Ep. 120: textile designer Lisa Fine

12/24/19 • 50 min

Textile designer Lisa Fine joins the show this week to talk about how she got into textile design, the path that unfolded after a trip to India, and the top things we should know when working with textiles. Lisa also shares the inspiration behind her new book, Near & Far, and wisdom she has inherited from starting and running her own business. This episode will also support that there is beauty in imperfection, and if you love something you can find a place for it in your home.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

How Lisa got into textile design, and why she feels it is such a crucial piece to having a home that is both stylish and comfortable.
The travels to India that got Lisa even more passionate about textiles, and also what she loves so much about Persian textiles.
A few twists and turns that occurred while Lisa was growing her own business, and how she took them as learning lessons to get even better.
Why Lisa loves a hand-printed linen so much, and how it creates a natural yet custom made look.
Beauty is in imperfection, so embrace the flaws and know it’s okay to not have things perfectly perfect!
Lisa works in homes that range from grand and opulent to refined and simple. Hear how she makes things work for each particular space.
Lisa believes if you love something, you can find a place for it in your home.
Why we are here for the trend of using one particular pattern to the point where it becomes a neutral.
Slipcovers can be a great way to give your couch shape and a streamlined look, but there are certain things you need to know when using them.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Lisa Fine Textiles

Near & Far

@lisafinetextiles

Richard Keith Langham

Wine Away

The Frame TV

Decorating Dilemma

First, Lisa loves that you want a lot of seating areas, and this space is great for entertaining already! It also seems like putting the dining room near the kitchen would work well, and we either vote for a round table to welcome a break from the square, or put the dining room table in front of the fireplace where the sofa is. Maybe the length of the sofa goes perpendicular to the fireplace, and put the two chairs across from it. A slip to cover the chairs would be a great way to match the sofa and have a theme carry across the room. We would love to sit in front of the fireplace too, so feel free to get creative with your seating in front of it!

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We think it’s brilliant the way you have used tape to outline where everything will go, so good use of understanding proportion already! We are okay with the TV in front of the fireplace, and just suggest bringing in more round shapes in your bookshelf accessories to add some softness to the room.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

How Lisa got into textile design, and why she feels it is such a crucial piece to having a home that is both stylish and comfortable.
The travels to India that got Lisa even more passionate about textiles, and also what she loves so much about Persian textiles.
A few twists and turns that occurred while Lisa was growing her own business, and how she took them as learning lessons to get even better.
Why Lisa loves a hand-printed linen so much, and how it creates a natural yet custom made look.
Beauty is in imperfection, so embrace the flaws and know it’s okay to not have things perfectly perfect!
Lisa works in homes that range from grand and opulent to refined and simple. Hear how she makes things work for each particular space.
Lisa believes if you love something, you can find a place for it in your home.
Why we are here for the trend of using one particular pattern to the point where it becomes a neutral.
Slipcovers can be a great way to give your couch shape and a streamlined look, but there are certain things you need to know when using them.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Lisa Fine Textiles

Near & Far

@lisafinetextiles

Richard Keith Langham

Wine Away

The Frame TV

Decorating Dilemma

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Previous Episode

Ep. 119: designer Lisa Furey

Interior Designer Lisa Furey joins the show to talk about keeping neutrals chic yet interesting, her award-winning luxury boutique firm, Lisa Furey Interiors in Philadelphia, and how she fell in love with her Palmetto Bluff vacation home. Lisa shares how she went from a career as a divorce lawyer, her passion for the “bricks and sticks” aspect of design and building, and her approach to creating beautiful and practical homes that are just as livable as they are beautiful.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

Trials and Triumphs featuring misbehaving bats, ruthless bin cleaning, leaf blowers, and delegating out Christmas light tasks.
Tips on ribbons and accessories that are both kid-proof and beautiful for the holidays.
Real talk on where everyone stands on ornaments as Christmas gifts.
How Lisa’s core business is Lisa Furey Interiors in Philadelphia on the mainline, but she also does work in Georgia and South Carolina.
More about Lisa’s projects including the Beach Cottage in South Carolina, the main house in Palmetto Bluff, and her own personal home featuring an upside-down design of the living room upstairs with floating stairs.
How Lisa fell in love so much with Palmetto Bluff that she came home and purchased a loft for her personal use.
More about the original cottage that people loved so much that it led her to a carriage house, and then a main house.
Fun fact: Lisa was a divorce lawyer before a designer and actually attended two colleges at once.
Lisa describes her style as minimal with an emphasis and natural and simple. She enjoys using clean lines and nice materials that create a relaxed and welcoming feel.
Why Lisa loves using woven pieces to give spaces an organic look.
A glimpse into the process from when Lisa decides to work with a client to working with them on a large renovation, remodel, or building from the ground up.
Some risks Lisa has taken recently in her own home and work, including some fun blue cabinets and an upside down home.
What similarities and differences Lisa sees between working in Philadelphia and the South.
While we do love some photos of your cute pets, we are all for editing and trimming out the unnecessary parts within a room.
Tips for matching appliances, and how to use different shades of the same color with it still looking clean and cohesive.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Ballard Designs Ornaments

Lisa Furey

@lisafureyinteriors

Beautiful Kitchen and Baths

Decorating Dilemma

Congrats on your place! Lisa would cover up the gray tile with as much rug as she could using natural fiber rugs. She recommends two, maybe an indoor / outdoor version to kid proof them, and if you are looking for more color you can put a prettier rug on top. A pendant light would bring the ceiling down, and make it feel a bit more comfortable and welcoming.

If you do the bar stools, one option would be to get the saddle ones without backs, so that you can tuck the stools under the table for easy storage.

Instead of a mirror above the fireplace, Lisa suggests a wreath or tobacco baskets with two candle sconces on either side. She would also have the layout of the space be: kitchen on one side, fireplace in the middle, and built in on the other side to elevate and bring in a sense of balance.

Next Episode

Ep. 121: designer Vern Yip

Designer Vern Yip returns to the show to tell us about his new book, Vacation at Home and gives us insight into 18 special steps to create your everyday getaway inside your home. He talks about why we feel so relaxed on vacation and in luxury environments, and how we can start to foster that in our homes with a foundation that helps us live the way we want, and takes things off our “to do” list permanently. Vern also shares how he keeps his personal home so beautiful with kids and over 500 lbs of dogs, why fewer but bigger may be better, and a few suggestions for picking out a color scheme that will work best for your home.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

Vern Yip is back to talk about his new book Vacation at Home, but first, we must give a special nod to his book Design Wise that won the podcast’s award for “Best Design Book”.
A special quick mindfulness practice to gain clarity on how to visualize a space that gives you that feeling of rest and regeneration.
Some great ideas on decluttering, storing mail, and deciding what things should stay or go.
A few of Vern’s 18 primary rules to creating a home that feels as though you are on vacation.
Why we breakdown things in terms of things we love, things we need, and where exactly that thing will go.
The beauty of refreshing your environment and rotating things out, even including bedroom art.
What Vern means when he says “designing for a focal point” to create a view and give the eyes a rest.
Yes, it’s possible to take things permanently off your to-do list. Vern explains how organic components and great planning can assist in this mission.
Symmetry is your friend, and Vern shares some things you can do to implement a sense of organization and balance.
Why we will never go longer than a week before washing our hand towels!!
How Vern set a few easy rules and guidelines for his children to follow to keep the home neat and free of toys scattered about.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Decorating Dilemma

First off, wow. What a beautiful home with an amazing view. We suggest working with spacing first. You can use our Room Planning Tool to put in the dimensions of your room (and even your furniture!) and figure all of it out before you start purchasing things. After that, Vern agrees that the walls should be a lighter color than the ceiling. To create a feeling of expansion and openness.

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Vern thinks this is a great room in terms of windows. We do think, however, that the cut out is making it less symmetrical, so just something to consider. Vern mentions that you can possibly edit your furniture and take off some of the open shelving. Second, when you decide to put window treatments, take the curtain rod all the way up and have your treatments go under the crown to the floor. This will increase the perception of volume in the room. Don’t be afraid of a contrast color, and when it comes time to choose your wall color, Vern suggests having a couple ideas up on the wall, and take down the ones you don’t like until you are left with two or three. Then, you can get sample pots and see how they perform before you make a single choice.