Business of Home Podcast

Asad Syrkett wants Elle Decor to start conversations

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Asad Syrkett studied architecture in school but soon found himself more comfortable writing about it. After stints at Architectural Record, Architectu...

"The best spot to buy furniture in America." Jim Druckman on the past, present and future of the New York Design Center

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Druckman grew up in the furniture industry. As a young man he followed his father into the family distribution business and learned the trade. The...

Kneedler Fauchère is a 73-year-old showroom. "Nothing has changed" say its leaders

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in San Francisco in 1948, Kneedler Fauchere was among the first multiline showrooms in the country. By elevating future icons like Jack Lenor ...

"Absolutely explosive growth." How Kathy Kuo built a digitally nimble design business

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kathy Kuo got started in the aftermath of the great recession, back when selling furniture online was still something of a novelty. Over the past deca...

Malene Barnett and Leyden Lewis on why BADG's Obsidian project is no ordinary designer showhouse

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Artist and activist Malene Barnett and designer and artist Leyden Lewis are two of the twenty-two creators behind the Black Artists and Designers Guil...

John Robshaw on standing out in a crowded industry

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a young art student on a trip to India, John Robshaw fell in love with the technique of hand block printing. He began learning the craft and making...

Roman Alonso of Commune cares about how a project feels, not how it looks

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Roman Alonso of Los Angeles design firm Commune got his start in the world of fashion, working for Barney’s and Isaac Mizrahi. Seeking a change of p...

Alessandra Branca is trying something new

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, Alessandra Branca has been a fixture in the upper echelons of the interior design profession, with her buoyant style gracing shelter maga...

[Rebroadcast] Jack Lenor Larsen defined 20th century textiles

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Not many designers can count Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marilyn Monroe as clients, but Jack Lenor Larsen is no ordinary designer. A legend ...

"The Frank Sinatra of lighting" — Visual Comfort and Circa have no plans to slow down

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tapping into an overseas manufacturing boom, Andy Singer started Visual Comfort in the mid 80s, but it wasn’t until he partnered with master lightin...

How Studio McGee became a phenomenon

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Syd and Shea McGee, the married couple behind design firm Studio McGee, are enjoying a period of phenomenal success. Their debut book is a bestseller,...

Buildlane wants to bring custom furniture online

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Frank Eybsen started online custom furniture platform Buildlane after working in a furniture factory himself and seeing firsthand how frustrating and ...

Barry Dixon sees everything as a learning opportunity

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For an interior designer known for classic American style, Barry Dixon’s childhood was surprisingly international—his father’s career took the f...

Robert Couturier's charmed career

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Born in Paris and raised by his grandparents, interior designer and architect Robert Couturier is a living embodiment of a more formal, genteel era. H...

An online furniture brand with a twist—it's for designers only

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With a focus on e-commerce and no showrooms or traveling reps, at first glance Saltwolf looks like any number of online furniture startups. But there’...

Can Farrow & Ball grow while keeping what makes it special?

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Started in 1946 in Dorset, England, Farrow & Ball makes paint that has become known for its chalky matte finish, its use on historical British estates...

Eric Edelson of Fireclay Tile on the 'Jerry Maguire' moment that turned his business around

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As a former Lehman Brothers associate and Stanford MBA, Eric Edelson was an unlikely candidate to take over Fireclay, a small tile company struggling ...

The founders of Aphrochic on putting the mission first

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Originally started by academics Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason as a blog in 2007, over time Aphrochic has grown into a lifestyle and media brand includi...

Six months later, how have makers and manufacturers weathered the pandemic?

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Back in April, when the coronavirus pandemic was still in its early stages, host Dennis Scully spoke to three makers and manufacturers to hear how the...

Bigger is better for Furnitureland South

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For those unfamiliar, Furnitureland South is both a local North Carolina institution and a world-record holder: at 1.3 million square feet, it’s the...

Will 3D modeling change the design industry forever?

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Amra Tareen is the founder of ALL3D, a new startup that aims to bring affordable 3D modeling to the design world. Tareen's background straddles the li...

John McDonald of Semihandmade is looking beyond IKEA

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Semihandmade started as a small woodworking shop in LA, but after founder John McDonald experimented with making custom doors for IKEA kitchen cabinet...

Joe Lucas on the LA design scene, knockoffs and the future of showrooms

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s episode of the show, host Dennis Scully speaks to Joe Lucas, interior designer and founder of the beloved showroom Harbinger. Lucas b...

CB2 president Ryan Turf wants to keep pushing the envelope

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 2000s, Ryan Turf started on the sales floor of the company’s first store. Now he’s president, and has been leading an effort to carve...

Retelling the story of leather with Sackett Wood of Moore & Giles

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years ago, Moore & Giles was supplying the material to make shoes. But after the footwear industry disappeared abroad, the company reinvited its...

The most famous wallpaper in the world with Katy Polsby of CW Stockwell

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You may not be familiar with the name CW Stockwell, but you know its most iconic pattern: Martinique, the banana leaf print that graces the walls of t...

Designing the White House with Michael S. Smith

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

There are dream clients, and then there’s the young family that interior designer Michael S. Smith helped settle in at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue back...

Jill Cohen made your favorite design book

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve fallen in love with an interior design book over the past twenty years, chances are Jill Cohen had something to do with it. A veteran publ...

How performance fabric took over the world with Ann Sutherland of Perennials

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 90s, Ann Sutherland went from long-time interior designer to first-time entrepreneur. Alongside her husband, outdoor furniture magnate Dav...

Mikel Welch on bridging the gap between TV and high end design

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The world of high-end design can feel very far apart from the big-tent appeal of home makeover shows, but interior designer Mikel Welch has managed to...

Retail is broken. Michele Varian and Jay Norris aim to fix it

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Michele Varian and Jay Norris are the founders of Guesst, a tech platform that allows brands, retailers and landlords to connect in new ways. In addit...

Breaking down the cost of fabric with Stephane Silverman of Castel

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Stephane Silverman literally grew up in the fabric business—his parents brought the French textile company Boussac to America, and as a child, he wo...

How R. Hughes became the coolest showroom in America

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan Hughes and Steven Leonard are the creative team behind Atlanta showroom R. Hughes. In a time when some in the industry are questioning the multil...

Brad Hargreaves, founder of Common: Co-living will outlast COVID

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s guest is Brad Hargreaves, the founder of co-living company Common. Co-living is a relatively new phenomenon, sometimes oversimplified as...

Goodee's founders think the time has come for an ethical design marketplace

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dexter and Byron Peart are the founders of Goodee—an e-commerce site focused on design products and home goods with an ethical mission. The Pearts a...

How will real estate bounce back from COVID-19?

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard to think of two fields more closely intertwined than interior design and real estate—where one goes, so goes the other. On this week’s...

Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan: The office isn't going anywhere

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Cogan’s history with Knoll stretches back thirty years—he’s been with the company through changes of ownership, recessions, and now a pan...

Alexandra Champalimaud and CEO Ed Bakos on reinventing their firm

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of almost forty years, the name Alexandra Champalimaud has become synonymous with exceptional hospitality design—her firm has worked...

Ken Fulk always starts with a story

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Calling Ken Fulk an “interior designer” doesn’t do him justice—Fulk’s San Francisco firm does everything from weekly floral arrangements to ...

Publishing in a pandemic: Leaders at Apartment Therapy, Domino and Luxe react to COVID-19

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It was already a tough time for magazines and digital publications—now, with advertisers on the run, and new challenges, like socially distanced pho...

The man who makes everything: Rochdale Spears's Geoff Hawkes

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

You may not know Geoff Hawkes by name, but you know his furniture. For almost two decades, his manufacturing company, Rochdale Spears, has combined hi...

Herman Miller's new president on the past, present and future of retail

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Debbie Propst joined the furnishings giant Herman Miller as president of retail this January, after seven years at One Kings Lane—within a matter of...

"Nimble, humble and aggressive." How one design firm is navigating the pandemic.

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew’s Kotchen’s design and architecture firm, Workshop/APD, has always taken a creative and thoughtful approach to business—and a pandemic is...

Manufacturing in a pandemic

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As COVID-19 continues to spread, stay-at-home orders, disrupted supply chains and a rattled marketplace all present unique challenges for the companie...

How to survive a recession

13 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s too soon to say precisely what the economic fallout from COVID-19 will be, but many in the design industry are preparing for a challenging time...

Kyle Bunting goes it alone

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Kyle Bunting began his decorative hide rug business in 2001, and the product took the market by storm—soon his inventive creations were in showhouse...

Peter Dunham on serendipity and staying positive

30 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Raised in France, educated in England, and currently based in Los Angeles, interior designer Peter Dunham has had a charmed life and career—to chat ...

The design industry reacts to COVID-19

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The spread of COVID-19 has created no small amount of uncertainty in the world, and the design community is no exception. On today’s episode of the ...

Chic & Awe is bringing laughter back to design

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Sara Ruffin Costello and Chassie Post are the dynamic duo behind Chic & Awe, a new home tour video series that brings a much-needed dose of surreal hu...

Marc Thee on how to scale an interior design firm

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve spent any time in South Florida, you’re likely already familiar with Marc Thee’s work. Over the past 35 years the co-founder of Marc-M...

A glimpse into the future with trend forecaster Piers Fawkes

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Piers Fawkes' job is, quite literally to see the future. The founder of consumer forecasting agency PSFK collects innovations from around the world an...

The maker movement shifts into high gear

24 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Dawson, founder of the Urban Electric Company, and Scott Hudson, founder of Henrybuilt, are leaders of a modern makers renaissance—one that’s...

Cheryl Eisen and the secrets of staging

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The woman behind home staging firm Interior Marketing Group, Cheryl Eisen, has been building her empire over the last decade. This self-made CEO start...

Kathryn M. Ireland is always looking for the next thing

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It’s difficult to concisely sum up interior designer Kathryn M. Ireland’s charmed career —she’s been everything from an art director for music...

Sheila Bridges is always reinventing herself

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Designer and author Sheila Bridges started her career in fashion, but soon found her true calling in interiors, where she rose to prominence and went ...

[Rebroadcast] Bunny Williams on navigating change

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As Bunny Williams Home celebrates its 10-year anniversary, founder and renowned interior designer Bunny Williams is in search of new ways to remain re...

[Rebroadcast] Nina Campbell on how the interior design profession has changed

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If there’s anyone who fits the model of a great mentor, it’s British interior designer Nina Campbell. Shaped by her apprenticeship at renowned fir...

[Rebroadcast] Becoming Holly Hunt

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Holly Hunt made headlines four years ago when she sold her eponymous company to Knoll for $95 million. But it’s never been about the money for the...

[Rebroadcast] How Ralph Pucci Became the Master of Visual Merchandising

30 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it’s preserving his iconic mannequin label or curating his next gallery exhibition, Ralph Pucci leads by one rule: “If everyone’s going ...

Holland & Sherry's Bryan Dicker on working with what you've got

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bryan Dicker began at Holland & Sherry when it was purely in the apparel business, offering tweeds, wools and cashmere to individual tailors. He devel...

Kate Verner on how licensing works now

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of nearly twenty years as an advisor on licensing deals and business strategy, Kate Verner has worked with some of the most prominent ...

David Netto on a life in design

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As a child, David Netto became immersed in the world of design through his father, who owned storied fabric house Cowtan & Tout. After dropping out of...

What's the future of design centers?

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Six years ago, the real estate development firm Jamestown purchased the Boston Design Center and began a long-term project to revitalize the space by ...

Carleton Varney on a colorful career

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Over the course of a storied career, legendary interior decorator Carleton Varney has worked with everyone from Joan Crawford to Jimmy Carter—not to...

From artists to entrepreneurs: The founders of Fort Street Studio share their story

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Janis Provisor and Brad Davis were established artists, displaying their work in museums and galleries across the world. Then a recession hit in the n...

Charlotte Moss is a legend, not a brand

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Across the scope of a storied career, legendary interior designer Charlotte Moss has written ten books, won numerous awards, and through her work on c...

Think the fabric industry will change overnight? Not so fast

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fabric industry veteran David Klaristenfeld has spent sixteen busy years at Fabricut, but 2019 has been particularly eventful. This summer, his compan...

Food52 conquered the kitchen. The rest of the home is next.

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Founded as an online resource for recipes in 2009, Food52 has evolved into a unique and wildly popular hybrid of editorial content and e-commerce that...

Elle Decor’s Whitney Robinson wants to solve design’s image problem

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Whitney Robinson, the editor in chief of Elle Decor, is a young man, but he's already a veteran of the publishing industry. Having risen through the r...

Rebecca Atwood is setting her own pace

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Atwood started small. The RISD-educated textile designer began by creating a line of pillows out of her own apartment, dyeing fabrics in a ti...

Christofle's new CEO is thinking big

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Before coming to Christofle, Nathalie Remy was a McKinsey consultant for over two decades, advising luxury and fashion houses on corporate strategy. N...

Cheryl Durst of IIDA: Design is more than just Instagrammable moments

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Cheryl Durst, the CEO of the International Interior Design Association, has been a lifelong evangelist for the power of design—she even got married ...

Havenly’s Lee Mayer wants to expand the audience for design

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Lee Mayer began by trying to get other people to start her company. It was 2013 and she needed a quick, affordable design service to help with a new h...

Ryan Korban: Designers should think more like brands

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Interior designer Ryan Korban began his career creating stores for fashion brands like Aquazurra and Balenciaga. After moving into the residential wor...

Poshmark has built an audience of 40 million for fashion. What can it do in the home?

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After nearly a decade of building a community of 40 million that buys, sells and shares fashion online, Poshmark co-founder Tracy Sun is moving the...

The Urban Electric Company's Dave Dawson is betting on good design

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dave Dawson started The Urban Electric Company as a small retail business in 2002—it’s since grown into a powerhouse of modern American craftsmans...

Christopher Peacock's leaps of faith

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After a picturesque childhood in England and a brief career as a drummer, Christopher Peacock chanced into the cabinetry business and he hasn't looked...

From suburban castles to Hudson Yards: Tony Ingrao's epic career

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tony Ingrao's clients—a mix of celebrities, financiers and captains of industry—often make headline news, but he himself is more likely found just...

Chad Stark on the innovation mindset

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After a brief post-college career in the startup world, Chad Stark joined the family business as a young man, eager to modernize Stark Carpet’s oper...

Why it's always a great day at Phillip Jeffries

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the early aughts, brothers Philip and Jeffrey Bershad took over the family wallcovering business from their father and have since grown it to emplo...

Feather’s Jay Reno on why the time is right for subscription furniture

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a commonly cited statistic: Moving is more stressful than divorce. And—chasing freedom and flexibility—millennials are moving a whole lot. ...

Vicente Wolf reflects on 45 years in the industry

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After fleeing Cuba with his family as a child, Vicente Wolf had anything but a traditional path to building a 45-year run as a designer. On the latest...

Angie’s List founder Angie Hicks on the importance of the ‘trust factor’

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 1995, Angie Hicks lent her name to her new company, a service that crowdsourced reviews of local businesses. “It seemed like one of those inconse...

Samuel & Sons' Michael Cohen thinks the trade will thrive—if it gets more transparent

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, Michael Cohen left a career in corporate finance to join the family business, a somewhat old-school seller of high-end tassels and ...

Amanda Lindroth on the challenges of turning a design business into a brand

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Nassau-based interior designer Amanda Lindroth has a knack for evoking the breezy elegance of island life, wherever she goes—including Guangzhou, Ch...

East Fork is quietly challenging the direct-to-consumer playbook

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ceramics are having a moment, and East Fork is at the center of it. Founded by husband-and-wife team Connie and Alex Matisse along with their friend ...

Why The New Traditionalists' Philip Erdoes always plays offense

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Philip Erdoes is a study in contradictions. Though the founder of The New Traditionalists and ducduc spends his days occupied by the particulars of ma...

Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams on the secrets of a healthy partnership

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What began as a small upholstery company in a rural corner of North Carolina has grown into a furniture empire. Celebrating their 30th year in busines...

Peter Sallick on how to future-proof design

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Peter Sallick doesn’t have a lot of free time. A restless innovator, savvy dealmaker and the wearer of many hats, being the CEO of Waterworks is onl...

Wendy Goodman and the power of yes

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Wendy Goodman is the poet laureate of Manhattan’s design world. As the longtime design editor of New York magazine, for decades she’s chronicled t...

Kit Kemp on why designers should stick to their guns

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For over thirty years, interior designer Kit Kemp has been at the forefront of the boutique hospitality revolution, bringing color, craft and vibrant ...

Jack Lenor Larsen defined the 20th century textile industry

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Not many designers can count Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen and Marilyn Monroe as clients, but Jack Lenor Larsen is no ordinary designer. A legend ...

Sean Juneja of Décor Aid on why interior design can’t be Uber-ized

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After 20 years in finance, Sean Juneja decided to risk his stable career to found Décor Aid, a start-up that offers clients an entry point into the w...

Bernie de Le Cuona’s “unpopular ideas” may be just what the industry needs

15 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bernie de Le Cuona’s fabric company had humble beginnings—in the early 1990s, she launched the business out of her own home after learning to weav...

Christophe Caillaud on the challenges of succession at Liaigre

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

By the time he was 32, Christophe Caillaud had abandoned a promising career in mergers and acquisitions to become the managing director of Jean Paul ...

Bobby Berk has paid his dues

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Now famous to millions as the resident design expert on Netflix hit Queer Eye, Bobby Berk left home at a young age, eventually ending up in New York w...

Jamie Drake takes it personally

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 1978, Jamie Drake graduated from Parsons and fell right into two plum gigs designing apartments in 800 Fifth Avenue—the same building where newly...

David Sutherland on where opportunity exists today

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Since opening his first multi-line showroom more than 40 years ago, David Sutherland has had a front-row seat to industry shifts and emerging opportun...

How Allied Maker went from woodworking garage to a $10 million business

11 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In less than a decade, Ryden and Lanette Rizzo have turned a humble woodworking studio into a $10 million business. Allied Maker, which launched in 20...

How Catherine Connolly saved American textile maker Merida

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Catherine Connolly made the move from tech to textiles in 2007, when longtime Merida owner Dr. Hiram M. Samel asked her to join the Fall River, Massac...