Top Interior Design Myths — Debunked by the Experts

Summary

Dear Alice | Interior Design

Episode: Top Interior Design Myths — Debunked by the Experts

Date: October 9, 2025
Hosts: Jessica Bennett, Suzanne (Sue) Hall, Alice Lane

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Episode Overview

In this lively and insightful episode, the Alice Lane Interior Design team—Jessica Bennett, Suzanne Hall, and Alice Lane—dismantle some of the most persistent myths in interior design. Drawing on their extensive experience and peppering the conversation with real project examples, the trio discusses how to be bold, playful, and personal with your interiors, regardless of budget or background. The episode is packed with practical advice, memorable moments, vibrant storytelling, and actionable takeaways for listeners looking to make their homes more reflective of their own style.

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Key Myths Debunked & Major Insights

1. "Small Rooms Should Only Be Painted White"

[03:27]

• Myth: White is the only safe choice for small rooms.

• Debunked: The hosts advocate for bold colors, dramatic wallpaper, exotic slabs, and patterns in small spaces to create personality and surprise.

  • "I'm gonna say small rooms should never be painted white." — Jessica Bennett [04:28]
  • "Use the wild slab in the small space." — Alice Lane [06:09]
  • Examples include tiny pantries and powder rooms transformed with murals, color-drenched walls, and vibrant furniture.
  • Notable Project: Desert Oaks secret room with tangerine wallpaper and pink chairs.

• Tactic: Start taking risks in small spaces to boost design confidence, then extend boldness to larger rooms.

2. "Everything Must Match"

[09:07]

• Myth: Matching furniture or decor (e.g., bedroom sets, dining sets) is ideal.
• Debunked: Curation and contrast bring depth and storytelling; harmony is more interesting when built from complementary, not identical, pieces.
  • "Matching is giving up the opportunity to tell your story." — Alice Lane [09:14]
  • "Like a museum with multiple artists...so much more interesting than just one flat one." — Sue Hall [09:57]
• Examples:
  • Lovers Lane home office with a mix of orange upholstery, goatskin desk, vintage zebra chair, and a blue room.
  • Dining rooms featuring varied chair colors, mixed leathers, contrasting tables and credenzas, with harmony achieved through art and rug choices.

3. "You Need Overhead Lighting to Brighten a Room"

[13:56]

• Myth: Can lighting is essential for good lighting.
• Debunked: Overhead lights are rarely needed except for cleaning; mood and atmosphere are made with lamps and layered lighting.
  • "You don't have to have all those lights on. You rarely are going to use them." — Sue Hall [14:06]
  • Sue’s own home has no overheads and achieves vibe and romance with lamps only.
• Tip: Dimmers and smaller cans (if any) help; avoid “acne on the ceiling”.

4. "Stick to Neutrals—They're Always Safe"

[15:33]

• Myth: Neutral palettes are timeless and easiest.
• Debunked: Neutral spaces can be more work to make interesting and often feel stale if not thoughtfully layered with art, textiles, and details.
  • "You have to do a lot more work in a neutral space to make it interesting." — Sue Hall [15:40]
  • "Relaxation of neutrals just looks so stale and boring... It's not 2015 anymore." — Jessica Bennett [16:14]
• Vivid Example: Alice describes her own living room transformation from "bronze grasscloth and white" to a "high-gloss, color-drenched" sanctuary.
  • "I feel like I've been reborn just getting to live in color." — Alice Lane [19:24]
• Insight: Taking small risks with color can boost confidence and lead to more daring choices later.

5. "Mirrors Only Belong in Bathrooms or Entryways"

[21:45]

• Myth: Mirrors have limited places in a home.
• Debunked: Mirrors can go almost anywhere—closets, above nightstands (a designer favorite!), mantels (feng shui benefits), or even as sculptural elements.
  • Memorable Install: Attic-turned-closet clad in mirrors on all surfaces, doubling its perceived size and drama.
  • "It’s basically a much less expensive window that you're putting in a room." — Sue Hall [23:29]
  • Phoenix mirrors are a favorite above nightstands for breadth and light.

6. "Follow Trends to Stay Current"

[25:04]

• Myth: You must chase trends to be stylish.
• Debunked: Trends are fun for inspiration, but the best interiors translate personal style and bring in only resonant elements.
  • "The problem with investing big into a trend is that at some point, it will go by, and you will still be stuck..." — Jessica Bennett [25:27]
  • "If it's something that makes you feel alive—do it! Just don't follow blindly." — Sue Hall [28:26]
• Advice: Participate selectively and thoughtfully; micro-trends require extra caution.

7. "You Can't Mix Wood Tones or Metal Finishes"

[29:13]

• Myth: All woods and all metals must match.

• Debunked: Mixed woods and mixed metals add depth and sophistication when thoughtfully coordinated.

  • "I think when every metal finish is matching, that feels a little too phoned in." — Jessica Bennett [29:45]
  • Gold/brass hues are especially tricky; hosts advise caution and encourage polished nickel as a safe standard for plumbing and appliances.
  • "There's nothing more offensive to my eye than... three different brasses that were not considered together." — Sue Hall [31:34]

• Design Secret: Use utility finishes (posh nickel, stainless) for the fixes; use brass or other metals for decorative “jewelry” elements (light fixtures, hardware).

8. "Function Should Always Come Before Form"

[34:45]

• Myth: Utility trumps all.
• Debunked: The most remarkable spaces balance beauty and function; sometimes a little impracticality is worth the effect.
  • Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala dress used as an analogy—even the couch in your home can prioritize aesthetics if it delights you.
  • "We're always going to find the most beautiful vantage point. So there's going to be form, but we are going to pay attention to how this thing functions." — Alice Lane [35:30]

9. "Interior Design is Only for the Wealthy"

[36:18]

• Myth: Only the rich can have beautiful homes or hire designers.

• Debunked: Every home, at every price point, can be intentional and beautiful; everyone occupies a space and can express their story through it.

  • "Interior design is for everyone. We all have personal style. We all get dressed in the morning." — Alice Lane [36:28]
  • "Any decision that you make that you put money toward should be considered." — Sue Hall [37:41]
  • The evolution of design (beaded curtains, painted nightstands) is part of personal discovery. Curiosity and thoughtfulness matter more than budget.

• Wisdom:

  • "It's a marathon... part of the journey is discovering who you are and what makes you feel at home." — Jessica Bennett [39:13]
  • "That's the power of interior. Your walls start to talk." — Sue Hall [40:59]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fear & Risk:
  • "What if you lived your life that way? ‘I don’t think I could pull that off.’ You would never be pulling anything off." — Alice Lane [02:14]
• On Curated Homes:
  • "Those are the houses that are the most interesting... because it’s such a curated collection." — Sue Hall [12:48]
• On Color Courage:
  • "Get started in your small spaces, really creating environments, and that will give you the courage to do more." — Alice Lane [06:47]
• On Mixing Finishes:
  • "I'd rather 1be bronze and 1be brass, or 1b nickel and 1b brass." — Sue Hall [31:54]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Myth 1—Small rooms & color: [03:27]–[08:58]
• Myth 2—Everything must match: [09:07]–[13:54]
• Myth 3—Overhead lighting: [13:56]–[15:26]
• Myth 4—Neutrals are always safest: [15:33]–[20:39]
• Myth 5—Mirrors are for bathrooms/entryways only: [21:45]–[25:04]
• Myth 6—Follow trends: [25:04]–[29:13]
• Myth 7—Mixing woods/metals: [29:13]–[34:45]
• Myth 8—Function always before form: [34:45]–[36:18]
• Myth 9—Interior design is for the wealthy: [36:18]–[41:04]

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Episode Tone & Banter

The episode is warm, irreverent, and encouraging, with the hosts bouncing between expertise and empathetic coaching. They celebrate bold choices, personal narratives, and living beautifully at all budget levels, using humor and relatable anecdotes to make high-end design wisdom feel accessible to everyone. Their enthusiasm for color, risk-taking, and curation shines throughout.

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Final Words

The hosts invite listeners to submit their own myths for future debunking and remind everyone that design is deeply personal, always evolving, and inclusive. Their core message: everyone deserves to live in a space that tells their unique story.

Transcript

[Jessica Bennett]

Whenever we're doing episodes, that's, like, commenting on stuff that, you know, others are talking about is always the most fun to me because we get to get a little bit juicy.

[Sue Hall]

We say this a lot, that designers and artists houses are, like, the most, like, fun for us to, like, really dissect because it's such a curated collection. Those. Those are the houses that are the most interesting.

[Alice Lane]

But I think anybody can live beautifully. You don't have to be wealthy. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today, we've got a fun one for you. But first, I wanted to remind you that the modern heirlooms collection is currently out and available. So head over to alicelanehome.com and grab your heirloom piece before you're gone. We're going to be diving into some of the biggest myths in our industry as interior designers. And the last myth is something that we have been asked a million times, and you do not want to miss out on that one.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

So this episode is called Debunking Design Myths. I'm curious to know, have either of you ever had a design myth that you've had to deal with recently? Does anything stand out to you guys?

[Sue Hall]

Myth. I don't know if it's myth as much as people always say, oh, I don't know if I could pull that off. I think that's a myth. I'm gonna clarify. I do, too define that as a myth. Yeah. Because people don't give themselves enough credit. We say that, like, sometimes you. You do kind of need a designer or someone, a best friend or someone to help, like, show you, like, how cool people are, what your experiences are, like, how you dress or, you know, just all those things. I think people don't give themselves enough credit, and you can pull off a lot more than you're giving yourselves credit to or the confidence to, because I'm like, it's. It's so fun when we.

[Alice Lane]

I think a great designer. I think a great designer will pull that out of you.

[Sue Hall]

Yes, yes.

[Alice Lane]

Like, you've got to work with somebody that you really feel like you've seen their work, and you trust that they're going to be able to get that out of you. It should still be your story, and there needs to be a real trust. Right.

[Jessica Bennett]

And give you the confidence to do it.

[Alice Lane]

Give you the confidence to do it. Yeah. And I guess give you enough vision of the project that you can see it and that you can go, okay, I'm going to trust the process because I want to get there, and that's how I want to live. I want my story told by you.

[Jessica Bennett]

Y. You know, exactly.

[Alice Lane]

And I think that is so empowering. So, Sue, I think you're right. I don't think you can pull that. I don't think I can pull that off. What if you lived your life that way? I don't think I could pull that off.

[Jessica Bennett]

You would never be pulling anything off. You wouldn't do it.

[Alice Lane]

Smothered by your fears.

[Sue Hall]

But I think a majority of people are like that. I. I don't think that majority of people, like, I don't know, take the risk, like buy the colorful thing or like paint the room the crazy color, you know, just because. Yeah, it's. I think, I don't know if it's exhaustion or lack of confidence or just. I don't know what it is or just like again, enough people telling you how, how much fun you are and that you deserve to live in that color. I don't know.

[Alice Lane]

Well said.

[Jessica Bennett]

Whenever we're doing episodes that's like, we're commenting on stuff that, you know, others are talking about is always the most fun to me because we get to get a little bit juicy, you know. So before we get into these myths, I'm just going to say to everyone listening, if you, you know, have any interior design myths that you want us to debunk, post them in the comments on our YouTube or Spotify if you're watching there, or send them into dear alicellis laneholm.com so let's make this a series. Yeah, let's do it. So fun. Okay, design myth number one. Small rooms should only be painted white.

[Sue Hall]

Lies.

[Jessica Bennett]

Total lies. False. Yes, we have sound effects. Whatever that game is, we need to bring that thing.

[Alice Lane]

I mean, those of you that are listening, we're going to show you some pictures of some small spaces we've done and what color and pattern especially can do for these small rooms. Sue, tell them what they're seeing. Those of them that can't see the screen right now, what are they seeing right now on their screen?

[Sue Hall]

Okay, this is our Desert Oaks project in Odessa. And they had like this little pocket behind family room built ins. They want to make like this like secret little interrogation hidden room. And we're like, we gotta do something really great. So we got this amazing wallpaper that has like this tangerine color that we then threw on the baseboard. And it is so much fun when you open up a relatively neutral built in to go to a very small space that is like covered in personality. I'm like, that's where I would go to eat my dessert.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah, totally.

[Sue Hall]

A million times over. Like, with my best friend, with my sister, with my daughters.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

I'm gonna say small rooms should never be painted white. I mean, that's. That's where I feel like you can do it.

[Alice Lane]

Picture the powder bath in being a white box. The white toilet with a white thing.

[Jessica Bennett]

Exactly.

[Alice Lane]

This is your pocket square moment to really go for it. Nobody spends a ton of time in these rooms, and so you're really going to want to express yourself and make it somewhere that you want to discover. Imagine that hidden closet room going in there and it just being white. It would feel like that's where you should store your extra Christmas or Legos or something.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

But here, it's like it's a whole hidden world now.

[Jessica Bennett]

No one's. No one's spilling any, you know, secrets. And in just a neutral room.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. You want to know what's not there yet? Is, like, this whole Ed moment behind there to hold all of her little conversation starters.

[Alice Lane]

Love.

[Jessica Bennett]

That's right.

[Sue Hall]

So fantastic. And like, again, give yourself. Give yourself the opportunity, give yourself credit to, like, be that fun.

[Jessica Bennett]

Guarantee that's going to be one of their favorite spaces in their home.

[Sue Hall]

And it's the smallest space in the house, so it is. It is incredible. And it has bright pink chairs and just a little poker table of a thing. Mahjong. Whatever you want to do in there, I love it.

[Alice Lane]

Okay, powder baths. Let's talk about it. We have a few powder baths here we're going to show you. First one being tiger oak. This is a space that has been beloved since 2018.

[Sue Hall]

Gucci herons, guys.

[Alice Lane]

The Gucci hair and the murals just wrapping around.

[Sue Hall]

We love a mural larger than life.

[Alice Lane]

We love a mural in a small space. We love it in a big space. But this just really was one of those surprising things, especially, what if it was neutral? Especially seven years ago.

[Jessica Bennett]

Next time, we're gonna AI these neutral and put them, like, next to each other.

[Sue Hall]

And after. That'd be amazing. We absolutely should like. And also here I see this stupid myth.

[Alice Lane]

Use the wild slab in the small space.

[Sue Hall]

Amen.

[Jessica Bennett]

Because that's when you can afford it.

[Alice Lane]

That is when you can afford exotic.

[Sue Hall]

You go to the exotic style. That's what you do.

[Alice Lane]

That's what you're doing. So that's what you're seeing here. You're seeing a really cool almost.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

Marble paired with the Gucci herons and the skirted sink. And, like, all the tricks are done in the small Space.

[Sue Hall]

I'm like, you can kind of stack heroes on top of heroes in small space, which is so much fun. And again, there's no my. Like, what's the. Like, what's the risk? Like, if you do or if you're nervous about doing something, you know, big, do it in a small space and, like, see how that makes you feel. I guarantee you it'll be your favorite.

[Alice Lane]

Room in the house, and then you'll be ready to really go for it in the other rooms. There you go. Get started in your small spaces, really creating environments, and that will give you the courage to do more.

[Sue Hall]

Here are a couple other powder bathrooms. We have our one from Lovers Lane, who's. That's, like, one of our very, very favorites, but again, completely drenched in the sea cup color. And then again, we have another Gucci heron in green from our Capitol Heights project. So again, larger than life patterns, like, deeper than deep colorways. Anything but neutral.

[Alice Lane]

Anything but neutral.

[Sue Hall]

Anything but neutral.

[Alice Lane]

Don't do white and don't go neutral.

[Sue Hall]

And, like, take it on the ceiling. Wrap yourself in it like a blanket.

[Alice Lane]

Yes. Pantries. Pantries are small spaces.

[Sue Hall]

And, like, seriously, what would feel like. Timeout is now the party. Everyone loves this pantry. This is from our Manchester house, and it's all green, the tiles green. We have William Morris up top. Like, again, hero on, hero on, hero. Skirted like that skirted number. Who am I, Nancy Myers? It's so good. Sure are so good.

[Alice Lane]

I'd hide in here and just reorganize the groceries on the shelves because the space is so great.

[Sue Hall]

I would just make drinks all day long.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah, you just really do feel like a historical moment. And if this were all white, I feel like I wouldn't want to hide in here.

[Sue Hall]

Utility room. It would a back. A back of house.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

I don't know. Definitely. But, yeah, pantries are small. I'll say Most closets are small. I know we do a lot of large, luxurious closets, but this is from our Manchester house. It's a good size closet, but it's not the biggest. And again, it would been really easy to go neutral, but the fact that we took everything in this lacquered blue color, like it was everybody's. It's her favorite space in the whole house. Isn't that funny that the space. I will say for most people, they'll take risks and go colorful on their children's rooms because they're like, oh, they're kids. Or they'll do something fun in the basement.

[Jessica Bennett]

No one's gonna Judge them.

[Sue Hall]

They'll do something fun in the basement because that's where the teenagers go. And they all migrate to those spaces because they're just like, gosh, we just, like. We didn't say no. We didn't, like, put up all the guards.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yep.

[Sue Hall]

Same to. So I'm just like, the spaces that you're already considering doing, like, throw a color on them. Like, they don't have to be neutral, and they shouldn't be neutral.

[Alice Lane]

Love that. I think we debunked number one.

[Sue Hall]

Okay. Debunked up the podcast.

[Jessica Bennett]

Okay. Design myth number two. Everything must match. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Yep. No.

[Alice Lane]

Definitely not.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

I think matching it is giving up the opportunity to tell your story. Right. We can all buy the matching end tables. We can all buy the matching nightstands with the bed and the bench that matches at the foot of the bed and the dresser set. And then, you know how the dresser has the mirror that goes over the top in the same oak finish or whatever.

[Sue Hall]

Such an easy decision.

[Alice Lane]

Those were the. I mean, that's what you did back in the old days. I think all of our parents dreamed of having a matching set when they were first married. That would be, like, the height of sophistication. And today, of course, we're debunking that myth and saying if you can really infuse the space with individual pieces that make harmony, the symphony is going to be so much greater than everything playing the same note.

[Sue Hall]

It's a curation.

[Alice Lane]

It is a curation.

[Sue Hall]

Like a museum with, like, multiple artists and multiple, you know, mediums is so much more interesting than just one flat one.

[Alice Lane]

And the story that you can tell, like, yeah, here right now, if you happen to be watching, this is a home office for a gentleman in our lovers Lane project. And we've got. It's almost like a French club chair version of a love seat, upholstered in this dark orange color. His desk is covered in goatskin that's kind of this yellow tone. He's got a triangular cocktail table loaded up with books, and then a beautiful vintage chair covered in zebra. And this space is such a rock star of a space. And if everything was the same matching orange upholstery in this whole room, it wouldn't be as magical as just seeing the one hot spot, you know, against that cool, icy blue room. I just love how this space looks. It's really, really fashionable. The next house we have is a dining room. And one of the things we wanted to take away from this is, again, the old school thing that our parents would have loved was just they'd save up for that matching dining set.

[Sue Hall]

Right.

[Alice Lane]

So that they could. So they could all entertain. And the chairs match, the table matches, the credenza behind or the china hutch. Today we are not doing that. We're really avoiding it. So in this next image you're going to see that we've got a dark stained grade table, but we're using dining chairs. And we intentionally chose this white color of paint and then we did this really beautiful persimmon colored leather on top in a green room. And the contrast in the play and the. And I feel like the rugs.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

And the credenza in this room is. What was that credenza? Was it goat skin in the back.

[Sue Hall]

With like a little like brass lining on it?

[Alice Lane]

Yeah. So smart. And. And I think the contrast between it feels like the red and the green and the blue. And not having this whole set match just feels like a fashion house in the space. So you don't have to match your dining tables to. Or your dining table to your dining chairs. How about that?

[Sue Hall]

Yep.

[Alice Lane]

Here's another great example of this. This is house of Harrington. Again, we've got a white lacquer dining table. And then up to it, we've got dark stained grade chairs upholstered in green leather with this really great welt surrounding those oval shapes. And the welt ties in the white table. It's this sort of connecting piece and this black and white cool check rug underneath. But it just feels young and fresh where this dining room could feel really, really old. I feel like.

[Sue Hall]

And it was. It was super boring before.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

A lot of these. The table was existing, but we just kind of like gave it all like a fresh take. And it's amazing. And again, even. Even the Hermes scarves that are like lining.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

The shades on it. Again, it's not like a repeated pattern, but it's. I don't know how it complements its curates. And I think along with this, we say this a lot that designers and artists houses are like the most like fun for us to like.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Really dissect because it's such a curated collection. Like nothing really matches or feels like a formula because it's not. It's been collected over time and over their story and life experiences. And those, those are the houses that are the most interesting, I think also.

[Alice Lane]

Because they trust the process because they're always reaching in their own work to try and get that. That almost a harmony amongst unexpected players. So I think like this, this art in the. In the dining room, it's like a jungle scene with elephants and palms and reflective water. And I think some of those green notes hanging on top of the oxblood, you know, wall, it just kind of cooled it down, but made it feel exotic and gave permission to go for the chairs. And there are elements that, quote, unquote, match, but they, they. They relate, I should say, but they don't match. So you can create a harmony within using artwork, using rugs, using accessories. But I think the big players not matching might be the formula that.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

That I continue to see in some of these. So if you're looking for a formula, it might just be that.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. Agree. Agreed. Okay.

[Jessica Bennett]

Design myth number three. You need overhead lighting to brighten a room.

[Alice Lane]

Suzanne Hall's life is proof positive.

[Sue Hall]

Proof positive. Okay. Yeah, you guys. Most homes, if you're living in a house, likely you have, like, cans happen running overhead. Most clients we do, we try and, like, minimize the amount of cans that we have just because it becomes acne on the ceiling. We go smaller. But you're only turning those on for cleaning. If you, like, have to clean these, like, massive houses. Right. But you don't have to. You don't have to have all those lights on. You rarely are going to use them or people are going to accidentally turn them on. It's going to ruin your vibe.

[Alice Lane]

Amen.

[Sue Hall]

100. So you're going to, like, you might have, like, one overhead light that you're going to have on a dimmer, and. But most of the time, you're going to put on lamps because that's more romantic and, like, just like, it's your vibe. Right. And so in the house that we. We buy, I noticed when I was going through, I was like, 1971 Cowboys, you didn't give a damn. You just, like, you completely avoided any. Not even one central over the head. Like, there's no cans. No over the head. And I love it. I. For when we first moved in, I'm like, oh, should I put in track? What am I going to do here? And then, as I've lived in it, I've actually really, really loved just having the dimness. Don't dust my corners. They'll be fine. But, like, I don't know. I'm. I'm like, I just want to. I want to debunk that, because I do think architects and I think engineer lighting engineers, they put so many. They put those cans, I swear, every four feet.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And it's too close, and they're too big, and it just, again, it Ruins your vibe. So. God, Adam.

[Jessica Bennett]

Okay, the design myth number four, Stick to neutrals. They're always safe. Yeah. I mean, they're always.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah. There's a place for neutrals. Of course, like, in most public spaces, we go towards something that's more neutral, but we have to add interest. We have to have interest. Like, obviously, we're gonna probably. In these other spaces, your powder room, your dining room, your, you know, these individual offices, we're gonna like, try and, like, do something that you really feel. But when you're in a public space with neutrals, you're going to have to do more work with your art, with your window treatments, with your furniture and your rugs. So don't think that, like, you've pushed the easy button, because actually, you have to do a lot more work in a neutral space to make it interesting.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

And I'm going to say just because it's. I think people like the relaxation of neutrals, but I'm. I think with that is. It just looks so stale and. And boring. And I. I think we've moved on from that. It's not 2015 anymore. Like, we're. We're past that.

[Alice Lane]

Definitely these. These spaces that we're looking at right now on the screen, this is a Washington, D.C. office or library for him, actually. They both use this space, and it's lacquered, this really great red tone. It's almost like. Like a cross between. It's like a cranberry almost. It's really got a lot of depth in it. And a marble mantel, this fractured looking mirror, and a needlepoint little pillow. Lucite just glows in this space. It has been a rock star of the thing, one of our favorite projects, I think, today. And a client just really willing to go for it again. In the beginning of their project, they went a little bit more neutral, didn't take as many risks. And then once they saw the space, they. They kept getting more and more daring. So you might find that in your project or in your own home that as you've taken a risk and you're like, ooh, that actually feels really good. I feel my personal style. I feel like an individual in my house. Then the next space, you're going to just, like, crank up the volume a little bit more, because you felt that as you come and you can feel. We can feel that as we look through the portfolio images from her, from where her journey started to where her journey ended. And this was where it ended in this room. And we just love that we won the trust to be able to really go for it. And if this room were painted neutral, it wouldn't be as interesting or jaw dropping as it is in this. It's a scene, you know, it's almost theatrical, and it's so great.

[Sue Hall]

It feels timeless because it's all in super intentional, I think in intention. Creates timelessness. I really do.

[Alice Lane]

I love that.

[Sue Hall]

Again, Rachel Parcel's library. I think, again, this is probably. We did this in 2000. Gosh, when was this?

[Alice Lane]

1617. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Anyway, when like, these saturated colors were starting to, like, hit the pocket. And I think it's just. It's been a fan favorite ever since. Again, it's a full color drench in this peacock inky color. And again, it's off of some, like, relatively neutral spaces for the public area. But, like people against moth to a flame, man. Like, you just look into there.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And there is this, like, sense of history with this depth. Then, like, that history. I think that historic nature does make it feel timeless, you know? So, like, this whole idea of neutrals being the only safe way to go is like, it's absolutely wrong. Oh, my gosh. What are we looking at now, Jessica Bennett?

[Alice Lane]

Well, this is not professional photography, but this is my living room that I just recently painted. You guys remember that episode? This was a neutral space with sort of a bronze grass cloth, white casings, white mantle, white trim. And I just decided this year that I was sick of myself. And we went ahead and lacquered the entire room. High gloss, the grass cloth, along with casings, along with the wood windows, which I felt was so crazy. Base case, everything. And I feel like I've been reborn just getting to live in color.

[Sue Hall]

It's.

[Alice Lane]

It makes my day to walk in the front door and to look left and go, oh, my gosh.

[Sue Hall]

Wow.

[Alice Lane]

That is so exciting and fun and a mood. And you want to invite people in to just sit down and hang out because it's just. It's fun to be in. It was beautiful before as a neutral, but now it just feels like I'm like, I'm living, you know? So, yeah, I. I think since we're on that topic of neutrals to color, this has been transformative. And the ceiling in this space is this high gloss peach tone, which has been really fun to sort of color block with some of the furniture. And I've played with different pillows. And I really, like, have a crush in my house. It's been so fun. I feel like I'm alive again.

[Sue Hall]

Oh, I love that so much.

[Alice Lane]

And sue, in Your little. In your little camper bath. Yep. Yeah. I mean, you're not living in a white bath to make this feel bigger.

[Sue Hall]

No, I'm not. And, like, the neutral and actually the bedroom that it's off of is neutral. It's reticence that we did integral oak century. It's like a tissue pink, which I'm like, oh, I'll just do that for me. I've done color for all the other bedrooms. I'm so bored by my bedroom, especially when I get to, like, look into here and feel that green. Like, I just can't wait to go in there in the morning because I love the way I feel in that space. It's so much more interesting.

[Jessica Bennett]

Suze, before we started recording, you were telling me about your bubble cuddle blanket from Cozy Earth. Let's tell the people about it.

[Sue Hall]

Okay. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I love this thing so much. The bubble cuddle blanket is the best faux fur blanket out there. I know, because my family all has versions of all the other ones, and they look like flat tires. But the bubble cuddle has a structured grid that's quilted on the front and the back, and it is so soft, and it, like, I don't mind having it out on my sofa with all my other beautiful curated things because it's that lovely, and I say it is cozier than all the others. So I love. I love, love, love my bubble cuddle.

[Jessica Bennett]

So if you want to get a bubble cuddle blanket or any of the amazing products that Cozy Earth offers, head to cozyearth.com and use our code, Dear Alice for up to 20% off. That's cozyearth.com code Dear Alice. And if you get a post purchase survey, make sure to let them know you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Because home isn't just where you live. It's how you feel. Let's go home with Cozy Earth. Okay, design myth number five. Mirrors only belong in bathrooms or entryways.

[Sue Hall]

Lies.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah, we love a mirror. This is, I mean, well, on screen right now. Those of you that aren't watching this mic drop this. Yeah. This is the ultimate mirror trick. This is town Francis closet we did in his last home. He had an attic space that he wanted us to transform into a closet.

[Sue Hall]

So.

[Alice Lane]

So, I mean, you can see all of the angles and pitches and things that we needed to overcome. And mirrors absolutely doubled the size of this space, not physically, but visually. And it's like a magic trick walking up here. And we tend. We. It feels like a Tented ceiling, because we wrapped stripes around every single pitch in eve up here. And reflecting back in itself is just like the most magical green stripe tented room in all the land. I mean, just even coming in at the ground level and then stretching up to the second story, the whole journey is so fantastic because we used mirrors and because we use stripes. And also, we only had just a tiny little window at each end of this thing. The window is probably like 14 inches wide. So it's bouncing daylight around in here for us also. So talk about smoke and mirrors in this room. That was absolutely transformative. We also love a mirror above a mantle. You can see this on your screen. This is a also a feng shui practice that we don't necessarily practice that in our firm or know a ton about it, but there's a tool that, with an opening in your home, like a fireplace, so the energy can go out. And so to balance the energy and bring it back in, you put a mirror above the mantle. So here we've got a mirror above the mantle. We love a mirror above a mantle. We probably do it 90% of the time. Yeah. So I love this practice. Again, it bounces the light around, it reflects. You can see the beautiful staircase reflected back in this mirror.

[Sue Hall]

Basically, it's a much less expensive window that you're putting in a room.

[Alice Lane]

Totally.

[Sue Hall]

That is the rule of mirrors.

[Jessica Bennett]

This is one of my favorite, like, tricks that I've seen more often lately is like the mirror above the nightstand next to the bed.

[Alice Lane]

Again, you're going to reflect light, you're going to reflect the room back in itself. These are antique mirrors in our coastal contemporary project, and they're the full width of the nightstand. And then it also reflects that lamp back in itself. It fills up the entire wall with the headboard, and the whole thing just feels so grand. Such a good trick to do a mirror above the nightstand. We love using our phoenix mirrors above the nightstand. The clear phoenix mirror. We've been doing that in a project. In fact, I was just meeting with a team because we're getting ready to transform the floor into holiday. And they were going to use the phoenix mirrors in six different vignettes. And I was like, you guys, I know it's the best trick in the whole world. Like two above a nightstand. The small ones, they've got a big and little presentation going vertically above another place. We've got two above French chess, and they are so amazing. So if you haven't checked out the Phoenix mirror, that's a really great designer trick. For above the nightstand, it's ready to go and ready to ship, and you don't have to do any measuring or get glass cut or anything like that. So anyway, that's the primary bedroom in the coastal contemporary. And then in the living room, we had screen made out of mirror folded back on itself, reflecting the room and just creating a little bit of magic in the corner, which I think is such a good trick.

[Sue Hall]

So good. Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

You guys, you can use mirrors in so many places. Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

The next myth is follow trends to stay current.

[Sue Hall]

I think so. Well, follow chances are current. You want to fight?

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Okay, you go.

[Jessica Bennett]

I think, don't get me wrong, I. I actually love a trend, and I'll participate in it, and I. But I will do it the way that I like it.

[Sue Hall]

Yes.

[Jessica Bennett]

The problem, I think, with investing big into a trend is that at some point, you will. It will. It will go by, and you will still be stuck with what you have there.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah. And we've all experienced that long, and we've lived long enough. You guys have lived long enough. You've seen that happen. But I do think that there is something about what's happening in the zeitgeist, in the atmosphere, on the Runway, where we are tuning in. All of us love design. That's why. That's why we're listening to this podcast right now. And why we're sitting down to do it is because we love design, and design holds hands with fashion and so many other elements. Right. So there it is. Fun to see what percolates up, because there's. There's evidence of history in so many of the trends. I know one of the things that's happening right now is I'm seeing women tie a scarf around their waist and make sort of a triangle shape. I did that in middle school, and I'm like, I could never do it again. I can't do it this time. But I love seeing people do it, and I kind of want to see my daughters do it. Yeah. Which is so fun. But we all see these little bits bubbling up from our past, and maybe we loved it, or maybe it feel historical. Like, on the screen right now, we're showing you sort of some of the biggest Runway trends that were happening, and you've got this very Chanel Jackie O look on one end of the spectrum, and on the other end, it almost feels street wear with this great plaid, kind of almost like a fringe paint, eyelash situation.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yes.

[Alice Lane]

It's so good. There's something for everyone on here. Even. Even, like, the Terry Tracksuit. Right. In Periwinkle. So what we're trying to show you is there's a big, huge spectrum for anybody to play in for your personal style. There's different colors that are popping up and bubbling up in different silhouettes. Maybe you're a belt person, maybe you're not, but it's fun that belts are back.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

So it's fun to see different color combinations.

[Sue Hall]

You know, I was gonna say, to your point, like, I think you. You look at trends just, like, to stay. It's like, proof of life. I don't know. For me, when I look at trends or when I look at Runway or buy a vogue, like, at the airport, like, I'll usually be going through that on an airplane, and just because it's so fun for me, or, like, see, like, I don't know, clips on TikTok about different designers and how they're developing or what was the inspiration. I find that fascinating. Just as a creator and a designer, I'm just like, that's such. Like, that's so relative to home and the space that we create in. So I'm like, for. If you. You. Everyone occupies a space. Everyone dresses themselves. Like, we're not going to stay in one decade for a long time. You're going to. You're going to be inspired, and you're going to implement things that make sense for you. I'm like, I love this image because you do have such a broad range that I'm like, anybody can find, like, one little piece of one something on here to be like, I love that. And that's going to freshen up what you're currently doing. Because I'm like, you could say, I have. I have a leopard. I have a leopard skirt. And I love the way that she paired that kind of crop jacket with that brown, and I want to try that, you know? And again, it's just like getting a new something in your wardrobe or getting a new piece in your house, and it just kind of, like, makes everything look new.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Makes everything look new. It's just like, one little thing and one fresh take on it. That's why I'm like, I think trends, if you look at it in your through your own personal lens and say, what is. What is something that I can pull into my house that's going to make me feel alive? That's why we follow a trend again, like, investing wholeheartedly into one thing that you're just, like. You feel mediocre about or something that your designer stoked about. That's not a cool move. Not a cool move. But if you feel emotional about it and it's something like, at whatever level of investment you want to dive into that, then I think it's. I think it's super cool. I love it. I love a trend.

[Alice Lane]

Well said.

[Sue Hall]

Micro trends, Be cautious.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

Those turn. But if, you know, if you find things that are relative to you do it. I love it.

[Alice Lane]

Jump in.

[Sue Hall]

Oh, my gosh. I agreed with one of them.

[Jessica Bennett]

The next design myth is number seven. You can't mix wood tones or metal finishes.

[Sue Hall]

No.

[Jessica Bennett]

I'm gonna say it's. It's kind of hard to mix wood tones and metal finishes. I think there's an art to it.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

And you have to have that skill. But I definitely think it can be done. And I mean. Yeah, I think when every. When every metal finish is matching, that feels a little too, like.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

Phoned in.

[Alice Lane]

Feels like a kit of parts.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yep.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah. Let's show a few spaces here. This is a project that we recently installed called Desert Oaks in Odessa. And you can see from the front door being this beautiful. Actually. Yeah. Being this really beautiful aged brass, this handset is so stunning. And you can feel the. The wood tone. Both are oak. The floor is lighter. And we had a question come in the other day where somebody said, if I'm, I'm going to do a stain grade kitchen, what do I do on my floor versus what stain do I do up top? And we're usually always going to say go lighter on the floor. It's going to be more forgiving. It's not going to show all the dust, the scratches, everything standing off of it like a black car. The deeper you go on that floor, the more unforgiving. So you're going to go lighter on the floor, still a medium tone, and then you can go darker stain. So in the image on the screen, this is the Desert Oaks home. Going from the primary bedroom into the main living space.

[Sue Hall]

We're also installing in here. So it's, like, kind of messy, but it just was a good example of just, like, showing lighter floor that has some interest in it so that you have the flexibility of pulling out a darker grain. And. And to your point, like, it is. There is a science to it. Like, I don't think anything goes together. You can't say all. All wood should be, like, paired together. There is a science. But as far as just, like, lightness to dark, different values of wood, I think are very. They're. I think it's good to mix Them. I think that adds a lot of variety. Same thing with metals. Yeah, we love a mixed metal story.

[Jessica Bennett]

You know, because oftentimes I think when you're mixing, like, the wood species, too, or, like, if you're taking the same wood species and, like, staining it darker, that's going to bring more out of it. So, yeah, I. I think, like you said, it's a hard thing to do, but definitely can be done, but you can study.

[Sue Hall]

I will say with mixing metals, mixing brasses is where people, like, get things. There's nothing more offensive to my eye than seeing, like, three different brasses that were not considered together. Or it's actually orange one's, yellow one's.

[Alice Lane]

Fake one is like the shiny gold, like cheap jewelry. And then there's like, maybe something where the brass is actually right, but they don't play together. And so it's just kind of a.

[Sue Hall]

Mess, like a gold sconce with a gold mirrored frame or something, like in a bathroom. And they're not, like, speaking to each other. I'm just like, I'd rather 1be bronze and 1be brass or 1b nickel and 1b brass anyway, so you have to be careful with gold. Specifically, polished nickel is such an easy one to pair with everything because polish nickel is posh nickel from line to line to line.

[Alice Lane]

This is a great example of mixing metals. We've got a beautiful polished nickel tub. And this is Rachel Parcel's bathroom. And then you can see we've got brass hardware for the draperies. We've got brass for the sconces. We've got an antique mirror above her makeup vanity with a beautiful brass mirror for her to get ready in. So you can see the play on the nickel and the brass. And it's so much more handsome and varied than if every single thing in here was gold.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah, it almost just makes the tub. It lets it be itself.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

You know, it's not.

[Sue Hall]

It allows something to feel clean, too. I think when it gets like. If you. If everything was gold, it would start to feel too hot. And you kind of need some temperature balance on this one. So. I like that.

[Alice Lane]

I know this is. This might be controversial to say, but I really feel like, like your plumbing and your appliances, I just really like those to be polished nickel. They feel everlasting. We know brass and golds and all of that are going to come and go, but there's just something about an appliance that feels like if you're not going to do cabinet front, that feels like it should be stainless Steel. And I really like it when the faucet is too.

[Sue Hall]

I really.

[Alice Lane]

And also, do you know what I don't like? I do not like gold silverware. I. A fake cold.

[Sue Hall]

She said it here, everyone.

[Alice Lane]

It makes me mad when I see that people went for it there. I'm like, you're going to regret that in four more years.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

And I feel like that about the faucet. In certain powder baths in certain areas, aged brass is really, really pretty. But I think it's safe if you're trying to decide where to take your risk. Those things are so permanent, and they're expensive. If you do the good one, like, if you're really going to go for the good one, but usually they don't. And then the brass is wrong. It's easier to get it wrong on the gold, like sue said. And so I love here that her tub is this beautiful polished nickel and has a beautiful polished nickel fill. It feels like it could be around from any era, any decade. It's always going to be gorgeous. And that we just went with the decorative pieces for the brass, but not the plumbing.

[Sue Hall]

Yep.

[Alice Lane]

Amen.

[Jessica Bennett]

Agreed.

[Sue Hall]

Amen. Amen. Okay, this is just another example on the screen of, like in kitchens, you see, I feel like kitchens, bathrooms. You see the mixed metal trick, the most obvious that we do, where, again, you're actually your faucets, like those fixtures, you know, plumbing, things that do or something that you're doesn't. It's not necessarily the jewelry. It's the utility that. And the posh nickel makes a lot of good sense for our eyeballs. But then the decoration is in the gold, the light, the hardware. You know, occasionally. Sometimes we'll do the hardware and polish nickel also, depending on the client. But this is where you do see that play of, like, utility meets jewelry. And that's when you fill the mixed metals the very, very most.

[Jessica Bennett]

Design myth number eight, function should always come before form.

[Alice Lane]

I mean, I just. Guys, I'm. I'm embarrassed to say, but I really enjoy watching the Kardashians from time to time. It's really funny. So Kim was getting dressed for the Met gala, and she was wearing this outfit, you guys remember, like a picture of that. Her. Her waist was so pinched in. I don't know if she had ribs removed or how she did this. And then the bottom of her dress arcuated down and then cinched around her ankle ankles. So she had to take the teeny, tiniest little baby steps. She had to ride in a van standing up to get to their Location. They had to help get her out and then just even walk up the stairs. Oh, my gosh. If we could see a video of her trying to walk.

[Sue Hall]

You video, Ryan.

[Alice Lane]

But I remember her saying, I will do anything for a look. For her form came way before function. The girl could barely even walk. But I was like, man, I'm too practical for that. Like, I think for us, we're always going to find the most beautiful vantage point. We're going to find the most beautiful way to show your home. So there's going to be four minutes, but we are going to pay attention to how this thing functions. We have to. To be good at our job. We have to do that. But we do have to consider how's it going to look? How do we get the best look to still have it? Function. The function is always going to be in our mind. We're always going to be solving for that in our CAD drawings. Like a puzzle. We're just going after it because if it can be smart and gorgeous, then you win.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yep.

[Sue Hall]

That. You said that.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

I'm like, we're considering both all the time.

[Alice Lane]

All the time.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

So the last one, interior one.

[Sue Hall]

We've been waiting.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yes. Yeah, this is it. Interior design is only for the wealthy.

[Alice Lane]

False interior design is for everyone. We all have personal style. We all get dressed in the morning. And it doesn't mean that you have to hire an interior designer. It just means that you've got to go on a discovery to figure out who you are and really play it out. Talk to the people around you that know you, that take risks, or that you really trust their taste level. And we imbalance this out for it. I was just. I was just on a trip antiquing with some girlfriends, and one of. They're both designers and artists, and one of the designers, she said, yeah, my friend said, I want you to help me with my kitchen. And she said, I. I told her I was going to help her for free. Like, I didn't want her to hire me, me as her designer, but just weigh and balance things off of me. I'm working on other projects, but I'm here for you, like, as a phone, a friend option, as a lifeline. And we all have someone like that in our life that has great taste and we really trust them and they've made decisions in their home that are great. So you can always have a friend like that in your. In your sphere. It doesn't mean you have to hire an interior designer if you are so lucky to get to Hire a designer, then certainly do one that you can really trust, because they're going to pull that story out of you and do a fantastic job. But I think anybody can live beautifully. You don't have to be wealthy.

[Sue Hall]

Great. But I feel like to that point, we all have space, we all occupy space. And interior design is important for everyone. And I feel bad when people are just like, yeah, that's not my thing. I'm just like, but you live in a home. So I'm just like, any decision that you make that you put money towards, like, should be considered. And so that would be. That would be the thing that I would just want people to really think about before they invest in something is like, is it the best option? Does it feel like me? Because interior design, at whatever price point you're at, we've all lived in apartments. We've all lived in rentals. We've all lived in those things. And just by, like, being curious and being thoughtful, how we arrange our furniture, where we put our art, what we're. What our focus is on, it's. It's important. Environment is important. That's why it's so emotional when people move for kids. That's why it's emotional when they move out of their space, because they've invested and poured themselves into a space that feels like them. So I'm just like, on all levels for our brains, for hearts, for everything. Interior design is for everybody at whatever price point you are. And it can be attained. It really can be attained to whatever level you're at. Thrifting's in y', all, like, high five to that.

[Alice Lane]

Sue hall put up a beaded curtain over her doorway when she was a teenager. You interior designed that. That first thing and burned incense and Corey Place. You painted your nightstands chrome.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah.

[Alice Lane]

When you were in middle school or. Or high school.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

It's part of the discovery.

[Alice Lane]

You had a vision for your life. Yeah. And you're going to live it out to its fullest.

[Jessica Bennett]

Exactly.

[Sue Hall]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

It's a marathon, too. And I think that's one thing that I've really just been trying. You know, everyone wants everything to be perfect right now. You know, I want my home exactly the way I want it, and. And sometimes that's just not reality. I think, you know, having wealth can get you to that, like, finish line quicker. Definitely. But part of. Part of that marathon is, like, the journey with it and discovering who you are and what, you know, makes you feel at home.

[Sue Hall]

Totally.

[Jessica Bennett]

And, yeah. I mean, I've just been trying to Embrace that and, and love that part of the journey.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Jessica Bennett]

You know, and trying different things.

[Sue Hall]

Marathon is the most soulful.

[Jessica Bennett]

Yes. 100. Great quote.

[Alice Lane]

We have a friend that has the most extraordinary home here in Utah. And anyway, the home was finished. The interior designer completed it. We had the opportunity to walk through it, and it was a masterpiece. And we were even, like, this is so fantastic. I need to meet the homeowner. I want to hear his story. And he happened to be in advertising, and I, I spent my first part of my career in advertising, so it was a thrill. We got to go to dinner with him. And anyway, you know, it's been years and years since his home's been completed. And we ran into the interior designer recently and she said, boy, he has really gilded the lily. Like, he cannot stop because what she started for him and completed for him was gorgeous. But it is a marathon. Like once you feel and you see the vision of something coming together, he continues to buy things for it and wants to keep doing things and doing things and doing things because your home is never done. And maybe, maybe your, your lily is over gilded. But that's okay. It's your personal style. And he's caught the vision. And I just love that story so much that like, he finally, like, really cra. Grasped this thing and now he's obsessed with it.

[Sue Hall]

Boy, do his walls talk.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

That's the power of interior. Your walls start to talk.

[Alice Lane]

Yeah.

[Sue Hall]

And it's really, really powerful.

[Alice Lane]

I know. I kind of want to go see what it looks like today. Yeah. So fun. Anyway, guys, thanks so much for tuning in. To have us debunk these design myths, that was really fun.

[Sue Hall]

I know. Let's do it again.

[Alice Lane]

Let's do it again. If you guys have any myths, send those to Dear Alice alisonehome.com We'd love to talk about them here or any episode ideas. And remember to Lear, leave us a review or comment. Recommend the show to your friends. That helps us grow, gives us life. Definitely. And remember to check out the new heirloom collection on Alice Lane home dot com. Get yourself an heirloom. This is a really fun season for that. And just. Yeah, we're going to catch you guys next time. Thanks for tuning in. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.