Ep. 453: Carson Kressley Mini-Series Pt. 1 - Thom Filicia

How to Decorate

Caroline McDonald

Arts, Business, Design

4.4 • 838 Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are popping the champagne for a very special episode! To celebrate the launch of his exclusive new collection with Ballard Designs, the fabulous Carson Kressley joins Caroline, Taryn, and Liz as a special co-host for a 4-part mini-series. And for his first guest? It’s none other than his original Queer Eye castmate, best friend, and acclaimed interior designer Thom Filicia. Carson and Thom take a trip down memory lane, revealing the hilarious story of how they first met during the "chemistry test" for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Thom opens up about his classical training at the legendary firm Parish-Hadley, his philosophy on "Democratic Design," and why he believes every room needs a mix of price points to feel authentic. Quick Decorating Takeaways: Embrace "Democratic Design": Thom believes great design shouldn't be reserved for the elite. Whether it's a custom piece or a catalog find, good design is accessible at every price point. The magic happens when you mix them together—high and low, old and new. Don't Be Afraid of Brown: Thom and the team discuss the resurgence of brown as a dominant color in interiors. Thom loves using warm, earthy neutrals (like chocolate, rust, and camel) to create spaces that feel grounded, sophisticated, and cozy. Your Home Should Tell Your Story: Authenticity is key. Carson and Thom emphasize that your home should reflect you—not just a showroom. Incorporate personal items, travel souvenirs, and pieces that have history to give your space a unique "fingerprint". What You’ll Hear on This Episode: 00:00 Welcome to the Carson Kressley Mini-Series! 01:00 Carson introduces his new collection with Ballard Designs 04:00 Thom Filicia joins the chat and the story of his legendary 5-minute naps 10:00 Thom’s new home in Aspen and the process of designing for yourself 21:00 Translating personal fashion into interior design and lessons from Dress My Nest 29:00 What it was like designing for David Bowie and Iman 38:00 Reminiscing about Queer Eye and Get a Room with Carson & Thom 42:00 The art of High/Low design and why rooms shouldn't be too perfect 51:00 Thom’s classical training and Albert Hadley’s rule about the "element of surprise" 01:01:00 Advice for young designers starting out in the industry 01:05:00 Where to find Thom Filicia’s showroom and product collections Also Mentioned: Shop the Carson Kressley Collection at Ballard Designs Thom Filicia | Website Follow Thom on Instagram: @thomfilicia Follow Carson on Instagram: @carsonkressley Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone. Happy Decorating! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, welcome back to the show. We have a very exciting new mini-series that we're launching today, our first episode. If any of you have been following us on social media, you know that we've launched our latest partner collection, a new partner, Carson Cressley. You all know him. He's our most repeated guest on the show. He is a listener of the podcast, and so we thought it only fit to have him co-host with us for four episodes and bring some of his favorite friends.
0:25.6	So, Carson, welcome to the podcast.
0:28.6	Thank you so much.
0:29.9	This is a dream.
0:30.9	You know, I'm a Ballard super fan, as I've said before, and I love the podcast and I love the brand, and I love when the
0:38.7	catalog arrives. And to be part of it is just, it's one of my most exciting things that's
0:45.8	ever happened to me. And I've done some exciting things, but I just love this partnership,
0:51.0	and I love the pieces, and they're very special to me and personal to me and authentic
0:56.0	and some of my own items from my own home that we've reimagined and some items that we've
1:00.7	created just for our friends at Ballard. So I could talk about it all day. I have I have pictures
1:06.4	of my Cisco side table and my wallet already and I show people at the bus station every morning.
1:13.2	Now that I'm doing a collab with you guys, you had the brilliant idea of having me come on
1:18.5	and do a little mini-series. And I've always wanted to be in a mini-series. I thought it was
1:23.2	going to be on TV, maybe, you know, like a romantic four-part drama. But I'll take design any day because I love
1:31.0	it so much. And we get to talk about my collection, but more importantly, we get to meet some of my
1:38.0	stylish friends who owed me podcast engagements because I've done theirs. And, you know, it's people like my
1:46.9	longtime friend and design buddy Tom Felicia from Queer Eye. And of course, we did a show on
1:52.0	Bravo called Get a Room with Carson and Tom. He is, you know, such an incredible, amazing designer,
1:59.3	a great friend. I've learned so much from him. And I think he might have learned a few
2:03.1	things from me. And then we have my good friend Bobby Flay. We're going to talk about entertaining and
2:09.7	kitchen design and, you know, how to be the perfect host, which he is. And then junk gypsies,
2:16.1	I don't know if you know them, dear listener, but they are a fabulous
	...

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