While this episode began as an interview based on a book about kitchens, it became something much more - A treatise about how we live in our homes, how to make a kitchen your own in ways which acknowledge who you are, how you live and what you love. Sophie Donelson is a former Editor-in- Chief of House Beautiful Magazine. She is a design journalist, speaker, and strategist whose work celebrates the connection between people and their homes. Her 2023 book Uncommon Kitchens: A Revolutionary Approach to the Most Popular Room in the House is where our conversation starts. Sophie's humanistic and forgiving approach to design resonates. Packed with helpful ideas about how to consider your kitchen design she showcases tens of unique kitchens created by designers for themselves and their clients and by others as well. When a conversation veers towards describing some colors as "the squeeze of lemon on a fishy pasta", compares matching upper and lower kitchen cabinets to attaching one's blouse to their underwear and compares the size of some kitchen islands to Escalades you know you're in for a ride.

What do jazz, communism, Dracula and wallpaper have in common? Tune into this episode to hear how they all converge. My guest is Stefan Ormenisan, the founder and creative director of one of the most unique lifestyle brands, Mind the Gap. Conceived in Transylvania and sold all over the world, MTG offers wallpapers and textile patterns spun from tales of folklore and global cultures. Their products are a color lovers dream. Learn how this amazing company got off the ground and became who they are today. When a company's leader talks about connecting with people's souls, you know you're onto a stunningly singular business ethos.

Ever walk into an art museum and find yourself just as mesmerized and transported by the color of the exhibition walls as you were by the art? Well, that wouldn't have been the ultimate goal of the exhibit designers but it does speak to the power of wall paint color, even in a museum setting. My guest in this episode is Kathleen Morris, the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA and the Curator of Decorative Arts there, as well. Kathy shares her decades of experience helming a team of staff and freelance professionals whose jobs it is to create the ultimate museum experience. One of her most powerful tools is wall color. Learn what factors they consider when choosing wall colors for an exihibit, what colors often work well with which kind of art and hear how the public reacts to their choices. It's a fascinating conversation and one which should send you high tailing it to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.