. But if you're asking for advice and I don't, I don't know your style, but I still feel like polished nickel for hardware for me and polished nickel.

Sue (34:51)

And the reason why it's such. It's our favorite metal is because it's consistent from brand to brand to brand. You're typically consistent on polished nickel. And so when you're mixing metals, when you have hardware that you know you want it to not clash and be different than your faucet, Poshnickel is the way to go if you want that consistency. I wouldn't do brushed. I wouldn't do any of those things.

Jessica (35:12)

I would do polish.

Sue (35:13)

Make sure you do that. And I would do polished nickel, not polished chrome. Do you polish nickel because it's warm?

Jessica (35:18)

It's more expensive? Do not get sucked into that chrome one.

Sue (35:23)

Yeah, it's cold.

Jessica (35:24)

It is cold. Yeah. Tell your plumber you want the warmth. And because what we're going to talk about next is how do we Mix the metals together. You are going to use brass in some things. And polished nickel and brass look fabulous together because there's warmth in polished nickel

Sue (35:36)

on those, like, spectrum of brasses. There's so many different ones. When we're looking at all these different companies with all these different brasses and even there's like classic brasses, like brass hardware. That's insane. It's all made out of real brass and they have probably like, I want to say 20 different brass finishes. Like, lucky us if you. Lucky you, Trish, if you get. If you use classic brass, because it's amazing. But majority of places, you know, top knobs, M Tech, they have like one brass that's only offered in a couple of things because it's not tried and true. And it's unlikely that that brass is going to get along with the brass on your light fixture. And so again, if you just say brass is. You have to study it more and you have to, like, request the live samples and you have to look at it with all the other things. Because if I see three different brass finishes and I can tell you looking at all three of those, what costs the least amount of money by the way it looks. So that's why you have to be so careful, especially when you're getting into faucets using brass because of just the water damage and the spotting and everything. And that's again, another, like, big vote for polish nickels because it, like, it cleans up beautifully, it polishes beautifully versus a brass.

Corey (36:45)

Yep.

Sue (36:45)

If you are in a powder or in an accent, like a smaller space where you don't have as many players yelling at each other. Awesome. Like, I think that would be where we would do the brass faucet. It would be coming out of the wall with a dope tile behind it and a moody wallpaper just singing that same song. So that is. That's some of the reason why. But to your point in mixing metals, brass unlacquered, preferably with your polished nickel, wins every time.

Jessica (37:12)

Bananas.

Sue (37:12)

Yeah, I don't like a brushed brass. I think it looks fake and it looks like. Or it's just like a painted brush. A painted brass on a steel.

Jessica (37:22)

It looks cheap.

Sue (37:22)

You know, it looks like it's from

Jessica (37:24)

Amazon and you saved a lot of money on it.

Sue (37:26)

And you did.

Jessica (37:26)

She wants to know, which metals do you perceive as timeless? Which metals do you prefer to mix together or layer? Or do you keep everything the same? We don't keep everything the same.

Sue (37:35)

Feels like a starter home when you do that. Yeah, we Always compared it to just a really dapper gal with that's traveled the world, has mixed metals that she's wearing in her jewelry. Like she knows her stuff. Yeah, Same thing with House.

Jessica (37:46)

I think the easy answer for me is I'm a. Let's just take a primary bath. I'm a polished nickel faucet. My hardware is probably polished nickel, but it might have. Like, on my own, I have polished nickel with a little brass ring on it. So it's a mixed metal. And I'm brass on my sconces. That's generally it. I'm usually going to go brass on my lighting. Now, what's fun, Trisha, is I keep hearing and I keep seeing one of the big trends for 2026, besides oversights, mirror colors, color blocking. One of them is chrome, everything. So I think we're about to step into a. A silver era where it's going to take everybody a little bit of time to get there, and everybody has different design preferences and tastes, but I think we are going to see an uptick in silver metals, which supports the polished nickel thing still.

Sue (38:33)

Yeah.

Jessica (38:34)

Whether or not you're gonna play brass on your sconces or not, I don't know. I still really love a mixed metal, though, and I think it looks more expensive and timeless.

Sue (38:43)

I do, too.

Jessica (38:43)

To mix the metal.

Sue (38:44)

I do, too. Because, again, when everything's the same finish, it just goes completely flat. And so when you have that dimension change and that shade change, that's when it sings. Like, that's when you, like, notice how cool that sconce is, you know, or how neat that hardware is and then the riveting around it. You just notice more details when you can call attention to it. And you do that by contrast.

Jessica (39:03)

Yeah.

Sue (39:04)

And that's between the metals, so. Yeah.

Jessica (39:06)

Agreed.

Sue (39:06)

Great question, Trisha. So great. I just want to do a quick plug for a home furnishings design program. This program is amazing, and we created it so that we could help more people. We have a team of really knowledgeable designers that are schooled, that are in AutoCAD, that are waiting to help you with furnishing your home. Now, the great part about this is, is that you don't have to pay for the services. So it's completely complimentary. And you can put all your money, all those Easter eggs into your furniture. So as you prepare for all your summer guests and anticipate the holidays that are going to be around the corner before we know it, you can actually attack some of these rooms and, like, answer those hard sectional questions. Of like, what pieces do I get? How big of a rug should I get? What can fit in my room and what would feel the most like? You use our home furnishings design and so how you do that is you go to our website, Alsane Home, you're going to go to our design services tab and you're going to go down to our home furnishing design application, fill that out and they'll get back to you within 24 hours. So such I think it's such a trick everyone should be playing.

Jessica (40:10)

I get so many nice texts too from people. They've loved the service and they're like, I feel like I'm best friends with so and so. And I'm like, oh, I'm so glad you feel that way. It's been such a great program. Really quick thank you for all the questions today. If you guys have questions like these, please send them to Dear alice@alice lanehome.com we love getting them and we will definitely answer them in the future episodes and make sure and tune in to our Instagram. That's Alice Lane Home and at Alice Lane Interiors. Thanks so much for tuning in. We'll catch you guys next time.

Sports Announcer (40:41)

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Jessica (41:08)

Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.