Ep. 300: Listener Q&A Special!

03/14/23 • 74 min

This week marks the 300th episode of our podcast, which means it's time to attempt our very first lightning round Decorating Dilemma Q&A special episode! Thank you so much for listening and support the How to Decorate podcast over the years. To honor our podcasting milestone, today's episode is all about authentically answering your home decorating questions: Caroline, Taryn, and Liz break down your Instagram-submitted questions by topic, from decorating with patterns and colors, living room layouts, outdoor styling questions, and even a few mystery wildcard questions.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

When will the color gray die?
What are some good color trends for traditional transitional designs?
Why the color wheel is a great tool for picking a color palette.
Decorating with patterns versus solids.
Is there a limit to the number of chairs in a room?
The power of pattern in your room.
How to create a zone in your home.
How do you style a coffee table?
How to add cozy ambiance for outdoor space lighting.

Mentioned in This Episode:

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

When will the color gray die?
What are some good color trends for traditional transitional designs?
Why the color wheel is a great tool for picking a color palette.
Decorating with patterns versus solids.
Is there a limit to the number of chairs in a room?
The power of pattern in your room.
How to create a zone in your home.
How do you style a coffee table?
How to add cozy ambiance for outdoor space lighting.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Previous Episode

Ep. 299: Romantic Modernism with Bobby McAlpine

Our guest this week is renowned architect Bobby McAlpine. His eponymous firm, McAlpine, is known for blending modern and traditional elements to create bold, soulful, and poetic homes meant to capture imaginations while still feeling familiar. Bobby joins the pod to talk about his new book, Romantic Modernism, out on March 21st, and discusses some of the sculptural elements he brought into the architecture, the influence theater and drama have had on his work, and the personification of his home including knowing his boy house needed a sister. Bobby also shares what life on a private island is really like and how we can include soft yet beautiful drapery in our homes to give us that romantic yet modern twist.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

How the silver and gold crayons represent classicism and modernism to Bobby.
How Bobby decides when to really go for it in some elements in the house and when to remove them.
How has the experience of living in the house in Atlanta been compared to what Bobby imagined when designing it?
What it’s really like to have a private island in the world.
How Bobby balances being in the world of both architecture and art.
What would Bobby tell a student starting their first year of school now?
The importance of choosing materials that are timeless.
Many of us build more than we want and need, and a good house is not a long real estate amenities list of things.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Ballard Designs

McAlpine

Romantic Modernism

Next Episode

Ep. 301: Surprise! Our new TV show!

This week, we have the pleasure of hosting Mary Beth Anderson as our guest. In addition to being the accomplished producer behind several popular TV shows including HGTV’s Brother vs Brother, Restored by the Fords, My Lottery Dream Home, Design Star, and Good Bones, Mary Beth is the fearless leader behind Ballard’s new TV show, Design School, set to launch on QVC+ on March 24th hosted by our very own Caroline! Mary Beth provides an overview of what viewers can expect from Design School, and how it differs from her previous projects (we think this will be her favorite). She shares some fun behind-the-scenes information about her experience producing design TV, and some of her favorite moments from taping. Get ready for some decorating dilemmas and much more to be on a TV channel near you, very soon.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

What was the genesis of the TV show?
How can we watch it?
Will some of my favorite podcast guests be on the TV show?
What is the format of the show, and how is it different from the typical makeover show?
Format of the show and how it’s different from a makeover show.
Mary Beth walks us through the process of filming and some of the logistical hurdles.
Some of the team’s favorite moments from the show.
How did they find the homes and designers featured in the show?
How did the experience of shooting this project differ from other property projects?
What is the future of design TV?
What is the story behind the great “cocktail table takeaway”?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Ballard Designs

Mary Beth Anderson

QVC+