How to Decorate – Episode 449: Trials and Triumphs

Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts: Caroline (A), Taryn (B), Liz (C)
Theme: The Ballard Designs team shares the personal stories behind the “trials and triumphs” of decorating their own homes, with everything from paint colors and upholstery projects to major mishaps and mini victories.

Episode Overview

This lively, candid episode sees hosts Caroline, Taryn, and Liz reflecting on several months’ worth of decorating wins and woes since their last “Trials and Triumphs” roundtable. They swap relatable anecdotes ranging from paint color revelations and upholstery delays to plumbing disasters, helping listeners take comfort and inspiration from the ups and downs of home improvement. The episode stays true to the team’s warm, self-deprecating tone, balancing practical lessons with plenty of laughs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Living with Color: Paint Choices and Lessons Learned

Liz’s Dining Room Dilemma

• Liz shares how choosing a wall color in winter backfired when spring’s foliage made her pale green “Ancient Marble” blend in, prompting her to repaint with a richer, darker green (“Retreat” by Sherwin Williams).
  • “When I had the room painted in the spring and all of the leaves came in… you couldn't tell that I painted that room at all, and it was ridiculous.” (01:02)
  • The darker color makes the room feel more intimate and “elevated,” especially with the home’s original 1930s Craftsman wood trim. (03:04)
• The hosts discuss undertones, room light, and the importance of living with color before making big changes.
  • “Choosing complex colors that have multiple undertones… It looks a little bit blue at some times, a little more green at other times, a little bit gray.” (02:31)
• Liz is contemplating “Malted Milk” by Sherwin Williams for her kitchen—described as a subtle, “moussey, plastered pink” similar to Farrow & Ball’s “Setting Plaster.” (05:36–07:16)
• Caroline advises starting with white and adapting as you learn how spaces change through the seasons:
  • “When you've moved into a house… you don't necessarily know what it's going to look like in the spring versus the winter versus the summer.” (09:01)

2. Accepting Mistakes and Making Progress

• The group agrees on the value of experimenting and not getting discouraged by missteps.
  • “I take that as a loss. It's totally okay. I learned my lesson.” (01:50 – C)
• Liz keeps paint swatches around for inspiration and laughs at her own indecisiveness.

3. Unseen Triumphs: Small Fixes & Major Relief

Liz’s Basement and Porch Woes

• Liz mentions ongoing “little things” going wrong: broken step garbage cans, an unbalanced washing machine, and a crumbling porch step sparking anxiety about larger future repairs.
  • “The step garbage can in the kitchen doesn’t want to open anymore… the new washing machine is come unlevel and rattling the whole house.” (09:45)
• She’s carving out a creative painting studio in her basement, noting how even minor upgrades (like fixing up a basement entry room) can improve wellbeing and motivation.
  • “Taking that step and having that room fixed up makes it much nicer to enter into my basement. So then it makes me want to go into the painting studio a little bit more.” (11:05)

4. Organizing Overwhelm: Tackling Basement Clutter

Caroline’s Storage Overhaul

• After five years of “just dumping stuff” in the basement, Caroline and her husband finally de-cluttered and installed shelving, finding it shockingly quick and satisfying.
  • “It felt so messy, it seemed like a huge undertaking, but we did it in two afternoons… With two of us working together, we just knocked it out; I wish we'd done it ages ago.” (14:22)
• Lesson: Delayed projects can feel overwhelming, but often prove manageable and deliver a disproportionate sense of relief.

5. Homeowner Heartaches: Trees and Toilets

• Caroline shares the financial pain of removing a lightning-damaged tree:
  • “Taking down a tree, it's just not how you want to spend money… And yet it's a really big check to write.” (16:29, A)
• A major “trial”: An overflowing toilet, caused by flushed wet wipes blocking the main sewer line, ruined carpet and ran water into the freshly organized basement. Luckily, new furniture hadn’t arrived yet.
  • “He said, pretty much no. Someone shoved a bunch of wet wipes in the potty… it stopped up our main sewer line… The water started coming out from underneath the toilet.” (21:13)

6. Needlepoint Wins

• Caroline celebrates the triumphant return of custom needlepoint Christmas stockings, pleasing the family (even if they’re smaller and less stretchy than the knitted versions).
  • “Santa fit everything that he needed to fit into the stocking. It was really shoved in there, but it was in there!” (17:55)

7. Upholstery Projects: Anticipation & Delays

• Caroline’s bespoke upholstered bed with a trundle (intended for holiday guests) was delayed far beyond the promised timeline, but a plumbing mishap made her grateful it wasn’t in place during the overflow.
  • “The reason I had this specific bed made is because I really wanted to have a trundle in her room… it was not ready at Thanksgiving or at Christmas, so that was a big bust.” (19:54)

8. Neighborly Surprises: Living Next to an Airbnb

• Liz updates on her neighbor’s property, now transformed into two Airbnb rentals. Despite a “constant turnover” of guests, the experience has been incident-free so far (bar one car parked on the lawn). Strict rules seem to help.
  • “I have never seen more stipulations and rules and guidelines… if you park incorrectly, that will be $200.” (24:01)
  • “There's been a constant turnover of guests… We have not had any issues with any of the renters there.” (24:17)

9. Design Details: Fabrics, Drapery, and Pillows

Taryn’s Living Room Refresh

• Drapes and chairs in maroon and terracotta hues bring warmth and cohesion to her formerly “too white” living room.
  • “The drapery looks fantastic. The room needed drapery. I knew it… The room was just so white.” (26:39)
  • The custom-upholstered chairs in velvet and pinstripe feel both “wipeable” (kid/dog friendly) and “so sweet” design-wise.
• New pillows (made from leftover fabric contenders) help layer color and pattern without risk.
  • “Pillows, again, feel so like, if I don't like it, you know… low risk.” (29:11)

10. Low-Cost Lighting Solutions for Comfort & Security

• Taryn solves a guest room lighting problem by putting lamps on timers, controlled via Google Home, rather than investing in permanent wiring before settling on a bed layout.
  • “You can manually take it from the app, you can say it, you can physically turn off the lamp… What I do like is they just come on.” (33:10)

11. The (Literal) Fifth Wall: Painted Ceilings

• Discussion turns to the growing trend of painted, even lacquered, ceilings for added drama.
  • Caroline: “I was on a kick for a while where I really wanted to lacquer the ceiling in our living room… Well, I got it priced out and it was basically $10,000.” (40:04)
• All agree that painting a ceiling is a job for professionals, not a quick DIY.

12. Pool Ownership: Glamour vs. Maintenance

• Taryn wryly notes the glamorous reputation of pools versus the hidden costs and frequent infrastructure needs: “Like an ice maker… When it's working it's working, when it's not working everyone hears about it. But of course, it's always broken.” (35:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I did have it painted again, and it is beautiful now… feels a little bit more period to the Craftsman house, too, and looks really fantastic with the dark wood trim.”
  —Liz, on repainting her dining room (01:50)

• “It felt so bad that it felt like this huge project to tackle. And… we did it in two afternoons. I wish we'd done it ages ago.”
  —Caroline, on decluttering the basement (14:24)

• “Taking on a tree, it's just not how you want to spend money. And you're like… This makes really no impact on my day-to-day life, and yet it's a really big check to write.”
  —Caroline, on tree removal (16:29)

• “The room was just so white because I didn't know what I wanted to do… The drapery looks fantastic… They just add the color and a little bit of pattern that I needed.”
  —Taryn, on her living room refresh (26:46)

• “If you park incorrectly, that will be $200!”
  —Liz, on her neighbor’s strict Airbnb rules (24:01)

• “We’re not really moving that fast, you know, so we do need a little bit of space between them, but not four months!”
  —Caroline, about the time between trials & triumphs episodes (41:08)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Choosing Dark Paint & Impact of Light: 01:02–04:33
• Paint Color Deep Dive (Malted Milk vs. Setting Plaster): 05:28–07:34
• Organizing the Basement: 11:43–14:24
• Tree Damage & Financial Realities of Removal: 16:09–16:47
• Custom Needlepoint Stockings: 17:20–17:55
• Upholstered Bed Saga: 19:12–20:23
• Toilet Overflow Disaster: 20:44–22:14
• Neighbor’s Airbnb Transformation: 23:15–24:49
• Taryn’s Drapes & Upholstery Success: 26:39–29:04
• Lighting Solutions via Smart Home: 32:27–33:43
• Painted/Lacquered Ceilings Discussion: 37:14–40:21
• Pools: Trials & Unexpected Repairs: 34:04–35:55

Listener Engagement

• The hosts encourage listeners to write in with their own ongoing house projects and decorating dilemmas.
  • “I want to see some listeners who are like, moseying on some things too… I want to know what projects are going on out there.” (41:17)
• They tease future episodes about color trends and more mini-episodes.

Tone and Style

Consistently friendly, candid, and humorous, with a “we’re all in this together” approach. The hosts don’t shy away from sharing their frustrations but always circle back to positive takeaways and actionable inspiration.

Summary

Episode 449 of "How to Decorate" is a relatable, motivating mix of home decor journey highlights, setbacks, learning moments, and practical advice. The Ballard Designs team embodies the ups and downs of real-life decorating—and reminds listeners that whether you’re repainting, reorganizing, or just enduring another costly repair, you’re not alone.