Episode Overview

Podcast: How to Decorate, by Ballard Designs
Episode: Ep. 446: Santa Fe Style & The Art of Layering with French & French Interiors
Date: December 30, 2025
Guests: Heather and Matt French, French & French Interiors (Santa Fe, NM)
Host(s): Caroline (A), Taryn, Liz (B), and another unnamed co-host (C)

This episode centers on embracing Santa Fe style in interior design, exploring the artful process of layering color, pattern, and stories within the home. Husband-and-wife team Heather and Matt French of French & French Interiors share their journey to Santa Fe, their approach to mixing Southern roots with Southwestern flair, navigating client expectations, and finding inspiration in both tradition and innovation. The discussion delves into designing a sense of place, balancing bold color and pattern without chaos, and building lasting design narratives—along with the realities of creative entrepreneurship and family life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Journey to Santa Fe & Origins of French & French Interiors

Timestamps: 02:09-07:38

• Heather and Matt’s Backgrounds: Both originally from the South (Southwest Florida and Fairhope, AL), they initially pursued careers in natural medicine and natural building/renewable energy.
• Pull to Santa Fe: Sought a place compatible with both careers and the possibility to build a home. Santa Fe’s landscape and opportunities drew them.
• First Home Remodel in Florida: Sparked their passion for interiors (“Our shelter magazine budget was larger than our mortgage.”—C, 04:54).
• Serendipitous Sale Before the 2008 Crash: Sold their house just before the market collapse, validating their instincts and leading to a career pivot in design.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Two weeks after we sold the place and packed up like the clampets and we're pulling out west, our house is worth what we paid for it... it was just like a validation all the way to the end that. To follow our instincts and that we were onto something, you know?” —Matt (D), 08:08

2. Embracing & Evolving Santa Fe Style

Timestamps: 08:30-15:35

• Santa Fe's Unique Influence:

  • Initial resistance to the traditional Santa Fe look. Later embraced the aesthetic through a pivotal project at the Applegate estate—combining local materials (adobe walls), regional motifs (1930s Navajo textiles), and a bold mix of colors and patterns.
    • Notable Project: 2015 Show House at the Applegate Estate (later featured in Architectural Digest).
    • Quote:
      “That was the first time that we really, really pushed hard with multiple colors... That room and that show house for us was like pinks and greens and. And lots of woods and different, you know, case goods that had different patterning on it.” —Heather (C), 10:19

• Blending Southern Roots with Southwest:

  • Desire to create a style that transcends typical regional expectations, mixing traditional Southern and French provincial elements with Santa Fe's earthy modernism.
    • Quote:
      “There’s something about the landscape here that draws in people that... are looking for like a wide horizon, whether it be personally spiritually, or to expand their artistic vision.” —Matt (D), 12:14

• Strategy Through Show Houses:

  • Show houses as a tool for exploring design without clients, learning from peers, and developing a distinct practice with national reach.

3. Layering Color, Pattern, and Creating “Home”

Timestamps: 16:36-25:44

• Art of Layering:

  • The sophisticated mix of color and pattern is central, with careful consideration to avoid visual chaos (“clown town”). Scaling patterns appropriately is essential, especially in soulful, historic homes.
    • Quote:
      “Because we do use a lot of color and pattern, we have to be really thoughtful with how we layer things so it doesn’t feel like Clown Town.” —Heather (C), 16:36

• Southwest Meets English Cottage:

  • Initially a tough sell to clients (“It took us a long time to get clients to listen to us...”), but showhouses and print features helped validate this unexpected mix.
    • Quote:
      “If someone had said to me, you know, southwest mixed with English cottage, I would be like, there's no world in which those two go together. But... they complement each other so well.” —Caroline (A), 18:08

• Florals vs. Geometric:

  • Importance of softening the harshness of the desert with floral fabrics—clients were initially resistant but came to appreciate the coziness they bring.
    • Quote:
      “Every client for years would say, I want more geometric, I don't want floral. Like, ugh, okay. And it's really those florals that soften everything.” —Heather (C), 19:45

• Traditional Career Arc & Staying True:

  • Resisted trends, focused on building long-term relationships, and prioritized recognition through print rather than fast fame.
    • Quote:
      “We also have tried to have like, I don't want to say like an old fashioned or traditional career arc... We were just sort of wanting to like build a clientele and build a business and just like a good interiors business first.” —Matt (D), 21:05

4. The Client Relationship & Sense of Place

Timestamps: 25:12-27:06

• Clients Drawn to Santa Fe:

  • Attracted by the promise of expansion and adventure, clients are often more open to creative, courageous choices.
    • Quote:
      “Just moving out, you know, somewhere where you're not from is an act of courage, you know, and creativity is an act of courage.” —Matt (D), 25:44

• The Process: Starting with a “Keystone Fabric”

  • Begin with a fabric brimming with colors that will set the tone for the room. Layer with large, medium, and small-scale patterns.
    • Quote:
      “I always start with... a keystone fabric... and it has a lot of different color in it. That's the jumping off point for me creatively.” —Heather (C), 27:46

5. On Industry, Inspiration & the Design Process

Timestamps: 29:46-36:44

• Love for the Design Industry:

  • The urge to explore and collect the works of historic design greats is crucial for developing one’s eye.
    • Quote:
      “One of the great things about this industry is that it's all there. It’s in the books, it’s in the magazines, and you can... get such an education in how people put it all together.” —Matt (D), 29:46

• Favourite Design Books:

  • Heather: Sister Parish, Catherine Ireland, Mario Botta, Furlow Gatewood, Anna Spiro.
  • Matt: Halt. Boheme, Bunny Williams, Bunny Melon.
    • Memorable Moment: Imagining “Design Books 101” class (33:38)

• Print vs. Digital:

  • Although shelter mags have changed, design books are more prolific than ever, often developed by designers rising together through social media.

6. Design Dilemmas & the Challenge of Mixing Styles

Timestamps: 37:51-39:16

• Santa Fe + English Cottage Crossover:

  • Many clients struggle to envision this blend (“That’s a hard crossover. It was...”). French & French’s portfolio demonstrates how it can be achieved.
    • Quote:
      “I think especially when you haven't seen it done before... it's challenging to think about something in a new way.” —Heather (C), 38:51

• Practical Layering for Comfort:

  • Emphasis on creating cozy, peaceful respites from the harsh environment, analogous to wanting a cool, dark room after the brightness of the beach.

7. Inside the French & French Home

Timestamps: 41:41-46:19

• Home is a “Designer Lab”:
  • Their current house is playful, layered, and truly personal—finally able to use what they wish, due to both experience and resources.
  • Comfort and function were their starting points, especially as life shifted into a new phase with their daughter in high school.
  • Tight timeline for a magazine shoot inspired decisive choices—no time for “paralysis by analysis.”
    • Quote:
      “We're exposed to so much as designers… We were able to go through and just kind of choose what we wanted and what we liked at the time and what felt fun and vibrant...” —Heather (C), 43:35

8. Family Collaboration & Next-Gen Design

Timestamps: 46:30-48:14

• Daughter's Involvement:
  • Their 16-year-old daughter is an active participant, with a strong design vision (her “sunset” room with hand-painted borders, yellow curtains paired with peach walls).
  • Collaborative, but daughter had final approval on choices.
    • Quote:
      “She came to us and said she wanted [her room] to feel like a sunset or a sunrise... She put together her own schematic design, and then I helped her pull together the rest of it.” —Heather (C), 47:19

9. Favorite Fabrics & Looking Ahead

Timestamps: 48:41-51:25

• Current Fabric Inspiration:

  • Drawn to designer collections with unique palettes (e.g., Michael Smith for Jasper, collaborations with Pierre Frey/Schumacher). Always looking for colors “not quite as easily found.”
    • Quote:
      “I'm always on the lookout for a really unique color perspective and how that's combined and what... and how those tones are maybe not quite as easily found, you know?” —Heather (C), 48:58

• Patterns and Florals:

  • Vast options within botanicals and florals, from masculine woodland prints to feminine chintz to camo inspiration.
    • Quote:
      "We have this fishing cabin... the husband was like, I don't, I'm not crazy about florals... I was like, don't worry, we'll go more woodland." —Heather (C), 51:58

10. Portfolio, Publications, and What’s Next

Timestamps: 53:00–54:26

• Recent Projects & Media Features:

  • Applegate estate featured online in Architectural Digest; their current home in House Beautiful.
  • Working on their own design book; expect in the next couple years.

• Where to Find French & French:

  • Website: www.frenchandfrenchinteriors.com
  • Instagram: @frenchandfrenchinteriors

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Our shelter magazine budget was larger than our mortgage.” —Heather (C), 04:54
• “Designers here...might find that the salty old cowboy beside you...was the dean of classicism at Yale.” —Matt (D), 12:14
• “Because we do use a lot of color and pattern, we have to be really thoughtful with how...we layer things so it doesn’t feel like Clown Town.” —Heather (C), 16:36
• “Comfort and function were our starting point...and then we built around that with playfulness and personality.” —Heather (C), 43:35
• “She put together her own schematic design...She had final approval of everything in her room.” —Heather (C), 47:19
• “You develop your eye and then all the rest of it is just being a good business person.” —Matt (D), 29:46

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:09 — How Heather and Matt came to Santa Fe & roots of their design business
• 10:19 — The Applegate Estate show house: embracing color and Santa Fe heritage
• 16:36 — Art of layering and keeping harmony (“not Clown Town!”)
• 19:45 — Educating clients on mixing geometric and floral, and creating coziness
• 21:05 — Staying true to self vs. trends in building a design career
• 27:46 — Keystone fabric as the starting point for palettes
• 33:38 — Favorite design books and why foundational knowledge matters
• 41:41 — Making their current home a designer’s laboratory
• 47:19 — Daughter’s “sunset” room: next-gen design collaboration
• 48:58 — Favorite current fabrics and trends

Summary & Takeaways

French & French Interiors exemplify thoughtful, layered design rooted in the soul of the local landscape and enriched with a global, historical perspective. Their signature lies in balancing boldness (color, pattern, personality) with comfort and a deep respect for the stories carried by spaces and people. For listeners seeking to blend regional aesthetics or move beyond trend-driven design, their advice is to ground decisions in what feels genuine—and to seek inspiration everywhere, from your earliest creative instincts to the classics on your bookshelf.

Where to Find French & French:
Website: frenchandfrenchinteriors.com
Instagram: @frenchandfrenchinteriors

To submit decorating dilemmas:
Email: podcast@ballarddesigns.net
Show notes: howtodecorate.com/podcast

Final Thought (Heather):
“When you put something out into the world, you’re going to get clients and people back that really relate to you. And I think that really has been our career arc for us... there’s a calmness to our clients and a comfort... because they get it, you know.” (24:11)