Dear Alice | Interior Design

“How do you help clients make design decisions?”  “Are built-ins always a good idea?” “Can you help me decorate around my short ceilings?”  On this episode of Dear Alice, the hosts circle up to answer the latest batch of listener questions, and - spoiler alert! - there are some good ones.  Join Jess, Suzanne and Cori for your favorite conversation of the week!   What our process is for coming up with ideas 9:00 Strategy for built-ins 18:15 Incorporating millwork 22:25 Shoe molding 29:40 Strategies for a coastal home to not feel like a beach house 33:30 Decorating with short ceilings 37:45 Fireplace mantle 42:15 Keeping the integrity of specific home styles 44:30   “I like my ceilings. Like right now, my ceilings are all the same color, whatever’s happening on the wall of that room. So in my public areas, they’re white. My floor is white and the ceiling’s white, it’s all the same finish, so it just feels continuous. There’s no stopping and starting. It really stretches the eye and kinda fakes it out that I’m not being drawn to a contrasting line or a colored wall is meeting up with a flat white on the ceiling. It keeps going and is just the best trick.” 39:10   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

In this week’s episode we have again real estate guru Rob Corcoran with us. He has a high end boutique real estate firm where he relocates people all over the United States of America and he is really good, not just for Utah, but for all of you across the nation. We’ve had tons of questions come in from our social media channel and we wanted to take this second episode to be able to answer all of your questions that we have for Rob.   Intro 0:00 Return for homeowners who sell staged and furnished homes 1:10 Young married couple saving for a home, FHA loan 4:10 Update or renovate a rental as an owner? 8:45 Is it a good decision to buy a home today? 13:20 How can couples afford a home in this market? 16:15 Buying in Utah 18:00 Unique and timeless designs, white kitchens 19:45 Replace or let buyer replace floor? 22:30 Negotiating a lower price 26:00 Finding a real estate agent 27:15 Non negotiables in selling a luxury home 29:50 Gauging pricing yourself out of your neighborhood with updates 32:00 Is a rental worth it if you don’t make much? 36:30 Keeping clients in budget 38:00 Priority updates 40:10 What’s happening to Airbnb’s 44:50   “Selling a home is all about how someone feels when they walk into it. Does it feel clean? Does it smell great? Is it bright? Am I gonna have to redo–we just sold a home recently that we had the entire, I told you the doors were painted. We also painted the entire inside of the house, had all the flooring done. They had lived there for 15 years, and it sells like that…selling a house is not just how you feel. It’s your senses.” 23:03   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

This week we have Rob Corcoran on the podcast, who is a real estate expert and has been a resident real estate agent for 24 years. One of our most successful podcasts of 2023 was one where we had a real estate expert come on, so we felt it would be great to do it again as people love it. The market is constantly changing, so Jess called Rob. He built a high end boutique that he sold in 2015 and kept the relocation division of the company, and then founded Influence Relocation, which has now expanded to over 50 markets across the USA from Miami to Alaska.    Intro 0:00 Buyer confidence and the housing market right now 1:55 Market trends and economic indicators 5:00 Rates and credit 11:00 Can young people afford a home? 14:00 Do we still see mega mansions? Or smaller? 19:50 Landscaping 25:30 Top buzzwords, home offices 27:30 Staging 29:45 A seller’s or a buyer’s market? 32:15 Pricing a home or a lot 35:40 Buy a renovation or not? 40:00 Does making your home your own make it hard to resell? 44:10 Is investing in a home as a 2nd or 3rd home a good option right now? 46:15 Are Airbnb’s still a good investment? 55:00    “You should never buy a home if you only plan on owning it for less than 5 years. So if you plan on buying a home and only being around for say 3 years, I would advise you probably not to purchase. You could get bitten to shorts on that if you need to sell or get relocated by your company, whatever happens in your life, the odds are you might be paying to get rid of your home.” 49:40   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

In this week’s episode we are doing re-upholstering or refinishing vs buying new. This is an age-old debate where some people don’t think it’s worth going through the trouble of refinishing old items, but others see it as an effective way to make their items look new while also preserving maybe some of that vintage touch said item might convey. Don’t think you’re doing this to save money, but rather to preserve an older item that has special meaning to you.   Intro 0:00 Re-upholstering vs buying new 3:25 Fabric prices for upholstery 8:30 There are ranges in cost 15:40 A time the investment was worth it 20:00   “It adds up with all of our projects. Once you really stare at the numbers, it just all adds up, so just know that you’re gonna spend more than you thought to cover everything, so just make sure it’s something you really, really want.” 11:44   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Tune in this week to hear us give answers to more listener questions! We have people asking about how they can improve the design of their front door and alter the side lights or windows, how to mix wood tones like in a bedroom or dining room, what the ratio of mirrors to art in a home should be, what to do about the finish for interior and exterior door knobs and hinges, and a few other fun questions. Join us today to hear what we have to say!   Intro 0:00 Level up your front door 11:10 Dos and don’ts of mixing wood tones 16:30 Ratio of mirrors to art in a home 21:00 Finish for interior and exterior door knobs and hinges 24:15 Built-in shelves and coloring 27:30 Display your kids artwork 34:00 Biggest misconceptions or blindspots in purchasing home furnishings 38:10   “It depends on your preference operationally too, like if it’s something that you’re just gonna swing open and you never use that, except when guests come over and you’re using the mudroom entrance, and you just want it for aesthetics, beautiful. But just know that one is usually gonna stay closed and one is gonna be operative, and is that wide enough for people to come through? Or do you have to swing them open both times?” 12:24   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

This week we wanted to talk about some trends we saw pop up in an Elle Decor article and we feel like we wanna fight back on some of these things they say are a big deal. So we’re going to break down this article and break down/debunk, or agree with some of these kitchen and bath trends. All of us, both who are hosting and listening to the podcast need a moment to figure out what’s true and what’s not because sometimes people are reporting on things and maybe have only asked one source, so we want to make sure that we are giving you our best information based on what we’re seeing since we’re on the front lines of design. We want you to be well equipped before you go and make these really expensive decisions based on what you read in an article.   Intro 0:00 Breaking down the article 9:00 High gloss walls vs texture 10:10 Brown 13:15 Terracotta takeover 15:20 Is bouclé here to stay? 20:00 Curves meet straight lines 23:30 High tech lighting 26:50 Alternative materials will be the standard 29:40 Revival of Victorian era details 33:30 Layered understated lighting 36:40 Warm rich colors 37:50 High drama marble and stone 38:40 Butler’s pantry and storage galore 39:55 Outdoor kitchens in connection to nature 42:30 Induction cooktops 44:30   “There’s nothing more romantic than a pizza oven like, I think they’re so cute and it’s so fun to make homemade pizzas with your kids, it’s so much fun” “We did it last night. We just got a pizza oven and have just been using it way too much. It’s like making dinner, what we have to do anyway, but then it’s an activity at the same time. It’s memory making.” 43:58   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Today we are talking about how you can find your own niche and cultivate your personal style. This is a podcast we feel everybody wants to know as they’re trying to figure out who they are when they’re trying to make these massive decisions for a home, whether you’re a new build, remodel, or maybe you’re just furnishing, it really needs to tie back to who you are, how you use that space, what nostalgic strings you want to pull, depending on if you really are sentimental. We keep seeing this topic pop up for people everywhere and have even listened to a couple of podcasts on this in fashion to really understand what some of the points are that people are making to help us cultivate our own style, so this is gonna be a fun one.   0:00 Intro The age of developing opinion 4:20 Feeling like you have imposter syndrome 27:00 Putting together an outfit for fashion week 31:45 Cori’s method 37:00 Who do you aspire to be? 40:45 Do what you want and don’t care about what Karen thinks 46:10   “So I go to the plumbing store and I’m like ‘OK, I like that suite, I think this is the finish I’ll go with.’ and then I put that actual faucet in there with the tile, with the cabinetry that I’m thinking and I’m like ‘Yep, that’s good. Send that over to the cabinet maker.’ and then I’ll get my hardware. It’s really easy. I’ll always try and figure out my art because that’s important to me too because I know that’s a part of my style. That’s a big North Star for me.” 30:20   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Today we are going to put all the fundamental design principles into one episode. We often give you guys little bits of information, such as you should hang your chandelier over your dining table, this height to this height, here’s the range. We thought we should do an episode for you guys where when you are finally ready to make a remodeling move, or maybe you’re rearranging your furniture this year, you’ll know what to do with spacing and dimensions. You’re probably all going to be working on some little project because you love interiors. So do we. We’re all ready to make a move, which may just be moving furniture from one room to another, but we’re going to give you dimensions that you need to know. Make sure to bookmark this episode because you’re going to want to come back to it in the future again and again in your lifetime to make sure you’re getting the spacing right.   All of your pathways need at least 36 inches 7:30 Cocktail table - 18 inches 12:15 Rugs 14:15 TV viewing heights 15:40 Kitchen 18:30 Bathrooms 29:50 Lighting 37:15 Fireplaces 43:20 Art 46:00 Drapes 49:15   “Otherwise the cocktail table just feels like it’s out in the middle of the room and nobody can use it for what it’s intended for…Or you have to stand up to walk forward while you’re crouched to put your drink down, and your quads are burning by the time you get to the cocktail table! No really, you go in those homes and the cocktail table is sitting on a 4x6 rug in the middle of the room, and you’re like ‘What!?’ If you learn nothing else today, at least learn where your cocktail table goes.” 13:13

This is a topic that came in from one of our listeners, which we thought was a great question and perfect to focus on in this episode this week. We’ve been at this for 4 years and feel like we’ve covered it all, but we’re having such a good time that we wanna keep the party going, so feel free to send us any questions, topics, or even guests that you want on, which you can send to dearalice@alicelanehome.com.   Intro 0:00 Our free design service and a review 1:00 What are our favorite small spaces? 3:10 Painting stencils 8:30 Be insanely interesting in a small space 16:00 What to do with the ceiling 24:00 Real living finishes 32:00 Hardware 37:10  The mirror’s edge 42:40 Opinionated marble 43:30 Human element and displaying your collections 48:45   “The next thing we have is real living finishes. This is the most luxurious thing. We’re talking about using real stone, real marble. We’re not using porcelain countertops that have marble stamped onto them so that you think that they’re marble and when you feel them, you’re like ‘Somethings not right…’ Whenever you can use an honest material, real stone, real wool carpet, real countertop material, real flooring material, real wood…Honest materials are gonna make your space look more luxurious.” 32:05   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

We have a very special guest with us this week named Krissa Rossbound, who is a veteran and the Senior Style and Design Editor for Traditional Home Magazine, and we are giddy to have her here. We discuss topics such as how the current state of this country and the education system doesn’t favor art or prioritize helping people develop their own personal style, so it’s a journey on which one has to go the extra length in order to discover for themselves. Listen to how we discuss traditional design and how to go all about it in today’s market.    Intro 0:00 Working at Traditional Home 1:00 About Krissa and her journey 4:00 Cultivating personal style 7:10 What separates Trad Home from other publications 18:00 Difference between publication print and online presence 23:20 Being featured in print 25:35 The white kitchen 33:00 How far ahead traditional home is working 37:20 Accessing different magazines 42:00 Email for Traditional Home 45:50 What people should spend their money on 51:40 Finding a great photographer 60:30   “Something that I’ve learned to do over time is really edit myself and learn to pause for a moment, enjoy what I’m looking at, realizing I really don’t have to take this home with me. I’m going to look at it wherever it’s displayed and maybe take a picture of it and remember it that way, but I don’t have to bring it home with me because you do that and then sometimes it just doesn’t work, or you didn’t really actually want it, and I think that hearkens back to that idea of understanding your personal style.” 13:25   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Today we are doing listener questions, which we always enjoy because we get to see how you guys are living, what problems you’re facing, and we get to help you answer them, which is kind of why Dear Alice was born. Dear Alice is our take on Dear Abby, which is an old advice column that was written, and we are actually doing that exact thing right now for interior design. You guys are sending in pictures now, which really helps us to better know how to be more informative.    Intro 0:00 The worst date we ever had 1:30 Keep things cohesive or refinish? 9:40 Beautifully designing entry and foyer 12:25 Helping the living room warm, inviting, and functional 17:20 Brazilian Cherry flores and bleaching 24:10 Brand and color of Jessica’s siding shingles 30:45 How to add more romance to your home 33:00   “When you do refinish the floors on the upper level, they might be different colors because the years, and the sunshine, and everything on those 2 inch floors maybe two years earlier, because maybe you’re not gonna get to that renovation stairs for a couple of years, but it’s on another plane, it’s on another level. You’ve gotta get it right when you’re doing it because nobody’s gonna go back and refinish floors.” 11:40   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Today we have guest Marvin Wilkinson who has the most fabulous store in the Denver Design District and Scottsdale. He has just the top shelf brands and with him you can find a secret tunnel into a magical world of offerings only offered to designers and we consider Marvin as ‘El Presidente’ of this world. We know him because he is one of our reps and educates us designers on what’s newest, what’s best, textiles, wallpapers, de Gournay, etc. Marvin is an artist at heart, a curator of beauty, and incredibly dynamic, so Suz insisted that he be on the podcast because people are gonna eat him up.   Intro 0:00 About Marvin 1:00 How he started 5:30 Where to save and where to splurge 11:00 The difference between Gracie and De Gournay wallpaper 13:45 Favorite up and coming brands 17:40 The best show 19:10 What’s new, what’s next 22:30 Developing your relationships 32:30 Follow through and follow up 35:45 What have the past 30 years taught you? 38:45   “I really need to hear what you are looking for instead of me just automatically thinking I know what you’re looking for. I think that’s really important for working with a design community. I think just being able to communicate properly and pull stuff out of other people and try to get their information and what their needs are, I think is really important.” 33:02   johnbrooksinc.com @johnbrooksinc   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

We’re gonna fight it out a bit today on this podcast episode. This is a continuation of our episode from last week and it’s just our listener’s comments when we polled our Instagram audits. We wanted to get to these since you guys took the time, so that’s what we’re doing today. We discuss the various designer styles you see here in Utah and which ones we agree with or do not agree with, but also there’s a lot of good in having variety. “Be effortless. Be believable…” “Don’t try so hard. I think that goes for anybody.”    Intro 0:00 Design services 1:00 Best meal 5:10 Other designers’ styles in Utah that we agree or disagree with 8:15 90s oak cabinets in the kitchen and not looking 90s 14:10 Where to put marble 18:30 Where to save vs where to splurge 22:45 Open floor plan and tall ceiling vs cozy and separate spaces 30:55 Karate chopping pillows 37:05   “Today the cabinetry goes to the ceiling, or there’s a soffit with crown molding, but there’s no longer the dust collection. Nobody has done honey oak since the 90s. I don’t know if it’s gonna come back or not. Our oak came around again and it came more grayed, or ceruse, or toned down, but we have better lacquers today that don’t yellow the woods like they did in the 90s.” 15:01   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Your hosts here on Alice lane have different opinions from each other. We’ve gotten some questions in and we find that we feel differently about these things and felt like maybe we should fight it out for you guys. We decided to just let it out and see what happens and we will still remain friends afterward. One example of something we talk about is having the TV above the fireplace and Cori says he has his TV above the fireplace, which Sue and Jess definitely disagree with style wise, but respect that he has made that decision.    Intro 0:00 An awesome review and most embarrassing moment 1:20 The TV above the fireplace mantle 12:30 Theater rooms 18:00 Kids sleeping with parents in bed 24:50 Pools and jacuzzis 28:10  Kids toys 33:30 Living room 40:00 Engineered hardwood 45:10   “I personally have a sand and finish floor meaning we went and bought the wood planks, white oak, installed them all, water popped the grains, stained it, all the different layers of lacquer, the tedious process of doing a sand and finish floor…now everything is perfectly engineered. You get a perfectly finished, baked product in a factory where you don’t have to do it on site with all the chemicals.” 45:20   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

Today we are talking about the 5th wall, which we define as the ceiling. It’s a controversial thing because some people consider the floor to be the 5th wall and the ceiling as the 6th, but that’s not what we think. The ceiling is something we strongly feel can really set rooms apart in design, and create a lot of energy and magic surrounding what’s happening up above the head. Join us as we discuss the various ways we’ve incorporated the 5th wall into our many projects we’ve done over the years.    Worst or funniest gift you’ve been given 2:45 The 5th wall 12:00 Aligning with existing architecture 21:50 Paint 24:25 Finish work 26:15 Barbie house project 31:20   “We had ceilings with a lot of eaves in it. This is Tan France’s closet and after setting this for quite some time, you can see the wall height didn’t start until way down here, like 2 and a half feet, so we’re all pitches and it only made sense to treat the ceiling like the wall and wrap that entire room in stripes. It felt tented, and then we were able to bring in a mirror that went 2 stories up from the stairwell and bounced back all of that around the space.” 18:48   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5

We have a question that catapulted into us making a whole podcast about this topic, which reads “Hi, long time listener to your podcast. Could you please do a session on lighting, like finding pieces that speak to each other room to room, dealing with custom shades. Do all lamps have the custom shades? For example, I have 4 lamps and they all have a beautiful fermoie shade that flank the perimeter of the room, but when I bring lamps into the center, I was going to coordinate, or even juxtapose that with a modern lamp. Best ways to wash out art with light when mounted picture lights just don’t work, but you also don’t want your ceiling to look like Swiss cheese from recess lighting?”    The worst compliment we’ve ever received 2:45 I love lamp 10:00 Height 16:30 Washing art 18:50 Vendors and whiteness of shade 28:40 Different types of lamps 31:50 The dining table 41:00   “The ideal shade is a natural linen, like probably a more off white or bone colored linen. That’s more beautiful than a natural paper shade because the paper shades kind of get burnt and get hot spots over years. It’s just not long lasting and if you’re paying a lot for a lamp it’s frustrating to have the shade start to show those warm spots on it…we use a place in Salt Lake City called the Lamp Company and they do custom lamp shades for us.” 29:24   https://www.instagram.com/alicelaneinteriors/ https://www.instagram.com/alicelanehome/ https://alicelanehome.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AliceLaneHome https://www.pinterest.com/alicelanehome/ https://www.youtube.com/alicelanehomecollectionsaltlakecity News Letter:  https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=HZENWY&g=PFcqV5