Dear Alice | Interior Design

This week we’re doing a fun episode because this is that time of the year when many of us are craving that desire to refresh our living spaces and make things feel like a blank slate. We’re trying to figure out what we need to do to give our home some rebirth without burning it down and rebuilding a new house. Cori suggests a great idea, which is bringing out your collections and putting them on display to give your space a fresh touch while also putting that collection of yours to good use. “Update the first thing your eye sees when you walk in a room. I think that is your first impression, and so I feel like you’re gonna get a lot of credit for it because if you can walk in and see something different, that’s gonna do the most work for you if you’re not in the mood to rearrange your entire house.” 21:40 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

On today’s episode we’re gonna take the intimidation out of a fun spring task and help you create front porch planters that wow. We have a very special guest on the show, Becky Nyman, who is Sue’s go-to person whenever she has any questions on gardening and plants. She’s a master gardener who has owned her own businesses and has been in the space for over 30 years. This time of year you see a lot of women dragging their pots into the nursery or garden shop to help them get their porch planters potted. Becky is gonna teach us how to make these decorative planters porch worthy. “Picking your pot is probably the most important thing that you want to do. You want to pick a pot that has drainage in it. Water can kills your plants faster than anything, and a lot of people don’t realize that. Overwatering kills plants faster than letting them dry out.” 5:56 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

“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! “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. “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. “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. “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! “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. “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. “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. “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. “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. “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. “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. “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.” “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