How to Decorate Podcast

Episode 435: Home Again with James Farmer

Original Air Date: October 14, 2025
Guests: James Farmer (Designer, Author)
Hosts: Caroline, Liz (Ballard Designs Team)

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes back beloved guest James Farmer, an acclaimed Southern designer and author, for a warm, insightful discussion centered on his new book, Home Again: A Return to Gracious Interiors. James shares stories from his design journey, delves into personal evolutions in his own home, and offers advice on creating spaces that evolve gracefully with life and the seasons. The conversation is peppered with practical decorating wisdom, touching anecdotes, and a generous dash of Southern charm.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Personal Journey Behind "Home Again"

• James’s Writing Motivation:

  • The love for bookmaking traces back to a memorable childhood experience in kindergarten, where his teacher instilled the belief that "anyone can write a book."
  • Early experiences and family stories shaped his understanding that home is deeply emotional, not just a physical structure.
  • Quote: "What I've tried to integrate into my brand is the definition of home, because home is so much more emotional than house." (06:36)

• Evolving Authorship:

  • Each book catalogs personal and stylistic evolution. His editor pushed him to write from the heart, infusing emotional resonance into his work.
  • Recent books almost serve as a "serial memoir," weaving together decorating lessons and life changes.
  • Quote: "It sort of records your own life in there. That’s really cool." – Caroline (05:32)

2. Redefining and Rearranging Spaces at Farmdale

• Switching Living and Dining Rooms:

  • After a decade and a growing extended family, James transformed his formal dining room into a new living room, and vice versa, demonstrating that function should drive floor plans, not tradition.
  • Quote: "Just because a room is labeled something doesn't mean it has to stay like that forever." (09:57)

• Design for Intimacy and Scale:

  • The new living room, with its overlapping seating areas and absence of a TV, fosters conversation and intimacy—cozy for two, comfortable for twenty.
  • The key is geometry: arranging furniture into right angles creates inviting, close-knit conversational spaces.
  • Quote: "The geometry of furniture placement is huge...I like to push the furniture together and then have open spaces—it allows for breathing room." (13:06–15:03)

• Technical Decorating Tips:

  • Seat heights should be around 20 inches for comfort; coffee tables should match.
  • Keep arm-to-arm distances within 4–12 inches for a close, but not cramped, feel.
    • Quote: "Four, five, six inches; I think a foot is more than plenty, but I like to keep it tight." (17:19)

3. Transforming Everyday Spaces: Other Projects in "Home Again"

Auburn Condo Makeover

• Client Trust & Vision:
  • Started as a "white box" but was turned into a sophisticated, inviting home using architectural details (crown molding, paneling, wallpaper) and antiques.
  • Designed for multifunctionality rather than maximizing dining seating; tailored for how clients truly live.
  • Quote: "Sometimes thinking out of the box really means thinking inside the box in a different scope or scale." (29:28)

Oxford “Game Day” House

• Evolving Purpose:
  • Originally a football weekend getaway, became the clients' full-time retirement home and the grandkids’ haven.
  • Used the university’s color palette (navy/red) in sophisticated, fresh ways—like the famous red-check bunk room—as a jumping-off point for design cohesion.

Martha's Vineyard Cottage

• Color Palette Translation:
  • Tackled the ‘red, white and blue’ brief by using coral, cream, and watery blues, reflecting the local landscape and maintaining warmth.
  • Treated small, tight spaces like a ship—built-ins, clever use of color, and detail.
  • Quote: "Red, white, and blue...coral, cream, and turquoise." (56:43)

4. James’s Philosophy on Layering, Sentiment, and Rule-Bending

• Mixing Old and New:

  • Passing family heirlooms to siblings liberated James to buy new favorites—he loves mixing sentimental pieces with fresh finds.
  • Advocates "bending, not breaking" design rules: adjust classic combinations (like red, white, and blue) to suit personality and environment.

• Seasonality & Decorating:

  • Homes should be ready to respond to the seasons in subtle and spirited ways—through fruit, flowers, and fire on the coffee table.
  • Quote: “A coffee table needs fruit, flowers, and fire...it tells you what season it is.” (42:00)

• Bold Moves in Small Spaces:

  • Powder rooms, laundry rooms, and secondary spaces are ideal for bold wallpaper or unexpected color because they’re easily closed off and less prominent.
  • Large-scale paper in a small room? Always a “Design 101” trick that works.
    • Quote: “It’s those jewel boxes...that allows you to do that.” (39:37)

5. Practical Design Wisdom

Finding a Starting Point

• Client Cues:
  • Even “blank slate” clients give cues; James looks for favorite objects, artwork, or quirks in their collections to spark his creative process.
  • Interior design is “90% psychology, 9% logistics—the rest is creativity.” (36:59–37:10)

Finishing Schedules & New Builds

• For new builds, prioritize committing to finishes (plumbing, lighting, materials) before paint.
• Paint color can wait until the sheetrock is up and you can see how light interacts with the space. Use finish schedules to stay organized.
  • Quote (to listener Kayla): “The first thing we do is a finish schedule...what planes are meeting what.” (58:56–62:15)

Christmas Tree Soapbox

• Many clients want to design their living room around the Christmas tree, but James urges not sacrificing functionality for two weeks of the year.
  • Quote: “A tree dictates how a room is designed for 11 and a half months out of the year.” (49:50)
  • He advocates for wreaths and garlands—seasonal touches that “say a lot.”

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Childhood Inspiration:
  • "Anyone can write a book." (07:47)
• On Confidence in Decorating:
  • “The best dish a host or hostess can serve is confidence… serve confidently, love graciously.” (56:58)
• On Decorative Layers:
  • "Negative space isn’t always negative." (17:19, paraphrased from Emily Followell)
• On Seasonal Living:
  • “Not a sterile, beige homage to nothingness… a room that can easily say, oh, it’s fall, oh it’s winter.” (44:53)
• On Bending the Rules:
  • "I don’t like to break them, but I do like to kind of bend them." (end of Martha's Vineyard section)

Important Timestamps

• [01:00] James Farmer joins; childhood bookmaking story and inspiration
• [05:32] Books as "serial memoirs"; recording personal growth
• [09:57] Room function over formality; living/dining room switch
• [13:06] Designing for groups of various sizes; importance of geometry in seating
• [17:19] Specifics on seat heights, spacing, and negative space
• [24:48] Auburn condo transformation
• [30:04] Making a new build feel storied; key millwork/crafting details
• [33:47] Finding a creative "jumping off point" in client work
• [39:37] Using bold color and scale in secondary rooms
• [42:00] What it means to create a “room for the seasons”
• [48:13] Orientation and color palette decisions
• [49:50] Designing around the Christmas tree—yay or nay?
• [58:28] Listener question: picking paint colors for a new build
• [62:04] Advice: let paint wait until testing in actual space
• [63:39] James’s current/future projects, tour and signing info

Resources & Where to Find James

• Instagram: @jamestfarmer
• Shop: A Place to Call Home
• New Book: Home Again: A Return to Gracious Interiors

Closing Note

James Farmer’s return to the show is a testament to his warmth, storytelling gifts, and practical wisdom. This episode is packed with actionable tips, encouragement to decorate with confidence, and candid reflections on what makes a home both functional and soulful.

For more resources, decorating dilemmas, and show notes:
HowToDecorate.com/Podcast