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Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Timeless American Style with Markham Roberts
00:50:11
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- [00:00]
Markham Roberts
I love collecting things and if I get interested in something and my partner James is an antique dealer and he has extraordinarily beautiful taste and an eye and I'm always like grabbing stuff to bring home and you know, it gets to a point where it's like a great friend of mine has one thing in life that she says all the time. She's like, there is a limit.
- [00:21]
Podcast Host
Welcome to Talkshop.
- [00:22]
Arielle Oken
I'm Arielle Oken, a New York based.
- [00:25]
Podcast Host
Interior designer, writer and editor looking to bring a little bit of magic into our homes every day.
- [00:31]
Arielle Oken
After years as a writer and editor.
- [00:32]
Podcast Host
In the interiors world, I founded my own editorial site, Fenimore Lane in 2020 and the TalkShop interview series was born. Each week I delve into the personal experiences of the top interior designers and tastemakers around the globe. This week I'm welcoming a Designer with over 25 years of experience and a roster of iconic projects and clients. Deemed a master of timeless American style by Vogue, Markham Roberts has earned earned his reputation as one of the leading decorators of his generation through his highly custom, always charming and uniquely layered interiors. Born in Indianapolis, Markham graduated from Brown University and moved to New York to work with the great American interior designer Mark Hampton before opening his eponymous firm in 1997. Rather than following trends or simply imprinting his own style onto clients, Marcum and the team adeptly realize his vision for each project, interpreting his clients wishes and synthesizing those with his own erudite take on timeless decorating. His credo is to create beautiful, well thought out, comfortable interiors reflective of his clients and he definitely succeeds. Markham and his work have been featured in countless publications including Architectural Digest, El Decor, House Beautiful, Town and Country, Vogue, the New York Times, along with many more. He was also named to the AD100 and was a 2024 recipient of the ICAA's prestigious Arthur Ross Award for Interior Design, known as the Oscar of the industry. It's an incredible pleasure to welcome Marcum to the podcast and we had such a great conversation so I can't wait for you to hear it.
- [02:09]
Arielle Oken
Markham, thank you so much for joining us on this podcast.
- [02:12]
Markham Roberts
Ariel, thank you for having me. I'm happy to be with you.
- [02:14]
Arielle Oken
I'm so thrilled that we can make this happen. I have been such a huge admirer of yours for so long and I love your book, so I've been really looking forward to this one.
- [02:24]
Markham Roberts
Thank you.
- [02:26]
Arielle Oken
Well, those who listen to the podcast know we kick off the conversation by asking everyone who comes on, can you describe your style in three Words or less.
- [02:35]
Markham Roberts
I would like to think that any style that I might have needs more than three words to describe.
- [02:42]
Arielle Oken
But valid.
- [02:44]
Markham Roberts
That may not be the case. It may be that it requires only one word. But I suppose it's hard to do a word or whatever. But for me, like, there are a couple things that I think about, and it's more that it's my sort of hope that my work comes across that way, I guess. And the first one would be considered just meaning that it's, you know, it's thought out with regard to, you know, not just the basics of function and comfort and lighting and all the things that we need to know about a room to make it work for somebody, but that it could also be, you know, maybe, you know, meaningful, not just visually appealing, but sort of, know, reflective of the clients. Or it might have a bit of humor and nostalgia, or it could be done to create a specific, you know, feeling or purpose or something, you know, for. For the clients in a room. So I. I hope that it comes across as thought out or considered.
- [03:38]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, I love that. That's really beautiful, the way you described considered. I think that's so special, and I think it reflects so much in your work because it is so personal. I think one of the things that. That always strikes me so much about your books is just the sheer range.
- [03:53]
Markham Roberts
Oh, I like to hear that. Thank you. Thank you.
- [03:55]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. It is just so apparent how deep you go with your clients in terms of really understanding their personalities and who they are. And you go from, you know, a mountain house to a very uptown city apartment, and they're just all so different, and that is so hard to do.
- [04:12]
Markham Roberts
Thank you. That is very nice to hear. Thank you.
- [04:14]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, so I love that.
- [04:17]
Markham Roberts
Another thing that's super important, another word that I hope it comes across is relaxed, because it's really important to me. And I think even the most formal rooms shouldn't feel stiff. I had a client once say to me, this is one of the grandest apartments I'll ever work on. And she's the most lovely and gracious client, hostess, woman. But in one of our early, early meetings about this very. This ballroom that we were doing where she entertains for a lot of reasons. And she said, I don't want it to be comfort comfortable. It struck me for a second. I was like, wait, I need to ask about this. And so I asked her, and I said, you know, I was like, what you mean is you want it to be. You want it to feel, you know, formal and grand, and that you don't want people to think that they should kick off their shoes and put their feet up on the table, but you still want it to be comfortable. And everybody should have a place to set down a drink or the lighting should be right for every seat or whatever. She's like, yes, yes, you understand, you get it. Even the fanciest. Fanciest of rooms, I think, should have comfortable furniture or whatever. To me, that relaxes a room and makes things just not, you know, too stiff.
- [05:23]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, I love that. And to your point, it's like it could be the most elevated, fanciest of spaces, but it. If you have, like, if the room works for the person, there's a place to put your drink. The seating groupings make sense for conversation. You know, that's relaxing in and of itself. Even if the. The silhouettes of the furniture themselves might not look relaxed.
- [05:45]
Markham Roberts
There's a famous photo by Horst of Consuelo Vanderbilt in her, I think, Southampton house, sitting on a prissy settee in what looks like almost a hoop skirt situation, 18th century dress. And she's all powdered. And that is not what I want to feel like sitting in any room. Yes, it's a beautiful room and a beautiful photograph, of course. But anyway, the third thing for me kind of maybe is the most important, and I think of it as being layered. So I hope that my work comes across in a way that maybe the more you look at it, the more you notice details that just aren't readily available visually in the beginning anyway, because you don't want everything in a room to be, you know, screaming at you at the forefront. You want things to sort of unfold. And Senga Mortimer, who's a great friend and like, mentor to me and, you know, worked with me forever, the, you know, great editor, she said, you know, it's hard to capture in a photograph how your rooms feel. And she said, honey, that's a compliment. She's like, I don't mean that your rooms are ugly. I mean that, you know, the more I sit and focus on things in a room, the more that they become apparent to me.
- [06:53]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [06:54]
Markham Roberts
Not noticing them right away. And she said, I love, I love looking at every detail or things like that. So I hope that that comes across in work. It, you know, I'm sure that's not something that people would see on a photo on Instagram because I can't see my phone, you know, on a tiny picture.
- [07:07]
Arielle Oken
But that's why I love your books because they go so into detail in your projects and they are so, so layered and also different and so wonderful. And they have that thread going through them of the three words that you just described. So I. I love that you also explained why the rationale for the three words, because I think that in itself kind of gives us the ethos behind how, how you and your firm work.
- [07:34]
Markham Roberts
So I'm hoping that I passed the three word test.
- [07:38]
Arielle Oken
Yes. You excelled. You have an A.
- [07:40]
Markham Roberts
Thank you. I was going through that grade. Thank you.
- [07:44]
Arielle Oken
I. Well, for those listening, I know everybody listening to an interior design podcast knows who you are. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are at this point in your career? Now?
- [07:56]
Markham Roberts
My name is Markham Roberts. I live between New York City and the Hudson Valley, and I'm. I've been decorating for a long time. It's really the only job I've ever had, and I didn't know I wanted to be a decorator, but once I was, it, it became perfectly evident to me and I really do love it. I'm lucky. I get to work on great stuff with. With people I really, really like. I'm 57 years old and I am. I've been doing this for a long time. I'm glad I don't have to start today because I. I think it would be a daunting task to try to make a name for yourself or try to get noticed or, you know, when. When I started decorating, you know, there weren't that many decorators. Now everyone and their brother and their brother's doorman and the doorman's wife and, I mean, everyone is a decorator.
- [08:44]
Arielle Oken
So true.
- [08:45]
Markham Roberts
So I'm at a part of my career where I am lucky. I get to do what I want to do. And I don't feel. I work really hard. I don't feel like, you know, it's a hustle game or, you know, having to just, you know, always run on the habit trail. Wheel and spin and spin and spin. I feel like I'm. This has been a particularly nice year for me. I've been in business 25 years. I got a very nice award.
- [09:11]
Arielle Oken
I know we're going to talk about that. Congratulations. The Arthur Arthur Ross Award. That's such a big deal.
- [09:17]
Markham Roberts
So nice to get that. And I just like. It reminds you. God.
- [09:22]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [09:22]
Markham Roberts
I have been working a long time. You know, I've been working hard. I've done a lot. Like, this is good. I feel good about it. So.
- [09:27]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. And so well deserved. And for those listening, we're talking about the ICA Award. Which is basically like an Oscar in the interiors world, and so incredibly well deserved and just so exciting. So huge. Congratulations.
- [09:42]
Markham Roberts
Thank you. Thank you.
- [09:43]
Arielle Oken
And what a blessing to feel that way about your job. You know, I think particularly for designers who sort of fall into it. I didn't go to school for design either. I went and got my master's in public affairs and was working in education, and I kind of was doing this on the side for friends and quickly realized I was spending more time doing this than my actual job. We almost never lose that sense of feeling lucky that we get to do it.
- [10:06]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, that's true.
- [10:07]
Arielle Oken
And it feels like a blessing to really love what you do every day. And, you know, this isn't to say that there aren't headaches or many crises that pop up or what have you, but, I mean, to spend 25 years doing something that you absolutely love is just an absolute gift.
- [10:22]
Markham Roberts
It is my first day of work with Mark Hampton. He sort of took me around, and one of the things he said to me, he said, you know, you will find if this sticks with you, that we're very lucky to be able to do this. And he said, I don't mean to say anything disparaging about accounting, because I don't know anything about it, but Mark said to me at the time, he's like, think of an accountant in a cubicle, sitting all day, punching numbers. He's like, we get to go out and see this and speak to this person and do that. I mean, listen, if accounting is your passion and math and doing that, then statistics and specifics like that, great, then I'm sure you feel that way about that. He was thinking about himself, and he had maybe a hint that that would be true for me, you know, would come true for me.
- [11:08]
Arielle Oken
So has art and design always been a part of your life? Like, were you always interested in the arts as a child?
- [11:14]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, as a child, I, like, I drew all the time. I mean, I would paint and draw all the time. I don't get to do it so much anymore just because I don't have a studio set for that. So, yeah, getting all the paints out and then putting them away because I'm. I would freak out if the paints were left out when I wasn't using them. That might send me over the edge, twitching. I don't do it enough because I don't have enough time. But I'm always drawing for work, even if it's just with my pencil, and that is always fun and gratifying. When I was little, My mother would take me to the museum at home and I loved it. I loved all sorts of things like that. The Gardner Museum. My grandmother took me when I was little and I just was in heaven. Colonial Williamsburg was so cool to me as a little boy. And it was like the Governor's palace. As much as that cannon that's still ball, that's still stuck in the side of the house, you know, 250 years later or whatever it is.
- [12:01]
Arielle Oken
I remember that from a field trip too.
- [12:04]
Markham Roberts
So much fun. So even movies with, with really great houses like that always, always, you know, piqued my interest. Growing up, I though I had no idea what I wanted to do and wasn't even thinking about it. But I studied art history and I studied architecture. And so, you know, those certainly helped me, you know, to know 18th century, you know, English artists. And to study those paintings and to look at the interiors and to study the colors of them, you know, is as valuable to you as a decorator as knowing, you know, about Wiener Werkstadt things or whatever. It's, it's, it's all useful information for us and it all informs us in one way.
- [12:41]
Arielle Oken
When did you decide that you wanted to have a career in design? You went to Brown and you studied art?
- [12:46]
Markham Roberts
Yep. I moved to New York and I didn't have a job. I was, you know, trying to think about it and looking for it and I didn't have a job for a while and I think my father was getting really, like, really tired of that sort of situation. But he was very patient and I took a job. I helped like a friend of his who was a movie producer do some stuff on a couple of things. And I took a job in client services at Sotheby's, which was, you know, like three days a week, part time or whatever. But it was super interesting to see how that worked, right? To be there at Sotheby's, to see these exhibitions, to, you know, learn something. I love that. But I didn't, I didn't know what I wanted to do and I was kind of, you know, stuck. And one day in the gallery I met, somebody came up to me and asked me for directions and I recognized that it was Mark Hampton because, you know, I knew Architectural Digest and of course, like the fact that I didn't know what I wanted to do, being a, you know, 22 year old kid looking at Architectural Digest, that's, you know, that's on me for being so stupid. But when I met him, you know, I said hello because Alexa and I were at school together and he said to me, he's like, this is the oddest thing. I just got a letter about you from Lisa Supin, who's this woman, who's a. Who was a lovely, lovely woman from Indianapolis as well. Friend of my grandmother's he'd done a house for in Hope Sound. And she, when I moved to New York or subsequently, like, wrote to him to say, you should meet this kid. And I didn't know about it. And before, I'm sure, he's like, why am I. Why would I meet. Like, no, I have no interest in doing that, whatever. But I did meet him by luck, and he said, come to my office next week. And I left with a job.
- [14:17]
Arielle Oken
Wow. So you were like, predestined. I mean, that's like in the stars, I think. I don't think that happens by chance.
- [14:25]
Markham Roberts
It's a super weird coincidence. But it was great.
- [14:28]
Arielle Oken
Incredible story.
- [14:29]
Markham Roberts
Life is about coincidences and about taking advantage of things or whatever. And thank God for this nice woman. And thank God that I was. I wrote a story about this once. You know, I was a polite kid because my parents, you know, beat that into me from a very young age. And if I'd been some sullen little twerp, she would never have written to him, you know, to say, you should meet him, whatever. Whether she was fond of my parents and grandparents or not.
- [14:52]
Arielle Oken
Wow, that is such an incredible story.
- [14:55]
Markham Roberts
It was so odd. And I started, you know, I think he. I was working at Sotheby's, and so I think he assumed that I knew something about furniture. And I think he knew who my grandmother was, and she had sort of English furniture and paintings and things. So I think he knew I knew what I was doing. So I've started out every day going to every antique store in the city, shopping for all the antiques and lighting for every job that was going on in the. In the office. And it was so much. I would leave the office with one of those canvas bags and like 20 cases of 20 pack Polaroid film. And I would have a tape measure in a pen and I would write on the back of every Polaroid because there were no phones then. That took our pictures. Yes. So anyway, I would do that and it was great. And then he started to give me little things to do and then, you know, take on projects and things. But it was a great way to learn. And, you know, I just loved him. I loved working for him. And that office was just fantastic. And we worked on.
- [15:49]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, I mean, the exposure of Everything you must have seen there sets you. I mean, that's just such an invaluable.
- [15:55]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, it was great experience.
- [15:57]
Arielle Oken
That sets you up. And then you start your own firm in 1997, and, you know, now you're. I mean, almost 30 years. Right? That's amazing.
- [16:08]
Markham Roberts
It has been a long time. I mean, it was at the end of 97 when I sort of set up the. Is it an llc? I don't know what it is. You know, whatever the company entity or whatever. It was really over the next year after that that I started to do things and pick up steam in my, you know, get my first client or whatever. I didn't. I didn't leave his office with clients or anything like that. He was, like, super happy for me to, you know, start out on my own. And it was nice.
- [16:30]
Arielle Oken
I love that. I think that's how it should be. I think people fly the coup, and that's sort of what it needs to be. I mean, this industry is sort of like that. And I think having mentors who are supportive of you and proud of you. I mean, you also are now a generational firm. I mean, I have friends who worked for you who now have, like, gone and start. Started their own things and. Yeah, that's an amazing thing. I mean, to be able to say that, you know, someone started their training ground with you and then started their own business. I mean, it touches people's lives in so many different ways, which is really special.
- [17:02]
Markham Roberts
That's nice.
- [17:02]
Arielle Oken
How do you think you've seen your design evolve over the years since you opened your firm?
- [17:07]
Markham Roberts
I suppose. Listen, as we get older and as we are not, you know, blind or stuck in a, you know, vacuum where there's no sensory things going on around, it's like I'm, you know, you're looking at things your whole life, you're seeing things, and the more you see, the more. You know, I think I said this before or whatever, but I think that it would be hard not to evolve. I don't know how I've evolved, but it would be hard not to evolve. I mean, I can recognize that things are different now than they were then and that I look at different things or maybe have different interests. I don't know how to answer that question because I don't. I don't think about it often.
- [17:49]
Arielle Oken
But, yeah, it just sort of happens as you're going, I would imagine.
- [17:52]
Markham Roberts
I think it does happen. And, you know, we. We. Whether we're aware of it or not.
- [17:56]
Arielle Oken
Right.
- [17:57]
Markham Roberts
A lot of it's Subconscious things influence us, and you move in different directions. I mean, there are things I know about now that I didn't know about then. And obviously those factor into my. I didn't know as much about Japanese things like Japanese lacquer and Japanese baskets and things I do now as I did then. And so there are things like that, of course, that are obvious overall, generally speaking. I don't know how to say that I. I don't know. I hope that work continues to be reflective of clients.
- [18:29]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [18:29]
Markham Roberts
Which shows that I can listen to people or that I, you know, I'm interested in helping them get something and not imprint something of mine on them. But maybe sometime you can tell me how I evolved.
- [18:40]
Arielle Oken
Well, I love also that even the photos in your books, which I love and I reference frequently. I love the photo of one of your first projects. It almost has, like, sort of an Oscar de la Renta vibe to it. It was that foyer for your friends.
- [18:55]
Markham Roberts
Oh, yes, it's Charlotte Ford. I just had lunch with her today, and she is the. She's somebody else I met by chance. You know, her friend, who was my friend's mother, said, oh, Markham is leaving Mark Hampton's office. You should call him. And she was my first client. And that apartment was the first thing that I ever worked on. And it's something that anybody would. I'm sure that Peter Marino would be happy if she called him. You know what I mean? It's just a beautiful apartment.
- [19:19]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. No, that's like an unbelievable apartment.
- [19:22]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, it was great. She's so lovely. That. And you are dead on, Ariel, because that. So that entrance hall, totally influenced by the DiLaurenti's. Right. So those. Those marble columns that I made to flank that 18th century English table, you know, completely. Completely derived from the De Laurentiis entry hall foyer. They have these two porphyry columns.
- [19:42]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, you can see. And it's so beautiful.
- [19:46]
Markham Roberts
And I had been. I studied in Paris for a semester abroad, doing French Renaissance architecture. And so at Fontainebleau, there's a famous. You know, Francis, the First gallery, where he brought Italian artisans to paint. And they had done these, like, spotty limestone finishes on some of the woodwork. And I thought to myself at the time, like, I'm dying to use this. So if you look at that room at Charlotte's, the paneling, which was quite good and was there. It was part of the original Niarchos apartment interior. I painted it in this, you know, faux, sort of very subtle spotty limestone. And it's so pretty. I don't know if you can see it from the picture as well, but it's so beautiful in person. It's such a subtle, nice detail.
- [20:29]
Arielle Oken
Oh, I do see it on the inside.
- [20:31]
Markham Roberts
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
- [20:32]
Arielle Oken
Oh, wow. That's stunning.
- [20:34]
Markham Roberts
And that was. That was the painter Chango's first job, I think.
- [20:37]
Arielle Oken
No way.
- [20:38]
Markham Roberts
On his own. Yeah.
- [20:39]
Arielle Oken
Wow.
- [20:40]
Markham Roberts
He's the most brilliant painter. And he did those columns for me. He did the porphyry urns on top for me. He did the spotty limestone paneling. I mean, he's brilliant.
- [20:49]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. I'm always blown away by what I see, you know, on Instagram, some of his work, and I'm, like, blown away by the talent.
- [20:55]
Markham Roberts
He's incredible.
- [20:56]
Arielle Oken
To that end, are there any specific projects you're particularly proud of?
- [21:00]
Markham Roberts
I am super proud of that apartment. And as I was there today, I looked around and I thought, God, this still looks great. This really looks great. There's a chair that's falling apart because it's silk, and it's been 20 years or whatever, which we're going to recover. But there's one room in the apartment which had originally been done by Stephane Boudin, you know, for John Sen for New York, and it has stayed. It has sort of silk red velvet on the walls, and it's quite beautiful. And there's no need to, I would say, to mess with that. And the rest of the apartment, we've done everything, and it, you know, I'm really proud of it. It looks great. But like that or any of these other, you know, enormous projects or very grand projects or whatever it is, I'm also super happy to help, you know, like, a young family with their first serious apartment, because of the joy that it brings them or brings me in seeing them get excited and happy about stuff. I just did a big apartment for some young clients here in the city, and it's really fun to introduce them to things and to show them things and to open their eyes to things and to listen to them and then go down a path with them on something that they want. I mean, it's. Decorating can be a nice thing if you're not stiff and rigid.
- [22:09]
Arielle Oken
Well, two things jumped out at me. I mean, first, I love that you're still visiting that apartment, even, you know, almost 25 or 30 years later, and having lunch there. And, I mean, that's just a testament to the importance of maintaining your relationships and how decorating is a relationship business in that sense, and that's really beautiful. And also going from a place like that to a young family. Is that the one that was just an ad? It was so great.
- [22:35]
Markham Roberts
No, those are clients. Thank you. I love them, too. God, they are so much fun. They're a little younger than I am, but they have grown children, and they're collectors. They live in Europe for 20 years and still live there. So they're not a young. They know all sorts of stuff. And we all, like, went crazy looking at things together.
- [22:52]
Arielle Oken
Oh, my God, it was so good. That blue Murano chandelier is beyond.
- [22:57]
Markham Roberts
That was a fun project, but the.
- [22:59]
Arielle Oken
Range of the different aspects of what you work on I find so fascinating and also so much fun. Is that. Do you think that's your favorite thing about working in design?
- [23:08]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, I would say so. Just because. And thank you for giving me the answer to that question, because I would have been stumped and said, duh, I don't know. No, it's true. I think if you're an actor, if you were asked to do the same role every single time, you'd get bored. Right. And I think it's really interesting to work. You know, we get to work on all different things with all different people, and that makes things always somewhat new.
- [23:34]
Arielle Oken
I mean, it's never boring.
- [23:36]
Markham Roberts
It's not boring.
- [23:37]
Arielle Oken
Looking back through your career, have you had a mentor? I'm sure Mark was absolutely one of them.
- [23:43]
Markham Roberts
Yeah.
- [23:43]
Arielle Oken
And if so, how did they help shape your trajectory?
- [23:46]
Markham Roberts
It's definitely Mark. And he, you know, he was so smart and funny and fun and charming and interesting, and he could also be just terribly difficult. And learning how to navigate him as a person, you know, what you do when you become close with somebody, you learn how to sort of deal with them. Right. Like, you learn how to navigate your parents, you learn how to navigate friends.
- [24:13]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [24:14]
Markham Roberts
Learning how to navigate that with him and sort of earning his respect is something I am incredibly proud of. Always will be. He was. He was so hard on me after being there for about a year, for a period of a year. And I just, like, you know, I had parents who were tough about stuff, and. But it got to the point where I just didn't understand, like, why he was being so hard on me. And one day, Alexa was like, oh. She's like, that just means that he's, you know, he likes you and that he understands that, you know, he's. That's just him testing you. Just, like, don't worry about it. So I kind of, you know, didn't worry about it or whatever. One day came when he snapped his fingers at Me over something I had been working for. I installed this entire house in Palm Beach. And he came down on the fourth day, and he wanted to move something in a room and snapped his fingers at me or whatever. And I guess I gave him this look because I was tired, and it was just like, do not. Do not do that. You know, Don't. Do not do that. And I saw his face register that I was displeased. And he looked scared. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. I've never seen him scared. And after the meeting, you know, we're in the car, and he's like, I'm so sorry. I snap my fingers at you. I don't. I was like, you know what? It's not a problem. I'm happy to move the chair for you. But, like, you know, I'd been down there for three days, like, just working my ass off, and. Yeah, pretty nice. It looks pretty good. He's like, it's beautiful. He's like. He's like, I'm so sorry. Whatever. And he never, ever did that again to me.
- [25:38]
Arielle Oken
That's a great story. I love that.
- [25:40]
Markham Roberts
Listen, he was so generous with me. He always wanted me to learn things, and he wanted me to sit with him and would teach me things, right? Like if I were going to a friend's wedding in Italy, he would say, why are you coming back so soon? You need to stay two extra days, and you're going to go see these things, and you're not coming back unless you've seen these things. If I were in London, he would say, you must go here and you must go here. He wanted me to see things. He wanted me to learn things. He wanted to share his knowledge. And, you know, that's what. If you're lucky enough to have somebody who shows any interest in you, you better lap it up and you better enjoy it and you better appreciate it, because it's not. It's not given. It's not for granted.
- [26:23]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [26:24]
Markham Roberts
And he was a friend of ours was getting married at this time, and he said, you know, where are you staying? Because, you know, Alexa was going to be there and other. Other kids our age of our friend group that he knew were going to be there, and they were all staying at this one hotel and, you know, outside of Florence, and I was staying in Florence with another friend of mine at a hotel that was not as expensive and nice or whatever. And Mark, I had just, like, I had just told my father to. That I was gonna, you know, fend for myself and whatever So I wasn't in any position to stay in this nice hotel. Mark came up to me at the end of this party where we all. And he said, this is your Christmas present. You're not gonna argue. You can't say anything, but you and your friend are gonna stay in that hotel, and I don't wanna hear the end of it. I want you to see this hotel. I want you to experience the gardens. I want you to experience the food. And that's what you're doing. And I don't wanna hear about it, because I would have said no, just out of. I don't know. That's what you do. You don't let somebody. And it was the. It was the best trip I've ever taken, my favorite hotel. And, like, you know, I'll never, ever forget that, ever, as long as I live.
- [27:23]
Arielle Oken
That's an incredible story. I feel like he was meant to sort of be your men. I mean, it just sort of. It was like the stars aligned for him to be your mentor.
- [27:31]
Markham Roberts
It was so nice. And, you know, Alexa and I always talk about this. How incredibly lucky she was to have him as a father, you know, all the time. And obviously, you know, all our parents drive us crazy in one way or the other. Right. Like, so that comes with difficulty. But, like, you know, we just. There just isn't a time when we're together where we don't think about him and how incredible it was and how incredibly cool it must have been for her. Yes. Difficult at times, but to have that experience and that relationship. And then, of course, he, you know, died too young.
- [28:04]
Arielle Oken
I mean, I have read his books a couple times, and I keep them in my library at work and I reference them often. And I just, you know, I feel like that experience of working so closely for such an icon in the industry is just so unparalleled.
- [28:22]
Markham Roberts
He was great. He was just great. And the office was great. I mean, it was a whole bunch of us, and we had a great time. So I was lucky.
- [28:29]
Arielle Oken
I love that. Well, speaking of books, you have written two fantastic books, which I love and keep in my library and reference frequently.
- [28:38]
Markham Roberts
Thank you.
- [28:39]
Arielle Oken
I just submitted my manuscript, like, a week ago, and I'm curious to hear what your writing process is like and did you learn something new about yourself or, you know, how you design by. By working on them?
- [28:51]
Markham Roberts
First of all, congratulations. That's great. Can't wait to see it.
- [28:54]
Arielle Oken
Thank you.
- [28:54]
Markham Roberts
And it's fun, isn't it? I mean, it's like, oh, wow, somebody wants me to do A book. This is. Wow, this is crazy.
- [28:59]
Arielle Oken
I keep pinching myself. I really. I can't believe it. It is the coolest thing.
- [29:04]
Markham Roberts
I had lunch with Mark McGowan at Vendome, and I left that lunch thinking, oh, my God, this is so cool. Wow. I mean, wow.
- [29:12]
Arielle Oken
So cool.
- [29:13]
Markham Roberts
And, you know, the book, or the process of it, you know, for us, this type of book forces us to look closely at a collective body of what we've done. Right. So again, like I said before, I was. I was like, oh, wow, I have done a lot. Oh, my God. Like, I've got. The problem for me was, you know, knowing was all the things I had to cut out of the book because there aren't enough pages.
- [29:36]
Arielle Oken
The culling process is so sad. I feel like, so bad every time we, like, eliminate something.
- [29:41]
Markham Roberts
But you'll have another one. So you can. People, you know, whatever, just. Just hold on. Don't. There'll be a. There's a hope for them in the future. The forgotten photos. But you really look at everything and depending upon your subject, what you want to write about or whatever, you. Yeah, it's your opportunity to say something. So I like to write. I write, you know, articles I've written for, you know, Veranda, and it's really fun to do. And I enjoy writing in general.
- [30:09]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, I love your writing. Your books, they have such. They have your personality injected in them, and so they're fun to read.
- [30:16]
Markham Roberts
Thank you. So I was very happy to write it. And it helped me also understand why I wanted to put a specific picture with another picture in a certain place. And all of that. I was. That. That is the most fun part of it too, is the. The visual aspect as well, tying in. And it was so fun. It's a lot of work. You gotta go around and photograph everything. If you haven't done the photographs, you know, you spend a lot of time and money going and photographing things or whatever. But it's so worth it in the end. It is so worth it.
- [30:49]
Arielle Oken
It's something that you have forever and it's part of, you know, design canon and people save these books and reference them all the time.
- [30:58]
Markham Roberts
It's a lot of work to go out. You know, when you do the book and. And speak and do stuff that I'm worried about, I'm.
- [31:04]
Arielle Oken
You'll be good.
- [31:05]
Markham Roberts
You'll be great. It's just a lot of work and you have a family and, you know, like, it's. It takes away a little bit. It's fun, but it's a Lot of work.
- [31:12]
Arielle Oken
I know. My husband and I were kind of thinking, like, we were trying to talk about, you know, because my book comes out in February. So we were like, okay, let's plan. You know, yada, yada. And I was thinking, like, oh, I guess I'm going to have to bring the girls with me if I'm going traveling to all these places. I can't just, like, peace out for the year.
- [31:28]
Markham Roberts
There were long stretches of time where I never saw my mother when I was little. They'll be fine. Yeah.
- [31:34]
Arielle Oken
Thank you. That makes me feel better.
- [31:36]
Markham Roberts
I think I turned out okay. I don't know.
- [31:38]
Arielle Oken
You did. You turned out wonderful. Thank you.
- [31:42]
Markham Roberts
The. The second book came out in Covid, and so for me, I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything. And Covid was the one time where we, remember time just warped and started moving slowly. And I could watch everything in the garden in real time, you know, that spring, you know, come into bloom. But if I do another book, I'm gonna wait a little while. It's a lot of work. And I loved my second book. I felt like it was sort of the second child that doesn't get attention or whatever, which is great. I think the second child is always very interesting.
- [32:13]
Arielle Oken
I love that book. I really do. I reference both of them often because the way that you layer different periods, different textiles, it's so fascinating to me. And they're wonderful.
- [32:25]
Markham Roberts
I'm glad to hear that you read them, because I assume that no one reads them, right? That they're decorating books and.
- [32:29]
Arielle Oken
No, I actually pore over them. I think people who really love design read them cover to cover.
- [32:35]
Markham Roberts
Okay. I did leave a little test in one of my captions to see if anybody read it, and no one's called me about it yet, so I'm.
- [32:43]
Arielle Oken
Oh, my God. I'm gonna go look for it.
- [32:44]
Markham Roberts
It is a caption, so it's not. It's not something that people would look at unless they were looking at the picture and wanted to look something up or whatever. But I thought, oh, I'm just gonna leave this little thing and see if I ever get anybo.
- [32:55]
Arielle Oken
Oh, my God. Hysterical. I'm going to go find it immediately after we hang up, and I'm going to find it and send it to you. That's so good. Well, a little bit about you. I always like to ask people, what do you think your home says about you?
- [33:07]
Markham Roberts
Probably says, I'm a hoarder.
- [33:09]
Arielle Oken
Aren't we all in this industry?
- [33:12]
Markham Roberts
It gets to be just like, are you kidding me? I've got to get rid of some of this stuff. But I love collecting things and if I get interested in something and my partner James is an antique dealer and he has extraordinarily beautiful taste and an eye. And I'm always like grabbing stuff to bring home. And you know, it gets to a point where it's like a great friend of mine has one thing in life that she says all the time. She's like, there is a limit.
- [33:34]
Arielle Oken
It's tricky though when you love design and you can kind of go down rabbit holes of apt wear or whatever it is and then you're like in this sort of hole and then you start collecting. I mean, it's kind of hard to not. It would be fun to do like a Storage wars just with designers.
- [33:54]
Markham Roberts
I'm going to say humiliation of that and I'm not going to sign up for that because I think that I'm already in trouble. My, my house probably also says that I'm like a pauper because we have two old houses. One was James's sort of summer family house and it's out on the west coast and we go there in the summer. We're only there a month, a year. But like, for God's sake, the bathrooms need redoing and I'm a decorator and like I'm pushing clients right and left to do this and do that. And I live. You know, our sh Tower in Port Townsend is like a telephone booth. It's horrible.
- [34:26]
Arielle Oken
But I think we're all kind of cobblers with no shoes. Like that's sort of what it is. Like we lived in our house for five years before it was like really like livable.
- [34:34]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, there are large, like our kitchen is really scary. I'm about to, you know. Well, not a. I'm not about to because it's been 17 years. But the plan is to extend it. And I'm like, well, why would I spend money on this if I'm just going to rip it out?
- [34:47]
Arielle Oken
Right? That's true.
- [34:48]
Markham Roberts
17 years later. I could have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it over that time. But anyway, we are where we are. So I'm a hoarder and a pauper, I guess.
- [34:56]
Arielle Oken
Well, to that end, I mean, what are some of your favorite places to shop for? Home.
- [35:00]
Markham Roberts
Oh, James's Storage is definitely my favorite place. I don't have to go far at all. No, I love. Listen, there are great dealers everywhere and there are junk shops everywhere. And I like junk shops as much as I like A great dealer.
- [35:12]
Arielle Oken
Me too. So much fun.
- [35:14]
Markham Roberts
It is, it's. It's great. Or the Rhinebeck Antique Fair. Like you'll, you know, you can go anywhere and do anything. There are those places. I've never been to the. Was it called Brimfield in Massachusetts?
- [35:23]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. I haven't been. I'm dying to go.
- [35:26]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, me too. Let's go. I haven't been to the one in Texas.
- [35:28]
Arielle Oken
I'll go with you.
- [35:29]
Markham Roberts
I would happily go. I mean, it's not far, right? Isn't Massachusetts a state or two away?
- [35:34]
Arielle Oken
Yes. It's not that far and it seems so much fun. I haven't done Round Top either. And I really, I want to go and see.
- [35:40]
Markham Roberts
That's the Texas one, right?
- [35:41]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. There's so much to see and I feel like I, I never, I don't travel that much because I, you know, I have a. Almost six year old and a three year old, so I'm kind of home a lot, but I.
- [35:52]
Markham Roberts
That's a lot of work. That really is on top of your full time job. That's a lot of work.
- [35:56]
Arielle Oken
I'm tired, but.
- [35:58]
Markham Roberts
But you know, like on the side of the road you can see something cool and grab it, you know, I mean there's, there's stuff everywhere. So I like to shop all over. But James is by far the best and easiest. I mean, I'm pretty lucky.
- [36:09]
Arielle Oken
I love that. That's also just so cute and romantic.
- [36:14]
Markham Roberts
Not when we're fighting over where it goes.
- [36:16]
Arielle Oken
Right, right, exactly. That's the other half of it.
- [36:19]
Markham Roberts
I'm so lucky because James is so patient and just also indulges me in a lot of ways. And I mean, it's nice in the end, but like he's just, he's very agreeable. I'm very, very lucky.
- [36:28]
Arielle Oken
That's so sweet. It's the best kind of partnership too. Where do you find inspiration? I would imagine all over.
- [36:35]
Markham Roberts
Absolutely everywhere. I mean, you can look at forms in a shell or patterns in a shell or in a piece of lacquer that's, you know, something, you know, man made versus natural. You can look at different hues of mosses on a stone. You can look at, you know, every museum and every house in the world. You can look at movies, you can listen to music. And it can inspire you in different ways. I mean, you just need to look around.
- [36:59]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [36:59]
Markham Roberts
And pay attention. I went on a trip very recently to Sweden and I had always wanted to go. God, it was so beautiful.
- [37:08]
Arielle Oken
I know, the palaces. I've never been And I, I really want to go to the palaces. They are incredible.
- [37:14]
Markham Roberts
So, so, so cool. And even the light is different up north like that. And so you. Interesting the way that it hits things and looking at the, the planed trees everywhere and you know what they grow it. I mean it, it was great. So there are things where you know you're going to be flooded with inspiration. Like a trip like that, which is the whole goal of that.
- [37:35]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [37:35]
Markham Roberts
But you'll find things in very different ways. Or you know, you know, walking on the street looking at a brick pattern in something or you know, whatever it is. Yeah, you should find it everywhere. And if you're not finding it everywhere, you need to open your eyes more. That's my advice to Young.
- [37:50]
Arielle Oken
It's like the Grace Coddington, you know, never close your eyes when you're in the car because you never know what you'll see. I love that. Oh my God. This was so much fun. Well, at the end of our episodes we always do our take 10, which are rapid fire questions. They have absolutely nothing to do with design really. So what is your favorite food?
- [38:07]
Markham Roberts
Pizza probably.
- [38:08]
Arielle Oken
Me too. Honestly. Favorite drink?
- [38:11]
Markham Roberts
Alcoholic or non?
- [38:12]
Arielle Oken
It could be either.
- [38:13]
Markham Roberts
Well, let's just go with alcohol and maybe anything with alcohol except for gin because I had a real run in with gin once. But I love an old fashioned. I love a Manhattan. I like. Somebody gave me something recently called a paper plane and it was delicious.
- [38:24]
Arielle Oken
Ooh.
- [38:25]
Markham Roberts
But I also love martini.
- [38:27]
Arielle Oken
I love a martini, A cold dirty martini. Delicious, delightful thing. Yes.
- [38:31]
Markham Roberts
Never met a glass of wine I didn't like. So there we go.
- [38:36]
Arielle Oken
I love that. Favorite film.
- [38:39]
Markham Roberts
Well, I always love that movie. The man who Knew Too much. The Hitchcock movie with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day. I think it's so good. And the scene in the Albert hall is one of my favorite music to cinema pairings that I've ever seen. You know, where the assassin's gun is moving toward the dignitary. It's so good. It's such a good movie. And it's corny and wonderful. It's like masterfully suspenseful, like Hitchcock. It's beautiful. The scene in the Albert hall is unbelievable. Jimmy Stewart doorstep. I mean it's great, it's Morocco, it's fantastic. But visually the most interesting movie is Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. And it's like every Frame is an 18th century English painting. And the scene is done at candlelight and the costumes and it was done in the 70s. It's hard not to have the 70s come through in any period. Piece that you've ever seen done in the 70s. It is such a beautiful movie.
- [39:37]
Arielle Oken
I love when we get film recommendations that we haven't gotten before, also because it gives. We do little roundups of everyone's favorite films, everyone's favorite hotels, et cetera. And it's fun when we get ones that we haven't gotten before because I feel like people will write in and say, oh, we watched this and I learned something from it.
- [39:56]
Markham Roberts
Oh, good. There's one thing in Barry Lyndon, there's a continuity problem which is not easily noticeable, but it does exist.
- [40:03]
Arielle Oken
Where is it?
- [40:03]
Markham Roberts
I'm not going to tell you. I want you to watch it.
- [40:05]
Arielle Oken
Okay. We're going to find it. I'm going to look for it. I have homework and I have your book.
- [40:10]
Markham Roberts
I know that you wanted homework. I love assigning homework to people.
- [40:14]
Arielle Oken
Yes, exactly. Favorite hotel?
- [40:16]
Markham Roberts
Oh, I'm going to say the Villa San Michele, which is where Mark sent me. It's in the hills of Fiesole, above Florence. And it is. I mean, the food is unreal. The garden, you sit there overlooking the Duomo and the sunset. It is beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
- [40:29]
Arielle Oken
I love that. And also, just because of the story behind it, I love even more, you.
- [40:33]
Markham Roberts
Know the scene at the end of A Room with a View. The Merchant Ivory movie.
- [40:36]
Arielle Oken
Yes.
- [40:37]
Markham Roberts
Where they're in the window. That's filmed there.
- [40:39]
Arielle Oken
Oh, wow. It's so beautiful. That's another beautiful movie.
- [40:44]
Markham Roberts
Yeah, they're so worth another watch. All of them. The Merchant Ivory movies, they're just so good.
- [40:49]
Arielle Oken
I love that. Favorite city.
- [40:52]
Markham Roberts
I really love London. I love New York. I mean, all of them. I don't know. That's hard. Let's say New York, because I'm from New York and New York is just, you know, America's just pretty. Pretty great.
- [41:01]
Arielle Oken
I know. It is pretty great. There's not much like it. Favorite bedding.
- [41:05]
Markham Roberts
You know, I have to confess that I am. I. I sleep with a fitted sheet, you know, on the mattress and then like a duvet. And in the winter, there's like a fur blanket on the bed or whatever. I am. I'm so not.
- [41:17]
Arielle Oken
That's amazing.
- [41:17]
Markham Roberts
When I was little, I would stay with my grandmother, and her beds were so fussy and, like, tucked in and horrible.
- [41:24]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [41:24]
Markham Roberts
And you had to, like. You had to unpeel like 17 layers to get in there or whatever. I just really.
- [41:29]
Arielle Oken
It's not com.
- [41:30]
Markham Roberts
It's not comfortable. It might look pretty, but it's not comfortable. So I'm the last person to ask. About linens. Sorry.
- [41:36]
Arielle Oken
That's so funny. Tea or coffee? And how do you take it?
- [41:39]
Markham Roberts
I drink coffee with milk. And I will tell you that ginger tea, fresh ginger tea, is the most delicious thing in the world. With my honey. It's not my honey. It's the honey that my bees give us.
- [41:51]
Arielle Oken
Oh, you have bees? Upstate.
- [41:54]
Markham Roberts
And it is the most delicious honey. They live in fields of clover and honeysuckle. And it is the most delicious honey.
- [42:02]
Arielle Oken
That's so cool. Favorite playlist?
- [42:05]
Markham Roberts
I listen to everything. My favorite band is probably Radiohead. My favorite, you know, opera, Zur. Wagner. My. I love, you know, Nina Simone.
- [42:13]
Arielle Oken
Talk about range. Those two things together.
- [42:16]
Markham Roberts
I love country music. I love Dolly Parton. I love, you know, I mean, all of it. All of it is great. So anything. I mean, we. I'll send you our playlist, too. It's. It's quite good.
- [42:24]
Arielle Oken
Ooh, I would love that. Favorite weekend activity?
- [42:28]
Markham Roberts
Oh, hanging out with the dogs in the garden. And James just. Just not doing anything.
- [42:32]
Arielle Oken
I know. It's. I feel like it's such a luxury, especially for designers, because we're constantly on the go and we're on site or we're like, you know, traveling or whatever. To be home with zero plans is such a luxury.
- [42:43]
Markham Roberts
It's so nice. We just got chickens. And so I am spending all my time in the chicken house, like, holding. Like, there's one in particular that some of the hens are a little bit mean to, and she's so. She's just kind of on her own. She'll come over to my leg and stand on my foot and I'll pick her up, and she just lets me hold her. And it is so. It's so much fun. I should have been.
- [43:02]
Arielle Oken
It makes me wanna. I always tell my husband my, like, retiree dream is that I wanna go move onto a farm with, like, a bunch of animals.
- [43:09]
Markham Roberts
Green Acres. Right.
- [43:10]
Arielle Oken
I know he thinks I'm nuts, but I would have, like, 12 dogs and chickens and, like, goats. It's just so nice. It's the way to live. Okay, the last question is always the hardest one. And I don't know. Favorite design book.
- [43:24]
Markham Roberts
Well, I have to say mine, right? No, I don't think.
- [43:27]
Arielle Oken
Yes.
- [43:27]
Markham Roberts
I was gonna say notes on decorating. I mean, it' say. So, look, there's. You know, I have a big library of stuff, right? There's the great Horst book, you know, which has all that. It has that photo of Consuelo Vanderbilt in it that I spoke about before. That's a superb book.
- [43:41]
Arielle Oken
Great.
- [43:42]
Markham Roberts
The There's a book that has. I think it's called God, is it called New York trends and traditions? It's got Bill Blass's apartment in it. It has the Del Rentis apartment in it. It's a really great book. I think it's called New York trends and traditions.
- [43:55]
Arielle Oken
Ooh. I don't know if I know that one.
- [43:57]
Markham Roberts
But, like, books that I really, really love whenever I'm visiting a place. You know, if you go to the musee de la Chasse in Paris or to the Soane museum in London, you get a book that they produce that you know is on the house, museum or the palace or wherever you are. When I was in Paris during my semester, my roommate was in Helsinki studying, you know, the cello with his professor, and I went to Helsinki to visit, and we went to. We left the city and went out to Saarinen, the elder's house in the country, which is called. This is hard to say because it's a Finnish word. It's H, V I T T R A S K V trask, or however you say that or whatever. It is the most beautiful shingled, you know, late 19th century, early 20th century house. And, you know, I pulled out that book the other day because I'm working on a house in the Poconos.
- [44:50]
Arielle Oken
Ooh.
- [44:51]
Markham Roberts
In like a 19th century fishing camp.
- [44:53]
Arielle Oken
Oh, my God. That's funny.
- [44:55]
Markham Roberts
And I was like, oh, God, I have to look up how those shingles worked and how that roof tile worked, you know, for this job or whatever. So. So a book like that, whatever it may be, is something that elicits your memory of a place and teaches you more about it, and you hold that with you forever. So whatever it is for, I mean, it's one of those for me, but it could be anything for anybody.
- [45:16]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. Oh, I love that. And that's a really good teaching lesson, too. It's sort of like, you know, you. As you collect a library to go back and reference those books that you're kind of grabbing along the way in life because they will come back and help you on projects, and you never know when they'll come back and help you.
- [45:32]
Markham Roberts
It's true.
- [45:33]
Arielle Oken
Oh, that's fun. You're doing something in the Poconos. I'm from Philly. I'm from outside of Philly.
- [45:37]
Markham Roberts
I haven't go the house. You know, we haven't broken ground. We're just looking at plans now. I cannot wait to go out there and see it. I cannot wait.
- [45:42]
Arielle Oken
Oh, it's beautiful. The Poconos Are beautiful. And. And that's so much fun. Oh my God. That's a great project.
- [45:47]
Markham Roberts
I'm very excited.
- [45:49]
Arielle Oken
What else are you working on right now? Any new projects you can talk about?
- [45:52]
Markham Roberts
I'm working on a very cool Victorian house with Gil's office. Fun Long Island Sound, kind of near New Haven. It's the most interesting house and it's just fat. It's so much fun to work on it and love working with Gil.
- [46:07]
Arielle Oken
So, I mean, the two of you together. I can't wait to see that. That'll be amazing.
- [46:12]
Markham Roberts
I'm working with James and Dick. James, Sharon and Dick. Boris of Boris and Sheeran.
- [46:17]
Arielle Oken
Yeah.
- [46:17]
Markham Roberts
On a beautiful new build shingle style house in Southampton and on. They've recently come onto a project of mine in South Carolina outside of Charleston, like an hour outside on this beautiful river. It's an old property there, huge property. And we've already done a guest house and a sort of big barn. And now we're going to build a main house. The old house that was there had to be torn down because of mold. But it is the most remarkably beautiful property and I'm excited that they're coming on board to. To help with that.
- [46:48]
Arielle Oken
Oh, I can't wait to see. I just.
- [46:50]
Markham Roberts
It's nice. It's like I love getting, you know, this is a part of the world that I'd been to with a friend once because her parents had a house there and. But I. It's not someplace that I, you know, necessarily knew. Now I'm spending time there and I love it. I never knew Nashville until I have seven clients from Nashville and I spent. I'd spent time there for, you know, 25 years. It's so great. Montana. Like, I've spent a ton of time in Montana. It's really nice that we get to go and. And sort of get exposure to a place that we might not otherwise know.
- [47:18]
Arielle Oken
Yeah, yeah. Because you wouldn't otherwise. I mean, if you live in New York, like when are you flying out to these random. Not random, but, you know, random in relation to New York places other than, you know, if you are lucky enough to do what we do, we get the opportunity to go to some really amazing and beautiful spots that you just wouldn't go to otherwise. That's so exciting. I can't wait to see them.
- [47:38]
Markham Roberts
I gotta get to work. Right.
- [47:40]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. Well, this is the last question we ask everyone who comes on. What advice do you have for someone looking to define their own interior style?
- [47:50]
Markham Roberts
Keep your eyes open, obviously to, To. To everything around you. But also don't worry about what other people are doing. Or like, if something interests you, study it, figure it out, explore it. Something doesn't interest you. Don't make your own decisions. Don't worry about what other people are doing. I mean, yes, other people's work influences us, can teach us something new at times or whatever. But, you know, I always get asked, like, what trends are you following? I don't pay attention to any of that stuff because I. That would be another full time job and I already have three. Right. Like, I don't. I don't have time for that.
- [48:24]
Arielle Oken
And you also don't want a house to feel like it's. It's trendy. You want it to feel timeless.
- [48:28]
Markham Roberts
True. Very true, Very true. So, you know, listen to your clients, listen to yourself and go out and explore. And you know, it, it, it evolves. It's not something that you have, you know, you learn it. Right. Like, yeah. Again, this. So maybe this speaks to the question before of how's your style evolved? I know so much more now than I did then. And so my work is reflective of that. As it should be.
- [48:54]
Arielle Oken
Yeah. And it becomes more layered over time the more you learn too, which is. I love that answer.
- [48:59]
Markham Roberts
So I went back and answered the one that I didn't answer before. This is great. I feel really good. I hope I get a ribbon. I hope I get a ribbon.
- [49:06]
Arielle Oken
This happens sometimes where we come full circle on something and it just like one question, like, kind of sparks the idea for the previous one, which I love. This was so much fun. I had so much fun chatting with you. Thank you so much for coming on, Ariel, for.
- [49:22]
Markham Roberts
Thank you for having me. And when you come to New York, come, come and have lunch and you can meet the dogs.
- [49:26]
Arielle Oken
Yes. I would love that.
- [49:27]
Markham Roberts
Okay.
- [49:28]
Arielle Oken
I would love that so much. Where can listeners find more about you and your firm?
- [49:33]
Markham Roberts
I'm on Instagram. I don't do anything else. I have a website, markhamroberts.com My books tell a lot about me. So decorating the way I see it. And notes on decorating.
- [49:43]
Arielle Oken
Yes, but that's it. Well, this was a delight. Thank you so much for coming on Markham. I really appreciate it.
- [49:50]
Markham Roberts
Ariel. Thanks for having me.
- [49:51]
Podcast Host
That's a wrap for this week's episode of Talkshop.
- [49:54]
Arielle Oken
Thanks for listening.
- [49:55]
Podcast Host
We'll be back next week with more thoughtful discussions and amazing guests. Follow us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, so you never miss an episode. And of course, follow me.
- [50:05]
Arielle Oken
Arielleokun. See you next week.