How to Design Your Dream Home (In Your Budget) with Bobby Berk

It's so sad when the furniture is too small size does matter. Yeah. Yeah, it needs to be just right. Exactly This podcast is a dear media production. Hi guys. Hi guys Welcome back to another episode of girls gotta eat coming to you in person here from Spotify. I love this room so much I'm sitting here wheels turning like how can we let how can we come back? How can we have them let us do this all the time? Is this like a one-time thing? I don't know like I think we look so beautiful. Okay, leave a comment in the comments. Yes How stunning you know how you used to give the weather report now every week you're like this is where we are This is what cities were in. It's every week. It's cute. Like this is where we were at Well, I just want people to Know that you should we're together And you should tune in and watch full video on Spotify Yeah, truly like having the show the video on Spotify has just been so great for the show and the comments I just like I wake up excited to like read the comments on Spotify. Yeah, you guys are really so kind and last week I talked about My friend who passed away and I just got so many nice messages and people sharing their story and it's like I need to sit down And like respond thoughtfully to people I have just been going through them people have like shared What they went through and I want to respond to everybody said it's gonna be on my to-do list this week I'm doing them one by one and people left a lot of like really nice comments And so just thank you guys as always for being so supportive and I'd love to do weather report It's perfect in LA all the time We have had a really good Hot in a good way summer hot August. It's felt like today It's gonna be like 96 degrees pretty well I mean, we also live on the west side where it's just a cooler But it has felt really nice where warm nights like wear a tank top out at night titties out at night And you don't bring a jacket and it's just been like the way I remember it feeling on the summer in the East Coast before The drastic climate change where it's just like nice hot summer like last summer. I don't really remember it still gets kind of cool And I don't know. It's just August has been really nice We've been like just been outside enjoying it Like we were in the park on Sunday and under a tree in the shade. I'm like, this is a perfect life must be nice I know I'm happy every day in New York. I am happy. I like I just I look out the window It's so beautiful. But yeah, whether or not so much I also I'm I went to Martha's Vineyard and then tuck it last week Yeah, it rained. I mean truly from the minute I set foot there until the minute I left but I love Nantucket It was my first time there. I went with I love this so much, you know, you guys know I can be a little territorial but not with like Raina being friends with my friends like Like these are my friends who you become friends with for the past eight years Yeah, but also you were invited this trip. I was fine This was really solidified how like much the friend groups have become intertwined Like these are my longtime like Delaware friends that I just loved it. So John can I really talking about when your friends become friends and how nice it is to see and it's Such a testament to how you are as a friend. Okay. Well, let's just thank our partners really quick and then we will get into it All right. Thank you to hinge download their audio book. No ordinary love But stories of real couples who took risks for free on Spotify and better help see reviews and decide if it's right for you at Better help calm slash GGE and article get $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more at article calm slash GGE And thank you today get 20% off your first purchase at day hair calm with code GGE And thank you to neutral get $10 off your first order and free shipping at neutral calm with code GGE 10 So back to the people that have been in your life for a long time that I wanted a trip with so I'd never been to Martha's Vineyard Or Nantucket and our audience first of all, I've never seen more people. They're like, I love you and Ashley been on the flight tomorrow this vineyard So if you said hi to me, thank you. I love you, too Nantucket so interesting because like that sign that a store posted no influencers went so viral and people had a lot of takes about it And having been there I do get it. I mean it it is just like wall-to-wall Influencers people making content. I try to get a sandwich at this place the other day There had to have been 120 people in line at 930 in the morning I was insane two blocks were just lines of people and like whatever if that's how you want to spend your day. No shade I don't care. It's not how I'm gonna spend my day. But if that's what you find out you in great Yeah, it's just it's a lot It makes it unpleasant to like walk around and go in stores and all the content and the lines And so being there now I validated even more. This is a small town Oh, so all the houses have like a number on them A lot of them do that'll say like built in 1750 1767 like they're very old. All the streets are cobblestone It's annoying that it's packed with people Totally, so more power to somebody that's just like you can like you said before you could be an influencer and be in the store Don't come in here make content. Yeah, I understand that we want to support these places and have their economies thrive But there is a point where things aren't enjoyable and we can all validate that when it's gotten too out of control But you said you really liked Martha's Vineyard and it wasn't like that. I love both places Martha's Vineyard felt really like casual beach town. It felt like Dewey Beach meets the Hampsteads to me I mean they'll let you know. I mean a Plot of dirt a shack is two million dollars there like because everybody's walking around you're like everyone's so down-to-earth Everyone's just like t-shirts. Everything's like just like a small casual cafe and you look up what everything cost you're like Oh, this is crazy. A salad's $50, but I loved it. It just was like so beautiful. Martha's Vineyard is pretty big There's like four or five towns you can go around. What? I had no idea Yeah, the island I also never knew that you could take like a 40 minutes wheels up to wheels down New York to Martha's Vineyard flight So nice and easy going a day trip. I didn't know yeah I think a lot of people know I feel like New Yorkers don't really go there. It's more of like a Boston thing Yeah, and then I took a ferry from Martha's Vineyard to Nantucket took an hour I mean you can go to the you go to Cape Cod you go all over I was like, why have we never done this before but totally I loved both really special Nantucket was fancy They're like the restaurants were like fancy. It felt like a New York restaurant. It's bougie, really bougie Yeah, Martha's Vineyard much more stripped down, but I loved both everybody was just wonderful at the best time I love that. I actually was gonna ask you so you and Shashank have been doing this thing, which I love where you like post like what we wore What we ate what we talked about on our date night and what we talked about you put as a bullet point like when our Friends become friends and I meant to ask you was that about me? Yeah, you were the inspiration for it And then I asked him not that I don't know this about him But like who he feels like became the most close of his friends and like do they hang out without him kind of thing But yeah, so when we go on a date night, I'll post I do this little series like our date night documented and where we went what we ordered what we wore and what we talked about and We went out to dinner last night Last week at like a local spot and I was like, I'm not doing the date and I think we were like casual We talked to the couple next to us at dinner the seven-year-old couple I just didn't do it But I posted like something from the restaurant and people in the comments like where's the what you talked about people were upset I like to know about it, too but yes, I just really love it when you bring people together and then they Become friends and also and don't exclude you. I don't like that If I would have been invited to Nantucket that would have been fucking insane so it is a delicate balance because like I don't like Okay For example, if I introduce two people and one person like asks the other person for a favor I'm like you should have asked me if that was okay first I It's a very specific but about this and I I think it needs to be discussed and I try to be like adults are allowed to have plans with other adults without including a thousand adults But like I don't know if you are really the primary relationship there These are your very long 20 years plus 25 years and like if I made plans with them and didn't include you that would be Insane. Yes, this is case by case and you know it when you see it And of course, I have friends that I've introduced that hang out without me They don't have to invite me every time but you know when you're being pushed out and being excluded and you know when shit gets weird And you know when someone's also trying to weasel their way into something Yeah, and it's like there are no hard and fast rules for this because like I joke about being territorial But like we all know what it feels like to introduce people and then they really do exclude you and it's not It shouldn't be like that And it should be a thing where you're really happy that your friends are friends. I'm mostly happy. I I really get a lot out of like one-on-one interactions Like I I like a group hang but I feel like I get to know somebody obviously really well and he's like one-on-one interaction So I do like to hang out with people by myself But there are just some people it was just fucking weird if you ask them to hang out without the person introduced Yes, so I think about your two best friends Emily and Melanie. I always pat myself on the back when I say it correctly It's like a tongue twister. I'm a Melanie. Yeah, Brianne Ashley Actually says ran eyes one word And they do have their own friendship But I don't But I don't think they would get together without you and not include you if you were in town. Am I correct? No, that would be weird. Like and also Melanie doesn't live in New York, but I am like they they are really close They've traveled together like Emily has stayed with her in Miami like when she goes down there and they do have a relationship Outside of me, but it would really hurt my feelings if they you were around Yeah, if I was around and they were just like hanging out without me Yeah, I know. It's just always every situation is different and there's just friends. You're like I wouldn't care, you know But there's other situations that you're like, this is weird and you know, it's weird and you know, it's weird You know, it's weird a hundred percent. If you check people's locations and you're like, what are you guys doing together? There's just times like I feel like we've been like Huh? That's interesting choice that you made and I see what you're doing and I don't like it quite frankly, you should ask my permission I don't know you and I are so ride-or-die for each other and we don't do this shit to each other and if we felt like someone was acting up we would call it out immediately like I just feel like so thankful for your friendship all the time and I really just do feel like I think that we feel closer than ever and I think you're just like really happy since you moved oh thanks like I have felt like that that you just seem happier and it makes me realize you weren't happy not unhappy you weren't your happiest best self so we've seen each other non-stop we haven't felt a void at all it'll come maybe we'll see but we've just been together a lot and travel together it's a lot but I thought this after you moved to New York I just was like you seem lighter you seem happier and that is going to impact all of your relationships well thank you I feel like I'm home like I feel like I just this is home like when I land in New York I'm like I'm home this has always been home this is gonna be home I feel really happy there I was not unhappy in LA I just was lonely but I don't know I've had a couple moments lately I've been talking about this where I'm just like I'm very grateful for the people in my life I have a lot of friends that I've been friends with for like nine plus years and I'm so grateful for those people and I said to you I feel really lucky that I have those people in my life and you were like I don't feel lucky I feel like I cultivated these friendships I picked the right people and it's a little bit of both yeah but it's just I'm feeling really like grateful for the people in my life that have just been around for like a super long time that are like solid consistent I know what I'm gonna get from them they never do anything fucking shady or just I don't lie like I just it's nice I feel grateful yeah we have been having a lot of discussions recently just about friendships and I've been having a lot of discussions recently about people's behavior and all kinds of things and it's just like hopefully you have your best friend that's your rock that there's no secrets nothing shady and a few more people like that you know you have your really close inner circle that you know you can trust wholeheartedly and sometimes other people that you're friends with don't behave like that and that's okay you have to decide what you will accept what your boundaries are and like every person in your life that you're friends with isn't going to be a person that you're friends with and that's okay you have to decide what perfect friend like those inner circle friends and that's for you to decide who you keep in and out of your life yeah and who you have to recalibrate with yeah but I do think if you just if you have people like that like those few core people you're just really lucky and I just I you and I both feel really lucky yeah and those people just really like ground me they feel really good okay well we have Bobby Bark today and we did a fun episode with him about design and your home and you know we're dibbling and dabbling in some more lifestyle stuff we know you guys like it we know you guys like the skincare and hair health episode we did with Dr. Romina a couple weeks ago so we had a really fun time with him but Raina wants to offer some of her own design tips that we maybe didn't get to discuss in the episode I just I've loved design for so long I didn't like study this or anything it's just like I love to be home and I want it to be comfortable and people are like how do you design a space fill your home with things you love and you will love your home you don't have to be a designer you don't have to pick like a color palette or a theme or anything just you know if art brings you joy if color brings you joy if knickknacks bring you joy I really try to like buy something every like special trip that I take I bought these like tiny little candle holders and Martha's Vineyard but you don't have to spend a lot so I've been using AI I use AI to design my apartment which I'm really happy with this is not like a hot take but if you guys have never done it I took a picture of the room like the living room and I input the dimensions in the picture of the room and I put the dimensions in the picture of the room and I you can use Claude for this it'll be great and upload that and just say like give me give me eight different variations of what I could do in this room and it will blow your mind like what hot take what AI could do but like you don't have to have like a color scheme or a design palette picked out just like show me what I can do with this room yeah yeah like I don't know where to start you know I like xyz colors and then you can say something like okay my price point for a couch is x with a color scheme and then you can say something like okay my price point for a couch is x with eight hundred dollars show me eight options for eight hundred dollar couches it'll give you the links for all that and I just like figured out where a rug went where to hang a shelf and all that it was just really helpful for me um to figure that out and then you don't have to spend a ton of money there are way less expensive options there's a couple things I spend a lot on the couch is the thing that I spend the most time on so that's what I would spend money on for like a living room everything else get it cheap get it secondhand get it on Facebook marketplace Facebook marketplace I mean people are outfitting their whole homes and you guys can use dupe.com I think you've introduced me to it I think you got I think they have a paid tier now probably but whatever like it's legit I mean you put in a link to anything from a sweater to a couch and they're going to give you cheaper options like if you put in something from West Elm it might give you a Walmart dupe kind of things like that there's just those tools as well also google image search take a photo of like a couch that you like upload it to google image and they'll give you similar options to that the thing that I would spend the most on is absolutely a couch like everything else just like phone it in also definitely if you find stuff that you love like I found these wardrobes on West Elm that I love but they were like $2,500 so I searched that on Facebook marketplace and I found somebody that was selling them cheap and delivered it to my house I know so that is like a great thing to do totally but that's what I spend money on I mean people always they love my dining table like it's so amazing I'm like it was like $150 yeah it's cheap I just I'm little and I'm one person and so I have had TaskRabbits help me but like obviously if you just need help like hanging stuff you don't know what to do and we've had really good luck with having people come over and help us and then you date the TaskRabbit if you're Ashley you date the TaskRabbit watch my special it's on prime here comes the bride you can hear about it but no yeah there's always like help out there affordable labor I just I don't spend a lot of money on design we'll talk about this episode but like I use society six for photos like Ikea frames only Ikea frames I don't have things framed if you guys want to have something beautifully perfectly framed great we've done great work with frame bridge and but they're expensive yeah Ikea frames I mean you're talking 20 bucks for a really nice high quality frame yeah the people's homes I like the most it really is a mix of some there was an expensive piece again usually couch and then stuff is just cheap I mean if you have the money and you want to go all out and everything's restoration hardware go off but you just don't have to do that to have a nice home I looked up restoration hardware dupes and then I drove to Anaheim to a warehouse by myself and I was like if I die this is where I'm at so I guess there's a outlet here a restoration yeah and I think there's just a lot of nothing's junk but it's just there's a lot of stuff that you just don't need and probably a lot of like curtains and stuff like that and there's maybe not as much furniture but the furniture that they have our friend Taylor they got their coffee table from there and their dining table as well but it is I think it's like a mob scene and like people are like there's a whole system yes you have to go early and people are crowding around the items but still uh she I was at her house last week because I've seen it in various stages since they bought this house and like they've gotten to this perfect place and the coffee table is unbelievable um yes looking up warehouse sales I mean you got to get there early but like there I went to a Westtown warehouse sale and a CB2 one and like the outskirts of LA and like Manhattan Beach but like they have amazing stuff bring a truck yeah okay um love those tips I hope you guys like the tips okay watch this space we'll talk about some of this stuff more with Bobby today um I just want to I so I'm in LA obviously with you and um I'm staying at a hotel with this guy and you know what I'm like in a hotel room Ashley what do you just explode yeah and it's like a crime scene he's really like neat and tidy he's just about he's like good thing he's clean and neat he's like a skincare routine does he really be skincare routine yeah can we table that for another discussion I really want to talk about men and skincare because I was like you skincare routine he goes yeah right I'm 40 and I was like okay let's talk about men and skincare because I was like let's the next time we come back we're going to take a little bit of time off but I want to talk about this we really are kind of tight for time today so watch this space yes I'm just and not in like a throwing shade way we'll talk about it okay I'm curious what your thoughts are okay I'll tell you at lunch um you can always know you don't have to wait for the podcast what did you say to me I feel like you're gatekeeping to the audience um but he's stayed in my home before and he knows how like uptight I am in my house and how crazy I am it looks like nobody lives there but the way that I am in a hotel room is crazy and like there was a hair extension in the bed this morning that's how it be that'll probably happen to me yeah one of my 8k tips after a wild Sunday afternoon we'll end up on the dog bed but I was like oh no he's about to like really find out what I'm like he it's not gonna bother that's how you know nothing I do bothers him I'm waiting to see like what am I gonna do okay well this is our last episode um for a week so we will not episode on Thursday or Monday so I just want to remind you guys I am going back on tour please come um the honestly is you tour starts up against September 9th 14 shows in the fall um I'm touring around this country I'm going to London there might be a special guest in London we've talked about at lunch and um I'm going to London I gotta go and we're doing something very exciting that we're there we'll just we'll let you guys know of course and on it I don't want to like say it right now but I'm really excited for this trip oh I'm so excited okay so we're announcing now she's gonna be in London with me um and then we're gonna show you guys what's going on and then we're gonna show you shut the tour down on 11 12 November 12th in Vegas I mean I'm inviting everybody that we're friends with but also you guys as well I'll be there too please I'm gonna run 30 can I do an hour I don't care I'm gonna run my new hour I'll just sit it out I don't care there's been nights with like Matt or Brittany who opened for me on the whole like last leg of the tour and I've been like you guys want to just get up there and I don't want to do no I'm just kidding um I am so excited though I love this material I did it in Salt Lake in Nashville and it was just so fun so um yeah I'll see you guys randygreenberg.com come out I'll start in Columbus uh that'll be so fun we love Ohio I'm sad I won't be there but I'll see you guys in London and in Vegas um okay let's talk about our partners and then we'll get into it with Bobby Hinge I mean you know this is mine and Ashley's favorite dating app. I love that it is just designed to cultivate and create conversation, make it easy. We've both been on tons of dates from Hinge. And also we have friends that have gotten married off of Hinge. But what Hinge has done is actually create this audio book and it's called No Ordinary Love. And it's real stories of couples who took risks. So it is an audio book written and read by five incredible contemporary authors. And Hinge just wants to encourage you to do the thing, say the thing. I know the part of dating in the sort of gray area is really rough and scary. And it's brave when you just say like, this is what I want. Let's go out on a date. This is what my boundaries are. This is what I need. This is what I'm excited about. And I like what they're doing because it just encourages you to like go out, have the conversations, say the thing, take the risk. And you guys can get the audio book for free on Spotify. We're recording right now. Yeah. And if you like dating content, which you do, if you're listening to this podcast, you'll really like this. It's just nice. I mean, put it on in the car while you're taking a walk. It's just like a really nice listen. And I love that they did this and love that you guys can listen on Spotify. Okay. So I am going to talk about my hair journey a little bit. You know that I have been doing wavy hair and I've used a variety of products and I want to talk about one that I have been using. So Day is this clean, dreamy hair care brand, and they have this cactus fruit three-in-one styling cream. And it has like this viral reputation and it really makes sense once you use it. So there's so many different ways to use it. So it has gone viral for Slickback. It has gone viral for Slickback. It has gone viral for So you can do that if you want, but you can also use it as a blow dry cream to define your waves or curls with an air dry or just to add shine. So I wouldn't say it's like a curl cream, you know, but it really is so versatile and you can do it again to have those air dried waves to prep for your blowout, to define your waves, or you can use it to Slickback. It really just doesn't have one job. Okay. The Slickback, I actually was like trying to do one this weekend without day and I used lotion, which I was just like, I can't. Times are tough. I didn't have my day with me. I love the look, but like it is, you need a specific type of product to make this work. We love it so, so much. It is definitely the styling cream that is most likely to do the most. And there's even a version sold in on the go packaging. So great for travel with this built in taming wand, which is perfect for taming flyaways, smoothing frizz and styling edges. I have these little hairs that are like some new growth, just breakage. And I'm like, I need to slick them down, but you don't want greasy looking hair around your face or anywhere. So that's what I use for that. We're just so obsessed with it. And it, again, that is the cactus fruit three-in-one styling cream, or commonly known on the streets as the three-in-one styling cream or day styling cream. So we want you guys to check it out. The scent is incredible. Their signature citrus scent notes of citrus, dewy orange blossom, and warm vanilla. So just for our listeners, visit dayhair.com and use code GGE at checkout for 20% off your first order. That's D-A-E-H-A-I-R.com and use code G-G for 20% off your first order until online. October 31st, 2026. Okay. And it's a design episode. So what a perfect time to talk about article. If you guys are looking for a rack, it's article. So home design obviously is super important to me. And if you're looking to curate the look of your place, article is just the best place to do it. So they have a range of furniture styles. They have mid-century modern, coastal, Scandi-inspired pieces. They really shine on their own, but also they're going to show you how to style them. So you go to their their designers have styled things together. You can mix and match different styles. We're going into the fall. It's a good time to get a new couch. I love their couches. I love their bedroom stuff, their headboards, their outdoor furniture. Again, we're getting into fall, but like just again, like Raina was saying, like you can use their site also as a tool to see how they've styled all these items and accessories. I have a lot of the like home accessories too. Great lamps, everything. Really good quality. I like this Sven collection. I like their sofa. It's leather. Nine different colors. And I've gotten quite a few things from them. The delivery is like really seamless and easy. Packaging. Packaging is great. It's not wasteful. Like everything really is on point. Just meticulous. Such a go-to. The weight and feel of the product. The shipping and assembly is fast and affordable, which is great. The support. I mean, Ashley and I are just like, we won't buy stuff from companies that don't have good support. So it is available seven days a week and they have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. So you can shop with confidence knowing if you're not completely in love with your furniture, you can easily return it. Right now, Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more to claim. Visit article.com slash GGE and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. That's article.com slash GGE for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Okay, let's get into it. Okay, guys, we are very excited to welcome our guest today. He is an Emmy-winning designer, a television host, a best-selling author, and one of the original stars of Netflix's Queer Eye. Over the course of his career, he has transformed hundreds of homes and lives from launching a successful home collection to authoring Right at Home. He's become one of the most influential voices in interior design. Please welcome to the show, Alex. Hi, ladies. Thanks for having me. Hi. Oh, my God. You did Sexy Voice. You forgot the Applebee's credit. Yeah, like, longest-running server at Applebee's, probably. Well, I was waiting to have you say it because it is your most important credit. Where did you work at Applebee's? Here? No, no, no, no. Springfield, Missouri, Branson, Missouri, and Denver, Colorado. Did you grow up in Missouri? I did, sadly. Oh, my gosh. Three different places. The one in Branson. You did the circuit. Yeah, well, Branson, I didn't even live in Branson, but I would drive from Springfield to Branson. Uh-huh. Branson's like Vegas meets Nashville in the Ozark Mountains. It's weird. And I would work all day Friday, and then I would sleep in my car in the parking lot Friday night, and I'd work all day Saturday, and then sleep in my car in the parking lot Saturday night, and then all day Sunday, and then drive back to Springfield because it was like an hour and a half in between, so I couldn't, and I had a really shitty car that wouldn't make it all the time. Oh, my gosh. I love this story. So that way, I only had to work three full days because I would make more in Branson than I would working seven days in Springfield. Wow. Wow. What a come-up. Is this from the Weight Watchers menu era? No, this would have been the late 90s. Oh, it's heyday. Yeah. Honestly. Tequila lime chicken. It was so good. Oh, yeah. We used to go all the time. Well, we were more of a Fridays family, me and my friends, but I grew up where there was a NASCAR track in Dover, Delaware, and so Applebee's on a NASCAR weekend, y'all. We'd go in there. It was a two-hour wait. My server friends and I from Applebee's, TGI Fridays was always open like two hours later than Applebee's, so we would close, and then we'd go across the street to drink at Fridays. Yes. You hit the rounds, okay? Play trivia. Yes. Yes. We had a karaoke at ours. I dated a bouncer. Anyway, that's a whole nother story. Bouncers. What was it? Bouncers, busboys, and it's another Sex and the City reference. Bouncers, busboys. Bouncers, busboys. Like who fucks the best? What are they referring to? What? Fuck, marry, kill? No, no, no, no, no. Samantha was in her sea of 20-something men, and she's like, I'm only dating bouncers, busboys, and- Cater waiters? No, it was another B. What? Bouncers, busboys, bartenders. Yeah. Yeah, bouncers, busboys, and bartenders. I'm still in that era. And then that's the one where Carrie was like, yeah, I'll do that too. And then when she woke up, she had to use toilet paper for coffee filter, but then she didn't have any to wipe with. Yeah. And she's like, I'm never doing this again. Okay. So, Bobby, you've come a long way since the Branson Applebee's. Yes. And people know you from all these different things we mentioned. Can you tell us what you're doing now, focused on now? What's going on in your life? Yeah. So, I have a new show on HGTV and HBO called Junker Jackpot. It was created by John Cena. He had this, I know, it's random, right? But he had this idea while out at dinner with friends and he contacted HGTV and he was like, I want Bobby Burke from Queer Eye to host it, if you will. And so, they reached out and I was like, well, sure. When daddy asks to. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, yes, daddy. You say yes. So, yeah, we've been doing that. It's fun. It's a cute show. I love that. And not an ensemble cast, which is a different format. Exactly. It's just me. Yeah, you're the star. And then I have my design firm, which I've had for decades at this point. I also have a hospitality brand called Camana Collective. Okay. It's a collection of wellness estates. So, it's private wellness retreat estates. I don't know if you've ever been on a wellness retreat, but here in the States. Thank you for thinking that we look like we don't. You know, wellness retreats, ayahuasca retreat, you know, any type of retreat. Yeah. You know, here in the States, there's not really places for that. You rent an Airbnb, which doesn't have all the amenities you need, or you rent out a block of rooms in a hotel, which then usually will have some creeper guy, like all of them, your downward dog, and it's not fun. We're in the vibe. So, our properties are like private estates. That is just your group. But we've also built them out with saunas and cold plunges and pickleball courts and chef's kitchen. So, you have all the amenities you would get at a hotel, but all the privacy you would get as if you were having a retreat at a friend's estate. And where are they? So, we have one in Palm Desert already. Okay, perfect. And then we have a second one that's opening up down. It's going to be on the street in the next couple months, and then we'll be opening up more in other type of climate locations. Congrats. I love that. That's also just, there's obviously trend, especially with the younger generation of even like bachelorettes, people want to do that type of thing. So, we also have tons of weddings there, bachelorettes, corporate retreats, and honestly, just like people who want a property for a large group of friends. Because I set up the property, like I like to travel with people, but I don't love people. You know, so I don't want to be in one big house under one roof. So, all of our properties have multiple homes on the property. So, you can go with your friends, but you have your own spaces. All of them are on three to nine acres. So, there's all these little moments where you can have great interactions with the whole group or small groups or literally just time by yourself. Okay. So, yeah, they're really cool. Well, congrats on all the stuff you've gone on. I like to travel with people, but I don't really like people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, you know what I mean. Yeah, you're like, I want to be able to hang, but I also want to not be able to hang. - Ashley wants to be with people all the time. He wants to do everything, be in a group, be around people. And I'm like, I'm going to take a walk alone. What's your sign? I'm a Gemini. She's a Cancer. All my best girlfriends are all Geminis. Really? We have a lot of Gemini friends, too. We have so many. And Cancer friends. My sister, everybody really in my close orbit. Even my husband, I thought he was. But then in the end. What is he? A Cancer? He's a Libra. A Libra. So he's mine. Yeah. His mom lied about his birthday his whole life. And we only found out recently. Wait, that is kind of crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Was he born in a different country? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my husband, we can't find his. We know his birthday, but not his full horoscope, like sun, moon, and rising. But when I first met him, I thought he was a Scorpio. I was like, ooh, so sexy. But actually, Libra is where it's at. Super balanced, really unproblematic. And he would always be like, I'm not a Gemini. I don't feel like a Gemini. And finally, we're like, you were right. First time. All along, you've been right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Libraman, really. We were at Miraval Resort, and we were going to get our charts read. And so we're like, hey, ma, what time was he born? And she was like, oh, 7.30. September 23rd. Whatever, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we were like, no, no, no. His birthday's June 7th, 19. And she's like, no. That's how you found out? Yeah. His whole life? Yeah, she didn't want him to get a bad reading. So she was like, I better fess up. All this time. She's like, now's a weird time to let you know. In Vietnam, so births aren't registered at the hospital. OK. Back then, anyways. You had to go to a registry office, a government registry office, to register your baby. And military service was mandatory. Uh-huh, OK. And she wasn't. She wanted him to be older. He had to go into the military. So she waited till the very last minute till they came knocking. And they're like, hey, you got to register your baby. Yeah, I'm statin. Yeah. Yeah. That was such a fun accent choice. June 6th of next year, you've got to see the baby from Seinfeld. I was like, if no one laughs at that, oh, my gosh. She's from Staten Island. Yeah, the Vietnamese guy in Vietnam is from Staten Island. He's like, ma. Ma, we got to get the birthday. You got to see the baby. And so June 6th happened to be the day they came knocking. And they're like, this is the last day you can do it until you're going to get fined. And so, yeah. That's crazy. This is really so crazy, though, that you called her. She was like, now's the time. I'm going to tell the truth. Yeah, and she was just like so nonchalant about it. It wasn't like, oh, I have, I need to tell you something. She's like, what, I lied. Here's the date. And we're like, that's not the date. She's like, yeah, it is. I feel like my mom would do that. She'd be like, what? I know your brother's birthday. Who cares about yours? Yeah. You could be a leaper, too, right now. Who knows? Who's to say? That means there's a lot to unpack there. Yeah. Someday I'll do it. That's another episode. Yeah, that's a whole. So, okay. Wait, what's yours? I'm a Virgo. Okay. Okay. Do you feel like a Virgo? I can see it. Are you like a Virgo Virgo? Isn't that very like. Looking off camera at everyone shaking their heads. That feels design, organization, all that. And very like. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, we want to talk to you about design. You're the first designer to ever be on the show. Really? The first episode. We do dating and relationships, which we will touch on a little bit, like living with a significant other, but we pull our audience about like what are they looking for in terms of like design advice, and I was looking at your website, and the first thing I was really drawn to is that, and we were talking about this earlier, is you do suggest some like budget-friendly options, and I think when people hear interior designer, they're like what is this going to cost me? And you're so great at being like pick an aesthetic, a theme, a color. I'll drive you towards what to spend and how to spend it. So, maybe a good place to start, and our audience was like I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. I'm going to design a place in my apartment. Where do I even begin to figure out my style, my theme, my vibe? Like how do I know what I like? I mean, my brand has always been about democratizing design. Like I feel like design is for everybody. Design shouldn't just be for the rich. I've always wanted to be accessible. So, for me, like, you know, I kind of learned different tactics of figuring out people's aesthetic. From the very beginning, the first episode of Queer Eye, actually, I asked Tom, I'm like, what's your aesthetic? And he's like, oh, French industrial. And I was like. That's specific. Do you know what that is? And he was like, no, I just heard it once. And I was like, okay. And so, often you'll ask a client, what's your design aesthetic? And they'll just say something they think. And, you know, this isn't their thing. So, I mean, that's why they're hiring a designer. So, often they'll just throw something out there so they don't sound stupid or, you know. But it's not right. And so, you'll design around that. So, I've learned to ask people, you know, what's your dream vacation? And show me your favorite piece of clothing. You know, what's your favorite TV show? You know, there was a client once who was a young bachelor. And he had no idea, no fashion sense, no nothing. And so, I was like, what's your dream vacation? And he was like, oh, like, I want to go to Havana. I want to go to Cuba. I'm like, all right. And he's like, what's your favorite show? And he's like, Mad Men. I'm like, okay, you love the 50s. And hyper-masculine. You love mid-century. So, I did the whole house in mid-century. And, like, I did this cool, like, banana leaf wallpaper in the bathroom. And, like, a mural of Havana in the living room. And he was like, how did you, this is so me. How did you get that? I gave you nothing. And I was like, no, you gave me everything. You gave me the things that you're passionate about and you love. And he's like, I didn't tell you anything about design. I'm like, you didn't need to. Fill your home full of the things that you're passionate about and you love. And that's what your design aesthetic is. Not look at a magazine and be like, oh, yeah, this is trendy right now. So, this is what I should do. No, no, no. Figure out what you love outside of design. I mean, if you already know what you love in design, great. But a lot of people don't. They haven't really thought of it. And then they just go all white or something. Or they just pick a thing. If you are passionate about Paris, girl, go that direction. Yeah, I'd love that question. Yeah, but I'm like, yeah, if you want to do something theme-y or, you know, some Eiffel Tower pictures. You know, I'm just saying this because I recently saw an apartment that was real Paris. But she loved it. She came home every day. And her home recharges her because it was filled with things that make her happy. And Paris is one of those. So, fill your home full of things that make you happy. And just like your phone needs a full charge every night, you'll be getting that full charge every night. I love that. I love that. I like to think about where you want to be on vacation. And what do you think? Like, I'm so drawn to beautiful places. And I just immediately think Greece. That's the – I like why I like that clean – I don't know. You know me. Centurini. Yeah, that's what I picture. If you're like – pick a place that you want to translate into your home. I think that's what I'd go with. Then do it. Uh-huh. Lots of white, some blue pops, some natural stones. Yes, stone. I just – I like the lobby of the one hotel. And a girlfriend of ours was designing – That's funny. I did all the upholstery for the one hotel in Central Park. Oh, really? Crushed it. We have a girlfriend that designed her apartment in Florida also. And she gave her inspo of the lobby of the one hotel in Miami was her inspo. And I like a lot of – it's probably not that in styling. I like a lot of white and a lot of wood. I live at the beach. My house is in Venice. I love that. So, that's how I designed it. But, like, I just moved to New York. It doesn't really translate there. Like, this beachy aesthetic. So, I had to learn how to, like, update that for the city. If that's what makes you happy. Like, I mean, New York's a lot. So, why not come home to a beachy vibe? I like that you said that, too. Because I think that there's, like, a lot of trends. I'd love to hear your thoughts on trends that are just, like, this isn't in anymore. Millennial gray is not in. All white's not in. I mean, I'm kind of glad gray is not in anymore. Same. I'm just kind of – it was a little much. The gray wall, this is awkward. The gray walls. The gray – as I'm pointing down, I'm like, the gray carpet. But, no, the – The gray, like, wood. The gray wood. The gray wood floors. The gray wood cabinets. That's where I was like, this is too much. That's where you draw the line? Yeah. This is too much. Yeah, that's terrible. That's a good call. So, where do you feel like people should splurge and save? Or is this really case by case? It's kind of case by case. Right. But you're always going to get your investment back on your kitchen and bathrooms. Okay. Other rooms, not necessarily. Okay. You know, but kitchen and bathroom upgrades, it's always going to increase the value of your home. Okay. Okay. And if somebody says – let's say living room. If somebody's like, okay, in my living room, where should I put a lot of money and where should I save? Because interior design is so, like, important to me. I spend so much time on it. And, like, for me, I'm like, I want to spend on the couch. That's the thing I sit on. Yeah. But everything else I can actually find a little bit cheaper. But how do you advise somebody? I would say, you know, don't go crazy on a sofa. But, yeah, make sure you're getting a quality sofa. Because if you're not getting a quality sofa, it's not going to last very long. You're going to have to replace it again. So, when it comes to furniture like that that you use, get more better quality. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The other things that you're not sitting on, you know, that you're not, like, physically using, you can go a little bit cheaper on. But, yeah, a sofa, I would say spend good money on a mattress. Mm-hmm. You know, that will, it's worth the investment. Mm-hmm. You know, in aches and pains, it's worth the investment. Okay. Also, I mean, people, it might be what rooms you care about. I really care about a bathroom. Some people don't. You know, if I'm talking about even renting and can I do certain things here and there to make my apartment home more enjoyable that I don't own? Because we're going to talk about, like, that. We're going to talk about that today, too. It might be, like, spend a little money doing the bathroom. You spent money to do your kitchen in New York? My bathroom. Oh, your bathroom. That's right, your bathroom. I rented and I knew that I'd live there for at least four years. Yeah, sometimes it's worth it. So I replaced the sink, the mirror, and the lights. Yeah. And I told the owner I was going to do it, and I think I spent under $1,000. And I was like, okay, this is $250 a year for me for four years to have a better bathroom. Bathroom. Yeah. I've changed almost every rental I've ever run on. Right. Okay. Yeah. So a lot of our listeners rent. I mean, are there services? Are there certain things you would say? Yeah, we want to hear your thoughts on that. Because people will come for you. Why would you do that? You're renting, you know? Well, I mean, just like with you, you went to the landlord and got permission. Sometimes that's the route. Right. Sometimes that's not the route, you know? You know, because if you are just. Ask for forgiveness later. Yeah, yeah. If you're changing the lighting in a room, keep the original, you know, and switch it back. They're shitty garbage, yeah. Yeah. It's better to ask for forgiveness and permission. That's how I live most of my life. Same. Like, I remember years ago, I was living in this awful apartment. In Denver. And I put in new flooring. I put in new bathroom stuff. I put in new lighting. I painted the kitchen cabinets. I painted the walls. And the manager of the building, she hated me. And she came in once and saw it. And she was like, oh, this is. I've got you. Look at what you did. And she brought the. owner and she's like, look at what he did. And the owner looks at me and he goes, how much for you to do the other apartment? He's like, can we do a trade out where I give you free rent for you to do this to the other apartments? And I was like, wow. Wow. I love that story. Like we have our bedroom, the lighting, I, it was like the grossest lighting fixture. And we put in like a fan to leer. Like, I don't know. We felt like it has this very like beachy vibe to it. And I'm like, well, when we move out, she can keep the fan to leer, like whatever, but we'll keep this original thing if she wants that disgusting lighting fixture back. But you know, so how do you feel about peel and stick wallpaper? Uh, I mean, I have my own collection, so I love it. Yeah. We love it. Yeah. Yeah. Peel and stick wallpaper is great. Um, and it's perfect for a bathroom as well because peel and stick wallpaper is usually a vinyl and also your bathroom walls are usually painted. And, uh, a gloss and it's comes off easiest. Right. Right. Don't ever put peel and stick wallpaper on flat paint. Okay. We've done that, but that's okay. Well, it doesn't come off that easily. Yeah. Yeah. I learned that the hard way years ago. But you think for a rental, light fixtures, peel and stick wallpaper is great. Paint. You know, I know Lisa's usually always say you can't paint. Do it anyways. As long as you paint. A, if you don't care about your security deposit. B, if you do care about your security deposit, paint it back when you're done. Yeah. Like, you know, if you're only going to live there six months, two, a year, eh, whatever. But if you're going to be there for a few years, make it your own, you know, make it a place that you feel happy in. Are you a real slut for lighting? I do. Yeah. I'm a slut for lighting. Let's talk about it. I want it. I want it up top. I want it on the bottom. I want it in the middle. It just matters so much. You need at least three. Am I warning? Do you ever go into someone's house? They have like fluorescent bulbs. You're like, how are you living like this? Like I've gone to my brother's house and I'm like, Matt, I need to bring you light bulbs. My husband's aunt. My husband's aunt. Years ago, I like did a little like judge to their house and I painted and I like got new furniture for them and I made it really cute and like good lighting. And then I came over a week later and she had mounted like a fluorescent light like this to the wall of the living room and the dining room. And I was like, Kathy, what the fuck? And she's like, it's too dark in here. And I was like, but, but this? Yes. And she's like, yes. And I'm like, but why this? We're in a psych ward? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or not even, not fluorescent. I get what I'm, it's just whatever that bulb is, that bright, that's what you're talking about, not the soft light. There's different levels of, it's called Kelvin levels. And like, this is like a 5,000. It's like operating room. You're at work. And then a lower, like a 2,700 Kelvin is perfect. So it's a nice, soft, more of a yellowish light that feels nice. It feels more like an old school incandescent bulb. And it feels more like the golden hour. Right. And so when you're picking a bulb, look for 2,700 Kelvin. Higher than that, it's going to be too cool. Lower than that, it's going to be. It's going to be too like antique bulb. 2,700 is like the golden box of light bulbs. Okay. I just, it's weird how some people don't pick up on it. And I'm like, don't you hate this? They're like, I don't know what you're talking about. And like overhead lighting, you know, has its moment, but I think they're very few and far between when you're cleaning. Maybe when you're getting ready, you know. If you need surgery in the apartment. Yeah, yeah. If you're folding clothes and like putting stuff away, like I wish our bedroom actually had overhead lighting. It doesn't. Because sometimes I'm like, I wish I had more lighting. Right. Yeah. Mine too. But you then need to have, you know, lamps. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And I like up lighting as well, you know, like the bottom of plants. Yes. I usually like to put a light bulb in my potted plants and then it like shines up. I was going to ask you, we thought about that. It's luxurious. Yeah. You should also have everything on dimmers because people are like, oh, I have such a hard time sleeping. I lay in bed for an hour before I can fall asleep. I'm like, well, do you dim your lights a couple hours before? They're like, no. I'm like, well, you're sitting under bright lights. Our bodies don't start producing melatonin until it gets dark. Like that's how we evolve. Yeah. We evolved under the stars. When it gets dark, our body's like, oh, let me start producing melatonin. We're going to be going to sleep soon. So if you don't dim your lights, if you're just sitting under bright lights, your body doesn't know. And then you're like, oh, I'm going to bed now. And your body's like, oh, shit. Okay. Like, let me start producing this. That's such a good just sleep hack. And like, you need to wind down. Uh-huh. Maybe you need to get your phone away. Yes. Yeah. And blue lights. So the sun has different ranges of light as well. So early morning light is white. It's like this. And that's what your body needs to wake up. Wake up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Amber light, again, you're just telling your body it's time to go to sleep. So there's a setting on your phone that you can change the, take the blue out of your phone. Yeah. The like light mode. Yeah. I have that come on at like 9 a.m. Everybody should have that on. Do you have Bluetooth enabled bulbs? I just put those in in my apartment. Yeah. Because I don't, my apartment has no light fixtures. And I was like, I don't know what to do here. And the internet suggested I get these bulbs. I've been using Philips Hue for years and started in New York City apartments that had no lighting. Yes. And there's an app I can dim. I can dim them. But I love the idea of up lighting. And I think it is really luxurious. And a lot of our listeners were like, what are the little touches I can do to make something feel more luxurious for less money? The right lighting can make a shit hole look amazing. Mm-hmm. All right. Well, let's talk about furniture then. Like, are there other ways to make a room look better, whether it's artwork or furniture? Is your furniture too big it makes the room look cheap? Things like that. So always think about function and flow. You might love a sofa, but if it's too big, you're going to end up hating it. Or if it's too small, you're going to end up hating it. Too small sofa. Yeah. There's nothing more embarrassing. It's nothing too embarrassing. You go over to a hookup, and you walk in, and the sofa is so small. No, is this like Britney Spears' house on this? And you're like, I am not sitting on that. I'm not fucking on that. If you want me to suck your dick, you will get a bigger sofa. I'm sorry. We both can't fit on that. What is this? It's, what are we doing? Then you get on your knees. I just, something, it's so sad. Yeah. Like, it's so, when furniture's too small. Size does matter. Yeah. Yeah. It does matter. And it needs to be just right. Exactly. Because if it's too small, there's nowhere to sit. And if it's too big, there's nowhere to walk. Exactly. So, yeah, make sure, like, function and scale is a big deal for furniture. Yeah. And also, if you're living in, like, New York, your furniture needs to do double time. Like, every piece, at least, needs to have two different uses. So, often, I say, hey, if you live in a small space, for a coffee table, get, like, a storage coffee table, or get, like, storage cubes that you put together as your coffee table. They have storage in them. If you need more seating, when guests come over, they can be seating. Oh, okay. So, you know, a bed, if you have a small apartment, with a small bed. Mm-hmm. Make sure it's a bed that either, A, has drawers underneath, or B, is high enough that you can put other things underneath. Like the clearance. Yeah. I remember that when I was in New York. I was, like, I'm going to have to put storage bins under this. I remember doing the measurements with the box, like, to make sure I had the clearance on the bed frame. Yeah. You go to Bed Bath & Beyond and get those little stilt things to put your bed frame on them. So, it could be higher, and you can get more stuff under there. Yeah. But I think the number one question we got was, how do I get storage in my apartment? Yeah. So, this is perfect. Everything should have space in it to store stuff. Yeah. If you have, again, going back to the cubes, like, even if you have space for a small dining table, don't do chairs. Do storage cubes. Mm-hmm. Oh. Because, A, it's seating that can move into the living room. B, it's more storage. So small. I love this. Great idea. That doubles as chairs. You know, you don't sit there and have, like, hours-long dinner sometimes. You don't necessarily need a back if it's more important to have storage. And also, the cubes slide completely under the table. So, visually, it makes the space feel bigger. I love a storage cube. Yeah. And I don't know how you feel about this. Like, just for an example, if you're like, my husband and I are thinking of moving back to New York. We looked at this place. We actually really loved it. It was a ton of space, great outdoor space. But there oddly wasn't space for a dining table. We have a great dining table here in LA. We have a nice big house. And I was like, "But how often do we use our dining table?" And I don't know. We could put one outside so we could have people over when the weather is nice. And most nights, we eat outside on our patio or we eat at our bar in our kitchen. And I'm like, literally, we never sit at that table. So, I wonder if people just think they're like, "I could never not eat at that table." We could never not have a dining table. But it's like, how often. We never use our dining table. Right. I mean, did you ever have one in New York, though? I've just. This is my first apartment at this big age of. Older than 40, that I've. First time I've ever had a dining table in my apartment. I just didn't need it. I sat at the couch. But that's the thing. I kind of want to give people the freedom to be like, "Fuck it. If you don't use it, and you have a limited space, fuck the dining table." I mean, I think most people in New York realize that already. Yes. Okay. Even when I was like, in my late 30s, I lived in New York to eat dinner, I sat on my floor and I ate off of my coffee table. Yeah. I mean, we have a house up in the hills, and I still don't use a dining room. I still eat at the coffee table. Right. I like to eat at the island or the kitchen. Yeah. We eat at the kitchen in the island. Yes. Or we eat at the coffee table and watch TV. Yeah. So it's just like, "Fuck your dining table." And when we have people over, we usually eat outside. Yes. See, that's what I'm saying. I put this very thin. Remember my last apartment, this kind of. Is it a credenza? I pushed it up against the window, and it was sort of like my desk, and if I needed somebody to eat, I would put it there. But it's thin and long. So instead of circular and taking up all that space. For a table, it's great. For a. Yeah. Other things. For. What else are you doing on it? Are you fucking on the dining room table? Yeah, of course. Obviously. It's thin and long, and you know, it's great, but. I mean, you give me a service, and I'll fuck on anything, honestly. I'm so horny lately. It's crazy. Who wants thin and long? No kidding. A girl's gotta eat, right? I want to circle back, now that I'm so horny, to artwork. And. Bobby, I love you so much. I think it's also a good way to like. I'm surprised. I'm surprised. I know. Weirdly, sometimes I get, like, embarrassed, which is weird, because. I'm like, "You said it." You started this. Just so you know, I'm not still a person on this time. Is this Laugh Not Jeremy? Oh, my God. This is, like, my best friend. Yeah. Jeremy Jakobowitz. We love him. You might know his content. He does amazing food content in New York. You should do a show. He sits and asks, "What's your bagel order in the park?" Have you ever seen these clips? I don't think so. He's done, like. Did he do John Cena? Ashley and I were both on it. Oh, so he used to work for the WWE. Yeah. So he's had politicians, and it's fun. And he asks celebrities, "What's your bagel order?" It's just fun and like- I want to see them laugh together. I know. Me, too. And you'd be, like, surround sound. You guys have the same exact laugh. I love the laugh. It's like, he has, like, an amazing laugh. I've always said that, so we get, like, a little taste here today. Yeah. Okay, I want to talk about art because I also think that's a good way to, like, make your space look ridiculous or expensive or nice. But, like, there's such a range. So, like, if someone is looking to, like, put some artwork up, how big, how much space, where do we start? I mean, that's. Loaded question. Yeah, that depends on the space, depends on where it's going, you know. Don't put a tiny piece above your sofa. Like, if you have a tiny piece, add some other tiny pieces to it, you know. Don't just do one tiny piece. A gallery of tiny pieces. But I say with art, mix your art up. You know, I hate it when I walk into somewhere and everything is just paintings. Like, mix your mediums up. Do some photography. Do some paintings. Do some objects, you know. Don't make it look like, oh, I just went to HomeGoods and I got all the painting things. Mix your artwork up because it looks then more collected instead of designed. Okay. Are there certain websites that you like? Like, I mean, this is lower end cheaper, but, like, I've always liked Society6. They have so many prints and photography. I find a lot of great objects on Etsy. Yeah, obviously. Yes. You know, from individual makers, Society6 is great. You can also, on Etsy, find great artists that you can just download the art. You don't actually have to get a physical one. And then you can email that to companies like Frameology, and they can frame it and then send it to you. And it's great. Love that. Any other, like, affordable framing options? I mean, Ikea, honestly. I love Ikea. The best frames. I've used them so, so, so many times. Okay. Me too. And you don't have to send it away and spend a fortune. And I know, like, when I. I sometimes look up the price of framing. It's shocking. It's one of those weird things. Like, what are we doing here? Like, what's going on in the framing industry? Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. But, yeah, like, Frameology is. I mean, it's not inexpensive, but compared to other framing sites, it's great value. Okay. But, yeah, if you're, like, on a super budget, just do Ikea ones. I totally agree. And you can print out art yourself. So, I do that. I print stuff out at CVS. I'll download files and stuff like that. I'll print it out at CVS, and I frame it with Ikea, and it looks beautiful. Yeah. How do you feel on Ikea? How do you feel on an accent wall? It depends. Again, I'm all about whatever makes you happy. So, if you love a big purple accent wall, go for it. I prefer to do an accent wall kind of like what's happened here, like a texture. Okay. Oh, that's cool. As opposed to just one color. Color. It's going to feel a little weird. So, if you guys aren't watching, it's sort of like. What would you call this? A fluted. A fluted wall. Yeah, it's fluted. I can't tell what material. But even the wall behind you is a textured look. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like a color wash. Like a stone. Like a plaster. Yeah. But, yeah. So, I. I prefer a room to be one color. You do. Yes. Because it just. It feels bigger. Right. Okay. But I do love to add a texture to one of the walls because that adds some depth and some interest. Okay. Yeah. Someone's like, I'm going to just not do any art, but I'm going to paint this wall red. It's like, yikes, Mr. Big. Remember the red wall? Yeah. So, if you're in a small space or you're trying to create another room, a workspace, how do you recommend doing it? Yeah. The last apartment I'm talking about, we were down in Fulton Street. In South Street, Seaport. And it was a studio with a nook. Uh-huh. And so, I'm like, well, I want a full bedroom. I'm like, I'm going to put a wall up. Okay. So, I put a wall up. Like, put a wall up. Yeah. I definitely had to pay the building manager to take it down when we left, but, yeah. There's a lot of that in New York, those fake walls. Yeah. I mean, it's just, I don't know if you'd call for it. Well, because to put up a fake wall in New York, you can't put it all the way to the ceiling. Oh. The code. Okay. Because then it's a real wall and, like, fire sprinklers and all kinds of stuff. So, you can put it, like, I think within 12 inches of the ceiling. I put it all the way up, you know. Okay. Which is why it had to be removed. I saw one place in New York that I really liked that was, like, bookcases where it was enough to separate a space. Yeah. I mean, a Billy bookcase from Ikea is a really great, inexpensive way to, yeah. Yeah. Like, and it wasn't a bedroom. It was, like, a workspace. Yeah. But it was, like, the way that they had some separation in, like, a big open space. I always find it fascinating what people are able to do in just big studio loft spaces that makes it feel like there's separate areas in rooms. Yeah. Is there a way to make a room feel bigger? I mean, even drapes. Uh-huh. You know, Ikea has these really great ceiling mount drapery tracks. And you can mount it on the ceiling. Okay. And you can create private space that can then be pushed back if you need it to be more open. That's a good call. Yeah. Like, one of the places we looked at also would have to do something like that. And so, you hang it from the ceiling. Yep. Hang it from the ceiling. You know, like in a hospital. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, the curtains in between the beds. Yeah. You can get those type of tracks that look not like a hospital. Uh-huh. And it's, yeah, a really great way to divide a space. Okay. Inexpensively. And something that can easily come down. Yeah. Okay. Nice. Do you like for storage, like, if there's no closets, do you have a suggestion? Arm walls? Like, arm, yeah. Okay. Again, I keep mentioning Ikea. Oh, that's great. But Ikea has great closet systems. I mean, the amount of Ikea closet systems I bought when I lived in New York, you know, a ton. I mean, if you have tons of money, you have, like, custom closet companies. I guess they come in. Yeah, yeah. California closets is amazing. Yeah. Ikea, you can really customize also. Yeah. Ikea has an extreme amount of customization. But a lot of places just don't have closets. I mean, I've lived in apartments in New York that have, like, one closet for a two-bedroom apartment. Well, I mean, it was, was it an older building? Yeah, it was an older building. Yeah, yeah. They were built when people had three outfits. Yeah. Right. You couldn't have a shopping addiction. Yeah, you had your work outfit, you had your evening outfit, and you had your Sunday outfit, and that's it. Right. Day to night. Yeah. Okay, just going to take a quick break, and then we'll get back into it. I'm telling you guys about Nutrafol. So, as you know, I'm always on a hair journey. I feel like it's never looked better. And Nutrafol is the cornerstone of what I do. I take my four capsules of the women's formula daily, and I've been taking it for years. I can't imagine my life without it. I bring it when I travel. Like, I never really want to be without it. And Nutrafol is the number one dermatologist-recommended hair growth supplement brand, and it's the number one hair growth supplement brand personally used by dermatologists. And now the Nutrafol women's formula has been upgraded to its most advanced version yet. It's 100% vegan, biotin-free, and comes in a small capsule size to make your daily routine easier. 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That's BetterHelp.com slash GGE. Okay. Let's talk about some color and design stuff. What's your stance on color? Is there too much color? My stance is no. Okay. No color. No color. If someone comes to you and they're like, I love a bunch of color, do you have to take them down a notch? Or can we just go crazy? No. I mean, if that's what you love, great. If you love maximum color. And I used to be very, I mean, I don't have a lot of color in my own home. But I've recently started thinking about embracing it. I've always liked neutrals. I like adding a lot of texture in my houses. I'm very tactile. But I'm starting to really love color. Like, just saturating everywhere. I love that you said, I'm thinking about color. I'm like that, too. I like put some brown. I'm thinking about taking on some color. Well, how are you introducing it? I want to hear. Like, tell us how you bring some color into it. In my own home, I'm not yet. No, you're just thinking about it. I'm the same way. I'm thinking about it. I don't ever want to do anything to my own house. Really? No. Like, we've been planning on remodeling. We've been remodeling our house. We had the plans done and everything since we bought it in 2020. Wait, really? And we still haven't. Because we keep doing other projects. Like, we've done two houses in the desert. We had our house in Portugal. And it's what I do for a living. Totally. So I don't want to do it when I get home. Yeah. I decorated the house when we moved in with what we had from the other places. And it's great. It's fine. It's mid-century. And I don't want to change anything because I'm like, I'm going to wait until we remodel. Got it. And then I'll change everything. Right. It's so fun. I'm the same way. I'm like, I'm terrified of color. I do have a couple of rust-colored throw pillows. Nice. And I've touched on some darker wood shades for maybe like a candle or something like that. This is not a hot take, but I just am not a design person at all. I do my best, but I just don't have that talent. I have lots of other skills and talents. But I remember asking a friend, like, my couch is dark and it just felt really masculine to me. And I want it to be dark. We have a dog. He's black. And she was like, Ashley, do white throw pillows and a white blanket. And I was like, I want a white blanket. And it changed the game. Yeah. Yeah. Like little things. Like you can't do too much dark because it feels too heavy. You can't do too much dark. light because it yeah it's not great so it's all about balance if you're going to do black cabinets in your kitchen do a lot of other things light color you know light floors you can't do dark floors and dark cabinets totally much yeah you can't do light floors and light cabinets because you know yeah you could but it's balance so when it comes to light and dark in a space i always try to balance it as much as possible yeah like a bunch of white throw pillows change the look of the whole couch and with the white lola too lola blanket yeah i mean i'm sure that people want to pay you and they have an idea you're happy to facilitate it but like are there some design trends where you're like don't do this this will not age well i mean we always try to steer people away from trends trends in general yeah because you're right they don't age well you can walk in and you're like oh kelly green 1998 you know like yeah it's like a wedding almost like they i've seen a lot of the tiktoks i'm like you can tell what year this wedding took place because of like the trend okay well we want to talk about is moving in with a partner okay and i bought and renovated a house i had the pleasure of not having to talk to somebody else i got to do every single thing that i wanted and then i got to furnish it exactly how i wanted but like i also think i have incredible taste and we should defer to what i want but i was lucky enough to not have to do that this time with a partner but i have moved in with partners before and they're like i want to put my football helmets up i want to put my jerseys up and this is i mean this is when i was younger but you wouldn't ever be with someone like that now but yes i hear i mean i was like did you pay for this football team no so you can't do that you can't do that you can't do that you can't have your helmet up in our house are you on this team no i mean so i have done sports memorabilia rooms i'm yeah yeah yeah but not in the main room no no like we put a helmet on our billy bookcase from ikea in brooklyn when i was 23 right yeah years ago i was speaking and this woman in the end had a question and she was like hey um so i've been dating this guy for years and we're madly in love and i think we're gonna get married but he doesn't know me and he doesn't know about design like not his house is just sparse he doesn't care anything about design he has no opinions on it and like i'm obsessed with design i love design it's everything she's like i feel like i can't marry him because he doesn't care that's great i'm like are you crazy that's perfect if you have such strong opinions about designs and he has none i'm like that is an ideal situation and she goes i've never thought of it that way and i was like are you what's wrong as long as he's not being like we have to hang up my car poster yeah no he just he would defer to her yeah a dream dream you're gonna have a great life yeah what what is go marry him right now go tomorrow that's really so crazy and that really is probably a lot of couples like you care about this you are better at this you do it yeah my husband has opinions now and it drives me crazy oh how dare you i mean i moved in with him in 2004 and he lived on the upper east side and mount sinai student housing like literally like a folding table for the dining room like like a commercial one a mattress on the floor you know and so i came in and i redone everything he didn't care but now his opinion all of a sudden is he an interior designer no he's a surgeon 22 years later yeah but the great thing is do you give him advice on surgery exactly exactly yes i am a virgo but i mean luckily i mean we've been together for 24 years luckily his opinions have been molded by me right so you are a surgeon now too though yeah yeah are you that kind of guy that's like i could fly the plane yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i'm a virgo yeah i can do that okay i'll read one book there's this audio that was going around it's like you know what the gays have the ability to just do things blah blah blah you know uh rocket science yeah i'm gay i can do that blah blah okay i can do that it's a very funny audio yeah we've had to always just figure out how to make it work right the plane's going down i can't have some straight men run up here and try to it goes gay men straight women way at the bottom straight men okay you might not have an answer this this might just be like go to therapy but like if you have designed you've decorated your space and you have a partner moving in and they want to like bring their shit into the space and this is like the top tier what stresses me out it's like you are going to come in here and i've already made the design choices do you have advice are you asking me or whoever has the best whoever thinks that they're a therapist the best taste wins yeah let's put this on instagram you have to yeah yeah you know put stuff blindly on instagram for people to vote on don't say anything about it don't say anything about it don't say anything about it don't say whose it is and just let people vote and whoever gets the least votes concedes i punch i think it's tough i mean like shashank has what's his name my husband's name is shashank that's so cool yeah it's a good name um he has opinions he has stuff he liked luckily it wasn't football helmets yeah but he has those cause sculptures he gave you one they're this artist he likes like street art they're they're all black thank god so they just really like can blend in and like they blend into the background thank god they're not and they can look chic yeah it's not my dream that they're at our house but like we have found places for them and i have to know they're you can they're out there they're kind of cool i will say that like they are again they're not football jerseys i have one on my show but over the years i just would slowly throw things away i mean but like this clothing it's hard to say to somebody his dreams yeah yeah i don't know where that sculpture went it was so weird i don't know weird yeah to your point if you have the space and they there can be sort of like a place for it yeah you're like this is gonna be amazing in guest room in your room yeah in the back wing in the storage space but i don't i i want to validate this i want i don't really know that i have the answer uh-huh like we're talking about a woman if we're talking about it's an impossible question with no answer right it's because i mean every situation is different i guess you just have to compromise on it but i'm i'm literally picturing a signed jersey and it's in a frame that's what i'm picturing this is this man's like pride and joy hey make more money get a bigger house yeah a hallway hallway compromise so have it framed to match the room that it's in okay you know i i don't love the idea of it either but compromise if it's like yeah an ugly jersey in a crap frame and it doesn't look good you're like all right if we want this in there it's got to be elevated we need you need to pay to have it framed nicely it needs to be nice and it's got to be nice and it needs to be nice and it needs to be matted like to where it looks like a piece of art yeah instead of a jersey in a plastic frame yeah okay wait them out yeah they won't do it yeah they won't do it but i just or pay the movers to lose their boxes i don't know what can you imagine you're like okay there's a few boxes marked with a big two on them you put a 110 on it 110 86 no 110 and then when you draw a no okay yeah we solved it am i gonna get applebee's sued here we used to do that applebee's when people would drop off their applications and we would be like no we didn't get the vibe we'd put 110 at the top so that way the manager knew not to call them oh my gosh please sue bobby individually former employee he seemed like a lot we don't want to work with them yeah so but let's talk about a couple that's moving in and they're they're gonna tackle this together and have you ever met with couples like this like have you ever kind of been in the middle of how are we going to merge your styles years ago we had a client and it was his house but he had a girlfriend who he would say to us you know she probably isn't going to be around that long so don't listen to her okay she yeah which i could understand why she's kind of crazy but she would cause so many issues because he would make a decision and she wouldn't like that so then they'd get in a fight about it and then it would cause us to not be able to pull the trigger on anything um so yeah honestly we don't take a lot of private clients okay because of that we work predominantly with commercial spaces and builders so we design homes all over the u.s but we work with the builder so we design the homes that they're going to use as the model for the communities and it's just we get to do whatever we want as long as it looks great there's no emotion there's no personal opinions it's just we want it to look great uh-huh i mean i know because i imagine designing a home together and everybody we know that's done it with their partners like one of the biggest tests of your relationship like can you compromise on this yeah can i say no to you and you don't feel that i've emasculated you or said something terrible about you just do what we want but i think these are the things the conversations you shouldn't be surprised with i don't know if you really think you're going to live with somebody long term shouldn't you kind of know what they like like before you pull the trigger so it's not such a surprise i don't think a design aesthetic should be like a break a couple up yeah break a couple up but you know it shouldn't be a deal breaker yeah 30 rock yeah i don't think design aesthetic should be a deal breaker but i mean unless it's really bad unless it's more representative of what's happening in every other area of the relationship like it's the same as like a couple breaking up while they plan their wedding like they can't agree and they can't navigate i think at the end of the day the person that it's means the most to the other person should concede right like if you're really a design person and your space really affects your mental health and your bring mental health yeah it doesn't bring mental health into it that's always my mental health it's always the key it's america yeah that would design that that jersey is just really affecting my mental health yeah honestly you know i look at that and i i almost have yeah it gives me it gives me anxiety anxiety like i think about the nfl and their capitalism and it makes me angry bring your anxiety up with his sports memorabilia 100 okay millennials we didn't know about that this in our early 20s but now we can really capitalize on this i mean i just couldn't have been like my mental health really opened the floodgates for the mental health So I've got to go home from work, mental health break. Your design choices just really give me anxiety. And I've just, I've been going to therapy about it. You're at the beach now. I'm like, yeah, I needed that for my mental health. I really love that. Is there anything else that like you would suggest or anything we missed that you're like, these are my biggest pieces of advice when you're just like, I want to make my space better. No, I mean, I think it just goes back to do what you love, you know, put the things in it that make you happy, not what makes your friends happy. Your friends don't live there. You do. It doesn't matter what your friends' opinions are. Yeah. And like we said with the lifestyle, if there's furniture you're never going to use, you don't need it. We touched on trends a little bit. I'm just curious. And if you don't have an answer, that's fine. But are you seeing any trends right now that are like really standing out to you that you like or don't like? Or do you just kind of ignore trends? And I do love the, that pattern is really back in like lots of different pattern and layering patterns. Like maximalism is really, and I used to like, I used to hate maximalism, but I'm starting to love it. Okay. Okay. And this. I don't. I don't know if I could do it in my own home. Same. I'm not brave enough, but I can look at it and enjoy it. It's not me. I'm, I need, I need minimalism. It's like my brain is always on. It's always crazy. Like I need minimalism surrounding me. And you, your home is more mid-century modern, you said, because we, we talked about this a lot, this style of really white, neutral, feels kind of millennial, female. And I still like it. You know, I'm curious if, you know, if someone wants to do that, I guess it's like, if you like it. If you like it, do it. Yeah. It's what I do. I love it. But again, you guys, you, you too, and everyone listening can slowly start to think about color. Yes. Put a dark wood vase. Think about it. Just think about it a little, just, you know. Okay. Another like entree into color is just a little marble, like a marble candle holder or a marble vase. And it feels fun. Again, like burgundy-ish, merlot-ish marbles, very in right now. Ooh, okay. I love that. Anything else that you feel like is very in? I honestly, I never. I never like look at design magazines. That's what I figured. I feel like that's probably the best way to be. I don't, like if you have someone listening that wants to design their space, probably the worst place to start is what's in right now. Yeah. As opposed to what do I like? Yeah. Like you said, what shows do I like? What do I like to vacation? Like what trends are in? I would never start there. Some people do. Yeah. You know, we have a design quiz on our website that helps you try to figure out what your aesthetic is. Yeah. And it's not like trends. It's what's my design style. Oh, I love that. That's great. Yeah. That's great. Okay. Bobby, this has been like. It's such a pleasure. It's like our first interior design episode and it's just like, we just wanted you for it and we're so happy you could do this. Can you tell everybody like your website, where to pick the quiz, where to launch you? My website's BobbyBurke.com and that's B-E-R-K. My Instagram's Bobby. My threads is Bobby. My TikTok is Bobby. Okay. So that's where everybody can find you. And you guys know where to find us. GirlsGottaEat.com. GirlsGottaEat podcast, Instagram, and TikTok. I'm Ash Hess on Instagram and TikTok. Raina is Raina.Greenberg and RainaGreenberg.com for her tour tickets. This fall, you can watch full video on Spotify and YouTube. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend, leave a comment. And we will actually not have an episode on Thursday, but we will see you guys next Monday. Have a good weekend, guys. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.