Ep. 140: designer Barrie Benson

How to Decorate

Ballard Designs

Arts, Business, Design

4.2 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2020

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Designer Barrie Benson joins the show to talk about how she creates spaces that are both super sophisticated and also lively and fun. She talks with us about how to start an art collection, why she thinks more Southern homes are embracing contemporary styles, and how to update that traditional chair with a modern fabric. What You’ll Hear On This Episode: How Barrie mixes fun and colorful with sophisticated and well thought out design. Why it’s important to really know your taste when working with a designer, and it’s okay to embrace if your taste is different or eclectic! Ways we can reinvent old family heirlooms or furniture and how just a fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference. It’s great to call a friend (or designer of course) to get a perspective and outside look at what you have going on in terms of your design. Barrie has seen more Southerners mixing traditional and stately with new and lively lately. Ways you can get involved in your local art community and get to really know your taste and palette for art. The more you are passionate about your house, the more you are proud and connected to it. How Barrie uses the 80/20 rule to plan out her rooms, but leave space for new and organic pieces. What toile wallpaper is, and how we can use it in a fun way. Barrie’s choice of performance fabric rugs that look great and also are durable and forgiving on wear and tear. Mentioned In This Episode: Barrie Benson @barriebenson Soco Gallery Sheila Bridges SONY

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome back to the How to Decorate Podcast from Ballard Designs.
0:03.4	We want to teach you how to decorate your home and unleash your inner decorator.
0:07.1	So we'll be interviewing interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world, sharing the trials and triumphs of our own homes, and also answering your decorating questions.
0:15.7	I'm Caroline, I run the Ballard Designs blog, How to Decorate.
0:18.7	And I'm Taryn. I'm on the product design team at Ballard.
0:21.4	And I'm Karen and I head up branding at Ballard.
0:23.5	And we're your hosts.
0:24.5	Hi.
0:42.2	All right. our guest today is Barry Benson.
0:48.3	She is a Charlotte interior designer, and her work has been featured in architectural digest,
0:54.6	Garden and Gun, House Beautiful, Southern Living, the Wall Street Durnal, El Decor, many others.
1:00.4	And I think what struck me, Barry, about your portfolio is just how lively all of the spaces are.
1:01.4	They feel so fun, but they're also very sophisticated.
1:05.6	And I found that to be a really challenging balance to strike because you typically would think of those two as contradictory.
1:15.1	You know, either they're fun or they're sophisticated, but I have always loved how you do both.
1:20.9	So maybe we can start there and you can tell us just where that magic comes from.
1:26.4	Well, well, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.
1:30.2	And I'm flattered that you've asked about my design work. And I, you know, I would say that
1:39.1	where everything comes from and my work is, it dictated from the client and I love and also
1:48.4	you know inspiration I draw from the past and also very you know nostalgia of people people's
1:56.0	history and where they come from and what they do and how they live in the house. And I think
2:04.8	that's really important to have in a house. When you first walk in the door, you sort of want to be
	...

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