The Chaise Lounge Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Interior Designer Megan Winters Finds a Solution for (and Survives) Anything | S25E9 Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

Recorded way, way back in a simpler time of January 2020, Nick May spoke with Chicago-based interior designer Megan Winters of Megan Winters Design. A firm believer in getting things done, and finding a solution for every problem - Megan came to the world of design by way of numbers (with an MBA from the University of Chicago) and printing, growing the high-end firm she founded into a "global packaging powerhouse".In a time where things are uncertain, and we're worried about ourselves and our loved ones, Megan's response to her own cancer diagnosis ("I'm not dying") serves as a powerful reminder that we can choose how to meet each day. For this, she recommends prioritizing her life before interior design, and a balanced and passionate approach to work that brings you joy.Learn more about Megan Winters and Megan Winters Design at MeganWinters.com and follow @meganwintersdesign on Instagram My commitment to my clients is I can figure it out. I will find a solution for anything. I will not bring you problems. I will bring you solutions. I will not guarantee that stuff won’t happen because of course it will... ‘Here’s some options... on how to resolve the situation’ Chicago-based Interior Designer Megan Winters Tweet Chaise Lounge Updates A new season of Coast to Coast Design is live, with Garrison Hullinger and new co-host Lisa Davenport! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. Our Events Page Resources See what our sponsors can do for you. Upcoming Markets HDExpo | Cancelled for 2020 seasonICFF | Cancelled for 2020 seasonHigh Point Market | June 12-14 More About Our Sponsors Wrap Up If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

Interior Designer Kristine Paige Offers Timely Advice on Color, Creativity and Cross-Country Collaboration | S25E8 Mar 30, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, recorded early March 2020, The Chaise Lounge podcast producer—a professional painting contractor—Nick May checks in on the West Coast with Los Angeles-based interior designer Kristine Paige, principal at Jackson Paige Interiors. Listen in as Nick and Kristine get down to basics on choosing careers, paint colors, subcontractors, and the logistics of cross-country creative collaboration. Interior Design: Where Creative and Analytic Skills Meet “My favorite thing about interior design is the flexibility it gives me to be a creative person and a very analytical person,” says Kristine, a former actor and film industry insider. “I live between the two, so for me, it’s very rewarding.” Her least favorite part (we know our fellow entrepreneurs can relate): the general pressures of having your own business. Everything falls to you. It All Starts with Color In Spring 2020, Kristine was named an official brand ambassador for Benjamin Moore—the maker of her favorite interior and exterior paint colors—and part of the paint manufacturer’s new Design P.O.V. series. "Our designs are built around color,” says the designer. Her current favorites come from Benjamin Moore’s Century line, “It’s like velvet.” 4 Favorite Paint Colors: Benjamin Moore Classic Gray 1548 Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154 Benjamin Moore Chestnut 2082-10 Benjamin Moore Century Paint Color Viridian O6 Choosing the Right Painting Contractor As important as the paint product itself is the application. So when choosing contractors, Kristine recommends having at least three experts on speed dial: A highly specialized painter experienced in lime work or lacquer finishes, who works in close collaboration with the general contractor to make sure that the walls surfaces are perfect An unfailingly reliable general paint contractor for walls, baseboards, trim, and ceiling And an specialty exterior painter For every job, the final choice all boils down to trust. “It’s the person I know I’m going to get the least number of headaches from—someone I can depend on to do the job and they are not going to change out my paint to color match it with another paint. That’s the worst,” says Kristine. “I’ve gone around to job sites and said, ‘I want to see the cans. Show me the cans,’” she confesses. “And if it’s not the paint I specified, I say, ‘Change it. Start over.’” A great tip from Nick: Have the paint contractor list the paint brands and colors by name and number directly on their signed schedules and contracts. That way, you know the materials that are being paid for are the materials you will get. Budgeting in Outdoor Spaces After weeks, or months, of feeling sequestered in our homes, we’re going to be ready to move outdoors. “Here in California, rooms all open up to the outside,” Kristine explains. “So if you don’t do your outside spaces, the interior design feels very incomplete.” Make the indoor-outdoor connection plain right at the first budget meeting, Kristine says, or will end up feeling like they are getting hit up with an “add-on” at the tail end of a project, when they have already make a big investment and are running out of money and enthusiasm. Kristine’s advice: “You have to explain to your clients, right at the beginning, ‘This is what you’re seeing from the indoors spaces, and when you’re outside, and this is how they coordinate.’” Tips on Working Remotely As a California-based designer with jobs as far East as Westchester County, New York, Kristine has a head start on the rest of us when it comes to the tricks of #wfh and the virtual commute. “I have found it super easy in the design stage,” says Kristine, who routinely attends weekly client or project meetings via Skype or Facetime. “I fly out as needed and have a certain number of site visits built into the contract. I’ve never had any problems.” Jackson Paige sends all furnishings to a receive...

New York City Interior Designer Kammi Reiss Knows the Story of What It Takes to Succeed in the Design Business | S25E7 Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

How are our interior design business colleagues and friends in New York City faring through all this craziness? That’s the first question host Nick May asks our guest Kammi Reiss, founder and president of Manhattan-based Kammi Reiss Design, in this episode of The Chaise Lounge podcast. “So far, I think we are doing well. People are keeping their distance and staying in. So far, I think we’re really coming together. We’ve done that a number of times through the years—too many times here in the City—but we’re really good at it. We all need to get on board and keep each other safe.” As avid travelers, all of us in the interior design community are eager to get back moving and coming together at shows and events around the world—but for now #NO_FOMO because we are ALL in this together. We are still, always, privileged to be connected to you here in The Chaise Lounge. We deeply appreciate your joining us here to listen and learn from each other. Until we meet again, we invite you to follow us on on Instagram (@thechaiselounge) and be part of the conversation…and solution. Kammi Reiss Q & A Interior designer Kammi Reiss grew up in Potomac, Maryland, a picturesque “ride your bike to school” kind of suburb of Washington, D.C. She spent summer vacations on the Delaware beaches, and cherishes the memory of being given a dollar to go up on the boardwalk and get French fries and play pinball. Her weeks on the beach were filled with “good old-fashioned fun,” like charades at night and lots of soft ice cream. The kind of diversions—like playing flashlight tag and chasing fireflies—that Nick remembers as “good kid fun.” What’s Your Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant? Kammi’s husband, who has MS, deals with the symptoms of fatigue: “So the idea of cooking and being at home all the time…we have got this down,” says Kammi, laughing. “We’re already experts at it. “We mostly stay home and I cook,” she continues, “but when we do go out there’s a great neighborhood spot across the street from us. During the day it’s sort of a grab-and-go spot. But in the evenings, it turns into a nightspot with great burgers and wings. It’s called Night Shift and we love to spend time there. They also make some really good cocktails.” What’s the last thing you bought for your house? “Fresh flowers. I feel it’s really important to have things that are living and bring color. I have a muted palette and flowers are the perfect way to bring color and seasonal accents into the home. “The place that I think does the most beautiful job of that is in Paris, at the George V: They’ve got a big entry table that is overflowing with flowers. And they change it regularly. Every time, it is a feast for the eyes.” Favorite Fashion Accessory: Jewelry that Tells a Story “I have one necklace that I don’t ever take off. It’s called ‘Eleven Wishes.’ It’s made by my friend Melissa, whose company is called Devon Woodhill. It’s tiny little diamond drops on a necklace. I was married on November 11th—the eleventh day of the eleventh month—and it reminds me of that. Subsequently, I got one for each of my daughters, my sister, and my mom and we all wear them. So it tells a story and reminds me of what is important to me.” Beer, Wine, or Cocktail? “Any cocktail with tequila in it. Preferably spicy. Maybe a Paloma, some grapefruit and a little bit of jalepeno muddled in there.” When Did the Interior Design Bug Bite? “My tendencies date way, way back. To my parents’ dismay. “I was probably 11 years old. For the holidays, all I wanted were these Marimekko comforters. My mother couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that that would be something that she should get me as a gift. But I begged and pleaded. They are still in my mother’s house to this day. They look like Matisse cutouts and I was so drawn to them. “I wanted my room to be almost like a Matisse collage would be. I convinced my parents to let me get rid of all my furniture except my beds.

Luxury Endures: Bruce Andrews MacDonald and Interior Designer Sarah Eilers Share a Vision for Rooms that Stand the Test of Time | S25E6 Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

In this special guest-hosted episode of The Chaise Lounge podcast, we find ourselves in the excellent company of bespoke furniture designer Bruce Andrews Macdonald, founder of Bruce Andrews Design, and interior designer Sarah Eilers, of the award-winning Lucas/Eilers Design Associates, based in Sarah’s hometown of Houston, Texas.We hope you’ll enjoy this frank conversation between Bruce and Sarah—two industry leaders who have built successful careers making their clients’ investments in their homes pay off in long-term beauty, pleasure, and comfort. “I want to thank Nick May of The Chaise Lounge podcast to have this opportunity to create a luxury podcast and discuss the situation in our world,” says Bruce. “I positively believe that we will all be looking at a new world going forward, but I think it’s going to be a world in which we all feel more connected in and more appreciative of, once we realize what we need to do—together.”Redefining Luxury Interior Design and What It Means TodayLuxury interiors require “a curated look—it’s not one-stop shopping and you can’t do it overnight,” emphasizes Sarah. From concept to completion, her new-construction projects evolved over a period of about two years of planning, purchasing, and implementation.Here’s how these pros keep their big projects on track:Every Project Starts with Plan, a Budget, and a StoryAs Coco Chanel said, Bruce points out, “Fashion changes, but style endures.”At the end of the day, he says, luxury is sustainable because you’re not throwing anything away—you’re keeping something over time. “I’ve seen too many people thinking that luxury means that you can change things out and perpetuate newness. But luxury to me is that endurance of time—and really beautiful fabric.”Sarah agrees: “I’ve never met a mohair or linen velvet that I didn’t love. Mohair wears like iron. And there’s nothing prettier than a linen velvet and it lasts a very long time.”Collecting vs. Hoarding : Shop with a ListKeeping a warehouse or storage unit full of furniture, antiques, art, and accessories can pose a strong temptation for interior designers who love to shop. (And let’s be honest, what interior designer doesn’t love to shop?)But Sarah advises shopping for your project with a list.“I don’t like to keep an inventory or warehouse of things,” says Sarah. “It’s expensive!” She’d rather buy especially for a targeted project than stockpile merchandise in a storage room, where you can lose sight of what you have. Think twice before you buy for an imaginary client, or you risk creating cookie-cutter interiors or harboring hundreds of square feet of design materials that simply won’t work for multiple clients who have diverse tastes and personalities.When Shopping Online, Look for Dealers You KnowSarah loves to travel and finds treasures at places ranging from the Houston Design Center to the Roundtop Antiques Show to Paris’s famed Marches aux Puces.“Online sources like 1stdibs and Chairish are great resources for designers,” says Sarah. “But I’m always comforted when I see a dealer online that I know, so I can already trust what the quality is going to be.”Bottom line: The more homework you do before you buy, the less worried you will be that the product you purchase online won’t measure up to your clients’ expectations.If It’s Not Easy to Live With, It’s Not a “Luxury” “My mom used to tell me, ‘You don’t have to put out everything you own,’” says Sarah, whose meticulously tailored interiors are known for their individuality and comfort as well as their elegant restraint.“I grew up with parents who were collectors of English and American furniture, art, accessories, and I was raised living with these things, and not creating a museum interior,” she says.It Pays to Be PracticalRemember: As a designer of luxury interiors, you’re not focusing exclusively on bells and whistles.There are practical questions that need to get asked, too. Will there be children or pets?

Interior Designer Wendy Yates and the Art of the Pivot | S25E5 Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

Interior design is all about change—usually for the better.But what happens when obstacles present themselves, as they sometimes will, that require a design business to slowly or abruptly pivot? That’s what host Nick May and interior designer Wendy Yates—founder of Frisco, Colorado-based Abigail-Elise Design Studio—talk about in this honest, open-hearted episode of The Chaise Lounge podcast. Please join us! And let us know how you go about maintaining relationships, growing new business, and, yes, pivoting when fate throws you a curveball. We’d love to hear from you. The Launch: False Starts and Big HeartsWendy Yates, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, has demonstrated her gutsy approach to the design business (and life in general) since her high school graduation in 1995, when she bucked the four-year college tradition, got a job, and started studies at her local community college. “What I knew about design as a high school student was what I knew from watching shows on HGTV,” says Wendy. “It didn’t seem super-accessible.” So, instead of studying design, she majored in art history, then theater, and then thought about being a physical therapist. “After two years, I dropped out and started a design business.” She’d moved to a small town in Colorado as a high-school junior, “met a boy,” and worked hard to make a life in a small town where there was really no money to be made as a designer. “But, thankfully, I had connections in Hawaii and some people who were willing to help me. And the ability to fly over there and stay there for a couple of months at a time.”The First Big Break“I was fortunate enough to have a developer in Hawaii take a chance on me and let me do a model home for him,” says Wendy. “So I would make my money there, and then come back and live in my small town in Colorado.” She convinced a local newspaper to do a story on her business and put a sign in her front yard advertising her fledgling design enterprise, but the only job leads that came of it were $10 an hour wallpaper hanging jobs or solicitations to decorate rooms for kids. “I had no credibility because I hadn’t gone to school,” Wendy admits. But she had natural talent and a work ethic that brought new opportunities. It was time to pivot.A Career Develops: First Job, First SuccessCommuting back and forth to the Big Island, Wendy worked closely with the residential and commercial developer who’d taken a chance on her. “He would have me do the model-home work,” Wendy recalls. “I’d go with him and his wife to the San Francisco Design Center, where we would pretty much do all the furnishing selections for the model homes. But all the fixed finishes—tile, lighting, flooring, cabinetry, everything from the ground up—we would do in Honolulu.Looking back, Wendy feels both gratitude and amazement at the latitude her mentors gave her to make selections for their properties. “I remember being surprised myself at how great my first model home turned out. I was like, I love it! I was 22 and super green,” she continues. “I had no knowledge of even fixed finishes. For me, design was décor—that’s how I understood it, not being trained. But I had organic natural ability and visualization.” Silencing Your Inner Critic“I could always visualize a space from a floor plan. I would see it in a 3D way. So I think that creative side of my brain is what gave me the leg up in being able to pull off something like that without any training,” says Wendy. After her first big project was complete and successfully sold throughout the development, she gained confidence in her design ability. But the “imposter syndrome” reared its head on occasion. After every job, she asked herself: Can I keep doing this thing? Is the next project going to be as great as this one? How am I going to get clients beyond this one person?If you’re a self-taught designer, chances are you’ve dealt with the same insecurities from time to time. But remember: On-the-job training is real training.

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Press with Interior Design Brand Advisor Amy Flurry | S25E4 Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Today on The Chaise Lounge podcast, host Nick May catches up with his good friend and fellow cheerleader for the interior design trade, Amy Flurry. For listeners who have not yet met this multitalented Athens, Georgia-based communications specialist, allow us to introduce you: Amy is an editor/brand consultant/author/speaker/artist/founder and publisher of her own to-the-design-trade magazine, as well as a partner in Aloka, a new, sustainably produced home-textile design company with its home base in the Cisco showroom, in High Point, North Carolina. Today in the Lounge, Nick focuses on Amy’s role as a trusted media design brand advisor and communications pro, who helps designers understand what “getting press” looks like now. Creativity, Communications, Collaboration and Commerce: Navigating the New Media Frontier Amy was one of the first design industry insiders to encourage design entrepreneurs to take their creative business’s success into their own hands via DIY PR. In fact, she wrote the book about it: After more than a decade of sitting on the editorial side of the fashion/design/art and culture desk, Amy released her first book, Recipe for Press, in 2011, and followed up with a book especially for designers, Recipe for Press: Designer Edition, in 2018. A lot has changed since then. “We’ve expanded and we have all these new tools,” says Amy, pointing to print publications, online pinboards, multiple social media platforms, digital magazines, newsletters, video, and on and on and on. “But now, people are going to see it contract. And they’re going to use these tools in a very focused way. We’re going to get choosy about what we listen to.” How to Get Your Interior Design Business Noticed Now The way we connect creativity and commerce continues to evolve, says Amy, and it pays to keep pace with all the new ways to communicate your story. The fundamentals have not changed: Relationships Good photography A focused idea Being quick to respond to media requests And having the discipline to follow up and stay on message “There are different models now. Everybody’s an expert and everything, but how much of that will last?” asks Amy. “The things that will last will be the things that people really put the that time, heart, and creativity in to be truly engaging. Otherwise we keep deleting.” Who, What, Where, When, and WHY? Whose Influence Really Matters? Let’s face it: We’re all getting a little tired of looking at screens all day. We’re all being bombarded with emails, Instagram posts, and irrelevant-to-us Stories. And lots of them never get a second look or listen, no less a personal response. That’s one reason why a personal note, postcard, or a DM targeted to the right person can be more powerful. Amy Flurry’s staff at Recipe for Press spends months preparing, checking, and double-checking the author’s annual media list (updated twice a year), to make sure the contact information she provides is current and relevant in the rapidly changing interior design landscape. New to the list, the increasingly influential podcasts, including our own podcast host and producer Nick May, whose iMay Media brand was one of the first to celebrate the work lives of successful interior designers, painting contractors, manufacturers, editors, and industry allies whose stories inspire designers to take control of their media identity. “Where else can you share and tell your story and have people’s undivided attention?” Amy asks. “With the interview, you have an opportunity to deepen that relationship and start collaborating. That’s the nature of communications right now. If you really are conscious about this, you’ve probably met enough people to find a lot of common work together. And you realize, ‘Maybe I can do more with the relationships I already have.’” We’re all in business, Amy reminds us: “Connecting your story to commerce has to be done very intentionally.” What Hasn’t Changed

Residential vs. Commercial Design: For JAB Design Group, It’s All About Relationships | S25E3 Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

In 25 seasons of interviewing successful interior designers around the world, The Chaise Lounge host Nick May has heard from dozens of design professionals who steer clear of residential work in favor of commercial projects—and an equal number whose scales tip strongly in the opposite direction. One designer’s “dream client” can be another’s “nightmare.” In today’s podcast, Nick discusses the advantages and disadvantages on each side of the equation with suburban Philadelphia interior designer Joseph A. Berkowitz, founder of JAB Design Group, based in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. Nick caught up with Joe at the designer’s office in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, where he heads a lean but active shop that typically runs about 30 design projects at a time—some residential, some commercial. Joe accepted his first design job while he was still in high school, launched his own business straight out of college, and has never looked back—until now. The Power of Personality—and Personal Recommendations “I started my interior design business when I was a teenager, with a small job from my aunt,” says Joe. “That’s typical of how many designers get their start in this business. If you’re good enough, the client recommends you to friends, and someone else calls you.” For Joe, the phone has not stopped ringing since 1985, back when he used to present clients estimates written out by hand on yellow lined note paper. “I’ve been very lucky,” he says. “I really haven’t had any major downtime.” Running a successful interior design business over the long term, says Joe, takes three things: 1.) natural ability, 2.) personality, and 3.) business skills. “You can get a card and say ‘I’m a designer.’ It doesn’t mean you can run a business, though.” What’s Different/Same About the Business Today? “For one thing,” Joe says, laughing, “I no longer write my estimates on lined notepaper. But my office is still in my house. My wife is the office manager. And I’m getting better about being more selective about jobs.” Saying “yes” to the wrong jobs, he observes, eats up the time for the kind of work that helps your business grow. Through a conscientious marketing plan—including speaking engagements, magazine articles, and a winning appearance on HGTV design reality series Showhouse Showdown back in 2012—Joe has spread the word about JAB Design Group to a wider audience. The Dream Client: Commercial vs. Residential While some interior designers focus exclusively on either residential clients or commercial clients, Joe is a firm believer in variety. For him, it’s all about people. “I do a ton of residential work. Residential people tend to talk more to their friends than business people do, so you get passed around a lot.” One testimonial leads to another job and another and another…and, often, repeat business with the same client when they buy a new home or decide to redo. “But I do a lot of commercial work as well,” says Joe, who notes that those jobs typically move along at a faster pace with more decisive owners, making it possible to get paid faster. “In commercial work, it’s all about the schedule.” One advantage of doing both commercial and residential projects, rather than specializing: “If the residential market is starting to falter, there’s always somebody building a building or doing a spa, a dental office, or health care.” That gives JAB Design Group a bunch of different areas to pull jobs from, “which is one of the reasons I’ve never really had any downtime,” Joe explains. Goal Setting for Year-to-Year Growth Even after 35 years in the interior design business, Joe continues to sit down and set business goals for the coming year. And 2019 was his most successful year so to date. 3 Big Items on Joe’s 2020 Agenda Hire one or two new project managers “It’s a full-time job just handling the details, and a lot of that trickles down to the primary person. Sometimes that keeps us from our design work,” Joe explains.

Fashion Snoops’ Jaye Mize Talks Trends and Why They Matter to Your Interior Design Business | S25E2 Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

It’s the time of the year when the fashion community debuts its fall/winter couture collections, and you can bet today’s guest in The Chaise Lounge has been watching the runways closely. As the VP of the home and interior design space for Fashion Snoops, Jaye Anna Mize is a trend watcher extraordinaire. She makes it her business to observe consumer behavior and how that translates into buying trends for home consumers and the interior designers who serve them. Nick tracked down the nomadic trend forecaster at Maison et Objet (scenes, above)—the twice-a-year home and design trade show held in the massive Paris Nord Villepinte, France’s largest exhibition center—and asked her to give us the scoop on the latest cultural shifts and why understanding them is essential to your interior design business. Here’s a summary of just some of what Jaye shared. What Exactly Does a Trend Forecaster Do? "At fashionsnoops.com, we look at what’s happening on a cultural level and then predict product development two years out. We also capture the pulse of what’s happening one year out, three months out, and then present time to gauge validation—very similar to a financial forecaster," Jaye explains. "More than just selling stuff, it’s all about understanding people." The Pros & Cons of “D to C” Is brick-and-mortar dead? Not so fast, says Jaye. Digital-only "direct to consumer" (aka D to C) companies are experts at marketing to the online consumer: They look great in your promo feeds, with beautiful ads, photography, and graphic design. They know how to use analytics to target you. But on the back end, it’s not always a great product. “We’re finding—especially in the interior design space—that a lot of these products don’t hold the shelf life that a lot of traditional manufacturers and makers do,” says Jaye. “But now we’re seeing a lot of our traditional manufacturers and makers go D to C, or at least take that first step, like La-Z-Boy buying Joybird. We’ve seen people really get invested into this game. It’s exciting.” The takeaway for interior designers: Before you buy product for your clients from a D to C company, you need to do your homework. That might mean visiting the factory or actually buying the products and testing them out yourself to see how they feel and stand up to the wear and tear of everyday life. Your interior design business's reputation could depend on it. Five Hot Trends in Interior Design We don't talk much about design trends here in the Lounge, but Nick always makes a little exception when his friend Jaye Mize comes to visit. By anticipating what your clients want, you can help them get what they need. 1.) No, We’re Not Past Pink. In the world of color, pink is the new neutral, says Jaye. Consumers have adapted the full spectrum of pinks. It's a calming color and, as an alternative to cream or beige, it sets a nice tone. Case in point: The Chaise Lounge podcast sponsor Benjamin Moore's 2020 Color of the Year, "First Light"--a soft pink that gives a room a subtle, rosy glow. 2.) More Color. More Texture. More Fun. Trend watchers are seeing a lot more texture, prints, and color coming back into the home space. Color is key and fun—all the emerald greens and yellow golds. We’re seeing colors that resonate toward different cultures, like Scandinavian blues, Chinese reds. People are feeling traditional and saturated primary colors make people feel happy. Home consumers are feeling free to have a little fun at home, and paint color—which can be easily changed—is a great place to start. Wallpaper and printed fabrics are back in a big way, too. 3.) Sensual Textures and “Sex-Positive” Motifs Culturally, we're gravitating toward what we call playfulfulness and what trend forecasters call “sex-positive motifs” focused on health, wellness, fitness, and fun, says Jaye. The interpretations can be provocative or subtle—like just lips or a celebration of the body. In the Currey & Co.

Season 25 Premiere! | How Angela Harris, CEO of TRIO, Doubled the Size of Her Denver-based Design Firm Overnight Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to Season 25 of the Chaise Lounge podcast, with your host, Nick May! It’s time to talk about growing your design business, and we can’t think of a better guest to help us lead off this exciting season than Angela Harris, CEO of the creative, collaborative, and courageous Denver-based design and visual merchandising firm TRIO. If you feel like your interior design business may be caught in a rut and you’re thinking about making some changes, you will definitely want to join Nick and Angela for this conversation on the risks and rewards of rapid growth vs. business as usual. From One-Woman Show to CEO TRIO got its start in 1999, when Angela founded her own high-end interior design firm. “When we started, it was just me,” says the designer/entrepreneur. Twenty years later, her company’s client roster includes some of the country’s most familiar names in residential and commercial building and development—like Toll Brothers, Alliance, Shea Homes, Mission Viejo, and Grand Hyatt. Together, the partners envision and produce commercial hospitality projects, master plan communities, high-end housing developments and clubhouses for active 55+ adults, model homes, and sales centers—all based on meticulous market research. Doubling in Size Overnight Clearly, when it comes to business, Angela thinks big. Within the past 18 months, TRIO finalized a bold acquisition that doubled the firm in size overnight. TRIO also opened up a new West Coast design studio in San Diego, and launched new product licensing partnerships with Phillips Collection and Tile Bar. “We’re in the business of bringing beautiful, creative things to market, whether it’s spaces or products, and seeing how people react to it,” says Angela. “It’s exciting!” What’s Next? “Change is hard and it can be scary for some people,” Angela acknowledges. “But not taking risks is not a good strategy.” Together with her executive team at TRIO—which includes her husband/COO Drake Harris and business development director Carrie Firmine (who makes a cameo appearance at the end of this episode)—Angela never stops asking: Where are you going next? “You can’t get stuck in how you’ve done things in the past,” Angela says, summing up a philosophy that has landed TRIO an ever-expanding client list (the day Nick spoke with Angela, her company had 176 jobs going on—at once). TRIO was recently named to Interior Design magazine’s Top 100 Giants and has earned a place in Inc. magazine’s annual list of fastest-growing companies. “Keep watching,” says Angela. “We’re not done yet!” You can learn more about TRIO at triodesign.com and on Instagram @DesignbyTRIO Change is hard and it can be scary for some people, but not taking risks is not a good strategy. Angela Harris, CEO and Principal, TRIO Tweet Chaise Lounge Updates Our new podcast Coast to Coast Design is live! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. Our Events Page Resources See what our sponsors can do for you. Upcoming Markets High Point Market | Apr. 25-29, 2020Design Influencers Conference | Mar. 1-3, 2020 HDExpo | May 5-7, 2020 ICFF | May 17-20, 2020 More About Our Sponsors Wrap Up If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. With that said, keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!

S24E17 – Home Staging for Investors: Amy Powers on Why Interior Design Matters Extra When It’s Time to Sell or Rent Feb 15, 2020

Show notes

Getting a home ready for market isn’t magic—it’s merchandising, and looks matter. Take it from Amy Powers C.S.P. (that stands for Certified Staging Professional), who has successfully prepared almost 100 million dollars in property listings for market since she took to “the stage” in 2007. Intriugued by this growing interior design niche, iMay Media founder Nick May traveled to the International Association of Home Staging Professionals Conference and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee, last fall, where he met up with staging pros like Amy and talked about the art/science/and math of preparing homes for sale or rent. In this episode, Nick welcomes Amy into The Chaise Lounge, to continue the conversation. How she got her start: Amy turned to staging when the last recession hit her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, hard, flooding the market with foreclosed properties and precious few buyers. In a buyer’s market, says Amy, putting a property’s best face forward is essential to a faster sale or, in the case of short-term rentals (like Airbnb, Vrbo, or HomeAway), a higher rate of occupancy than the local competition. Using staging to tell a story: Statistics say that 95% of today's home buyers and short-term renters see properties for the first time in photographs on line. Sure, they pay close attention to price. But they also expect to be wooed with picture-perfect spaces filled with beauty, luxury, comfort, Roku, and a top-notch coffeemaker. That's why, says Amy, owners need to hire designers who specialize in creating environments that appeal visually and emotionally to the property's target demographic. A fast-paced niche: Amy's business, askforstaging.com, differs from traditional interior design in two significant ways. The first is the lightning-quick pace. And the second is the target audience: As a home stager, you are decorating with the potential buyer or renter in mind—not the particular long-term preferences of the seller (your client). "I decorate for the buyer, the house sells, and I'm done," says Amy. Of course, as a professional painting contractor, host Nick May already knows a thing or two about the power of fresh paint to boost perceived property value—and he has some smart tips of his own to share in a conversation that covers: the emotional and financial aspects of home staging for resale vs. short-term hospitality (there’s a big difference) Amy's handy “heads and beds” formulas for maximum short-term rental revenue and Amy’s proven strategies for coming out on the profit side of the classic supply and demand equation This final episode of Season 24 on the Lounge is focused firmly on the financials. So grab your calculator, your color charts, join us for a cocktail—you can never go wrong with a good margarita or anything with rum, says Amy—and let’s get down to the business of design. Cheers to you! We’ll see you again soon, as we launch Season 25 on the Chaise Lounge podcast. I decorate for the buyer or the potential renter—not the owner or investor. - Atlanta, Georgia-based home stager Amy Powers Tweet Chaise Lounge Updates Our new podcast Coast to Coast Design is live! Give it a listen to learn about just how many ways there are to run a design business. That's it for our 24th season, we hope you've enjoyed it. Stay tuned for season 25, where we're excited to roll out interviews with new guests, more interviews with guest hosts, and other exciting changes and additions! Our Events Page Resources See what our sponsors can do for you. Upcoming Markets Design Influencers Conference | Mar. 1-3, 2020 HDExpo | May 5-7, 2020 ICFF | May 17-20, 2020 High Point Market | Apr. 25-29, 2020 More About Our Sponsors Wrap Up If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes, Spotify or your favorite podcasting app! We'd love it if you post a review, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. Also, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook,

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected