One of the biggest mistakes people make when hanging curtains is hanging them too low. It can make a room feel really shrimpy to hang the curtain rod just above the window moldings. Go all the way up to just below crown moulding or below the ceiling if there is no crown.
— Bobby Berk
Being in New York has definitely intensified my desire to be different and individual.
De-cluttering can be overwhelming, so start with that one small thing. Clean out your junk drawers. It can lead to so many more beautiful things. Start there, and you'll find yourself cleaning the whole rest of the house.
I've always loved great upholstery, and think that a great sofa is one of the most important pieces of furniture in your home.
I love Marcel Wanders.
I would be Sassy Spice.
I love my living room: it's the heart of my home where I get to chill and spend time with family and friends.
On 'Queer Eye,' I really get to see the way someone lives. They know the Fab Five are coming, but they don't know when or how, so our producers make sure they don't clean up so that we can experience exactly how they normally live.
I'm always thinking about how what I'm doing is affecting the people around me. As a New Yorker, you have to be that way.
A lot of people will center their living room around a TV. I personally think that's the wrong decision. I mean, have it there, absolutely. But to walk in and clearly see that the sole focus of any time you have in your house is that TV?
To me, design is very personal. I'm not one of those people who is like, 'This is right, this is wrong.' You should do things that you love, not things that magazines tell you to do.
I'm constantly taking calls and responding to e-mails at home, and I find it best to have that little work space. And then when you're not at that little space, it's not work anymore.
I'm an interior designer who happens to be gay.
Millennials want brands with a story, something they can relate to. They want a personal brand they can put a face to.
You can really have a no-holds-barred relationship to materials with mixed metals and colorful schemes or more controlled palettes that are more tonal or restricted to a single accent color or metal finish. There are really no rules, and that is what makes contemporary design so limitless and enjoyable.
I'm all about the highs and lows. I'm not a designer that thinks you need to spend a lot of money. You can get the look you want between thrift stores and stores like Ikea and Target.
Religion was my entire life. And then, when I came out, religion completely turned their back on me. And I've never really gotten over that.
Window treatments are like a nice suit - you want them to fit and the tailoring to be just right.
I'm not a Bal Harbour Shops kind of guy.
Even if you're not ready to live at your full volume, turn it up halfway and get there.
I tend to lean toward a more minimal aesthetic, so when I use wallpapers in my interiors, I like for one or two prints to be the star of the show. I would recommend being careful in your use of strong prints so the room doesn't get too busy. Use one print that dominates and one as an accent.
When you're happy at home, it spills out into every other area of your life.
I think you could say L.A. has a bit of a cookie-cutter gay community.
A plant is the most cliche thing, but a little bit of green has a great effect on happiness. Being at a cubicle all day is not pleasing, but a little life on your desk can give you a little life, too.
I like going into places that you never know what you're going to find because you can go in with no ideas and leave with thousands.
Guys should be doing laundry, doing dishes.
People don't realize that lighting can change the whole look of a place and the feel.
I love a good set of basic white dishes.
To me, the one thing you should splurge on, if you only have a certain amount of money to spend, is your bed because you spend about 30 percent of your life in bed, and you should be comfortable, and you should wake up every day just feeling good.
Design doesn't have to be daunting. Some people really find it challenging to take on their entire home, because they don't know their aesthetic; they don't know where they want to go.
When we think about the trends that millennials are taking toward simplicity, I think it's indicative of a cultural shift toward less of the 'more is more' for materialism sake and more of an emphasis on efficiency, value, and sustainability.
Coming home to a tidy, pulled-together space will help everything in your life feel the same way.
I used to beg my mom to let me put a real bed out in forest so I could lie there and listen to the sounds of the forest while still having all the comforts of home.
I grew up very religious.
In a sea of millions of people, you really have to set yourself apart to make a statement.
A lot of people think that black makes rooms feel smaller, but it's the opposite.
I think the original 'Queer Eye' definitely started us on the journey to normalize the LGBT community and make people realize that we are just people just like everyone else. It started the road to acceptance.
Inspiration can really strike from anywhere.
I don't think you should follow trends for your home; things for your home are less about fashion and more about investment. So, find things you truly love and make you happy when you see them.
I have a background in counseling because I've been to a lot of therapy.
Nothing makes you feel better than when you get into a hotel bed, and the sheets feel so good. Why shouldn't you wake up like that every day? Spend money on your mattress and bedding because these things make a difference on your sleep and, ultimately, your happiness.
To me, when you decorate your home with just one store, it looks like that - it looks like a catalog.
I think a man should definitely be helping in the home. There are so many places in our country where it's kind of thought to be a woman's place, and it shouldn't be.
A lot of people spend all this time painting their house, picking out rugs, and then they put fluorescent lighting in there. It totally ruins the mood.
I moved to New York in 2003 with about $100 bucks in my pocket and a suitcase.
I do remember when I was little - I had to have been no more than 6 - I redid my room. I talked my mom into taking me to a store, and I got, like, all coordinating blue, green, and yellow colors, and the theme was dinosaurs.
When I came out, everybody in my life that said they loved me unconditionally turned around and said, 'Never mind!'
Modern minimalism has become less strict over time with a wider range of textures and materials, with other cozier layers.
When someone wants to freshen up their home a bit, and they don't want to spend a ton of money on construction, I always tell them to start off with paint. A fresh coat can really change the whole look of a home.
My favorite thing to do in the summer was to sleep out in the forest on the farm I grew up on.
