Introduction to Podcast and Guests
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Girl I Slept in My Makeup podcast by three sisters who are at three different life stages and have three different perspectives. They're excited to learn and grow alongside of you. This is a space full of love and acceptance.
00:00:12
Speaker
No judgment because let's face it, sleeping in your makeup is more than a podcast title. It's a reminder that we all mess up. So give yourself and others lots of grace. Please welcome my three little sisters, Lauren, Megan, and Kristen.
00:00:32
Speaker
Welcome everyone. We're so excited to have a fun conversation today surrounding interior design. And we're joined by two incredible women who bring beauty, function and heart to every home they touch.
Design Specialties of Mandy Lane and Debbie Knopf
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First up, we have our good friend Mandy Lane, founder of Lane Home Design. Mandy blends refined modern style with real life functionality, guiding busy families through their design journeys with clarity and confidence.
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And also joining us is Debbie Knopf, founder of Cabinetry & Co. Debbie brings a passion for thoughtful, functional design to kitchens and bathrooms that truly work for family
Discovering Passion and Starting a Design Business
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life. From cabinetry to countertops, she's all about the details that make a house a joy to live in.
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Get ready for a conversation full of inspiration, practical advice, and design wisdom from two experts who know how to make a home work. Let's dive in.
00:01:28
Speaker
Hey, sisters. Hey. Hi. Happy fall. I'm just calling it fall now officially. Okay, we'll go with that. Happy But everybody keeps saying it's like a false fall, so maybe I don't want jinx it at the same time.
00:01:41
Speaker
Right. We'll see. We are so excited today because we have two amazing guests, not just one, but two. And we can't wait to learn about their story in design. So we have Mandy Lane and Debbie Knopf Welcome, ladies.
00:01:57
Speaker
Thank you. hi for having us. Yeah, we're so excited you're here. i thought we could start out just by getting a little background about each of you and what led you into the path of design.
00:02:09
Speaker
Yeah. So I was in the corporate and marketing sales world for quite some time and then did like the part-time stay at home with my kids for a while. And then it's really just the story of a self-taught where I was dabbling in my own home renovations and then thought, you know what? I could potentially make this into real
Transition Stories: Mandy's Post-COVID Shift and Debbie's Corporate Pivot
00:02:30
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business for myself. So it's just taking a leap of faith and officially starting.
00:02:35
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I love that. And your business is called Lane Home Design, right? Yes. And what do you like, what do you get most excited about? Yeah. So I've, I started really just like right after COVID, which is kind of funny because during COVID was really the time that everything was booming because people were in their homes, as we all know, and people were starting to pay attention. so i Actually started a little after that, but it's still okay. And I think what I'm realizing now, you know, over the first couple of years, you're just trying to figure things out. And now I'm really seeing that my, my niche, if you will, is just helping busy families that are.
00:03:13
Speaker
You know, we're all stressed with our calendars and our kids going everywhere. People that are, you know, working, busy
Importance of Planning and Collaboration in Home Design
00:03:20
Speaker
professionals have kids all over the place and they don't have the time or the energy or really the know-how maybe to, you know, get in and do their own home projects. And change your spaces to how they're dreaming about or envisioning. So think that's really my sweet spot. And just for me personally, learning that I like problem solving. I like helping people. Some of my friends call me plannedy like me because I love planning.
00:03:48
Speaker
So those strengths, I think come across and helping me with the projects that I help do for others. I love that. That's awesome. And Debbie, how about you? Not that different from Mandy, from a background perspective, I spent 25 years in the corporate world, a lot of it in a leadership position and I was managing teams and
Essential Elements in Kitchen and Bathroom Design
00:04:10
Speaker
complex projects and I, and I loved it genuinely. I loved it, but i think 2020 was a pivotal point for a lot of people. And it was for me as well,
00:04:20
Speaker
As everything was moving online, design classes at UCLA started to go online and became available to people who who couldn't go and be on site at UCLA. And so I've always loved design.
00:04:32
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i tried to go into it early my career. I actually got laid off in the technology world, which is not surprising. It happens to all of us at one point, but and wanted to go to design school.
00:04:43
Speaker
And my dad, you know, who's always been in technology, talked me out of it. And so then I spent the next 20 years going through corporate life. And so I'd always had this passion for design and art history and my husband majored in art history. So I get it from him
Balancing Timelessness and Personal Style in Design
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as well and decided in 2020 with the availability of those classes that I wanted to just start, you know,
00:05:06
Speaker
scratching that itch. And i ultimately ended up retiring from that world in 22 and started helping some friends and family with design and and decided that I really liked it. So that kind of started my design career. But then through that process, I really kind of became I guess a little bit frustrated with the the world of cabinetry and the options out there. And then also um there weren't a lot of places where you could go and show clients really the the difference between a really good quality cabinet versus a not so good quality cabinet. in
00:05:45
Speaker
um and also kind of explain the differences between construction and what a door style might look like and how something might even function in a space. And so that drove me to creating my own cabinet business and having a storefront now. So we have a retail location where our customers and designers like Mandy can come and work with clients to, you know, really help them understand what the art of possible can be in their kitchen or bathroom or laundry room or whatever. in I so appreciate Mandy's comments about, you know, busy families, lots of kids. I have four kids myself, you know, chaos at holidays and all of that stuff. And what's,
00:06:27
Speaker
so frustrating and what we see in a lot of designs especially like builder homes in the DFW areas there's a lot of friction gets created in these spaces that are high use just because
Reducing Stress Through Functional Family Home Design
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i don't know it was designed on the back of a napkin somewhere and they just thought it was a good idea or decisions were made on the fly they weren't really planned because they didn't have Mandy there to plan it and once you get in and use it there's all this friction in the space and and got a lot of just natural chaos in your young family's life to begin with. and then you add the friction in your spaces. It just increases your stress levels. And so I love working with these families to kind of create better workflows, make sure the things, the tools and and everything you need is where it's supposed to be and where you expect it to be. And that's really just kind of my my passion. What brings joy. Nothing makes me happier than seeing hearing a client later on down the road. It's like,
00:07:22
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gosh, I just love that we did X, y z And I always joke in the process. I'm like, my biggest goal is to make sure that at the
Enhancing Design Through Diverse Perspectives and Collaboration
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end of it, you're not, you know, opening a drawer or doing something somewhere and you're going, dang it, Debbie, why didn't we do x Y, Z? So we're trying to think through everything we can. So there's no dang it, Debbie's at the end of it. And clients are just really happy and thrilled with their new spaces. So.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah. I love that. And what is your company called? Cabinetry & Co. Okay. And is the only storefront the Dallas area? Yes. So we just opened our first and only for now.
00:07:57
Speaker
um We are up in the Louisville area in a neighborhood called Castle Hills. So you're familiar with that area, we're actually inside the residential area. There's a shopping center in there.
00:08:09
Speaker
So we wanted to be close to homes and, you know, really where people could could get to us. So we're a little bit closer than the design district if you live up in, you know, North Dallas in the suburbs.
00:08:19
Speaker
Well, all of this it excites me because I think we will be building in the near future. But just everything that you're saying and Mandy, you too, it's like as Because I know it's in our future, whenever I talk to people who have gone through the building process before or design or remodeling or whatever, I've been kind of annoying asking people, hey, so what's what's one thing that you're so glad you did or what's one thing you wish you would have done?
00:08:45
Speaker
and I'm keeping a notes file in my phone. But I wonder if something that I think what would be so helpful is If there was something that existed where it has, and I'm talking more kind of the smaller organizational little tidbits that people add that are just, you're just so glad that you did it. it But does that exist by the way, anywhere?
00:09:06
Speaker
I think it does on our end, but for like a homeowner, I'm not
Sourcing Inspiration and Final Design Advice
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Speaker
really sure. So that's a good question, but you can design that new app, Lauren. Yeah. Yeah. ah sure I'm sure I could ask AI. Right. Yeah.
00:09:19
Speaker
But I will say you're very smart about what you're doing and gathering information because really the one thing that i always stress to people, which they don't tend to understand is it's never too soon to start planning planning.
00:09:33
Speaker
What I'm finding is when you get the designer, architect, builder, whatever trades are involved, engineer, you know, together in the beginning on the front end, it just seems to make your projects go so much smoother.
00:09:49
Speaker
And maybe you don't have a designer, but maybe you do, or maybe you don't need X, Y, Z, but maybe you do, but whatever your team is going to be comprised of, When you get all of those team players together, you know, to start with your ideas, because it's only collaboration is going to happen from there. And then the planning will be smoother. Now it's not going to be perfect. Let's not say that because there's always hiccups with stuff like this, but it will make your experience and your process go a lot smoother and more enjoyable and hopefully less stress will be on you as well.
00:10:24
Speaker
So that's good that you're like thinking about the many things that you're trying to incorporate, you know, when you build, cause it's like, you're starting with a clean slate. So it's like, what all should I get in there? And I don't want to miss anything. Right. Yeah.
00:10:36
Speaker
Well, and Debbie, to your point, I do see, i live out in West Texas, but now that I'm starting to pay more attention to things, you do see homes where, you know, something as basic as a door opening a certain way ah out here. A lot of times people don't even use architects. They'll use, ahman yeah, they'll use draftsmen or a lot of the builders kind of have in-house draftsmen as as well here too.
00:11:02
Speaker
And so that's great. There's, I'm not knocking draftsmen because there's a lot of amazing ones, but Sometimes a lot of details like that do get missed until you're living in it and you're sitting there going, wait, this makes zero sense. So how awesome it is to bring somebody like you guys on board from the get-go, Mandy, to your point. I think that's so smart.
00:11:21
Speaker
I also was going to add what you said, Mandy, was so true because I'm i'm currently building a house. Yes, you are. Yes. um And literally the ah the builder we're working with was like, if we, if you go ahead and decide on all your finishes, that's going to take the build time from 12 to 18 months down to like eight to 10.
00:11:40
Speaker
And it's so worth, you know, just going ahead and like, which is, and which is like, okay, but it's so much harder than I thought. And as Mandy also knows, I've built houses in Nashville, but we've always hired a designer for those builds.
00:11:54
Speaker
Yeah. And they're spec, you know, so this is my first guinea pig of like trying to do the designing myself. And I don't recommend it. hard Well, and I will say because, you know, you never want, there are people out there that can totally tackle things on their own, but I think we're all human and even myself, even though I do what I do, right? But I might ask Debbie, like, hey, Debbie, what do you think about this? Because we all need some reassurance and we want to make sure we're on the right track.
00:12:23
Speaker
So most builders actually will not take on a project without a designer on their team and for that very reason. Yeah. I think he was only okay with it because I built so, you know, I've been around it for 10 plus years now. So he was like, okay, she kind of knows what she's doing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:12:41
Speaker
You know what you're doing, but it's, it is like just that extra little reassurance. Like I've gotten a couple of texts from you that I absolutely don't mind because it's, you just want to bounce things off of people sometimes. And that's, you know, exactly what you're doing. That was more appreciation text. Like, gosh, this is way harder than i thought.
00:12:58
Speaker
It's your position fatigue is real, right? It's your personal home because you you're the one that's writing the check and those are big checks that you have to write. so those decisions feel so monumental and sometimes feel very permanent too. And it you just get swimming in your own head and you're like, am I making a terrible decision? i'm making a good decision? And then it gets hard to, you know, you've got a budget and you've got timelines and Color choice. It's just, it's a real thing. And so having that professional who can take the personal side out too, who also has done it maybe on a repeated basis. think it narrowed, narrowing down options. Cause I think it would be so nice if, Hey, here's your three options. Which one would you prefer? Yeah.
00:13:45
Speaker
You know, there's three options that fit in your budget. Yeah. yeah to new budget and That's the thing that I come across is where people get hung up to. I'm like, I'm going to bring you two or three really good options and none of them are wrong.
00:14:00
Speaker
And they're like, don't do that to me. Even that, you know, and like and then when they ask, of course, I will you know say, well, if it were me, this is what I would do. You know, yeah. yeah So, Mandy, you mentioned that you're human, too, which is a nice reminder that even even the professionals are.
00:14:18
Speaker
human too, which kind of leads me to ask a question about, cause you said that y'all got started kind of on your own or Mandy, you did on your own house. Would you be willing to share what's the biggest mistake, decorating mistake or design mistake that you've ever made in your own home? How did you fix it?
00:14:36
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I felt like you might ask me this. So I'm going to totally tell on myself we did. and this was like right before i kind I took the leap of faith and started Lane Home Design. So we remodeled our master bathroom.
00:14:51
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And while I do like it still, and over the years, you learn more, you like, you learn how to be more adventurous. You just learn about different materials and how to mix and match things. So But what I will say is we designed, redesigned our master bathroom, like during the very gray phase.
00:15:08
Speaker
So it's very gray. I'll tell him myself. What kills my husband is I'm already in my mind know how I would change it when the budget allows. And it's, it's minimal things. It's not like, you know, taking the shower out and totally redoing it, but I already know how I can make it better, but I will say, I wish I would have not followed that trend per se and just been a little bit more adventurous in certain areas, like with the countertops or maybe style the cabinets a little differently. I didn't know Debbie yet, but so there's just things that, you know, over time you grow and you learn just like any other business or industry or just life, you know, obstacle or challenge.
00:15:49
Speaker
very gray master bathroom. Yeah. So would you say is the lesson in that maybe, you know, in a home that you're going to be in long-term, do you recommend not following so much the trends, but going more timeless with stuff like that?
00:16:03
Speaker
Yes, to a degree. Yeah. So I would say don't follow the trends, but if you do like something, you can incorporate that, of course. Timeless. Yes. But then I also, I'm kind of contradicting myself because ah would also be a little bit more adventurous in certain areas. Like don't be afraid to put something ah fun color of tile or an interesting countertop that has a lot of movement in the stone or fun wallpaper. Like don't be afraid of those things, but just make sure you really love it. Right. And there's ways to do that to kind of keep it timeless, if you will. So I think that's where,
00:16:37
Speaker
you know, either yourself or just like working with someone, working with a professional, they can guide you in the right way on how to do that. And it's really about how you want to feel in your space. Also, like I always say that to people, how do you want to feel like, you want to feel calm, relaxed?
00:16:54
Speaker
You want to, you know, what is, what's the goal? yeah. Yeah, that's a good question. Do you ever have people respond to that question in a way that is unexpected? Like for me, the first things that come to mind are like, I want to feel peaceful and calm and inviting and homey, you know, but do you ever have somebody who's like, I want to feel like party or don't know. Yeah.
00:17:18
Speaker
Not yet, but no i well, I will say one of my first like early on projects, it did challenge me in a way that I wasn't expecting. Meaning most of my projects I do, i feel like they're pretty similar in that they're very relaxed, neutral palettes with pops of color here and there.
00:17:37
Speaker
But one of my first projects, which I still really love today, because I will say, It just, it photographed very well. And I, at the time I wasn't going for that. I just wanted to help this person and, you know, establish the goals that she had in place, which were, she wanted to make this crazy, like beautiful, you know, living room, kitchen space with all these different colors. And I'm going, oh my gosh, I don't know if I know how to really make this all work.
00:18:04
Speaker
Yeah. But I took a minute, you know, and then we thought about it and like, okay, what are, what's the goal? What are we going for? And how do you want this to feel? And she wanted to feel like very lively and rejuvenated and like colors everywhere.
00:18:19
Speaker
So that was a challenge for me, you know, and that's not something I missed, but I enjoyed it. i learned a lot and she was very happy in the end. So that was what mattered most. Yeah.
00:18:30
Speaker
That's cool. Yeah. I was going ask too, how did you and Debbie meet and how do y'all work together? but So we have a mutual friend and Debbie is in an organization called young men service league. Is that right, Debbie? Okay. I got it right.
00:18:46
Speaker
They always say the acronym. I'm like, hang on. I know it means. Yeah. Yes. MSL. So actually we have ah speaking engagement coming up in a few months that we're going to do together to this group of women.
00:18:58
Speaker
But we met a few months ago just to connect and just get to know each other. wonderful thing is we've already, we just kind of naturally clicked. And I feel like we had a connection with the way we run things, the way we kind of our vision. i think she brings a level of expertise in the the cabinet industry, obviously with like the structuring, the layout of kitchens and bathrooms. So more technical driven. And I kind of see the overall big picture, if you will.
00:19:27
Speaker
and So we've already started kind of partnering and we have a few other engagements coming up. So it just kind of been a fast, like moving relationship that we just kind of hit it off really.
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah. And I think like to your point, Mandy, it's the coming in with different perspectives where there's a little bit of a push and pull in a design. So when you're planning out a a kitchen,
00:19:50
Speaker
You kind of need that so that you do get different ideas and you can balance your design and your functionality and how you're going to use the space. There's never a perfect scenario, right?
00:20:01
Speaker
You have to you want to take both into consideration. You never want it all just aesthetics or all just functionality because we want to walk into our space and have those emotions that Mandy was talking about, whether it's calm, excited, or let's party, you know, whatever it is. whatever it's going to be. So you've got to have that piece of it. And then, but you it needs to work for you too, when it's, when they're high functioning areas, ah kitchen bath or a laundry room. So I love the collaboration. We love working with all kinds of designers, but yeah, Mandy and I, we just kind of hit it off. I think we we do. We have very similar philosophies and the conversation just flowed. You know, when you meet woman in your life and you're like that conversation just
00:20:43
Speaker
was so easy and that's how it was. And we just shared the same. Yeah. Yeah. Well, to pick out, I have a question. Cause you mentioned like functionality of the kitchen. What would you say would be your biggest biggest must haves in a kitchen?
00:20:58
Speaker
Let's say. Okay. so one of my pet peeves are walk-in pantries because there's a lot of floor space that is not really used in the those areas.
00:21:09
Speaker
And what do we end up doing? If you have a walk-in pantry, you store boxes of stuff down there and to throw like all the little things that that are in there. And then it just becomes hard to maneuver, right? You're stepping around the boxes and all of that. So I love a good built-in wall pantry that you can pull out. You can...
00:21:28
Speaker
create it in ways that if you do need to store, you know, big cases of drinks that you're buying for your family on a regular basis or whatever. The other thing is storage for all your water bottles or water containers.
00:21:44
Speaker
I always laugh. I'm, I think I'm older than all of you guys on this phone by a couple of decades, maybe, but we never used to walk around with stuff like this all the time. And I can't imagine walking around without it, right? We all have our containers. And so we just did a really nice deep drawer for someone. They probably have 30 water, you know, Stanley cup versions of whatever Yeti is, all those kind of thing, coffee mugs and all of that. And we designed it so that there's an individual compartment for all of them.
00:22:13
Speaker
There's a place to put their straws. There's a place to put the lids in there. So it's all contained and in one space. And when you open it, they're standing up and they're not all banging against each other because of the way that it's it's designed. So plan for your pantry, plan for the things that you store the most. Like if you have a lot of those.
00:22:32
Speaker
What about, I have to have a pullout from my trash can because I can't. Yes. No trash cans sitting out. It's funny that you say that because that to me is feel like that's how they all should be built now. So I guess that was your question, but yeah, that absolutely a trash can deep enough, you know, have your recyclables and your regular trash or however you want to sort your trash, but make sure you can fit two in there at all times.
00:22:54
Speaker
And then my favorite bat, I know you asked about kitchens, but my favorite bathroom thing is number one, put outlets inside some of your cabinets, right? Yes. But you can plug things in. But number two, there's one specific component that we put into a bathroom pullout that it's the hair tool organizer, but it's not just any hair tool organizer.
00:23:15
Speaker
So you can put your curling iron, your hairdryer, your brushes, it plugs in so that it's, it's always plugged in. But this one is patent pending so that when you shut it, it shuts the power off too. So even if you accidentally leave a curling iron on,
00:23:30
Speaker
the power automatically gets shut off to your tools. So you can't, but it's one we use all the time. And I think it's number one, it's safe. And number two, you don't want all that stuff like curled up and then thrown into your cabinets. Cause then when you need to use it, you're pulling stuff out, stuff's falling on the floor. Like it's just never organized.
00:23:48
Speaker
Yeah. And for that. And here's the thing, when you're planning your kitchen cabinets, Plan for those things first, because a lot of these things are specific sizes. Not everything is completely customizable when it comes to those types of organizational tools.
00:24:04
Speaker
So plan for them first. Find the the actual piece that you're going to put in those drawers first so that you get the right size cabinet built around it. Because trying to retrofit some of the, some things we can because they are custom, but a lot aren't.
00:24:19
Speaker
like the, you know, things that have power already fed into them that requires specific hinges or hardware, that stuff you can't change. And so you want to build around it. So think about exactly how you want to use those spaces and then plan the size of your cabinets around those so that you get them.
00:24:37
Speaker
Yeah. Now I see this a lot lately. I was just curious, would y'all say yay or nay on panel ready appliances? Oh, that's a good one. Sometimes I wish I had a panel ready refrigerator. Yeah.
00:24:49
Speaker
Just, I mean, I really, i think it would be amazing if Sub-Zero would come out with, and they probably do actually, to some finishes, but no fingerprints whatsoever on any appliances, right? Yes.
00:25:01
Speaker
That would be key. I like both. What do you think, Debbie? If budget's not a consideration, i would do panel. Panel ready is more expensive even in the appliances. Right. Yeah. in the labor the cabinetry that goes over it and all those things so it is more expensive no matter what you do but it's a beautiful clean look unless you like many was saying like you have a showpiece appliance that you know just looks a certain way or comes in a special color or something that you want to show off i mean
00:25:32
Speaker
Gone are the days. There's not a lot of appliances left where we can stick 800 magnets to. always the best look, but I do love, you know, photos of your family and your kids' drawings hung up and stuff. But yeah, I think nine times out of 10, I'd probably go for panel unless there was just some way that like I said, we want to highlight an appliance or we want to we're breaking up the cabinetry a little bit in some the best from an aesthetic perspective.
00:25:57
Speaker
Yeah. I definitely for sure. Love a panel ready dishwasher, by the way, if people don't know what that is, it means it just means you're, it matches your cabinets in case. does that yeah That's a good point. yeah yeah like look Yeah. Yeah. But I think a refrigerator I'm, you know, it looks really luxury when you have panel ready, but I think for the fridge, I would take either or personally.
00:26:19
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think I agree with you, Kristen. Yeah. Depending on the space, right? Yeah. Yeah. I just wanted to ask on that because I'm really curious about the bathroom organization thing that you said turns off. Debbie, is that product a like, what exactly is it?
00:26:33
Speaker
It's not something that is built into the actual cabinet. So don't know if I'm saying that correctly. So it's literally when you buy it, it's a whole component that actually already has the hinges on it to pull out.
00:26:45
Speaker
What we do is we build the box for it. and the door that's going to go on front. So it's almost like a panel ready organizational tool. And we we attach the door and then we install it into the cabinet box. So it looks like it was just added to the cabinet, but it's piece that we planned for. And so, yeah, you can buy it. That one specifically is from hardware resources. You can...
00:27:09
Speaker
You can but find them on Amazon. You can find them on build.com. And if you have the right size component, you can attach it and and add it yourself. So it can be retrofit into a cabinet space.
00:27:22
Speaker
Does that make sense? And taken out later too. And then you can reattach the door as Sorry to backtrack, Mandy, what were you going to say? Oh, I was going to say that as you can tell just with the questions, which, and just how we're talking about all these little details, I'm assuming that you would see that it's very important to really think through, you know, all of these things in the beginning, like that, that's, it ties back to my comment about planning ahead. So some people don't really think through that because we're so used to just doing what we do.
00:27:50
Speaker
um like, sometimes you just don't think about how you live, but that's why you have someone like Debbie and myself, asking you all these detailed questions like how do you cook who you know what's important to you in the kitchen who do you even have a cook do you like to entertain you know how do you get ready in the morning so it's all these little things and questions that people are like why are you asking me this i'm like because it really matters. It matters more than you think or know.
00:28:15
Speaker
so i just wanted to kind of circle back on that. Just to add on to that, something, Kristen, this is probably for you as you're building, the earlier you make those decisions, like what your builder was saying, the better, because like just adding a component like that requires electricity in a certain place.
00:28:33
Speaker
and so you know as your your whole electrical plan gets created by the the architect and the electricians and everything they need to know where to put that outlet and it needs to know they need to know exactly where it's going to go does it need to be recessed because of the type of plug that gets used like these are all the little tiny details which is why Your builder, Kristen, is telling you, make as many these decisions up front as possible because it will save you time. They don't have to go back and try to, oh, we need to add a plug in here. So now we've got to bring an electrician back in. Maybe we've already passed an inspection. Like it's just a snowball effect that just adds time and money.
00:29:10
Speaker
So true. Yeah, we break ground October first Oh, yay. That's coming up. Yeah. Well, kind of to Kristen's question about the ready-made appliances, I have a question. Is there one dated design choice that you actually think should come back? Or or I'll give you an either or.
00:29:28
Speaker
Or is there a design trend that you secretly wish would disappear forever? Yeah. I have, and Mandy was touching on this about timeless versus trending. So I will say that I wish people would stop single sourcing their inspiration.
00:29:46
Speaker
So ah first place that most people go is Pinterest, right? Pinterest is taught to give you, you know, it's got an algorithm. It's going to keep feeding you some of the same stuff. And it's also as a trend kicks off, it just proliferates through social media. Now you'll see it on Instagram. You'll see it on Pinterest. You'll see it on house. You might start to see it in HDTV type shows in today's day and age. It spreads so fast and it just multiplies and multiplies and multiplies.
00:30:15
Speaker
And that drives me crazy because then we get clients who come in and they want x Y, Z, because that's exactly what they've seen online. that's, I always like to push back a little bit and and challenge customers to source elsewhere in addition to those. It's not to say that those are bad. There's beautiful designs out there to get your inspiration from. But, you know, you can go back.
00:30:39
Speaker
I think a ah timeless style is actually rooted in history. So most of the stuff that we see I'd say 99% of the trends that you ever see, this is not the first time that they've been around, right? Ship lap, there was a purpose for ship lap back in the day when they were used on ships, when, you know, that board on board was used. It just became popular again and used in homes in a different way. But there's usually like functionality or purpose that drove this. And there's a history, there's design elements that get incorporated, you know, like balance and proportion and, you know, movement of things. And so you could go back today and look at an architectural digest from 1988. And I guarantee you, most of those pictures would look timeless.
00:31:25
Speaker
Yeah, it will look like things that you would want to incorporate. And it's because the historical aspects are used correctly. The design elements are used correctly.
00:31:36
Speaker
And it's usually a very layered look that isn't just leaning one direction or another super traditional versus super modern layered with personality. And so i wish that people, you know, from a trending perspective would kind of take a step back, create a very diverse way of getting inspiration and what they like, what they don't like, but also don't feel like you have to design everything, every element in a room.
00:32:04
Speaker
all at once, like that it needs to be, give yourself some room to breathe for memories, for bringing in an art piece because you traveled to, you know, wherever, or, you know, you went to Paris on anniversary trip with your spouse and happened to go into an an estate sale or a thrift store. And you have this beautiful painting, like leave space for stuff like that. Don't feel like your design, it should be a journey over a long period of time. So it's very easy to go online today and say, I want, I want this look, you know, and you just pull a picture off of it and say, I want this and we can replicate that. Right. Mandy. I mean, kind of makes it right?
00:32:45
Speaker
But there's no personality or authenticity to it. And so don't be afraid to make a space your own. Anyways, that was long-winded to answer your question. No, and it's no, that was a great response. And just what's more interesting and most fun with spaces is when you get to mix different styles and where it's not just the same style because it's more interesting and it's, you don't want to go into a home and it looked your home and it looked like everybody else's home, right? You want to be reflect you and your family.
00:33:16
Speaker
So what you're saying is don't be afraid to kind of mix styles and incorporate different things that are personal to you and your family. No, that's so good. Is there one thing in each of y'all's house that might shock somebody who knows what you do for a living?
00:33:32
Speaker
Like, I don't know. I'm just thinking. Well, I think it would be funny for people to see what my home looked like back in my twenties when I wasn't doing this. Yes. yes Because I think over time, you know, you like with age and wisdom and your style and you develop things and you have a level of expectation for, you know, just, and and not saying that, you know, you can't have ah nice taste in your twenties. That's not what I mean.
00:33:59
Speaker
It would be funny to go back and be like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I had that living room or whatever, you know? I know. Well, you know, I think there's a term for it, but you know how sometimes they say like accountants are the worst people with their own money or whatever. so yeah sometimes it would just be funny to Mandy, I've seen your house, so I know you don't have this, but it would be funny to go and open a drawer in your house and it'd be like the worst job ever. and Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:27
Speaker
Yes. Yes. So I'll be totally transparent. If you walked into my master bedroom right now, we have not remodeled. We built our house 20 plus years ago and we've not remodeled it yet. And we've been waiting because, because this is practice what I preach all the time. I tell people don't piecemeal remodel, right? Wait till you.
00:34:45
Speaker
have the budget that you want to be able to do what you want to do. and so that's what we've been doing. and don't have the budget or the time right now to do it. The day will come. So I have a tub that has two little handles on it. One of the handles is broken. So if I ever want literally just lays next to, and I refuse to replace the faucet until I do remodel, maybe not the best strategy, but I could still, you know, I can still make it work. You know, probably wouldn't be that expensive to replace it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:35:13
Speaker
It's just funny how I like, you know, i don't know you just like you said, Lauren. Yes. Well, that's funny that you just mentioned that because I take a bath every single day, sometimes twice a day.
00:35:24
Speaker
And, um, one of one of my, one of my water spigot things is same thing. It's broken, but I can still use it, but it's broken. And in my head, I'm like, well, we're going to be moving. And so I'll, I don't know, but it's silly. Cause I'm going have to fix it if we move anyway. So, well, Debbie just came where we're actually, she's helping me with but one of my own projects coming up and we're finally going to remodel our girls upstairs bathrooms, which are hideous. So, I mean, I could tell on myself with that and Debbie's she's looking around going,
00:35:55
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. It's funny. ah everybodyd Yeah. It's because what y'all talking about, it's more, you know, very custom where I, in my career, it's the exact opposite. It's like building specs to appeal to the masses. So it's such such a different thing. Cause it's like, oh, we don't want to get too, you know, crazy. care Yeah. Cause it's like, we want people, everybody to envision themselves in a home.
00:36:19
Speaker
If that makes sense. and Yeah. right Perspective. And yeah. custom is so much funner. i feel like we're fun. So, yeah. So it's fun to hear about and learn about and experience, even though it's, it's hard.
00:36:33
Speaker
so is yeah, you're actually right. Kristen. I mean, because you are trying to, although you're going live in this home, but I know what your goals are and you do, I mean, you still want to make it interesting enough to appeal to the masses, but Maybe be a little bit unique where you can, if that's possible. So it might be a strategy.
00:36:52
Speaker
That kind of leads me to ask, because Debbie, you touched on Pinterest. Where else can you find inspiration besides Pinterest for people out there that are Wanting to get inspired. i imagine you mentioned like personal travel and thrifting, but is there anywhere else that y'all could suggest for people to find inspiration?
00:37:11
Speaker
Yeah. So I mean, a hundred percent as estate sales, especially if you're living in the Dallas area, there are some phenomenal estate sales happening all the time. Just go and walk through and you and you'll see just high quality vintage pieces that, you know, when you find one piece, maybe that becomes part of a room and how you're how you're going to work around that one piece in a room. I mentioned Architectural Digest.
00:37:35
Speaker
Look at design books. So not just don't like try to stay offline as much as you can, because I feel like that stuff's just fed to you in a certain way. But if going out and look look at design books, all those coffee table books, i mean, go to Barnes and Noble or the library or something and find those coffee table books.
00:37:54
Speaker
with great inspiration and don't stick with just the most modern or and the newest additions, go back and look at things and you'll really start to get a ah feel for what you're attracted to. And then you can kind of start to pull it together a little bit more. You can look at fashion.
00:38:10
Speaker
There's trend, a lot of the trends that you see in fashion are going to be very similar to what, so any, like if you look at a runway show and what's coming, then it kind of gives you an idea of what's, what's about to come in terms of colors. So like your last year, we've been seeing warmer colors. We're seeing that in cabinets too. Richard tones, like the, the wood grains and stuff you're seeing all, they all cross over.
00:38:31
Speaker
The other place is art. Look at art history books. You can kind of start to get a feel for going through, you know, something in the Renaissance period of, you know, what was, what did you see there? And you'll start to see things that you're like, oh my goodness, that I see that today. And it's really something that's been around forever.
00:38:49
Speaker
for a very long time. So just expand your perspective. And, you know, that's not to say that you're going to see something on Pinterest or in someone else's home that you're like, I love that. I want that in my own home.
00:39:03
Speaker
If that's the case, you should, you know, but challenge yourself before you make that final decision to go out and say, is there another way that maybe fits my personality more that fit would fit my home more to make this space really unique? And Kristen, there's ways that you can do, you know, this is where I think a really good designer is is helpful. And I think you've probably experienced this with some of your past builds, but where are you spending your money that where it makes sense to stay with something very timeless versus, you know, bringing in some of those fun elements that are maybe easily swapped out for a new home buyer. Cause right. Like as a realtor, I'm sure as you walk in with a client,
00:39:42
Speaker
that's the first thing you're doing is if I want to make this kitchen what I want it to be, how expensive is that going to be? Because then that, then I'm thinking, what is my actual purchase price and how going to drive that price down if my kitchen remodel price has to go up? So if you're having to replace cabinets, that's 40% of a kitchen remodel budget. It is not cheap to redo cabinets. And now you're redoing countertops, potentially, you know backsplash, because you're going to reconfigure things. So Swapping out cabinets is significant. So maybe that's where you don't go really trendy and what's what's out on Pinterest every day. And then you find other elements that are easy to swap out later on, like countertops would be easy to to replace, maybe not always or cheap, but they're easy to do. They're not necessarily going to destroy everything else while you're doing it.
00:40:29
Speaker
Another thing I found helpful, but I don't know if you'd agree that it's helpful. I tell people like, go to open houses, go see, you know, cause that's something you can actually do it easily, if that makes sense. And that's something that I see houses all the time, obviously. So that's really helpful for me. But if someone asked me that question, I feel like that would be the first thing. It's not as imaginary as your answer, but I feel like it's very easy, you know, to just go check.
00:40:54
Speaker
You know, nothing about design. I feel that's a way to... easily kind of see. And open drawers when you go through those open houses and stuff and see, not to see if it's someone's home, but not to see like what they're, but see like how they're using the space and see if they have something create, especially like model homes, if they have something creative or the way they're, you know, always open cabinets and and drawers and see what's going on on the inside.
00:41:20
Speaker
hey And I guess I'm thinking from the perspective right now of maybe there's a listener that's like, well, I'm not going to be remodeling or building in a house anytime soon. Is there a kind of game changer, small design tip that would instantly make any space feel better?
00:41:38
Speaker
more put together, or let's say somebody has a two to $300 budget for a room. Can you think of any just small, easy thing that could make a big impact?
00:41:48
Speaker
Yeah. I find that people, if they would just almost take the less is more approach in some instances like that, like declutter, kind of purge stuff that you really don't need.
00:41:59
Speaker
Something as simple as new styling accessories. Maybe it's less than what you currently have or new pillows. New lighting is a really good thing. Like that's going to be more than two or $300 a room though, but new lighting fixtures really make a big impact. And even sometimes paint, but paint is also another pretty Big expense, right? So, yeah but those kinds of things, if you're not fully going in and remodeling and ripping out and changing the, you know, the layout and so forth of a kitchen or a bathroom, I would say those are kind of the go-tos to make bigger impacts when you want to feel different in your space or your home. Yeah, no, that's good.
00:42:39
Speaker
adding or changing hardware the cabinet hardware, or even on furniture pieces, maybe feel outdated and you can swap out the hardware on it. And then, oh, Mandy mentioned the lighting. One other thing is to check your light bulbs.
00:42:54
Speaker
Oh yeah. This is like a pet peeve of my husband's when light bulbs don't match and if they're a certain shade. yeah so what is y'all's go-to shade? Or I don't know what you call it, but... The color temperature. Yes, thank you. Kelvin. I tend to go a little bit warmer. So I'm anywhere, depending on the space, anywhere from 2,800 to 3,000 Kelvin, which is 5,000 is daylight. That's where you see blue in the light. So I stay away from those i unless it's like a task that, you know, like you're. Yeah, I agree with that. I just recently learned what those numbers meant when we were shopping for during a hill storm or out. We have an outdoor.
00:43:34
Speaker
lighting that got damaged. So we had to go shopping and i was like, what is this 24, 3,200? What is all this? Yeah. Try to simplify it by giving you like warm light or daylight or something like that on the front. But I found that that it's descriptive of, there's no standard to those descriptions. Right. So yeah, educate yourself on, on what Kelvin means. And then, and it's always listed on the box. You have to just come over usually and read down in the fine print.
00:44:02
Speaker
you find the Kelvin. And then what I always do for clients, like if we are replacing a light fixture or something, is buy extra light bulbs for them from the same brand and keep them on hand so that they can consistently update a light bulb that should, in theory, stay consistent with the rest of what's on that fixture.
00:44:21
Speaker
That's so smart. Okay. I have something that I feel like to answer your question, Lauren, you didn't ask me, but okay. I love the look of standalone tubs, right? They're so beautiful, but like, i kind of wish big jet tubs would make a comeback.
00:44:36
Speaker
Like, Yes. Functionality of them. How do we like make them look prettier? Like, I don't know. i just feel like. There is, there is a way to do that, Kristen. So you put beautiful stone around it and just like create this.
00:44:51
Speaker
I've seen, I mean, I've seen it. i haven't personally done it ah recently. I don't know if you have Debbie, but, but there's some really cool ways to make those built-in tubs look Way better. like yeah like yeah That's hilarious.
00:45:05
Speaker
He's just trying to get back to our childhood because our parents had one of those. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And it's hideous. You know, it's hideous, but it's so fun, you know, to get in there. So, yeah. Wait, it's funny that you said hideous because I was just thinking in my head.
00:45:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Mom and dad's. I feel like it's still good. Like, okay. I don't know. Yeah. I'm like, I wish your dad would let me come help him do something. Oh, too. such Let's on that. Yeah.
00:45:33
Speaker
Yeah. Oh my gosh. When he put in that black sink in the kitchen that my mom, our mom was still living, that but they had divorced and she wasn't living there anymore. She just about died when she saw that black sink in the kitchen.
00:45:49
Speaker
Yes. Yes. And if you under like my parents' house, when they remodeled it I think they called it like French hill country, I think was the term the decorator used.
00:46:00
Speaker
My mom did use a decorator back then. And anyway, so if you can imagine that, and then he comes in and puts in a like black manly it ridiculous sink. It doesn't go with anything. It's so weird. Yeah.
00:46:18
Speaker
Hence why you shouldn't use an interior designer. yeah Speaking of that, Mandy, I know y'all do interior design, meaning like finish, you pick out the finishes. Do you also dabble in like, cause there's also interior design for furniture. do you do that as well?
00:46:33
Speaker
Yes, I do. Thank you for asking. So yeah, often I'll come in and somebody wants to remodel their kitchen and we will totally do that with um material selections. And then It leads to, you know, you have this beautiful new kitchen. Well, then you have your living room.
00:46:49
Speaker
That's typically this open concept. And so naturally we flow into the living room with updating furnishings, accessories, you know, just you name it. We kind of do the whole full service.
00:47:01
Speaker
Yeah. Cause that's rare. Cause most, most don't, they stick to one or the other. So it's kind of cool that you do both. Yeah. I mean, I will say I love more of the remodel and material and selections.
00:47:13
Speaker
That's kind of like where my true passion is. But as I go on, I can't help, but want to make the entire space feel more complete and kind of and I always hear this too. Like people want their spaces to feel cohesive and complete. I keep hearing that over and over and I mean, I totally get that because sometimes you have just mix match stuff or like very basic when you move in and you want to just make it feel a completely different way and feel new in your space. So good question.
00:47:44
Speaker
Yeah. I love that. Well, feel like y'all just gave so many great tips, but I wanted to end if there's any tip that we didn't cover that you'd want to leave the listeners with or any thoughts, I'll let y'all do that. And then we'll kind of wrap up.
00:47:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think we hit it, but just to reiterate, you know, take your time. Don't rush into something. Planning is key. Don't follow the trends necessarily, but be adventurous where you're willing to be adventurous.
00:48:13
Speaker
And spend your money on quality, timeless pieces when the budget allows is what I would say. Yeah, I would have to just echo all of that. And I think, you know, don't be afraid to take your time. It's sometimes time is a luxury, but you know, if you need a hot minute to take a breath and think through a decision, do that.
00:48:36
Speaker
And when it comes to like planning, you know, cabinets and and how you're going to function in a space, Don't be afraid to literally pull out all your dishes and and count them and measure them and make sure, you know, it's the little details like that, that it does take time. But I guarantee you the effort that you put in ahead of time will pay off tenfold in the long run.
00:49:01
Speaker
um and hopefully, you know, help you have fewer remodeling regrets or build regrets in the in the long run. So take your time. It's okay to tell people I need a second to make this decision.
00:49:13
Speaker
Let me validate it and I'll get back to you. Right. Yeah. And that's two. I'm going to add one more thing real quick. That was really good Debbie. And I think people don't realize how much time these types of projects really do take. Sometimes I get phone calls that they're like, I want my kitchen done my Christmas and it's September.
00:49:31
Speaker
Well, that's not realistic. So to your point, it takes a lot longer than most people think. And that's okay because it is going to be way more worth it in the end. And I have one request for Texas builders. No more textured walls, please. i think I agree with that, Kristen. yeah That was the hardest part about moving here. I was like, what is up with all these textured walls?
00:49:55
Speaker
It's making me so much. Yeah. What do you call non-textured walls? Like, is there a name for it? Just smooth? A flat wall or. Okay. Do they get scuffed up more than textured walls?
00:50:06
Speaker
Yes. but get more skepped up. They're also, it's just harder, right? Because when you're, when you're doing the texture, it's a lot more work to sand them down and smooth them out than to just kind of put ah a general spray of texture on. Right. That's, that's why it is the way it is here. Yeah.
00:50:24
Speaker
Interesting. And Kristen, another pet peeve of yours is the sink divider. The two sides. Oh my God. no i Yeah. Always an open, big, open sink, please. Yeah.
00:50:35
Speaker
Kristen's very vocal about her pet peeves in Texas. No, it's so good. yeah And then no hardware. Texas hates to put hardware on. ye That is not a builder thing. They don't put hardware on their cabinets.
00:50:48
Speaker
Coming from moved to Nashville, you'll have hardware, smooth walls and big open sinks. yeah I like it. Oh my gosh. I love the passion.
00:50:59
Speaker
yeah Like we could talk for three hours about this. Well, thank you. yeah yeah Thank y'all so much for coming and doing this. This was so fun. And I can't wait for our listeners to gain all this wisdom. I know I learned so much just amazing.
00:51:12
Speaker
soaking it all in because it's not my world. So we like to end our podcast with a prayer. So I'm going to do that. And I just want to pray blessings over y'all's businesses. We have so many people and especially women in our lives doing just amazing things. And years ago, we did an entrepreneur series. And i love to just bring, you know, people back onto the podcast to highlight what they're doing. So overall, just want to support you guys. I know owning your own business is a lot of work. So i didn't really get to touch on that. But Just know that you're not alone in that we all understand you. I feel like we're all entrepreneurs here.
00:51:48
Speaker
So I will say a quick prayer. Thank you, God, for Debbie and Mandy. Thank you for this time together. And it was just so uplifting and just felt like a, you know, a sisterhood spirit across all five of us. And We're just so honored and grateful that you are using each of our unique gifts to more than anything glorify you, God. And we pray over Debbie and Mandy's businesses that they just flourish and that the goodness of God is surrounding them and that you just connect them with the people that they're supposed to help. I i can tell they have just this true passion more than anything to help people on their journey. So we just thank you for our gifts and for your love and grace in Jesus name. Amen.
00:52:29
Speaker
Amen. you. Amen. Thank you all for having us. but yeah you So nice to meet all this you. Nice to meet you, Debbie. It's amazing. Y'all have a great week. Thank you. Thank you.
00:52:40
Speaker
Bye. Thank you for listening to another week of girl. I slept in my makeup. If you like us, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:52:51
Speaker
And if you want to learn more about us or get in touch with us go to our website, girlisleptinmymakeup.com, where you'll also find links to our Instagram and Facebook. Thank you so much for listening. We really appreciate it and yeah make it a great week.