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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to how to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team.
- [00:11]
B
And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.
- [00:13]
C
I'm Liz. I head of the creative team.
- [00:15]
D
We're your hosts.
- [00:16]
A
Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks and tales from interior designers, stylists and other talents in the design world.
- [00:22]
B
Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode.
- [00:25]
C
We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us@podcastallardesigns.net now, on with the show.
- [00:34]
A
So today's guest is Sarah Vail, principal of Sarah Vail Design. She's known for her bold use of color, her fresh, traditional style, and making classic spaces feel lively. After training with design icons in New York, she launched her own Chicago based firm with projects coast to coast. Today we're going to tackle one of design's trickiest topics. Scale. Sarah, welcome to the show.
- [00:56]
D
Thank you. I'm so honored to be here. This is, this is my first ever podcast.
- [01:01]
A
Oh, well, yay. Yay. Welcome.
- [01:03]
D
I listen to them all the time, but I've never done one and I'm like, I feel like this, this is going to be so fun. So I'm really excited.
- [01:13]
B
You are welcome to.
- [01:14]
A
It's not. It's not. Although. Yeah. Yes. No judgment from us.
- [01:20]
D
We'll pretend I'm in Europe right now.
- [01:22]
B
Our first. How many episodes in before we. We drank every time because it was, it was in the evening. We recorded all of our first episodes, so we drank every. We get it now. We do them more during daytime.
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A
But yeah, yes.
- [01:38]
D
You have the most fun job. I. It's, I love listening to them, but I'm like, oh, this is, this has got to be so fun for you all.
- [01:46]
A
It is. We get to ask super talented people like yourself all of our burning design questions and help us with our own home. So that's perfect. Just like we were talking about.
- [01:57]
D
Oh, yeah, yeah. It's a great. We were like, okay, I'm just gonna get all this free advice. Come. Keep, keep it coming.
- [02:02]
A
Keep it coming. Exactly, exactly. Before we. Okay. Before we talk about scale, because that is our topic of the day, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about your background, how you got into design. We know you worked with, you know, at a couple very well known design firms before launching your own, but kind of give us a little, little rundown.
- [02:22]
D
Oh, My gosh, this could take up the whole hour. It's like when someone's like, how did you meet your husband? I'm like, well, how much do you want to know?
- [02:31]
A
I.
- [02:32]
D
It's cool. I like, I feel like hopefully this can, this can resonate with a lot of listeners because I fell into design in my quarter life Crisis. I was 27 and I thought I was so old and hadn't just hadn't found my, my career path yet. And I was still single, wasn't married, and I was like, well, shoot, I could be doing this for a long time. I've got to find something that I love and kind of just re. Awoke this passion for design. So applied to go to Parsons, picked up, left my advertising corporate world. Life after, oh my gosh, I can't even imagine, like, you know, you're on your own and then all of a sudden you're like a student in New York City. I was just like the country mouse in the big city. I, I just went in so excited and I, and I wrote down and I said, okay, I'm gonna leave here and I'm going to start my own business. I'm going to do the one year. I'm going to do the accelerated program. I'm going to leave here with my own business in exactly one year. And then it was all of a sudden, October 2008. So the world came crashing down and I'm like, this is kind of, this is interesting. Now we're in a, now we find ourselves suddenly in a recession. And I'm like in the middle of, you know, the heart of it in New York City. So I, I actually found that in moments like that there's opportunity because I was cheap. I was basically free in the beginning. I was like, just let me have a chance with your project. And so I was out to dinner with friends and then their friends and, and one of the gentlemen said, I need a, I need a designer, like tomorrow. And I was like, well, call me in a year. And he's like, no, I need one like now. And so I woke up the next morning at five in the morning and googled how to start your own business. And I was like, okay, we're. We're off and running, I guess. And, and then my next email was to the family accountant, and I was like, please keep me out of jail. I think that was the subject line. And, and I walked into Chase bank and I was like, okay, I need three accounts. Like, I mean, designers and math. We don't go together. I Was like, I need clients money, which I cannot touch because it will make me feel very rich, but it's faux rich. And then my money, like, for the business, and then Uncle Sam's money, which I also cannot touch because I really don't want to go to jail. And that was literally how I started. My accounting was just, like, basic. Like, I'd. Every check I'd get, I was like, okay, this is the profit. Move it there. This is for the furniture. Keep it in there. This is for the tax. Move it here. And that was all I did. And needless to say, we started a new accounting software a few years later. But. And then I got my first job and it just, like, took off. And then one led to another, led to, like, a project outside of Richmond, Virginia. An old plantation had been cut up. And. And it was some. A little couple that was a little older. And I'm kind of like, are you sure you really want to entrust your project to me? And they're like, we love that you're up and coming. This is so exciting. And so, yeah, that was kind of how I went pro. So it sort of just happened. And then in the meantime, I like, my last, like, stars aligned moment is when I first got to New York City. I wrote down, okay, I really wanna work for either Kelly Werstler or Celery Kimball. And then I walked past this hair salon every day on the way to the new school, and I'm like, oh, I can't afford this. I'm just, like a broke student. And one day I kind of ventured in because they had, like, some amazing deal, like, you know, 50% off. And I was like, can you highlight? Can you keep me blonde? Natural blonde? And. And it. And I started going, and I said, can I ask who designed your salon? I love it. Celery Kemble. I'm like, what is the chance? Out of, like, hundreds of salons in all of New York City that sell. And I was all of a sudden like, well, can you put us in touch? And she's like, yeah, sure. I'll never say no to free help, you know? And all of a sudden I'm like, in front of my idol, just sitting there. But it was such a great training ground, but all these wheels were kind of moving simultaneously where I was just sort of watching her. And, you know, she's got all these kind of, like, celebrities and big projects and. And like, my biggest takeaway watching her is, she's so nice. You can be a big deal and still be nice. Which was not how it was in. In the advertising world. So. So I was. I kind of, like, modeled so much after her where the girls just loved her, and it was such a great camaraderie. Almost had, like, a sorority vibe. She'd probably agree with that. It's been years since I've seen her, but, but. But I still keep in touch with. With the girls that I kind of trained with there, and it was a great, great training ground to kick it off, so hope so there. Are we done? Is that the whole podcast?
- [07:30]
A
No, we have so many more questions. No, that was great. I, I, you know, I think so many people love the work of Celery. Celery Kimball, and there's a lot, I think, that is reflected in your design, too. You know, this ability to make traditional design exciting and fun and to use materials and maybe shapes that we recognize, but to do it in a way that feels different somehow and. And fresh. I love that about your work in particular.
- [08:07]
D
Well, thank you.
- [08:08]
A
Yeah. Well, let's talk about scale, because this is, you know, we. We kind of wanted to focus on this at the. For the episode, and it's a topic that we get a lot of questions about. And I think not only do our design guests bring it up as something that's so important, but our listeners bring it up as something that they struggle with and maybe haven't quite cracked the code on how to master it. So let's start there. You know, why is it that scale is so important? And what does that. What does that really mean when someone says, you, you have to get the scale right? That's kind of the, you know, touch to whatever.
- [08:53]
D
I was laughing. I saw somewhere that, like, a designer said, all you have to get is the scale, right? And everything else falls into place. And I was like, well, I mean, that's like telling a scientist all you gotta do is figure out electricity, and the rest is easy. Like, scale is the single hardest part of design, in my opinion. Like, we're still. We still. I. I still go into installs, and I'm like, I wonder if it will all turn out as we envision or if there will be a piece that suddenly is in our tag sale is in our spring tag sale, which we do account for, actually, funny enough, I finally, I don't know if any of you saw Breaking Bad, but there's this one scene where he. They get robbed. And, you know, of course, it's a very different industry, drug dealing. And he's like, it's breakage. You have to account for breakage And I finally, like, I was like, you know what? Let's just assume. Assume something might be off with all the work we put into it. And then, and then usually whenever you go into it, assuming it, it turns out perfectly. You know, it's like the rule of whatever, but, but it's hard. It's there, there are a lot of techniques to get it right, but I don't know if I would say there's it. You definitely become more comfortable with, with how to spot it. And I think most people with a design eye can spot if scale feels right, because it's basically the balance of shapes in, in a room. So if you have like, the balance of colors, you have the balance of pattern, and then you have the balance of shapes, and you obviously can't have one giant one that dwarfs one small one. So I think most of us can sense when it's right. I think the hardest part is knowing how to order it so it's right. Um, which is probably what you guys are hoping to get for your listeners today.
- [10:53]
A
I also just think size, you know, like those sizing questions of like, you know, sometimes something needs to be overscaled to really carry the, you know, the focal point or the seating arrangement or whatever. But then sometimes things to, things need to be not, you know, not underscale, but like, right size. So it's kind of like when, when do, when do we employ those, I guess, tactics? And when are we, when can we feel confident that the size is right? And then, you know, the. I don't know, maybe. Is that wrong? I always think of scale as kind of being more equated to, like, almost size and like, volume, right?
- [11:42]
D
Yeah, like the volume. It's like the balance of volume. That's probably a better word. Um, see, you were better at science than me, probably. Um, but it's, yeah, it's, it's interesting. I think we, we have a lot of tricks that we've learned over the years, and I, we rely a lot on cad. A lot. We elevate. Elevate, Elevate floor plans, elevate. But I realized that that's like, you know, the more technical side of design to have that ability in house. And there were many years we did not have CAD in house, so we figured out kind of all the other ways and I, I, they honestly worked really well. We used to go in and we used to literally tape out the floor plan in the room with blue painter's tape. And that will get you so far. Okay. You're like, okay, this Is the sort of layout of the room and not, you know, things generally feel like a good walking distance and whatnot. But then there's, to your point, the volume of. Well, is this going to feel sparse compared to this? And so then we kind of stepped it up a notch where we're like, well, let's fill the volume with like boxes or existing furniture where you literally have like chairs in a line that represent the new sofa coming in. And then you can kind of be like, ah, it just kind of dwarfs the room or it leaves you wanting another piece of furniture or piece of the sofa. And so I think like, there are lots of sort of tricks. I, I actually one that I thought was so smart is we heard of a designer who prints out all their light fixtures just one dimensional, nothing crazy. And they print it out and then they literally tape it like a sconce up on the wall to be like, is this the right scale for this room? Because light fixtures can be so, so tricky and, and they can be, you know, the. Like. I remember when Visual Comfort now circa lighting. Well, no, actually circulating now. Visual Comfort first opened a showroom.
- [14:01]
B
Oh yeah.
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D
The size of that piece.
- [14:03]
A
Oh yeah.
- [14:04]
B
We have that same problem with our product too. Of like, how do you add scale to something so people understand when you know it is alone. You know, it's very obvious around other items that have a relative scale that people know. But to your point, if anything's up, like big scale or small version scale, you are, you're like, how do I make sure people know when I almost
- [14:25]
D
think like that there needs to be like a, like a flag on the item.
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B
It's not a bad idea.
- [14:31]
D
This is larger than average scale.
- [14:33]
A
Yeah.
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D
Because we. All right. Because it's kind of like when you're buying clothes and they'll say like fits true to size.
- [14:41]
C
Yeah.
- [14:41]
D
Like it's so. And for our job, it's so hard because we mix a lot of antiques with newer pieces and we all know like the current fashion, like the pieces currently being manufactured are at a much bigger scale. Kind of like Restoration Hardware kind of started this like California scale almost. So then you get these pieces that can be like, almost like diminutive when they're, when they're part. Even though the seat height and the dimensions can line up, it's just like the, the feel of it. It's diminutive next to this, almost like plush, you know, mass next to it. And it's just. Yeah, it's. It's very tricky. Okay. I have an idea. I Feel like you guys have what it takes, that you could actually make this happen. I'm like, why don't they have a hologram? Imagine if you could put your floor plan in a, like, icovias, like the CAD that that kind of anybody can access. And if you put a floor plan in and then you could go in the room, like, I'm going back to, like, Star Wars. Right. And you just have, like a hologram and all your furniture is shown to real.
- [15:53]
A
Yeah. Amazing.
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D
Wouldn't that be amazing? Because it's the hardest part to envision. And yeah, I was like, somebody's gotta
- [16:02]
A
do this
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D
in the AI world. It can be done.
- [16:06]
A
Okay, ladies. We had an architect on the podcast, and now I can't remember who it was. It was someone on the podcast, and they were talking about basically casting their CAD drawings into, like, a virtual reality headset. And then they take their clients into, like, this big warehouse, and they're able to basically walk their project and walk the floor plan.
- [16:32]
C
So they'll tape the floor plan out in the warehouse so nobody bumps into anything.
- [16:39]
A
Right. And, like, you could kind of see, like, oh, this is how big the kitchen island is. Like, this feels too.
- [16:47]
D
Because architecturally, that's like, one of the hardest to get right. I mean, we as much as, like, the drawings are produced and we have a great architectural team. We'll still go on site and be like, this door frame feels way too big. Let's bring it down. You know, but better if you can get it before you get to that part of.
- [17:04]
A
Yeah. When you're still just in pencil paper.
- [17:06]
D
Yeah, that dirty word change order. So, yeah, better before you get there. That's a cool technology. That would be ape, though, is such
- [17:17]
B
a good little, like, tip or trick, though, for like, people listening to this. Because that is something you can easily, you know, you can look it up hopefully even. And, you know, if you are purchasing antique online, hopefully they have the rough dimensions on there as well. So you can kind of again, do you put a box in that space? Do you, like, what do you do to kind of give yourself again, that error is a great little tip. I think for scale.
- [17:44]
D
It helped it, like, it got us pretty far for a long time. And. And then. Oh, and I was just like. I was like, I feel like I have another trick I was thinking of. This is so funny. But when we buy vintage, we ask for some. A person to get in the photo, because you can never. It's just so much easier to see. I'd say, like, for you guys it's like when you set up like a vignette, like showing rooms, showing furniture pieces in a room with other furniture pieces is so massively helpful for us because you're like, okay, so this chair generally is like the larger piece in the room or you know, seen it among other things. To kind of, for the sake of comparison is, is huge. And, and actually funny enough I, I did for this piece here, it was a vintage piece in my living room and wasn't that big and I was kind of like. But I love it so much, the pediments and all the details. And I, I literally had a person come. I finally said, can you just have a person come stand next to, to it? And then I was like, okay, it's going to be a smaller piece. And then I ended up putting art over it and and was like, okay, we're. This is literally like perfect. It was made for this, this gallery wall.
- [19:05]
C
But.
- [19:06]
D
But it's, it helps to see something like in the space because you're like, okay, that's not, that's not a giant armor by any stretch. So totally. You know what you're getting.
- [19:16]
C
Yeah. Just make sure your person is a normal scale.
- [19:19]
A
Yeah, true.
- [19:20]
D
They told us his height.
- [19:22]
A
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:24]
D
Which I thought was so funny. They were like, he's not the tallest. He's about 57 and slight. And the rest. Okay, this has reached a hundred level.
- [19:35]
A
No, I agree. The putting, like putting a box or a fur, like moving a chair or something to where you can sort of, you know, even just like traffic flow I feel like is a good one. You know, if you're like could I fit a chair? Is it going to cut it off? Like just move a chair there, see if it feels weird to walk around it for two weeks and then. Well.
- [19:55]
D
And even when you have the magical cad, it still doesn't always help with real day to day traffic flow. So to your point, like I have a round sort of like, gosh, I don't even know, gossip sofa. What do they call like the tete? A tete, like the round piece in our kitchen. And it's sort of. There's like a bar when you enter. And I was thinking, okay, technically speaking, I know that you're supposed to have more than 20 inches from here to the cabinet, but this is. You can also go the other way, you know, 90% of the time. And really it doesn't take that much. So I literally shaped out, I think probably with boxes. I shaped out the edge because I was like taped it out and then Kind of built up the. The height and the volume so that I could sense, okay, this is fine. Traditional interiors don't lay out well in floor plan or render well. So sometimes the floor plan just looks kind of crazy, like slightly insane because it's got just, you know, you'll have like a sofa chair, and then you've got some random chair over here and then an accent chair on this wall. But it just works in the space. But. But hence why to the point of, like, you can't just rely on. On computerized drawings always, sometimes you just need to get physical in the space.
- [21:18]
A
Yeah. I love the idea of printing it out. And then also, you know, there are not cad, but sort of similar programs. We have one that we call Room Planner, but there are lots out there on the market, and that is just to like, get your dimensions in there and, like, kind of get a rough layout. It's really helpful.
- [21:41]
D
Yeah. And it's so fun. Like, I. I genuinely love getting in and kind of shuffling around the pieces. It's. Laying out a room is. Is truly where you kind of can differentiate yourself from every other living room is, you know, to think of kind of like a slightly different plan.
- [22:02]
B
So I feel like people need to know that part of this really is, you know, doing your home in any capacity with a designer as well. There is going to be air, and there's something beautiful about that too, because sometimes something that you didn't expect to come in so big does come slightly, and all of a sudden it kind of like makes the space. Sometimes the opposite happens where you're like, I'm gonna return it, but just like an outfit. I feel like sometimes you try on something and you'. In my head, it was perfect. I measured, you know, and then you put it on, you're like, the way this hits is just. It's not the. I know I can do better.
- [22:42]
D
So it's so true. Especially because it's tricky for those clients who get used, who live in a space. It's so hard when you're doing, like, an existing home because they will have the reference point of whatever was there before it. And then all of a sudden you put something there when, like a chair or a table and there was nothing there before. And it's like, well, hold on a second. I might want that space back. You almost have to kind of mourn the space that was.
- [23:12]
A
That's a. No, I think that's great.
- [23:15]
D
As ridiculous as that sounds like, when you go from it, like, you know, another sofa and you downsize or upsize. It's just. I always tell our clients, just, like, sit with it to your point for a minute a day, a week, and then come back, and if it's still bugging you, then we'll talk about it. But I think half the time, it's the transition to the new. The new piece there.
- [23:39]
A
Yeah. You're used to something. Yeah. Just doesn't.
- [23:44]
D
Or, like, the opposite. You're not used to anything being there. And then all of a sudden, it's kind of like when you're walking a space and it's being framed, and then all of a sudden, the drywall goes up, and you're like, well, this changes everything.
- [23:55]
A
It's.
- [23:56]
D
You know, and then you. And then you put the furniture and then that. The paint, and it changes it again. So it's like just getting used to the different sort of iterations.
- [24:04]
B
Do y' all do that at Christmas time, too? I mean, that's the holiday for me that changes so much because you're scooting things from the Christmas tree and, like, bigger objects of decoration, and then you take it all down and you're like, what was in that space? Or, like, you're like.
- [24:19]
A
You're just, like, so empty.
- [24:22]
D
It's like, empty. It's literally, my friend, and I call it the post holiday emptiness. It's literally. And then all of a sudden, it, like, sets off the need to. To fill it with other things. So then. And what else are you doing in January? You're like, well, I guess I'll just have to start thinking about the next item for the room. Oh, my gosh. Speaking of Christmas, Quick aside, but I ended up seen this amazing sale you all had starting. I don't even know, let's say, like. Like a couple days before Christmas. And I. I went crazy on Ballard Christmas this year and overnighted it. I overnighted it, and it still came out way ahead because of the sale. Like, I was like, you know, girl, math.
- [25:07]
A
I'm like, oh, my God, I saved
- [25:08]
D
$2,000, and I might as well get it for Christmas Eve because I'm hosting.
- [25:13]
A
And.
- [25:13]
D
And suddenly I, like, got. I was literally hanging the garland, and it's all faux, so I can, you know, next year. And like, oh, my gosh, you're the best Christmas stuff. Like the Reese with the lemons, the boxwood. All the faux boxwood. Preserve boxwood. Anyway.
- [25:30]
C
Oh, my God, that was awesome.
- [25:32]
D
My house was very full for a couple days, and then I kind of was like, well, maybe we'll just ride it like a Few weeks after, just to get it, like, get our time
- [25:41]
B
in with it, Gotta enjoy it. But I think Christmas is that perfect example where I've felt what you're talking about, where it's like the transitioning your space and you're like, hold on a minute. Like, yeah, it's a chance, an opportunity to kind of be like, what goes here. So I imagine, again, yeah, clients who are in the same space, it's so hard, especially to kind of transition to a new space. Like, if. Have you had a lot of places where you found yourself going from like a living room to becoming an office or something where you're transitioning?
- [26:12]
D
Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely. And I always say too, like, I'm a big collector. So we've at this stage of our career, we have a lot of return clients. And I'm like, no, as long as you know, they were. Sometimes your taste changes and your sophistication elevates and all those things. But we definitely still take pieces that we bought for one house for one room. I mean, we did it when we moved here and this was so fun. We had this red velvet Chesterfield sofa and moved it to. It was in the living room at home and moved it up here. And it was literally the same red as the red library. And I was like, well, this was meant to be. Um, but it's kind of fun to like repurpose and just shift all the different things. And. And usually the scale of all the things works together. You know, as long as you don't have like a tiny chair or a stool for giants. Both of which we have had in the past and ended up purchasing ourselves.
- [27:13]
B
Can we talk about if the scale, like when you do this or. And. Or if you're moving downsizing or upsizing families and you're using some of the same material, which obviously shows you made great decisions. But let's say now you go from an 8 foot ceiling to a 10 foot ceiling, what in the scale is going to change? Like, what are some normal things that are like that? You're gonna have to go ahead and be like, all right, we're gonna need a new X.
- [27:37]
D
We're gonna need a new light fixtures. Oh my gosh. That was actually funny because when we came from the city, we had these beautiful nine, ten foot molded ceilings. And then we came to this older home with eight foot ceilings. And I'm like, none of our lights work. It's. You go from like the pendant game to the flesh mount game. It's a totally different game. Right you go to flush mounts and sconces and lamps. Really, like, you can't do pendants at 8ft, at least not the big glamorous chandelier, unless it drops over a table so that no one's walking under it. Lights are one of the hardest things, I think, to get right with scale because you can go lower, but then you need to make sure there's a coffee table under it. So no, it's walking under it. Right?
- [28:30]
B
Yeah.
- [28:31]
D
And then there's of course a question, like, can you view the TV if standing at the back of the room and you're looking like. We do that test all the time. Can we see the TV under the light? And we hold the tape measure up, hold it at the bottom of the pendant and. And we always, we try so hard. Again, we have like in the drawings, okay, this is what we think will be the right height. But there's always the install day when you're like, can you just hold it up? And you know, the electricians love that. They're like, this thing's so heavy. Can you hurry and make a decision? This is like, no, I need to see the actual scale in the actual sky to determine how this works.
- [29:09]
A
And I feel like light fixtures always come in ginormous boxes. So you're like, oh, God, I've made a horrible mistake.
- [29:18]
D
Totally. You're like, what have I done?
- [29:22]
B
No, it's so true. And, and I think, like, we have some with Ballard too, that are huge. Like 30 inches. Like this one we have selling right now is called the Netta chandelier. It's got these beautiful dripping beads. It is huge, huge.
- [29:37]
D
And it's one see that could use the asterisk. Bigger than average.
- [29:41]
B
I really feel like I need to.
- [29:44]
A
But it looks so good.
- [29:46]
D
Oh, it looks. As long as you know what you're signing up for.
- [29:50]
B
Yeah. Because if you, if you have eight foot ceilings and you have a very small dining room and you're putting this over a more petite dining table, like, it would be comical. Like people, you know. So I think to your point, the, like scaling of even what it's, what's under it, it's really important too.
- [30:11]
D
And then another thing someone talked about is like, in terms of like visual, like shapes and volume, like scale balance is. Have I always found this so interesting? Like, what is the purpose of a lamp in the room? It fills that mid level scale, right. So you've got the, like baseline of all the furniture and then you've got the high line of, of any ceiling fixtures. But then the midline is kind of lamps a lot of the time, which serves, you know, I always call it the jewel of the room because usually because clients are like, you want me to spend what on this lamp? And I'm like, oh, it's your jewelry. But also it really does kind of balance the high, low height wise. But I'm trying to think like, what else would you do in a time? I mean, of course, curtains, you go, I always say go as high as possible on the curtains. If it's 8 foot, it'll make your ceilings look taller. We actually do a lot of ceiling mount hardware for lower spaces. If you have a soffit, just get. Maximize that. That drape height. And then obviously in like a ten foot, you know, you get really dramatic, dramatic height in the, in the drapes. And we have a lot of soffits too. And, and which is always adds like another level of working around those that's kind of, I guess more decorative than scale. But also another thing.
- [31:38]
B
No, those are all really good scale items.
- [31:41]
D
And of course, art. Art's a big one, right? There's nothing like. I love floor to ceiling art. There will never be anything more dramatic. You can lacquer room, you can do all the things. But if you do Florida ceiling art on your walls, which I can see you have to go big with the art. Yeah, it's like that's just such a great way to fill. Fill a wall, anchor a wall. Love it.
- [32:07]
A
I always feel like most of the time going bigger than you think is fine. Smaller looks weird. What would you agree with that? Or what would, what would you kind of say if you had to err on one side, which would you do
- [32:26]
D
just in terms of like the overall furnishing?
- [32:30]
A
Well, just like. Yeah, it could be like art, for example, or a light fixture
- [32:39]
C
or a mirror.
- [32:40]
A
Yeah, a mirror. I always feel like, okay, something like a real big. Big mirror, big piece of art, big chandelier.
- [32:46]
D
I, I think so too, because if anything it' probably have just. It just becomes more dramatic. And I noticed kind of you guys said somewhere like it has the Alice in Wonderland effect. I'm always like, what. What's the hotel in Vegas that is had the like paper big balloons. Oh my gosh, the W. No, not the W. It'll come to me. But it's. But I'm always like, yeah, there. It's kind of. Do you want it almost then starts to feel a little like a commercial space. Right. They go so dramatic in their, in the size of the light fixtures. In like a restaurant or a hotel lobby. So it's kind of like how much drama do you want? And bigger is always going to give you more drama. So I would have to agree with that. If anything smaller might just feel a little more dated, like it came from your grandparents house. Since somehow we just seem to be like getting bigger and bigger as a human species. Oh my gosh. I saw Napoleon's bed in Paris and I was like, I don't think my 10 year old would fit in that. I mean, now I understand the Napoleon complex. We really are growing so much. I wouldn't even put that in my son's room.
- [34:05]
A
That's true.
- [34:06]
D
So it's hard. It's. That's the hardest part I think is pairing the old and the new. Hence, hence the people in the photos of the vintage with the, with the caption with the disclaimer, how tall are you?
- [34:20]
A
I know I having a, like an illustration of someone sitting in the chair is such a great call.
- [34:25]
B
That's how it is for our vendors when we like when we manufacture. A lot of times they'll have someone sitting in it, standing next to it. Like it's the funniest little like photos. And you appreciate it so much though because you can tell they're like, Joe, scoot into the photo like and you can tell he's like, oh gosh, Joe's
- [34:44]
C
not happy about it.
- [34:45]
B
Joe's like, I didn't want to sit in this or you know, it.
- [34:49]
D
No, the person in the photo never wants to be in the photo. Which actually is half the fun.
- [34:55]
A
There's a mirror girl in all of our mirrors. That's always hilarious to me because she's clearly holding her phone up like in front of her face so you can't see her face. But because she's taking a picture of a mirror, it's reflecting her.
- [35:08]
B
And guys, we just got the best ones recently. We're developing a mirror and the person really didn't want to be in it. And so they took a piece of cardboard, they cut out a hole. So it's just, but it's a, it's a photo of a mirror. So all you see is like this floating hand and like phone. And then it's. And we're like, what is going, is this a box? And then we figured it out that. And so now you can tell there's another hand at some point holding the cardboard for this person to put their hand through the cardboard. And then I, we were like, we were laughing at the images. They were so Funny. I'll have to include them.
- [35:47]
D
Oh, my gosh.
- [35:48]
B
Yeah. Instead of focusing on what we were supposed to focus on, we were all just like, laughing at how they literally like, okay, I don't want to be in the picture of the mirror. How am I going to do this?
- [35:57]
C
You know there's Photoshop, right?
- [36:01]
D
I don't know. Well, and you guys, you have it the hardest. Really? You are always thinking about scale. I. Because we always say when we make a custom piece where we used to say, gosh, okay, do we really want it this badly? Does it have to be custom? Because that. Talk about a game of you can get it right, you can get it wrong. I mean, we've now learned there are three steps to a custom furniture piece. There's first the template, then the foam, then the fabric. Because God forbid they put the fabric on and you're like, wait, that's not at all the. Right. So now we're like, we'll go for all the stops just to make sure. Especially when you're doing something crazy, which usually we are, where it's like, what if we just have like a corner serpentine bench on one side, you know, and. And you're kind of winging and pipe and.
- [36:53]
B
Let's do some crazy. Yeah, let's make sure it's expensive.
- [36:56]
D
Winging it all. You're like, I just. What's the back height?
- [37:00]
C
I don't know.
- [37:00]
A
What do you think?
- [37:01]
C
The back.
- [37:01]
D
You, like, trawl it all out. Then you're like, I think this is it in a 2D pattern. But yeah, now we've got to bring it to life and make sure. But I can't imagine with all the furniture you all make. Oh, my gosh. It's a lot of samples. That must be fun. Yeah, for sure.
- [37:21]
C
And then when we're thinking about fabrics on sofas or on chairs, we're. We're getting a big piece of the fabric where we're getting like a 1 yard by 1 yard swatch and kind of laying that out and kind of trying to figure out what that's. What that scale is too.
- [37:39]
D
Yes, that's so true. The scale of the fabric. That's a tricky one, too.
- [37:42]
A
Talk to us about that. Yeah.
- [37:45]
D
And I think, I mean, it's. Again, I think it's all about balance. Right. So you've got like a. You got a small print, you got a large print, you've got like a stripe, then balance, maybe with like a more organic floral. It's. It's like everything in life balance, right? It's my mom's, my mom's words of wisdom. But. But it is, it is true. Especially with. That's where really you have to think about the placement of the pieces. Right. Because I think like when most people are starting out doing it on their own, they're kind of like, oh, just kind of like wing it and go as I, as I can. And it's like, well, yeah, but you gotta just think about. You can have two florals, the same scale as long as they're on opposite ends of the room. Right. And if you're gonna do a mural and you have something right in front of it, you might want a stripe or a small check or a gingham to balance. Right. Can. It's like all that's where I think the floor plan's so big is the kind of deciding how you, how you lay it out in the room. And I one other thing I was thinking of too, I was like, I think a big thing and I don't know if you call this scale or what, but is legs versus not legs. Yeah, right. Because I think most of us, when you're first doing it, you'll realize looking back at your one of some of your first rooms, oh, everything had legs. I had no skirt. And this was especially like skirts and fringe are all making a comeback. But when we started, there was not a lot of that, at least for me. So that's kind of now like the massive design population has accepted that more. But that you look at some of those rooms and you're like, oh my gosh. Not a single thing reached the floor. This is giving me anxiety now in hindsight, but now we're like very thoughtful of which table goes all the way down and is like a pedestal versus a four legged versus a skirt versus fringe. We have so many fun options to work with right now. It's a fun time, but it's designing.
- [39:56]
B
It's such a good point. Like that the all legs thing. I know we've talked about that. It's like all skirts. Everything to the floor looks weird. All legs. Especially when you're starting out and you can't like afford the rug you want. So then you just have like wood legs sitting on wood floor and all of a sudden everything feels brown and you're like, why is this not working? Like why isn't this read?
- [40:19]
D
Totally. And that's where I love a chest. Chests are so great in a living room because you're like something that goes all the way heavy.
- [40:27]
A
Yeah, that's right.
- [40:28]
D
Like that Will not have all the. All the legs everywhere else.
- [40:36]
C
Okay, I want to talk about scale of fabric patterns on drapery panels, because I feel like some patterns might be too big and they might go into the. Into the folds. Like, some are really small and dainty, but is that enough of a. Of a oomph in the room, if that's what you're going for? How do you choose a pattern for drapery panels?
- [41:02]
D
Oh, gosh, we just went through this for a little girl's room. It was this big debate because it had this big scale, awesome pattern, and the question was, will it show up on drapes or will it. Do we want to showcase it on a cornice where you can really see the whole pattern? Which is especially important to think of when you're kind of pattern drenching, when it's the same paper, which we were in this case, and we scoured the Internet to find a photo of it on a drape. Because, of course, you know, the samples were given. It's like, you can't really get a feel from this teeny sample. How we. I mean, if you. Literally the only way we look at samples is with the. Why am I spacing on this word with the pleat? Oh, you have to plead it. Yeah, you have to pleat it because it's a. It takes on a completely different form and is such an important thing. Also, tufting. Tufting can completely transform a fabric on a piece of. Of furniture. So you really have to think, am I going to tough the back? Am I going to tough the seat? Maybe if it's like a big pattern, we would only tough the seat so the back can showcase the awesome pattern. But again, like, something that you don't really think about till you've gotten it wrong, usually, and then you're like, oh, yeah, I probably should have considered that.
- [42:26]
C
Yeah. We have some fabrics that we won't. We won't allow to be put on something that's tufted, which makes sense.
- [42:35]
D
And that's the worst feeling when you. When you're putting the fabric to the furniture and you're like, oh, shoot, this is such a good pattern, but you can't put it on this chair. It's just not gonna work. So it's. Yeah, piecing it. Piecing all the things together is. Is definitely half the battle.
- [42:54]
A
Well, I will say I feel like that's why think it's so important to have a plan, you know, for. For anyone who's doing it themselves. Have a plan. Because if you do find a fabric and you Want to use it and it's great, big scale. Then if you've already bought your drapes and you've already bought your sofa and you've kind of already like done the big pieces, then you sort of run out of place to put it where it would really be worthwhile.
- [43:22]
D
You know, it's such good advice. Like I always say, you know, think through the overall home. Like, okay, is this room going to be wood paneled? Is this room going to be wallpapered, painted? Like, balance that, think through maybe just like the walls and the colors. And then once you've got that, then really map out the whole room. The room that you're going to do right then and there. Map it out all the way. And I always tell my clients, I'm like, like. Or, well, I should say I always tell my. Not clients, my friends, look, I can't roll out at the level of my clients too. Like, I roll. I have developed very champagne taste and I do not have the client, the budget of my clients. So therefore I roll out, I roll out one room at a time. But you've got to think through every single detail of that room and kind of how it's going to relate to the next room. I'd say, like, this room is very feminine, but next year it's going to be a oak wood paneled room. And so it's just balancing. Like I, we obviously you can tell we love bright colors, bold. And so it's like, okay, you got to balance the feminine and the masculine. So at least for me, I don't want to go all the way one way without kind of having it swing in the next adjacent room.
- [44:38]
C
So I want to know why a smaller room can handle a larger sofa. Like, I feel like sometimes a small room you kind of think like, oh, maybe I just need a little love seat or an apartment sofa in here. But, but I've seen so many great photos of like a big sofa in a tight little room. What is the magic that's happening there? Because I don't understand it.
- [45:05]
D
I think a small room, I mean, small rooms for one, are my absolute favorite spaces. Like, I started designing in New York City, so I love small spaces. You can have so much. You can just go all the way in a small room, right? You can do, you can pattern drench, you can stripe drench, you can sofa drench. You can just go all the way. We're in a larger room. You have to balance it more. But I love just like a nook and a cranny and wrapping the sofa all the way around. It's so inviting and enveloping. They're really my favorite spaces.
- [45:39]
A
Is there a reason why a big sofa looks so good in there? Is it just like having fewer bigger items or.
- [45:47]
D
I think because it truly the room becomes about the sofa. Right. Like you, you don't have to balance it. It's kind of just the sofa. Yeah, it's the room.
- [45:58]
C
And then, and I love calling it sofa drenching. Sofa drenching.
- [46:03]
D
The rim. I know you guys, I think we just started something, but really it is because in a larger room you've got like a game table and a different seating area and all the things. But in like a library or a nook can just go all the way with the sofa.
- [46:19]
A
What about rugs? I do think rugs are something that trip people up. What, what's your sort of thought on rugs?
- [46:29]
D
Rug. Rugs are hard too. I mean, I'd say generally speaking. A couple tricks we embody are because a lot of retail rugs max out at 10 by 14 and rooms, you know, a living room is usually larger than that. We'll do the double rug, which actually lends itself really well to a bigger room because then it kind of creates like a natural zone of two different seating spaces or two different zones and that. And I think generally you just want like, you know, just a foot perimeter is ideal in a room. Of course you can have more. We actually funny enough love wall to wall and bedrooms. So you have no perimeter. It's just maximizes the cozy factor of a bedroom. Which was funny. I recently had a builder who was like wall to wall. Really? And I'm like, well, yeah, I mean, think of like a Four Seasons. Like they've got wall to a wall, plush carpet. I mean, it's not, you know, it's not crazy if you think like, it can be very lux. It's just at some point in time we started to associate it with not nice in the residential world. But I had a client who kind of brought me back around on it in bedrooms. But yeah, that's kind of our general gist on rugs.
- [47:51]
A
It seems like rugs are a really easy place to tape. You know, tape that off and.
- [47:56]
D
Oh my gosh. Hands down. Hands down. And I'd say the best way to make a rug, to really elevate a rug and make it look custom is to have them bind it on site and wrap it around your heart. If you can go. If you're going for like a Stanton or you know, instead of an area rug, it's immediately kind of just takes it to another level to do that touch.
- [48:23]
A
And you can kind of go bigger. Right. Because you're. If you were doing just a square, you would have to go smaller because of the hearth or a weird corner or something. But if you can have it custom, then you can kind of get closer to the edge. Make the room feel bigger.
- [48:38]
D
Yeah, exactly. I think the first time I did that for a client, I was like, I feel kind of fancy that I'm doing a rug that chases around the. The air returns. There's something that just looks very custom when you chase around the detail of the room.
- [48:52]
A
But a small rug, like, I feel like it kills the whole vibe.
- [48:59]
D
Yeah, yeah. Unless it's awesome. Right. I did get. I want to say I have a 4 by 6 that was gifted to me, a Tibetan tiger. And it's pretty awesome. And it makes my foyer and any other. If it didn't have that presence, it would have to be bigger. But because it's such a cool pattern.
- [49:21]
A
It's a statement. Yeah.
- [49:23]
D
It exactly like it works.
- [49:27]
B
That's a good call out. Though I do agree there's something about. There's the rug you purchased that doesn't fit the space it needs to change. And then there's the cool, very like statement rug thing. I have one of those too. That's just like a shaped zebra. I've had it for 20 years at this point, but, like, it's just a loop structure. And it's still my favorite because he flops on top of like any other rug. And he looks so fun. Like, he's just funny and I love him so. Yes.
- [49:55]
D
Oh, yeah. Oh. And then one of the best tips somebody told me years ago, I have no idea who told me this, but it stayed with me is just to have. There's always this question of, well, the furniture either has to be all the way on the rug or all the way off the rug. Right. That's a huge one. That stumps a lot of people. Stumped me for years. And then someone finally said, no, you have to have a piece or two that's half and half. You. If you're. If the rug is not going to encompass the whole room, you've got to have a piece of furniture that's partially on it, partially off it. Otherwise it just looks like this rug island in the middle of your room. So now. And it's funny, I always find myself kind of pulling like wing chairs a little bit off and the clients or the cleaning ladies will want to put it back on. And I'm like, no, no. It's going to straddle the two worlds. Rug world.
- [50:47]
A
It likes to.
- [50:47]
D
Not rug world.
- [50:48]
B
Yeah, it likes to dip its feet on the floor.
- [50:51]
A
Just let it.
- [50:51]
D
Exactly, exactly. And it's like the perfect thing that works. Again, that would. Does not work in floor plan. And floor plan. It looks crazy.
- [51:02]
A
I totally would have never thought about that. But that's a great tip and it does kind of make sense. It's like, it's like it needs something to like keep the rug down or something.
- [51:15]
D
Yeah. Just to kind of like, it's truly to like bridge both worlds together of like the wood floor and the rug. And then. And now. Now I bet you'll notice it now that I pointed it out.
- [51:26]
B
All right.
- [51:27]
C
Don't get cast away on rug island.
- [51:34]
A
Hi, ladies. Love your help making our guest room work better. For occasional at home work and zoom calls. The room is small, 11 and a half by 12 and dark blue, which we are finding too gloomy for a work at home space. And right now our zoom background includes a vanity piled with papers and the bathroom door. What would you do in the space if you could do anything? We like having a queen size bed for guests, but are open to any creative solutions. Please help us degloom our zoom room. Christie from Virginia. Oh my gosh, you're so cute. I love her. Her rhyming. Right? So yeah, she's got a queen bed kind of centered on a wall and then a desk in the corner and then behind that desk is the bathroom door and sort of a vanity in between some windows.
- [52:22]
D
Okay. I'm dying to know if any of you all were thinking the same thing, but I read this and immediately thought Murphy bed. That it's like the perfect room for a Murphy. We do so many work guest spaces because, you know, so many of us are like work from home now and they're always like, well, I, I want a really nice day to day office, but I really want to be able to have a guest room or two guest rooms or whatever. And we did a Murphy bed at a client's and this was actually so fun where you have bookshelves on the side and then it pops up. And in this case we actually secured art to it, like real art. And so they'll. I'll have to send you guys the photo of this room after the call. But literally when you pull it down, the art is like anchored into the Murphy bed.
- [53:10]
A
Fabulous.
- [53:10]
D
So it's so you would never Guess it is a Murphy bed. But the room had to double both ways. And then you can put your desk right in front, and then that can be your beautiful backdrop. You can do a really fun color on the bed. I mean, I love all the colors. I'm sure this will come to no surprise, but I do agree. We went through a phase where we all wanted to do navy blue offices, but I don't find them very invigorating. So I get it. Zoom gloom. I'm with you. I think that, like, go bright.
- [53:42]
A
Go.
- [53:42]
D
Go red. Go light. Like, I love. This is my living room. Doubles is my. My office. I love this pistachio. Before the pistachio, it was a bright yellow. I think it's. You just want fun, invigorating colors because that's what you're doing in there usually. And your guests, they're only there for a couple nights. You don't want. You don't want to make it too inviting. So it's kind of fun to be, like, an experience for the guests.
- [54:08]
A
Yeah.
- [54:09]
D
So I think you should pick the
- [54:11]
A
color that she looks best in and paint that on the wall. It's like wearing a shirt that's like, your. Your most flattering color and in your color season. And that should be the wall color, because then it's gonna, like, which recently,
- [54:25]
D
I heard is peach.
- [54:27]
A
Probably peach.
- [54:28]
D
We all look really good, which is hard sell, like an apricot.
- [54:34]
A
But did y' all see this? Okay, this is off topic, but did y' all see this whole uproar around the Vanity Fair Oscar party where all the celebrities were upset because they change. Like, they picked a gray. Like, a flat gray background color, and the lighting was really bad. And so they had all these, like, side by side photos of the celebrities at, like, the actual red carpet for the Oscars where the background is peach, and then the next photo, you know, four hours later on the gray background, and they look absolutely horrible. The perfect example. So you're right. It's like they put the peach background as the color on the Oscars. You know, what do they call it? A.
- [55:18]
C
The step and return.
- [55:19]
A
Yeah, like a. Yeah, the step and repair. That's because that was the color that was most flattering. So. Yeah.
- [55:26]
C
But I bet that's probably contributing to the zoom gloom in this room if it. If the navy blue is. Is throwing, like, a cast of blue on your face. That never feels great.
- [55:39]
A
Yeah. Yeah.
- [55:41]
D
We all. It was such a phase, Right. We all lean really hard into the Navy offices, and then I finally remember being in A client. And I was like, it just kind of makes me want to take a nap in here.
- [55:53]
A
Yeah.
- [55:53]
D
And I love if you have a Navy office. I love your office. But, yeah, I thought you were gonna
- [55:58]
B
say, I love a nap. And I was like, me too.
- [56:02]
D
Can I laugh, too? How many, like, high powered clients are like, I really need a sofa in here because I like to work horizontally. I'm like, post Covid world.
- [56:12]
A
That's hilarious.
- [56:13]
D
Doesn't matter what you're building hourly, man.
- [56:18]
B
No, my. My husband has a darker colored office, and there is enough light, but on a. On a darker day, that is not a sunny, happy day.
- [56:28]
A
He.
- [56:28]
B
He feels it too. He's. He talks about it. So. But then we have, like, a mauve bedroom. Like, and it is. It's just like, you just, like, it is a beautiful color and it makes you feel pretty in it. So I do love that. And then I was going to say, with your work and looking at your portfolio, you absolutely could do a sherbet peach wall all day. Like, gobble it up.
- [56:51]
D
So this is true.
- [56:52]
B
Yes. And it was predicted. We were just watching that 2028 is all about orange, so from, like, sherbets and corals. I know. Think shrimp. What's the nail polish color?
- [57:05]
A
Cajun shrimp, Asian shrimp.
- [57:07]
D
I just got that on my toes.
- [57:09]
A
Yeah. Great as a toenail polish color, but not as a wall color.
- [57:14]
B
Well, it was just about.
- [57:15]
A
It was.
- [57:16]
B
It was in general for fashion.
- [57:18]
A
So we'll say it will trickle. Okay. Okay. That's acceptable. I'll. I'll allow it.
- [57:23]
D
It's a fun it. That's a hard one to get right. But that's. It's a fun color. When you do get it right, it's like, it's a classic.
- [57:30]
A
Sarah. I, too, have Cajun shrimp on my toes right now. It's the best. See? Wow. But it's a toenail polish color, not as a. I don't know. Great, great.
- [57:43]
D
We'll check back.
- [57:44]
B
And like, I think it said 2028 was the prediction.
- [57:47]
A
So we'll check.
- [57:48]
B
We'll circle back on this, guys, and see how we feel two years from now.
- [57:51]
C
That'll be so interesting because I feel like colors do kind of come in waves like that. And the color that I'm always like, I am never going to do anything with purple. Hi. My. My family room's purple.
- [58:01]
A
Yeah. I mean, mauve, you know, mauve sounds so hideous, but.
- [58:07]
C
Yes.
- [58:08]
A
Right.
- [58:08]
C
But it is.
- [58:09]
B
Can't get enough of it now.
- [58:10]
D
Can't I really? It's all about how. What color you give it, what you call it right now, like, ratichiol. Oh, it's not purple. Because I remember I said sea foam to like an older client that was like sea foam and I don't know, desert rose. Like, what? But they were like, I'm sorry, I'm just going to the 80s. I can only see the 80s right now. You were too young to really know it. And I'm like, no, I kind of. I know exactly when the, like Southwest vibe was so big. But now I'm like, you need a new. You need a new name.
- [58:41]
A
Pistachio.
- [58:43]
B
Celadon. Pistachio. Yes. We're like, yes. We're going to sages and soft. Yes. Minerals. Yeah, exactly. I know, but that's the same thing with coral. It's the same, like, it gives me a little bit of a. Because, like, I've been through the coral phase. But just telling you what I. Cajun shrimp. Maybe I didn't predict this.
- [59:06]
D
Somebody else.
- [59:07]
A
What were they calling. What was the shade that they were calling orange?
- [59:11]
B
They called it a burnt orange. But it was like, when I looked at the pictures, it was like terracotta all the way to like Cajun shrimp. Like, some of it was more vivid in their imagery. And then somewhere, like, you just mean terracotta, which I thought we'd been in. Like, we've been in this muddy for a while. Sorry for this tangent, but anyway. But yeah, they were calling it burnt orange.
- [59:35]
A
Okay, sorry. Back to Christie's office. Yes, her office. Sorry. I'm sitting here looking at this layout, okay. And I do love the idea of a Murphy bed. I will say if she can face her, like, if she is looking at the windows, she is gonna have the most flattering light on her face. So if she puts the windows behind her, like I'm doing right now, then it backlights you. You really want the light coming at your face.
- [60:07]
D
Which actually not plugging my Murphy bed, but it does sort of lend itself.
- [60:12]
A
Totally put the Murphy bed up and then float your desk.
- [60:16]
D
Or we do a lot of day beds too. Because the Murphy bed obviously requires a built in, which is a bigger investment to do mill work. But we love a day bed. I just did one actually in my husband's office. It's like a day bed that pops out into, out and up like an old school trundle, but way smoother. And. And that's a great sort of. We do that a lot where it's just nice, Nice. You know, when you spend every day in your office, it's nice to float your desk and the daybed up against the wall allows you to do that because. I don't know, then you might as well feel like a big boss lady in your office.
- [60:53]
A
Yeah. So, y', all, there is the cutest Amazon daybed that I've been seeing all over my algorithms. It's like a gingham with a scalloped top.
- [61:06]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [61:06]
D
Cute.
- [61:07]
B
It was on mine too.
- [61:08]
A
Yeah, it's. I feel like that would be something like, that would be a great choice because, like, it's fun, it's not expensive. Get a really good mattress.
- [61:19]
B
And it does depend how often I think somebody's sleeping in here. Like, when you say, like, guest, are you doing once or twice a year? Or is this something someone comes monthly? Yeah. Because I. Do we. I think we even offer or did offer a sofa that popped up in the bed.
- [61:35]
A
No.
- [61:36]
B
Anyway.
- [61:36]
D
But even if it's not a pop up, even if it's like a full. Right. Like to your. A full bed or day bed or sofa kind of. I don't know. I love that sort of. Can go either way. Furniture piece.
- [61:50]
B
I know a daybed, too, is so great for lounging.
- [61:54]
A
Not so taking that nap.
- [62:00]
D
It really. It's so good. I'm like, I won't tell your clients.
- [62:05]
B
I know.
- [62:06]
D
Just don't be mad at me if I'm. If I'm billing you horizontally.
- [62:12]
A
I bet.
- [62:12]
D
I bet that'd be a fun question for designers. How many of us work from bed?
- [62:18]
A
Yeah.
- [62:19]
D
You're overworked. We're kind of. We're creatives. Right. We're either on or we're not on.
- [62:23]
A
Yeah.
- [62:25]
D
So what do you do in a not on day? Where do you work from? This is fine.
- [62:30]
A
I feel like the answer to those questions should be, like, you know, under the cone of silence. Like, it's.
- [62:37]
C
Yeah.
- [62:39]
A
You're not forced to disclose.
- [62:42]
B
Hard one.
- [62:43]
A
Yeah.
- [62:43]
B
So she did note in here. This from our. Our guest or whatever, she said that the house next door is 15ft away, so it is a limited amount of light in there. And I think because of the layout of the closet, you really are in, like, a pickle of, like, attached to the private. Like, her real background. She says it's a vanity with stuff piled on it, but then, like, behind that's a door to the private bathroom. So, like, none of these backgrounds are, like, great. I was only. My only other thought was, could she move the queen bed to where the desk is and, like, kind of give up a nightstand in sort of a way if she can get it by the swing door. And then she could put her desk on the bedroom wall. And then she could put a pocket.
- [63:31]
D
Oh, that's a great idea.
- [63:31]
B
For the vanity. Like if, if she wants to keep the big bed, I still think the Murphy bed does make it. So she could reinvent the space to be her own. So like if that is something that works for her, I think that's a great one because then she can put in a bigger desk, she can make this her own room. But if she can't do that, I'm wondering if she could swing that. If it's big enough to get that bed on the other wall.
- [63:55]
C
I love that.
- [63:56]
D
Like that's such a great way. And then that really makes the zone around the queen bed kind of your office zone. Right. Put the desk over there.
- [64:06]
A
So Taryn, you're saying put the queen bed between the windows or you're saying put it where the desk is?
- [64:14]
B
I mean whichever way she could. So she could get a better background is my like, because if this is your work office and like I get that part of like constantly cleaning up your bedroom. We have somebody we work with who has a. But who's always on Zoom and she actually has a screen she's put up because she has one of those massive master bedrooms though. So like the desk easily fits but you don't want your co workers looking at your bed. So it becomes this like what I should be utilizing this space. It works fine. So she put up this like screen to make a faux wall and has hung art on it to make it a little more. But again that doesn't work in this space either.
- [64:52]
D
Yeah, I'm also a big fan of a two sided desk where you've got. I actually have that in here because this is the. Yeah, but like that's a very sexy wall. Right. So I'm like, no, I'd rather sit and face like put the colors behind.
- [65:11]
B
Oh, I think your built ins are very cute too.
- [65:13]
D
Well, maybe just because they're. They're so white.
- [65:17]
B
For a color girl like you, you're like, I can't have my white shelves. Absolutely.
- [65:23]
A
They're so white.
- [65:24]
D
I'm like, maybe if I paint them some. If I color drench in here.
- [65:28]
A
Exactly.
- [65:30]
D
But it's, it's kind of perfect for like pick your, pick your zoom poison which way you're gonna face today. Or you could just swing your chair to either side. Right.
- [65:39]
A
So Taren, you're saying put the bed on the wall between the windows and then put the desk as the nightstand,
- [65:47]
B
like potentially. Like, I would play.
- [65:49]
A
Yeah, I love that idea because also that puts the light in her facing
- [65:53]
B
her face, you know, and it might not work again. She might not work. She's gonna have to play. But she's obviously playing in a room planner. So I'm sure she can kind of scoot everything around and see if like smaller nightstands, maybe she doesn't need the vanity in there. That would give work up some more space that she could do a more linear desk in there
- [66:18]
D
or the vanity could become the nightstand.
- [66:21]
B
That's true.
- [66:21]
A
Because.
- [66:22]
B
Yeah. Because we just have a floor plan, so we don't actually know.
- [66:25]
D
Right.
- [66:26]
B
Yeah.
- [66:26]
D
So I'm dying to know. Do we get follow up on this? I want to know.
- [66:30]
A
Yeah. Christy.
- [66:31]
D
Where she lands.
- [66:32]
A
Let us know what happens, Christy.
- [66:34]
B
Yeah. And if you don't like this plan, send more images of the room. Send images of the room and what your backdrop is currently. And let us like, help you a little bit more. Because I feel like.
- [66:44]
D
Yeah, I feel invested. Like, do these. Does this furniture exist? Is this. Because I always say I'm always willing to work around, like your heirloom pieces. You know, sometimes you're like, I've had this bed forever.
- [66:54]
A
It came from.
- [66:54]
D
Blah, blah, blah, you know, it was my first big purchase or came from my parents childhood bedroom, you know, And I'm like, well, that's cool. That's. That's got provenance. Let's make that work in the space.
- [67:09]
A
Yeah. But yeah.
- [67:11]
D
Yeah. Okay. I'm dying to hear now, Christy, you have to tell us where you land.
- [67:15]
A
Yes, for sure. Okay, Sarah, tell everyone where they can find you, follow you, and see your work.
- [67:20]
D
Instagram seems to be the jam. Um. Oh my gosh. Look at that. Didn't mean to rhyme that or just our website, sarahville.com but we're always trying to keep fun, fresh content on Instagram. Our latest is a walkthrough of a home we did in Lincoln park park that was just like a very quick preview to the house. And it's been fun. It's been generating a lot of buzz. People have been excited about it.
- [67:51]
B
Yeah, your website has. Is beautiful. So I think people really get an idea of like the depth of your color loving from there too. So I hope everyone goes and visits your website because it's gorgeous and we'll.
- [68:04]
D
Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This has been so my. My very first podcast. You'll always remember your first podcast. Thank you, ladies.
- [68:14]
A
No, thank you. Made it so easy. This was fun. And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog howtodecorate.com podcast to
- [68:25]
B
send in a decorating dilemma, email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space.
- [68:31]
A
And of course, be sure to follow us on social media at ballardesigns.
- [68:34]
C
Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review.
- [68:40]
D
We'd love to hear your feedback.
- [68:41]
A
Until next time, happy decorating.