1141: Nate Berkus: “Foundations”: His New Book and 30 Years of Interior Design Business Wisdom

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

LuAnn Nigara

Business, Design, Arts

4.8 • 786 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today With Nate Berkus Today on A Well-Designed Business®, I’m joined once again by one of our most requested guests: Nate Berkus. If you’ve listened to our first conversation (Episode #433⁠), you already know Nate brings a level of clarity and intention that’s rare, not just in design, but in business. This time around, we talk leadership. Team. Vision. What it means to build a business that reflects your values, not just your style. Nate shares how he’s structured his firm for long-term success—what he delegates, how he hires, and the culture he protects. And, exciting news, his newest book Foundations is officially available today. This isn’t just a beautiful book. It’s a deeply personal one, centered on meaning, memory, and what it truly feels like to live in a space that reflects who you are. Grab your copy wherever books are sold. In this episode, you’ll hear: What it means to lead from your strengths and hire to fill the gaps The structure and intention behind a team that thrives How personal values show up in professional design Why restraint can be more powerful than excess What Foundations reveals about Nate’s own evolution Order Foundations today here Listen to Nate’s first appearance in Episode #433 Learn how to hire well with the Dream Team Toolkit at LuAnnUniversity.com Related Episodes: Eileen Hahn on leadership and values-driven hiring More About Nate Berkus NATE BERKUS is one of the world’s most influential interior designers, known for his elevated yet accessible approach to interiors. His thirty-year-and-counting career has included innumerable television shows and home collections, along with designing award-winning interiors. Consistently named to the AD100 and Elle Decor A-List, Nate lives in New York with his husband, Jeremiah Brent, and their children, Poppy and Oskar. Ah Ha Moments with Nate Berkus "If I'm gonna design and sell a bath mat for $12... shouldn't my feet have been on a bath mat for 500 and shouldn't I have also walked on a bath mat for six? ... I feel like it's my responsibility to know." - Nate "Grace goes a long way. You never want to be the person on someone's schedule... where their name shows up on their phone and they think to themselves, 'this is going to be a long day.'" - Nate "I can tell you that regardless of the level of success...there is something different about a certain subset of you guys that I've interviewed where the passion is so deep to that connection to the past, to the source, to the anthropology of it, to the history of it... and it's always... the person that it's important to, their design work is always elevated." -LuAnn Connect with Nate Berkus Website Instagram Book Rug USA What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour Watch the Docuseries! https://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Resource Mentioned: Nate’s newest book: Foundations: Timeless Design That Feels Personal Other Shows Mentioned Listen to Nate’s first appearance in Episode #433 Related Episodes: Eileen Hahn on leadership and values-driven hiring

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, you know success happens when you get in the right rooms, right? So this is why I want to invite you to join me at the Design and Architecture Summit. It's happening very close right around the corner, Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025. This is an all-day event that begins at 10 a.m. It includes a fabulous lunch, speaker presentations, and panels as well as vendor exhibits.
0:23.9	It's happening at the beautiful Bellworks facility in Homdale, New Jersey. I will be
0:28.2	keynoting, and I'd love for you to be in the room with me, the other designers, architects,
0:32.8	and developers who are all talking about what matters in our businesses, like how AI is impacting creativity,
0:39.4	how to build smarter, healthier spaces, and what it takes to stay profitable through all of it.
0:45.0	You'll hear from industry pros like Marina Yomali, Joe Berkowitz, Abbeola Amusson, and Neil Schwartz,
0:51.5	just to name a few. This is the kind of day that leaves you smarter,
0:56.1	clearer, and more connected to yourself, your business, and your peers than before when you
1:00.9	walked in. Go to Luannigara.com forward slash event. Use the code Luan, L-U-A-N-N, and you'll get
1:09.1	40% off your ticket. And I'll see you on Tuesday, December 2nd.
1:26.3	Welcome to a well-designed business.
1:27.2	And I'm so glad you found this
1:29.5	podcast. Together with my husband, Vince, and our partner, Bill, we have grown our company
1:34.3	Window Works from the ground up, so I know and I understand the challenges you face in running
1:40.4	your interior design business. I also know that your talent alone isn't enough to
1:46.0	ensure your success. So on this podcast, we talk about strategies and practical steps to help you
1:52.8	grow your business. But make no mistake about it, we have our share of fun here too,
1:57.5	mixed in with those aha moments that I love so much. This isn't fluff. Nobody has time for that.
2:03.8	Whether you are a new interior designer or a season designer, I am here to help you create and to
2:09.7	manage the kind of interior design firm that you dream of. It's straight talk and it's action. Are you
2:15.7	ready? Let's get started.
2:20.4	Hi, welcome to a well-designed business.
	...

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