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How to Decorate

Ep. 276: A Vision to Design with Stephen Sills

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.2 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2022

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We have a major treat for you today, in the form of a great conversation with the dean of American design, celebrated interior designer Stephen Sills. You’ve seen Stephen’s work in your favorite design magazines including Architectural Digest, Town and Country, Elle Decor, and many more. Stephen walks us through his new book, a Vision for Design, and a few of the recent projects featured in the book, including stunning homes in Florida, New York City, and his own Connecticut home. What You’ll Hear on This Episode: Considerations when choosing a wallpaper. How dining rooms are becoming less formal and more usable. How to use boards to see the whole of the house, and work with layout and scale. What should you consider when choosing a shape and size for a sofa? What has changed in Stephen’s Connecticut home over the 30 years he has lived there. In Stephen’s work, how does he approach both beauty and functionality of the space? What’s next for Stephen now that the book is out? How Stephen curated certain moods and atmospheres in the different homes featured in a Vision for Design. How you can bring some of Stephen’s expert eye into your design decisions. Mentioned in This Episode: Stephen Sills A Vision for Design Hello, and thank you for writing! First, when hanging art, it’s all about your choice and intuition. We think you should make a choice between a height that works for you, and a height that the guests can enjoy. Stephen agrees that it’s always nice to look up at art instead of just looking straight at it. The bigger the painting, the higher you can hang it. The smaller the painting, the lower it could be. Hope this helps!

Transcript

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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.

0:08.7

Each week will help you unleash your inner decorator.

0:11.6

I'm Caroline, and I'm on the marketing team.

0:13.7

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

0:15.8

And I'm Liz.

0:16.5

I head up the Ballard creative team.

0:18.2

We're your host. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs

0:21.6

for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world.

0:25.9

Plus, we'll answer our listener question at the end of each show. So don't forget to send them to

0:30.0

podcast of Ballarddesigns.net. Yes, we love answering them. Now on with the show.

0:35.4

All right, we have a major treat for you all today.

0:38.4

Our guest has been called the Dean of American Design.

0:41.4

He's on the 80-100 list.

0:43.4

You've seen his work in all of your favorite design magazines, architectural digest, town and country,

0:48.0

El Decor, many more.

0:49.6

He's also releasing his third book this month, Stephen Sills.

0:53.2

Welcome to the show.

0:54.0

We're so happy to have you.

0:55.4

Well, thank you for asking me to do this. It's going to be a lot of fun, I think. Yes. So your new book

1:00.7

is out this month. It's called Stephen Sills, A Vision for Design. And maybe you could just kind of

1:08.2

give us a little introduction, walk us through the book.

1:13.8

It's your second book and kind of your most recent work.

...

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