Ready to debunk the myths and misconceptions about interior design and decoration? Join us as we sit down with our special guest, Sarah, an accomplished interior designer, to dissect the intricate world of interior design. She brings to the table more than a decade of experience and shares her expertise on distinguishing between a designer and a decorator, the overlap of real estate and design, and how understanding structural aspects of a home can significantly impact design decisions.
Our conversation doesn't stop at the exterior; we actually climb inside the designer's mind, exploring the art and science of space planning to accommodate diverse tastes and lifestyles. We touch on the sensitive task of blending the old with the new, discussing the delicate balance of respecting a home's original architecture while injecting modern touches to keep it current with recent trends. Sarah also shares her valuable insights on the most common mistakes people make when flipping homes and how to avoid them.
But there's more! If you've ever wondered about the ongoing debate between floating shelves versus no uppers or how to design a practical, functional, and stylish kitchen, then this is the episode for you. We illuminate the critical role lighting plays in enhancing room ambiance and how to choose the right light fixtures. Additionally, we weigh the pros and cons of DIY home design versus professional consultation and discuss the importance of material selection for a cohesive look during home renovations. Don't miss out on this enlightening episode brimming with invaluable tips and wisdom from a seasoned industry expert.
Ready to debunk the myths and misconceptions about interior design and decoration? Join us as we sit down with our special guest, Sarah, an accomplished interior designer, to dissect the intricate world of interior design. She brings to the table more than a decade of experience and shares her expertise on distinguishing between a designer and a decorator, the overlap of real estate and design, and how understanding structural aspects of a home can significantly impact design decisions.
Our conversation doesn't stop at the exterior; we actually climb inside the designer's mind, exploring the art and science of space planning to accommodate diverse tastes and lifestyles. We touch on the sensitive task of blending the old with the new, discussing the delicate balance of respecting a home's original architecture while injecting modern touches to keep it current with recent trends. Sarah also shares her valuable insights on the most common mistakes people make when flipping homes and how to avoid them.
But there's more! If you've ever wondered about the ongoing debate between floating shelves versus no uppers or how to design a practical, functional, and stylish kitchen, then this is the episode for you. We illuminate the critical role lighting plays in enhancing room ambiance and how to choose the right light fixtures. Additionally, we weigh the pros and cons of DIY home design versus professional consultation and discuss the importance of material selection for a cohesive look during home renovations. Don't miss out on this enlightening episode brimming with invaluable tips and wisdom from a seasoned industry expert.
We are back with another podcast. It's been like several weeks since we've had a podcast, but we are back and I have a guest in today. I have a designer, a real designer, Sarah. Sarah, how's it going? It's going great, Great. So, yeah, no thanks for coming in today. So you've worked for like major designers, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, design firms. Yeah, I've had the opportunity to work for some of the larger firms in the country.
Speaker 1:But you have is like a new path you're going now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I for about 10 years worked for a couple of different designers in the area and got to work on a lot of different projects, different size firms, learned a lot, and now I have decided that I'm going to kind of do that for myself and be my own boss and start my own firm.
Speaker 1:So, and did you come up with like a design company name?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we are a Palm House interior design.
Speaker 1:Ooh, I like it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so kind of playing off some design house kind of concept.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And yeah, it's really exciting.
Speaker 1:So how long have you been in design?
Speaker 2:A little over 10 years.
Speaker 1:No, so I think we had a earlier conversation about this. Is there a? There's a. It's a little bit different, I guess, than the way you would explain like a designer versus, maybe, a decorator.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so good, good question. I get this a lot and I think there's, you know, a lot of kind of overlap that's used. But a designer is somebody who has a formal education, went to school, has a degree in interior design.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:A decorator can be kind of anybody who just kind of picked it up and decided that they are gonna take that path. So a designer and a decorator can do some of the same things. A designer can decorate, but a decorator doesn't design, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:No, it totally makes sense.
Speaker 2:So, like with a designer, you're gonna get somebody who focuses on space planning, interior architecture, ceiling details, your cabinetry really like transforming the whole entire space and thinking it through from ground up.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Whereas a decorator takes kind of the shell that you're already working in and decorates it. You know they're gonna add your drapery and those layers that makes it beautiful, makes it look pretty, and so that's why, like, a designer does that Right, but a decorator doesn't. Now I can tell you right now.
Speaker 1:I've already experienced this. Like two weeks ago I decided to do my closet, like redo it, and I'm definitely a decorator, not a designer and I had this vision of like you know, I'm gonna go to IKEA and I'm gonna get, like the IKEA pack system, this wardrobe system. Well, I never really took into account like when you're looking at it, it's in almost like a warehouse, that's huge. And I was just like, oh, it's definitely fit. And I did more like measure the length, but I never considered like the height and the width of it and I was just like, yeah, it's definitely gonna fit. And when it showed up, I was like, whoa, this is a lot bigger than I planned.
Speaker 1:And the handyman doing this work, he was like, did you really do your measurements? Because this is gonna be tight and so it all fit, but it fit within like less than a half of inch, it just fit. And he was like, did you think about the doorway? Like I have to build it inside the closet, because you didn't take into account like the actual opening of the door and we can't get it through.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean that. Well, you know, designers run into that sometimes too Right, and sometimes you know I've worked on high-rise condos before and you have to take in consideration the size of the elevator.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Because you've got this massive sectional and. I've had to take furniture up the side of the building. Oh my, gosh.
Speaker 1:No, that's gotta be an extra cost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I just had to walk away and not watch, as my you know sectional got lifted up. That's insane. The window cleaner.
Speaker 1:Well then, I mean it does make more sense, like when you broke it down that way about the difference between the two, because I never thought about that. I just thought about the pretty stuff the, the sofa and the rug and the paint colors but, I, didn't think about scale and a lot of people are not good with scale.
Speaker 2:Scale I think is a hard thing for a lot of people to grasp.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that that's where, like having a designer, any even a good decorator you know can kind of eyeball that. And I think a decorator you know has to have good taste.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:But just some of the background you know isn't there in the little bit of the why and just some of the extra layers. You know, you know every. The only thing that an interior designer isn't touching is load bearing walls. So we're moving walls around to make sure that we can accommodate the way you live in your space and you know you want to sit 12 people in a dining room. Well, you don't have the space for that, so let's shift this. Take some room from here, because you don't need it in your foyer.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And it's better used in your dining room. So it's that kind of like thought process that a designer can get you versus a decorator, and I think there's a place for both. But you just have to decide, kind of.
Speaker 1:What you brought up something was like really good, because I bring this up in class all the time to new and seasoned agents, which I think there's like overlaps with when you think about real estate and what design is. I think they, when they can come together, it's like really good, happy, kind of marriage of the two, even though you don't sell real estate and we don't design rooms, but when the two really do meet well. But you brought up about load bearing walls and I'm always telling the agents like be careful. We're real estate agents and a lot of times you'll show property to buyers and they're like, ah, this would be like the perfect room if I could just take that wall out. And every once in a while an agent will say, yeah, that wall can come out, no problem. Yeah, no problem at all. And I'm like you gotta be careful. And I was telling my class. I'm like, yes, that wall could cost $500 to come down, but it could also cost several thousand, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I mean, it can always come down for a price, for a price, for any price, but you know even without looking at an architect's plans, even a builder or somebody that does it every day, like I can tell you sometimes like, oh yeah, you can't touch that wall, or sometimes you have to get in there and look at it, but we're worried.
Speaker 1:And that's what I always tell the agents. I'm like, be careful about that stuff. We're real estate agents, we're not designers, we're not architects, we're not even contractors. So at minimum you need to be a contractor. But going in and telling buyers what can and can't be done with a room is super dangerous on our part. Because, we don't have the training.
Speaker 2:Well, somebody buys into an idea and then, you know, crushes their dreams. When it can't be done, yeah, and that's the thing. It's a bad look.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a bad look. But I also tell the agents like how much danger there is. There is that they relied on your opinion as a professional and you're licensed, and then they buy that space and then they find out they can't do what they wanted to do with it because you told them incorrect information. That's how you get sued. So I'm like, be careful, leave it to the professionals.
Speaker 2:Don't make a definitive answer unless you're positive and you can't be positive about this and I always tell them I'm like the house I bought.
Speaker 1:I bought a house a little over a year ago and during my inspection period I had my inspector come in and like listen, I'm gonna gut this house anyways, the only thing I need you here for is this wall. If this wall can't come down, I don't want to buy the house. And so he's like oh, you're good. But I wanted to make sure I didn't want to risk it because it looked like it might have been a load bearing wall. And he was like no, you're fine, you're good. Again, I don't have although I've sold a lot of homes, I've looked at a lot of homes. I don't have knowledge of that. Now, exterior walls, yeah, that kind of makes sense, but the interior ones, that's where I'm like mm, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it must be the way the trusses run in the house, and unless you're an expert, so that's good.
Speaker 1:I mean. So that starts us into how there's, like, I guess, correlations between the two and a lot of our agents and a lot of agents around the world, whether it's in the US or around the world. They work with a lot of investors who are buying property and sometimes you will get investors who maybe they don't have the vision of what is needed to be done to the space or what could be done with the space. Do you think that's like great opportunities for investors and realtors to bring designers together?
Speaker 2:Definitely. I think that every realtor should have a designer in their pocket. And it might not be for every buyer, but if somebody really wants to do, a full gut but they're like overwhelmed by it let the designer step in and say let me take that off your plate. I see what you want to do at the space. Let me make it a reality and do it in a way that is timeless, and you're going to get that money back out of your property.
Speaker 1:That's probably the biggest. It's, like you just said, like a key thing. I would say that's like super important for agents to pay attention to is that you know whether we're working with buyers or sellers. It's like be careful the money you spend. You want to get the money out of it. And I'll have the buyers who will look at a $400,000 home and they'll see the bathroom is dated. Well, this bathroom is going to cost us $35,000. And I'm always like that math doesn't make sense. And, of course, a client will say like, why not? You're overspending. Have you ever had that for any client you've ever worked with about their dreams, their visions, overspending?
Speaker 2:Definitely. You know I have clients to bring the architectural digest as their you know inspiration photos and but they're like my overall budget's $100,000 for the entire house and it's like, okay, well, we can accomplish this feeling. These elements, yeah, but the hand carved marble sink that's backlit and, right, you know, got 100% brass fixtures on it are not going to be in your price point, but you know, when you get into it it's like that bathroom could cost you $35,000. Right, or it could cost you half of that. And, and I think, having a designer that can help steer you in the right way of where to spend your money Right and where to maybe save.
Speaker 2:I think is like a you know.
Speaker 1:So you think it's possible to get really good design and not, or I would say, like a big concept? Do you think everybody, regardless of budget, could have good design in their home? Yes, okay, so yeah.
Speaker 2:I think there's, you know, so many affordable lines now that have kind of opened up the possibilities at every price point. Right, you know? Maybe you know full service interior design is a luxury service. Right, you know, if you're building a house from the ground up and you want to bring in a designer and have them just run with it, and if I come in to do that, that there's a price tag on that.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And not everybody can afford that. However, there's a lot of everyone's fingertips of like. I've done virtual consultations where there's a design fee involved and you come to me with measurements, pictures, inspiration. The more you bring to me, the more I can share with you and we just like do a brainstorming of.
Speaker 2:You know there's a set time that we're going to spend on this and we're going to come with a lot of ideas and then you can implement them oh, you know, in phases or what you can afford but big picture, we're going to get some inspiration, get some ideas and and kind of I can help you spell out how to accomplish that.
Speaker 1:So for any client coming to you, what would be the first step like if you had a conversation on their phone and you said bring me ideas. Where do you suggest they start collecting those ideas?
Speaker 2:Most people have these. Now have Pinterest board.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:Something like that, like Instagram, you know, there's so many designers posting their work on. Instagram, and it's just such a beautiful place to share.
Speaker 1:Pinterest is amazing yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, you can even like pin things from Instagram and there's just a lot of good design out there. And sometimes people bring me pictures and I'm like it's not that you know, we can make it better, right.
Speaker 1:So what?
Speaker 2:I have them do is bring me pictures and then I will bring some inspiration to the table too. And when you start speaking and pictures, you know everybody's on the same page. Because, if you start saying you know I like a moody space, but right, you may think moody is different than I think moody, yeah, so speaking in photos is the way you kind of get on the same page.
Speaker 1:So do you ever have problems when you're working with clients? And you have either, you know, two partners. They come to you for one room, but both are at different spectrums.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am also a therapist.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:I've witnessed, you know, marriage quarrels.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, yeah, I would think that's gotta be like wedding designed in a room. They're both gotta be stressful. There's nothing that will test your relationship like a remodel, you know Cause I'm sure there's always gonna be one person that's gonna be like I want it my way.
Speaker 2:There's usually one person that takes the lead and that's where you know we get probably the best end result. But I really like to get to know my clients so that they trust me and I try to. You know, I don't try to push that other voice aside. I really want to come up with a space that both people are happy with, cause at the end of the day you're both living there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're gonna use it every day. You're gonna see it every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say I'm not one of those designers. That's like I have a vision and this is what it's going to be. You know, at the end of the day, you're living in the house, you're enjoying it, this is your space and I just want to make it beautiful.
Speaker 1:Now, do you ever get anybody who's just like absolutely indecisive, like they just don't care. They just want a pretty space, but they don't know which way they want to go. They don't care. Right, yeah, I've had that, but you have like full reign, full freedom. They're just like whatever you see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, but I like to, even with the people that think they're open to everything. I like to speak in those photos and kind of come up with a direction.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Before we even start pulling finishes or fabrics or any of that. So Kind of like to get us on the same page and get like a A verbal sign off for kind of the direction we're going in.
Speaker 1:So if you ever had anybody that you're doing a project and maybe like halfway through they're like you know what. I'm just not feeling that anymore. I want to change.
Speaker 2:I think I've had a little bit of everything You're going to talk back.
Speaker 1:No, you just had a bad night of sleep like relax, right and.
Speaker 2:I, maybe not so much that they just don't like the whole direction. But I've had people you know We've designed the whole house and then they're like, hey, I met with my architect and you know we've got a different footprint, we're going to use the house a little differently. Can we just like translate everything we pulled into the new house? I'm like, no, it doesn't work that way.
Speaker 1:You can't make changes like this.
Speaker 1:But you know, we go on and get it done, and so would you say it's like it is important to because I do remind a lot of buyers when I'm working with them is that you know it's really hard, regardless of your budget, to have the perfect space because, like our needs are always changing, like what is great today, next month you might find, like you know, I really don't like open spaces, I would rather have compartmental little areas, but so no space is truly going to ever be perfect because it's always evolving, right, or would you agree?
Speaker 2:You agree, I think that's where like a designer helps. You know, I think that having a seasoned designer that has, you know, worked in spaces before kind of guiding you on that, then right, then you don't have that, you know, change of heart so quickly because you've worked through all the, the ifs, you know right.
Speaker 2:And well, if you do that, then you're not going to be able to fit this, or if we do take out that wall, you will be able to use it this way. So we really like talk through all of those potential issues or potential changes.
Speaker 1:Yeah so that's not like you know, do you? You work with the client and kind of paint. Like you know you don't have kids now, but in five years you will, and you kind of plan the space for what could change in their life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do. Like I like to just really get to know my clients and how they live. Do you have kids? Do you have dogs? Are you going to have kids, like just kind of getting into your entire life? Now, where do you spend the most time Are you? Do you take naps on the couch or you like you perch? Or you know, do you, do you entertain, do you spend time outside? You like the doors open? You know, all of those things really dictate how we treat the space.
Speaker 1:So on a different direction, when we're starting to we're kind of diving into all this, I'm sort of think, like as a designer, and you pay attention to what's going on, like we pay attention to what's going on the market with housing, housing prices, trends, as far as, like, what people are building on your side, do you see any mistakes on the part of builders and people who are doing flips? You ever see like mistakes they're making, that you're like that could have been done so much better. What do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:I've definitely walked into some flips that I'm like, oh, I wish she wouldn't have flipped it.
Speaker 1:I wish.
Speaker 2:I wish you know we would have kept some of the original things. I think the thing that I wish builders and people who flip kind of step away from their formula and I know that there's like a budget in place and they know that they can get this material at this cost.
Speaker 2:But I think sometimes, like we're in Winter Park, these houses have tons of character, some of them are a little quirky and they need to be transformed into how we live our lives now. But I think the biggest mistake is stripping away all the character and just doing this formula for every house and you can look through photos. You know Zillow that's a hobby of mine, flipping through Zillow and I think you can tell what a flip is. It's got, unfortunately, the gray vinyl flooring Stop it. It's got a glass tile backsplash and a white countertop and white shakers and that's the formula and I understand that.
Speaker 1:That's a safe formula.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I think the formula should kind of I think we should pay attention to the architecture of the home Right when the home was built and kind of leave some of those special moments. And maybe it's taking out the green and pink tile that's in the 50s bathroom, but let's do like a little ode to it, you know like do it in a more modern way, because those tiles are still inexpensive, like you can get the look for less, but keep some of the character. I think people are appreciating the character because I think we're kind of correcting from like making everything really clean, yeah, and kind of adding that back in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree and I always tell like a lot of, a lot of my friends and a lot of design not designers, but a lot of builders and investors I work with and, like you really have to pay attention and I want to see if I'm correct on this. I'm always like you know, you need to be careful about looking at what's popular in Florida right now, because I feel like we're kind of like the end of like trends or what's going on around the world. Like you know, should they look at other parts to see what's going to slowly trickle our way as far as what's popular and like gray, was gray popular in other parts of the world or in California before it got to us?
Speaker 1:I feel like everybody had a little bit of gray moment and I think we're all kind of shifting away from that and kind of adding that warmth back in that we're getting yeah if I see one more builder designer home that does a gray floor, gray cabinets, gray backsplash, a gray and white counters it's all gray, gray, gray and gray walls I don't think it's too much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have some like investors that I've worked with that are like I don't want to see one gray thing in this house. Because it's just, you know, it's had, it had its moment, it's great, and now we're like designing for the future. So the next stage of everything, and even if you go back in like history of design.
Speaker 2:I mean everything's like a correction of what happened before. So you have your like minimalist and then we did like, and you know I'm not sure which came first, but the minimalist or the correction of that, and like going overboard. But you know, it's always, it always works that way. So it was like everything was gray and now nothing is gray.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I always tell people to. I tell a lot of like my these investors I'm working with now. I'm always telling them, like got to be careful, because you know you can look at homes and I'm sure you see. This too Is that I can look at certain homes that are whether they're in Winter Park or their downtown, and they're using like these brown cabinets with like a Baltic kind of brown granite and I'm like, oh, it's 2008 or 2007.
Speaker 2:Oh, you can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and people are like, how did you know? And like, because this was what was popular, everything everyone used, and Travertine, it was all used at the same time. And then I was like now you got to be careful because everyone's going to know that kitchen was remodeled in this period, because it's all gray. So it's like on our gray moment we had our brown moment now in a gray moment. So what do you see as a new trend? What do you think the new trends are?
Speaker 2:I would say definitely we're going to a warmer color palette. When I say warm, it's not the cherry warm.
Speaker 1:Not cherry, we're the golden version of it.
Speaker 2:But, it's just like a nice organic, warm space, adding those wood tones back in that were kind of stripped away and then like a handmade nature to things like the organic, so not everything's so perfect. Like Subway Towers was in every backsplash and a flip. Now it's like a handmade version of that. So maybe the edges aren't like perfectly squared off. It's like embracing the imperfection and the beauty of that of like a handmade item. I think that adding all of those elements kind of like I said, bringing the character back into a space.
Speaker 1:So that's one thing. Now do you think in like kitchen designs for the 23, 24 and so on? Do you think it's going to be popular for builders and people when they're doing flips if they have the space to do kitchens with larger working pantries?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I think that there's. I think people want to see a beautiful kitchen and they don't want to see all their appliances on the countertops, you know.
Speaker 1:They want to see the beautiful cutting boards that you never cut on and those things on your kitchen counters, and not Now, do you design some spaces, do you design stuff when someone goes in and they're like you know, this never gets used, right, it just looks pretty, it's kind of going into that, like knowing your client, like do you cook in your kitchen?
Speaker 2:Do you cook in your kitchen? Do you entertain? When you entertain, do you cook or do you have food brought in kind of?
Speaker 1:Okay, you got. You got bougie clients. I love it.
Speaker 1:I've had the opportunity to work with kind of that whole spectrum of clients and I love that, though so, like I do think it's important that investors and when builders, especially builders and I went on like a rant the other day about this that I was like you know, builders are making great money, even even like the it doesn't have to be custom Even the, the marriage and the madame and you know all these like good level builders that people are buying. I think even for those you're making great money. Hire people to tweak these kitchens and you don't have to go and blow the budget. There is ways. Right the tweak stuff that you don't have to use custom cabinetry all the time. Kitchen designs are a little bit different. It's not the standard big giant island with as many cabinets as possible. But I'm also and I'm seeing builders kind of creep into this a little bit the unrealistic parts of like floating shelves in kitchen. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2:I think it all goes to how you live. You know if you're the person that you know, you use the same coffee mug in the same bowl every day and you're able to just leave those shelves styled you know, then I think it's great. But if you are somebody that's like tossing Tupperware in one cabinet and and lids in another, like that's not going to work for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I showed. I showed a property a few months ago to a client and they were just like I love this kitchen and it had absolutely no uppers. It was nothing but floating shelves and it looked cute because it was vacant. There was nothing staged, and so I was like yeah, yeah it's, it's cool, I love it. But I kept thinking the back of my head like this is so not practical unless you have like amazing dishes that all match. Or maybe it's just me being like really anal. But I was like I would walk in and be like there's too much. It's too much clutter it's. Is there a science?
Speaker 2:to that too. I think it can be done well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think like styling with larger items is always a way to like a decorator versus a designer kind of thing, like just something we're going to throw it on there.
Speaker 2:I think, I think a decorator can still style. I think that's kind of what they're. They're doing every day you know, is styling things.
Speaker 2:So I think that they can. They can accomplish that, but I think that A designer is going to make sure that you have that storage elsewhere. Yeah, like okay, so we took away your uppers because it's beautiful and we want to showcase, you know, your all white handmade dishes. Yeah, but we need to make sure that your island has storage. You have that working pantry, that all of your appliances go in all of your drinkware, all the stuff is stuck away. The sippy cups, the you know boxes of cereal, that kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I always tell agents and I've taught a couple of my clients I said there's a term that we learned in school. In real estate it's the functional obsolescence, and I'm like it's not really functional, basically Like it's it's pretty to look at but it's not functional. And I do think like maybe that's it's just my real estate side of me coming out. I'm like, oh, there's going to be a lot of flips that were done in the past, like five, six years, where people were like, oh, it's so great that I have floating shelves and I'm like those are going to come down and cabinets are going to go back up, because they're going to figure out like all my stuff looks ugly, because I have like mix and match and I just throw stuff and and I don't have time to stack the plates a certain way, I just want to throw them up there. And then I always think to him like, if you don't have someone who's clean in the house, where does your desk sit? It probably goes and sits on this place.
Speaker 2:But you're not using this place because you're not allowed.
Speaker 1:You're not allowed. But that's where I was like I was looking at the ones like in pantries and like floating shelves are amazing, but in a kitchen and this is all you have like a little 10 by 10 quick kitchen and that's what the room I was looking at. It was like a 10 by 12 kitchen and I was like it has no uppers and there's no pantry. This is crazy, this is. But my buyers were like so into the moment they didn't think, oh, there's no pantry, Where's your canned goods going to go? They're going on the floating shelves. This is not good. This is not good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, it's all about how you live and in the way you use the space.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so it's a risky move for a flip because you're trying to appeal to the masses. But for me, you know, if I, if my client, expresses that they just want a really beautiful kitchen right then it's a good way to mix it up and not have the formula of like all uppers, all lowers.
Speaker 1:What are three trends you would love to see more of in 23? Personally, maybe. I'm a fan of wallpaper and it's a mixed, you know it's a mixed bag.
Speaker 2:Either you hate it or you love it. But you know I want to see more wallpaper, more textures, like and they make it where it's easier to install and take it down Right. It's not like old 19, like 50 wallpaper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it uses to the drywall and you have to pull the drywall down.
Speaker 2:But I do hate, you know, Florida, we have these textured walls.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's such a shame. Why can't we, you know? Now is that something that I mean buyers.
Speaker 1:Probably a lot of homeowners don't really think of that's something they would have to address, right if they were going to put wallpaper up. It depends on the type of wall covering but it does make it a little more difficult, so wallpaper.
Speaker 2:I like adding texture into the space, so wall covering, kind of that texture. Decorative lighting I think that, like people don't add enough decorative lighting in their homes and I think that that's something as a homeowner, even without a designer, you can swap out your light fixtures and the impact that it has on the space is huge Now are you talking about just like lamps?
Speaker 1:Are you talking so the average person out there who might be listening? What do you mean by like different types of lighting?
Speaker 2:Like well, there's kind of different levels, you've got your overall lighting and then you've got, like, your hanging fixtures, your chandeliers, your pendants. You know, not every room needs a fan. I know it's Florida, but you don't need a fan.
Speaker 1:I saw a fan in a kitchen over the weekend and my buyer was like what is that? I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we shouldn't do that. But like why you know you're hanging lights and then in then your task lights, like your, your lamp, so that you don't always have to have those overhead lights on. You know, I think that adding layers of lighting right warms up a space. It adds, like some dynamic energy to the space. You know, you have like. Your lighting come from, coming from above, from kind of like face level when you're thinking about the lighting.
Speaker 1:You said so overhead and then you said more like lamps or yes, I think that you know swapping out your fixtures.
Speaker 2:You know a lot of. You know like you're mentioning like builder grade homes. They're great and that's like the majority of what people have. You know, swapping out those fixtures and giving some characters and personality to the space is really great. And then even lamps, you know having having being able to turn off the overhead lights and turn on that like ambient light makes a big difference in the space, so I think people should pay attention to their lighting.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I always make one of my friends laugh at the like when I got into my adult world and I got my first home and and then I kind of figured out what my style was, I had one of my my girlfriend's come over and she was like I love your house. And I'm like, yeah, there's like nobody looks great in full lighting. Everything should be.
Speaker 2:Everything should be warm. Yes, candlelight, Can I just. Can you put it on?
Speaker 1:a dimmer. Please Can I have a dimmer? Like going into a room and she was like some. Now, even like 40 years later, she's like. I just love the fact that Steve said that nobody looks good in full light. I'm like it's rare, like I'm sorry, it's just rare. You got to be like a stunningly beautiful person, that full light coming at you, but if it's dimmed, exactly everyone's got a nice glow to you.
Speaker 2:Nobody wants the, the LED, the white lights. Yeah, we got to. We got to pay attention to the warmth of our, our bulbs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I I messed up in the home I remodeled. I went and I bought lights online. I went to like Amazon, which I got a great deal, but I bought these like recess lighting and I didn't really pay attention to like. It was like daylight, right, one of the options, and I'm like, well, that sounds good, like let's get it, it's going to be bright. Well then they installed all these lights and literally when I had to swap them out about a month later, because when all the lights were on you could drive down the street and I was like that's Steve's house.
Speaker 2:You can see it from outer space.
Speaker 1:Yes, it was so much light and I'm like whoa, this is a lot of lighting and I think I made a mistake.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like rule of thought. I mean you should always kind of stay between like 2700, kelvin's and 3000. That's kind of my.
Speaker 1:I swear, I think you just went into like a scientific role and I'm like I've, I've looked at that and I was like what does?
Speaker 2:that mean Kelvin's is like the warmth of the bulb.
Speaker 1:Right, I'm the one who has to go to like the Home Depot and I'm like where's the light exhibit? All right there. So that's too yellow, that's too white, that one looks just right. I'm going to take you. That's why it's there, or that are I told one of my friends. I was like I got really lucky. I found these bulbs and they've got all the settings, so I'm just going to buy them and then the my contractor will install them and I'll just have them play with it until I'm like that's the right light, I like that one. So when you're starting to think about suggestions that, as a designer, you're ready to see no more of in 23, what would you say your top three of? Like? I've seen enough. I don't want to say it again.
Speaker 2:The gray flooring gray wine, yes, the the. I would say that three things.
Speaker 1:And you won't offend anybody.
Speaker 2:I had the gray in my mind, do you think?
Speaker 1:like I don't know, like open spaces, compartmentalized farmhouse.
Speaker 2:I mean, the shabby farmhouse can can kind of make its way out. Is that a thing anymore?
Speaker 1:I remember like back in the day when I would see like shabby chic and I'm like, what is that? Oh, that's just like a lot of frilly stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like chalk paint and that kind of thing.
Speaker 2:But you know I have really great clients that have good, great taste and you know I'm seeing there's a lot of great things. That are people. I think people have a lot of access to good design now and it can be a, you know, blessing and a curse that, like all of this really great design, is at everyone's fingertips, like it used to be. You had to find, go out and get an architectural digest or a interior's magazine, but now you know it pops up on your feed. You know it pops up everywhere, especially if you're doing a renovation. You know they'll. They seek you out yeah, netflix, youtube and they start targeting you with everything.
Speaker 1:You've got plenty of access. I think I definitely agree that if buyers are going to work with homeowners, are going to work with a designer, that you've got plenty of access. So at least when you go to meet with you, I could bring you, like my iPhone and my keyer. Here's all the stuff I love. Now put it together for me, because I think there is a difference of like finding all those cool pictures and then find it out what's realistic.
Speaker 1:Like I was looking at something and you brought it up about that stone, that marble kind of like sink, and I was doing I'm remodeling a bathroom now. But I went and I was like I want to do all marble. It's going to look so cool and I had all these like Pinterest pages done. Well, that got shot down real quick as soon as I went and I was like so I want to do this and I picked and it was just the marble alone and I'm like, holy crap, like I can't do that. I would be over in pervy and it sounds great. But yeah, I just picked out all this marble tile work and they were like, okay, based off the square footage, and they gave me like it was like $5,000 in just marble, just for the shower, and I was like yeah, nevermind, like is there a porcelain towel that looks like this?
Speaker 2:Well, and that's where, like we talked about earlier, like the designer can help you accomplish that in a way that's not only less expensive but is more maintenance friendly. You know marble is not necessarily. You know it looks good, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like, it's like black floors ebony floors where I've gone into like model homes or homes that like I did the parade of homes this past year and I went into a home in Winter Park and it was an unbelievable home, definitely a particular type where it's like a lot of gold and black and ornate and it looked really pretty. But I was like the first thing I guess it's the real estate agent side of me as soon as I walked in I was like black floors, not practical. It's just not practical, would you agree?
Speaker 2:The darker the floor is, the more it's going to show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like, I'm like clearly people don't have kids or dog or walk and the more polished, it is, it's going to show more.
Speaker 2:So anytime you're doing like a darker floor, we should have like some movement in it. Right, try to hide some of the.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's where I want, because when you do work with a lot of clients, a lot of them they start talking out when they're working with their agent and they're going through the process of buying the home and they're telling the agent like I envision and a lot of times I think that if the agent doesn't have that site, they really should. At that moment I do encourage agents, say you know what, before you start doing this, because it's like you're doing the biggest purchase you're probably do and now you're going to revamp that purchase, get with a professional, spend the extra money at least for a consultation and see what they suggest. Would you agree?
Speaker 2:That's kind of I was going to say it's probably not a trend, but something that I love to see kind of like. Less of is like the DIY world has kind of spiraled out of control.
Speaker 1:I know I'm like I'm like sighing right now on the DIY stuff yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think, I think it's a little deceiving because I think some of the people that are, you know, marketing themselves as DIYers. They're professionals.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:They are, they are not stopping this together on a weekend in a one trip to Home Depot.
Speaker 1:So you mean these TikToks that I'm watching of, like paint your cabinets, paint your countertops, paint everything. There's professionals. I think that, if it seems, too good to be true?
Speaker 2:it probably is. I think a lot of that stuff like looks great in a photo but when you get into it, it's it looks like you painted your backsplash, you know. And I think if it's a temporary and it makes you happy to not have the brown for Micah countertops anymore, then sure go for it. But it's a temporary fix and it's not. You're not gonna get the resale out of it, you know. So like consulting a professional when necessary and I think that there's so many ways to do that in an affordable way let's like source out the tile work, let's source out the countertops and things like that.
Speaker 2:Like let's and I think, looking at your house as a whole, too, so many times I go to a house and every single room has a different flooring and I think there's so much value in. Okay, I know you wanna redo your kitchen so let's take a step back and like what is the flooring that you want to run through your kitchen and let's continue that through the house?
Speaker 1:Exactly, and I was gonna say, like you see it from that perspective. As a real estate agent, I always tell people when I go in I see a home that's got multiple floors. As an agent, I'm trying to figure out which one was the first one. Because then I'm like, oh, they did this in steps as they renovated and then, obviously, whatever they did, if it was tile, they did a transition because they couldn't find the same tower, they couldn't match it up, or they decided they didn't have the budget, or the budget they got better. So maybe they started with like a low floor and then they kept building up from there and I'm like, why wouldn't you just rip it all out? Have some continuity.
Speaker 2:I think there's value in just like maybe you have to wait a little longer to do that renovation, but like let's do it right. You know, and I think rule of thumb is like there should really only be a transition from behind a door, like at a door threshold, and with that said, like another kind of thing I see a lot is like somebody will run like a wood look porcelain throughout their home because it's durable and they like the look of wood but they don't want the maintenance of wood. But then in the bedrooms they want to splurge and do a wood.
Speaker 1:Well then, when your bedroom door's open you've got the thing that's supposed to look real next to the real material, and that's kind of for me, I'm gonna one up you, I'm gonna one up you on that one the as agents, we show these properties when they use like the 12 by 20 or the 24 by 24 tile and then they transition into the bedroom and they want wood and I'm like why they don't even speak to each other. They're totally different looks and if there's one step worse, it's like we're gonna use beige tile throughout, but we're gonna use dark wood in the bedroom. Why, why, I don't get it. And it just it always like.
Speaker 1:I think from a buyer's perspective, they immediately go through and I wanna know, as like a designer, do you ever get this as well? Is that a lot of times buyers come in and they look at a space and immediately like this kitchen's gonna cost us a hundred thousand because they don't have a concept of like? Do you ever get that? Where people, even the people, have budgets, they maybe sometimes go to the high end because they're like they don't know they're not in that world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think renovations in general are just overwhelming to people. So, like whether it's the vision or the budget, or the amount of time that they think it might take. I think it's all overwhelming.
Speaker 2:So, they'd rather like shrink the size of the project and focus on one room and in their mind, the previous owner had different flooring in the bedroom. So let's just do the bedroom because that's doable and it's affordable and whereas, like, if you just at least get somebody to come and tell you what they think the project is gonna take Right and do it right and do it kind of more cohesively, I think that you're always gonna get your money back out of that more than kind of piece-melling it together.
Speaker 1:I love that and it's like good words to end our segment on, but I wanna thank Sarah for coming in today. Every one of our podcasts, we always end with a rapid fire of questions. It gives our viewers like a little bit more insight into the person we're having in today. So are you ready for your 12 questions? I think so, all right, so let's get started. This is 12 questions with Sarah, and the first question is and I'm curious about this one as well is what is one of the like overly used words you wish designers would just stop using.
Speaker 2:Oh, maybe not overly used, but overly cringy. Like that a space is sexy. Makes me, don't just die.
Speaker 1:Favorite color Green Light wood or dark wood Dark Favorite architectural style.
Speaker 2:Love a like craftsman, arts and crafts Kind of All right.
Speaker 1:What designer would you like to have dinner with? Could be famous, could be alive or not alive Amber.
Speaker 2:Lewis, I just want to live in all her spaces. So I just want to.
Speaker 1:What about a designer you'd like to have breakfast with?
Speaker 2:Iris April. She seems like a little crazy a little kooky Breakfast dinner, maybe Farmhouse in or out.
Speaker 1:On its way out. On its way out. I love that Favorite movie, oh gosh.
Speaker 2:Mmm, not a big movie, not a big movie. Okay, I fall asleep in every movie. So clearly there's not a movie on your list.
Speaker 1:Are you a dog or cat person? Dog TV now I'm interested about this one TV over a fireplace or no?
Speaker 2:No, unless it's your only spot, I guess.
Speaker 1:Okay, and if you had a superpower, what would it be? Oh, I want like 10 arms that like stretch to do multiple things so you can be like all places at all times. I love that. Well then, sarah, I want to thank you for coming in. It's been great, and I hope that agents if you're listening this is a great opportunity to really take part in what she's saying that there is going to be a union right Between designers and a lot of our clients. That's really helping them make their space into beautiful spaces.
Speaker 2:right, yeah, use us as a resource, you know.
Speaker 1:And Sarah. If anybody wanted to reach out, how could they contact you?
Speaker 2:You can contact me through my website, which is palmhousecom. It's P-O-M-M-E. Housecom. I'm on Instagram.
Speaker 1:Same thing, Palm House and yeah, all right, check her out. All right, guys. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you're having an amazing week. Bye everyone.