Decorate like a Designer, with Jonathan Adler

Great interior design communicates confidence and your unique voice. Here, Jonathan shares his foolproof formula for communicating effectively who you are—and who you want to be—through your design choices. You’ll also get a look at how Jonathan arrived at his own personal style, and the major design movements that shaped European and American design.

Pop, natural, and deluxe are three style tentpoles that can help you decide who you want to be. Even better, they can be applied to any style or type of home. Learn how each tentpole comprises its own set of materials, inspirations, and influences, and how mood boards can help you corral all your design elements into one place—even if you start one mid-project.

People tend to want to fit in, which is why color can sometimes feel outrageous. But it’s actually the key ingredient to adding character and swagger to your design space. Here, Jonathan teaches you how to wield color’s remarkable power to tap into our emotions and feelings, and how to introduce it into a particular room. (One tip: When in doubt, use more color!)

The first step in designing and decorating a space: creating a guidebook to remind you of your goal. That’s where branding comes in (no, it’s not just for companies). Discover your three-word branding guide based on three adjectives that describe a personal trait, an environmental vibe, and a lifestyle or occupation. Here’s a fun example: well-read Scandinavian barista.

If you’re looking to design the way you want without a big budget, Jonathan recommends salvaging old objects, saving by using whatever’s free, purging what you don’t need or like, and splurging on a piece you really want. In this episode, get a host of tips and tricks for being a resourceful designer—and a few rules you’ll want to follow when the money’s a little tight.

What are you looking at when you enter a room? Where is your eye going to travel? Where are you going to travel? Layout is all about how shapes interact with one another in a room, while flow is all about how you move through a space or between rooms. Discover how the dichotomy between layout and flow can help you think about designing based on geometry and experience.