meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
How to Decorate

Ep. 199: designer Kate Lester

How to Decorate

Ballard Designs

Arts, Business, Design

4.2785 Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2021

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Our guest today is California cool designer Kate Lester of Kate Lester Interiors. Her spaces are infused with an airy, coastal vibe and her style embodies easy living. We ask her about incorporating coastal elements into homes not near the water, how to start a room, and more. What You'll Hear on This Episode: How Kate infuses a clients' personality into their home We talk about the most important design elements including linens, natural light, windows, and the importance of thinking outside the box in decorating Why you should follow the architecture of the house during the decorating process How to increase natural light in a home along with different window treatments. Why Kate loves vintage rugs and how these are a great way to add patterns and color into a home Why having a theme or concept board can help prevent lots of wasted time and money. All about sectionals -- why they're practical and why you should invest here Decorating Dilemma: For Lauren's question around how to frame her art, Kate first wants to address everything else first. Are there any layout issues. Is your floor plan just right. You want to nail the core elements in your room first before deciding on any art or accessories. Your frame choice isn't going to make or break your space. It's far more important that your furniture layout function well for everything you want to accomplish in here. You may want to shift your sofa back from the fireplace a bit and swap your side tables. Your sofa may not be centered on the window anymore, but we think that's fine. Also, in terms of picking frames for your art, all of the frames in a room don't need to match, so pick the frame that best complements the art piece. Also, Lauren we just love what you've done with this space so far. Your console looks great, we love your rug, and you have a solid foundation you've built. Great job! Show Notes: Follow Kate on her Instagram and her home decorating website. Shop Kate's finds at Kate Lester Home Find all of the show notes or stream this episode on our blog, How to Decorate.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home.

0:07.6

Each week will help you unleash your inner decorator.

0:10.6

I'm Caroline. I write the How to Decorate blog.

0:12.7

And I'm Taryn and I'm a product designer.

0:14.6

And I'm Karen. I head up Ballard's branding team.

0:17.0

We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for the tips, tricks,

0:21.3

and tales of interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll

0:25.8

answer a listener question at the end of the show. So don't forget to send them to podcast

0:29.7

at Ballarddesigns.net. Yes, we love answering them. And now on the show. Okay, so our guest

0:36.0

today is a Los Angeles based designer who's been in an interior

0:39.4

design business for 15 years. Before opening her own firm, she worked for some of Hollywood's

0:44.1

most prestigious teams. Her work has been featured in House Beautiful, House and Home, Martha

0:48.6

Stewart, and many more. And we are thrilled to have her, Kate Lester. Thank you. Thanks for

0:53.7

having me, you guys. Welcome, Kate. And Caroline, just so have her, Kate Lester. Thank you. Thanks for having me, you guys.

0:55.0

Welcome, Kate.

0:55.8

And Caroline, just so you know, I already called Kate out as a liar because there's no way that she can have worked for 15 years in industry and still look like she's 25.

1:05.4

She looks so young.

1:07.9

If you guys see her, you'd be like, oh, my gosh.

1:10.2

And she's got a cute hat.

1:11.2

She's so California cool.

1:13.1

That's just because I didn't want to wash my hair.

1:15.2

Don't let it for you.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ballard Designs, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ballard Designs and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.