Girls Gotta Eat - How to Design Your Dream Home (In Your Budget) with Bobby Berk

Episode Date: August 31, 2026

It’s an episode about home design and we are joined by THE Bobby Berk himself – award-winning designer, formerly of Netflix's Queer Eye and currently starring in HGTV’s Junk or Jackpot. We discuss the unconventional way Bobby figures out someone’s personal design style (and how you can figure out your own) and where to start if you want to design your dream home, or even just a room. We discuss where to splurge and where to save, lighting dos and don’ts, furniture/storage hacks for small spaces, why you shouldn’t follow trends, how much color is too much, and his thoughts on renovating a rental. We also discuss moving in with a partner and how to navigate merging your things and handling design decisions. Before Bobby joins us, we are talking about friendship (including the current state of ours), Rayna’s review on Nantucket, and hotel room behavior with someone you’re dating. Enjoy! Follow Bobby on Instagram @bobby, check out Junk or Jackpot on HGTV, and shop Bobby’s product line at bobbyberk.com. Follow us on Instagram @girlsgottaeatpodcast, Ashley @ashhess, and Rayna @rayna.greenberg. Visit girlsgottaeat.com for more. Thank you to our partners this week: Hinge: Download their audiobook No Ordinary Love for free on Spotify. BetterHelp: See reviews and decide if it’s right for you at https://betterhelp.com/gge. Article: Get $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more at https//:article.com/gge. Dae: Get 20% off your first purchase at https://daehair.com with code GGE. Nutrafol: Get $10 off your first order and free shipping at https://nutrafol.com with code GGE10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's so sad when the furniture's too small. Size does matter. Yeah. Yeah. And it needs to be just right. Exactly. This podcast is a dear media production. Hi guys. Hi guys.

Welcome back to another episode of Girls Gotta Eat. Coming to you in person here from Spotify. I love this room so much. I'm sitting here wheels turning like how can we let? How can we come back here? How can we have them let us do this all the time? Is this like a one-time thing? I don't know.

Like what we should ask. I think we look so beautiful. It's really so nice. the comments. Yes. The comment how stunning we are. Also, you know how you used to give the weather report. Now every week you're like, this is where we are.

This is what cities we're in. It's every week. It's cute. Like, this is where we're at. Well, I just want people to know that we're together. And you should tune in and watch full video on Spotify. Yeah. Truly like having the show, the video on Spotify has just been so great for the show.

And the comments, I just like, I wake up excited to like read the comments on Spotify. Yeah. You guys are really so kind. And last week I talked about my friend who passed away and I just got so many nice messages and people sharing their story. And it's like I need to sit down and like respond thoughtfully to people I have just been going through them. People have like shared what they went through. And I want to respond to everybody. So it's going to be on my to do list this week.

I'm doing them one by one. And people left a lot of like really nice comments. And so just thank you guys as always for being so supportive. And I'd love to do weather report. It's perfect in L.A. all the time. We have had a really good hot in a good way, summer hot August. It's felt like... Today is going to be like 96 degrees.

It's pretty brutal over here. I mean, we also live on the west side where it's just a cooler. But it has felt really nice where warm nights, like wear a tank top out at night, titty's out at night, and you don't bring a jacket. And it's just been like the way I remember it. feeling on the summer in the East Coast before the drastic climate change where it's just like nice hot summer. Like last summer I don't really remember. It still gets kind of cool. I don't know. It's just August has been really nice. We've been like just been outside enjoying it. Like we were in

the park on Sunday and under a tree in the shade. I'm like, this is a perfect life. Must be nice. I know. I'm happy every day in New York. I am happy. I like I just, I look out the window. It's so beautiful. But yeah. Weather or not so much. I also I'm, I went to Martha's Vineyard and then tuck it last week. It rained. I mean, truly from the minute I set foot there and the minute I left. But I love Nantucket. It was my first time there. I went with my friends. I love this so much. You know, you guys know I can be a little territorial, but not with like Rana being friends with my friends. Like these are my friends who you've become friends with for the past eight years. Yeah. But also you were invited on this trip.

Yeah, I was surprised. This was really solidified how like much the friend groups have become intertwined. Like these are my long time like Delaware friends that Rada went on a trip with that I wasn't there. I just loved it. Shoshon and I were talking about. when your friends become friends and how nice it is to see. And it's such a testament to how you are as a friend. Okay, well, let's just thank our partners really quick and then we will get into it. All right. Thank you to Hinge. Download their audio book. No ordinary love stories of real couples who took risks for free on Spotify and BetterHelp. See reviews and decide if it's right for you at BetterHelp.com slash GGE and article. Get $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more at article.com

slash GGE. And thank you today. Get 20% off your first purchase at dayhair.com with code GGEE. And thank you to Nutraful. Get $10 off your first order and free shipping at Nutraful.com with code GGE 10. So back to the people that have been in your life for a really long time that I wanted a trip with. So I'd never been to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket in our audience. First of all, I've never seen more people that like, I love you and Ashley. Then on the flight to Martha's Vineyard. So if you said hi to me, thank you. I love you too. Nantucket's so interesting because like that sign that a store No influencers went so viral and people had a lot of takes about it and having been there I do get it. I mean it is just like wall to wall influencers people making content. I try to get a

sandwich at this place the other day. There had to have been 120 people in line at 930 in the morning. It was insane. Two blocks were just lines of people and like whatever. If that's how you want to spend your day, no shade. I don't care. It's not how I'm going to spend my day. But if that's what you find out, you're great. It's just, it's a lot. It makes it unpleasant to like walk around and go in stores and all the content and the lines. And so being there now, I validated even more. This is a small town. So all the houses have like a number on them. A lot of them do that'll say like built in 1750, 1760, 70. Like they're very old. All the streets are cobblestone. It's annoying that it's packed with people. Totally. So more power to somebody that's just like, you can like you said before, you could be an influencer and be in the store. Don't come in here and make content. Yeah. I understand that we want to support these places and have their economies thrive. But there is.

is a point where things aren't enjoyable. And we can all validate that when it's gotten too out of control. But you said you really liked Martha's Vineyard and it wasn't like that. I love both places. Martha's Vineyard felt really like casual Beach Town. It felt like Dewey Beach Meets to the Hampstance to me. I mean, they'll let you know. I mean, a plot of dirt, a shack is $2 million there.

Because everybody's walking around and you're like, everyone's so down to earth. Everyone's just like T-shirts. Everything's like just like a small casual cafe. And you look up what everything costs. You're like, oh, this is crazy. A salad's $50. But I loved it. It just was like so beautiful. Martha Vendry's pretty big. There's like four or five towns.

What? I have no idea. Yeah. I also never knew that you could take like a 40 minutes wheels up to wheels down. New York to Martha's Vineyard flight. So nice and easy. You can go on a day trip. I didn't know. Yeah. I think a lot of people don't know. I feel like New Yorkers don't really go there. It's more of like a Boston thing. Yeah. And then I took a ferry from Martha's Vineyard to Nantucket. It took an hour. I mean, you can go to Cape Cod. You can go all over. I was like, why have we never done this before? But totally. I loved both really special. And I talked, like, the restaurants were, like, fancy.

It felt like New York restaurants. It's bougie. Yeah. Yeah. It was vinyered much more stripped down. But I love both. Everybody was just wonderful at the best time. Oh, I love that.

I actually was going to ask you. So you and Shishanka have been doing this thing, which I love, where you, like, post, like, what we wore, what we ate and what we talked about in our date night. And what we talked about, you put as a bullet point, like, when our friends become friends. And I meant to ask you, was that about me? Yeah. You were the inspiration for it. And then I asked him. Not that I don't know this about him, but who he feels like became the most close of his friends.

And like, do they hang out without him kind of thing? But yeah, so when we go on a date night, I'll post, I do this little series, like our date night documented and where we went, what we ordered, what we wore and what we talked about. And we went out to dinner last week at like a local spot. And I was like, I'm not doing the date night thing. We were like casual. We talked to the couple next to us at dinner, the seven-year-old couple. I just didn't do it. But I posted like something from the restaurant.

and people were in the comments like, where's the what you talked about? People were upset. I like to know about it too. But yes, I just really love it when you bring people together and then they become friends. And also, and don't exclude you. I don't like that. If I wouldn't have been invited to Nantucket, that would have been fucking insane. So it is a delicate balance because like, I don't like, okay, for example, if I introduce two people and one person like asks the other person for a favor, I'm like, you should have asked me if that was okay first. I very specific. It's a very specific. But I, listen. that I think it needs to be discussed. And I try to be like adults are allowed to have plans with other adults without including a thousand adults. But like, I don't know.

If you are really the primary relationship there, these are your very long 20 years plus, 25 years. And like if I made plans with them and didn't include you, that would be insane. Yes. This is case by case. And you know it when you see it. And of course, I have friends that I've introduced that hang out without me. They don't have to invite me every time.

But you know when you're being. pushed out and being excluded. And you know when shit gets weird and you know when someone's also trying to weasel their way into something. And it's like there are no hard and fast rules for this because I joke about being territorial. But like we all know what it feels like to introduce people and then they really do exclude you. And it's not, it shouldn't be like that. And it should be a thing where you're really happy that your friends are friends. I'm mostly happy. I really get a lot out of like one-on-one interactions. Like I like I like a grew hang, but I feel like I get to know somebody obviously really well and these like one-on-one interactions. So I do like to hang out

with people by myself. But there are just some people, which is fucking weird if you ask them to hang out without the person introduced you. Yes. So I think about your two best friends, Emily and Melanie, I always pat myself in the back when I say it correctly. It's like a tongue twister. Emily Melanie? Yeah. Ray and Ashley. Ashley and Ashley says Rayne and I is one word. And they do have their own friendship. But I heard of. I don't. But I don't think they would get together without you and not include you if you were in town.

Am I correct? No, that would be weird. And also, Melanie doesn't live in New York. But I'm like, they are really close. They are. They've traveled together. Like, Emily has stayed with her in Miami, like when she goes down there. And they do have a relationship outside of me.

But it would really hurt my feelings if they were around. Yeah, if I was around and they were just like hanging out without me. Yeah. I know. It's just always every situation is different. And there's just friends who are like, I wouldn't care. You know, but there's other situations that you're like, this is weird and you know it's weird. And you know it's weird.

That's why you hate it for me. 100%. If you check to people's locations and you're like, what are you guys doing together? There's just time. It's like, I feel like we've been like, huh. Huh. That's interesting. That was an interesting choice that you made.

And I see what you're doing. And I don't like it. quite frankly. You should ask my permission. I don't know. You and I are so ride or die for each other and we don't do the shit to each other. And if we felt like someone was acted up, we would call it out immediately. Like, I just feel like so thankful for your friendship all the time. And I really just do feel like, I think that we feel closer than ever. And I think you're just like really happy since you moved. Oh, thanks. Like I have felt like that that you just seem happier. and it makes me realize you weren't happy.

Not unhappy. You weren't your happiest best self. So we've seen each other nonstop. We haven't felt a void at all. It'll come, maybe, we'll see. But we've just been together a lot and traveled together to a lot. But I thought this after you moved to New York, I just was like, you seem lighter, you seem happier. And that is going to impact all of your relationships.

Well, thank you. I feel like I'm home. Like, I feel like I just, this is home. Like when I land in New York, I'm like, I'm home. This has always been home. This is going to be home. I feel really happy there. I was not unhappy in L.A. I just was lonely. But I don't know. I've had a couple moments lately

I've been talking about this where I'm just like, I'm very grateful for the people in my life. I have a lot of friends that I've been friends with for like nine plus years. And I'm so grateful for those people. And I said to you, I feel really lucky that I have those people in my life. And you were like, I don't feel lucky. I feel like I cultivated these friendships. I picked the right people. And it's a little bit of both. Yeah. But it's just, I'm feeling really like grateful for the people in my life that have just been around for like a super long time that are like solid, consistent. I know what I'm going to get from them. They never do anything fucking shady or just, I don't lie. Like, I just, it's nice. I feel grateful. Yeah, we have been having a lot of discussions recently just about friendship and

people's behavior and all kinds of things. And it's just like, hopefully you have your best friend that's your rock, that there's no secrets, nothing shady. And a few more people like that, you know, you have your really close inner circle that you know you can trust wholeheartedly. And sometimes other people that you're friends with don't behave like that. And that's okay. You have to decide what you will accept what your boundaries are. And like every person in your life that you're friends with isn't going to be a perfect friend like those inner circle friends. And that's for you to decide who you keep in and out of your life. Yeah. And who you have to recalibrate with. Yeah. But I do think if you just if you have people like that, like those few core people, you're just really lucky. And I just, you and I just, you and I, you and I, you both feel really lucky. Yeah. And those people just really like ground me. They feel really good. Okay. Well, we have Bobby Bark today and we did a fun episode with him about design and your home. And, you know, we're dibling and dabbling and some more lifestyle stuff. We know you guys like it. We know you guys like the skincare and hair health episode we did with Dr. Romina a couple weeks ago.

So we had a really fun time with him. But Raina wants to offer some of her own design tips that we maybe didn't get to discuss in the episode. I just, I've loved design for so long. I didn't like study this or anything. It's just like, I love to be home and I want it to be comfortable and people are like, how do you design a space? Fill your home with things you love and you will love your home. That's it. I mean, you don't have to be a designer. You don't have to pick like a color palette or a theme or anything. Just, you know, if art brings you joy, if color brings you joy, if knickknacks bring you joy, I really try to like buy something every like special trip that I take. I bought these like tiny little candle holders and Martha's Vineyard. But you don't, you don't. I was to spend a lot. So I've been using AI. I use AI to design my apartment, which I'm really

happy with. This is not like a hot take, but if you guys have never done it, I took a picture of the room, like the living room, and I input the dimensions in the picture of the room. You can use Claude for this. It'll be great. And upload that and just say like, give me, give me eight different variations of what I could do in this room. And it will blow your mind like what hot tape, what AI could do. But like, you don't have to have like a color scheme or a design. design palette picked out. Just like, show me what I can do with this room. Yeah, like I don't know where to start. I like X, Y, Z colors. And then you can say something like, okay, my price point for a couch is X with $800. Show me eight options for $800. It'll give you the links for all that.

And I just like figured out where a rug went, where to hang a shelf and all that. It was just really helpful for me to figure that out. And then you don't have to spend a ton of money. There are way less expensive options. There's a couple things I spend a lot on the couch is the thing that I spend the time on. So that's what I would spend money on for like a living room. Everything else, get it cheap. Get it secondhand. Get it on Facebook marketplace. I mean, people are outfitting their whole homes. And you guys can use dup.com. I think you've introduced me to it. I think they have a paid tier now. But whatever. Like it's legit. I mean, you put in a link to anything from a sweater to a couch and they're going to give you cheaper options. Like if you put in something from West Delam,

it might give you a Walmart dupe kind of things like that. There's just those tools as well. of Google image search. Take a photo of like a couch that you like uploaded to Google image and they'll give you similar options to that. The thing that I would spend the most on is absolutely a couch. Everything else just like phone it in.

Also definitely if you find stuff that you love, like I found these wardrobes on West Elm that I love, but they were like $2,500. So I searched that on Facebook Marketplace and I found somebody that was selling them cheap and delivered it to my house. I know. So that is like a great thing to do.

Totally. But that's what I'd spend money on. I mean, people always. They love my dining table. It's so amazing. I'm like, it was like $150. Yeah. It's cheap.

I just, I'm little and I'm one person and so I have had task rabbits help me. But like, obviously, if you just need help, like hanging stuff, you don't know what to do. We've had really good luck with having people come over and help us. And then you date the task rabbit. If you're Ashley, you date the tag rabbit. Watch my special. It's on prime. Here comes a ride.

You can hear about it. But no, yeah, there's always like help out there. Affordable labor. I just, I don't spend a lot of money on design. We'll talk about this episode. But like I use Society 6 for folks. photos, IKEA frames, only IKEA frames. I don't have things framed. If you guys want to have something beautifully framed, great. We've done great work with Framebridge. But they're expensive.

IKEA frames, I mean, you're talking 20 bucks for a really nice, high quality frame. Yeah. The people's homes I like the most. It really is a mix of some, there's an expensive piece. Again, usually a couch. And then stuff is just cheap. I mean, if you have the money and you want to go all out and everything's restoration hardware, go off. But you just don't have to do that to have a nice home. I looked up restoration hardware dupes, and then I drove to Anaheim to a warehouse by myself. And I was like, if I die, this is where I'm at. So I guess there's a outlet here. A restoration outlet.

Yeah. And I think there's just a lot of nothing's junk. But it's just there's a lot of stuff that you just don't need. And probably a lot of like curtains and stuff like that. And there's maybe not as much furniture, but the furniture that they have, our friend Taylor, they got their coffee table from there. And their dining table as well. But it is, I think it's like a mob scene. And like people are like, there's a whole system.

Yes. You have to go early and people are crowding around the items. But still, she was at her house last week because I've seen it in various stages since they bought this house. And like they've gotten to this perfect place. And the coffee table is unbelievable. Yes. Looking at warehouse sales. I mean, you got to get there early.

But like there, I went to a Westtown warehouse sale and a CB2 one and like the outskirts of LA and like Manhattan Beach. But like they have amazing stuff. Bring a truck. Yeah. Okay. Love those tips. I hope you guys like the tips. Okay. Watch this space. We'll talk about some of this stuff more with Bobby today. I just want to tell you. So I'm here.

So I'm in L.A., obviously, with you. And I'm staying at a hotel with this guy. And you know what I'm like in a hotel room, Ashley? What, do you just explode? Yeah. And it's like a crime scene. He's really, like, neat and tidy. He's just about, he's like, he's clean and neat. He's like a skincare routine. Does he really be skincare routine? Yeah.

Can we table that for another discussion? I really want to talk about men in skin care. Because I was like, he was a skincare routine and he goes, yeah, I'm 40. And I was like, okay. Next time we come back, we're going to take a little bit of time off. But I want to talk about this. We really are kind of tight for time today. Men with skin care.

So watch this space. Yes, and not in like a throwing shade way. We'll talk about it. Okay. I'm curious where you're thought, Lord. Okay. I'll tell you about lunch. You could always know.

You don't want to wait for the podcast. What did you say to you? I feel like you're gatekeeping to the audience. But he stayed in my home before and he knows how like uptight I am in my house and how crazy I am. It looks like nobody lives there. But the way that I am in a hotel room is crazy. And like there was a hair extension in the bed this morning. That's how it be.

That'll probably happen to me. Yeah. One of my 8K tips after a wild Sunday afternoon will end up on the dog bed. But I was like, oh no, he's about to like really find out one of my little. like, he's not going to bother. That's how you know. Nothing I do bothers him. That's how it should be.

I'm waiting to see like, what am I going to do? Okay, well, this is our last episode for a week, so we will not have to do it on Thursday or Monday. So I just want to remind you guys, I am going back on tour. Please come. The honestly is you tour starts up against September 9th, 14 shows in the fall. I'm touring around this country. I'm going to London.

There might be a special guest in London. We've talked about at lunch. And, um... I'm going to London. Oh! And we're doing something very. exciting that we're there. We'll let you guys know, of course, and on it. I don't want to like say it right now, but I'm really excited for this trip. Oh, I'm so excited. Okay, so we're

announcing now. She's going to be in London with me. And then we're going to shut the tour down on 11-12, November 12th in Vegas. I mean, I'm inviting everybody that we're friends with, but also you guys as well. I'll be there too. Please. I'm going to run 30. Can I do an hour? I don't care. I'm going to run my new hour. I'll just sit it out. I don't care. I'll just sit it out. I don't care. There's been nights with like Matt or Brittany who opened for me in the whole last leg of the tour and I've been like, you guys want to just get up there. I don't want to do it. No, I'm just kidding. I'm so excited, though. I love this material. I did it in Salt Lake in Nashville and it was just so fun. Yeah, I'll see you guys. Rainey Greenberg.com. I'm starting in Columbus. That'll be so fun. We love Ohio. I'm sad. I won't be there. But I'll see you guys in London and in Vegas. Okay. Let's talk about our partners. Then we'll get into it with Bobby. Hinge. I mean, you know, this is mine and Ashley's favorite dating app. I love that it is just designed to cultivate and create conversation, make it easy. We've both been on tons of dates from Hinge. And also, we have friends that have gotten married off of Hinge.

But what Hinge has done is actually create this audio book, and it's called No Ordinary Love, and it's real stories of couples who took risks. So it is an audiobook written and read by five incredible contemporary authors. And Hinge just wants to encourage you to like do the thing, say the thing. I know the part of dating in the sort of gray area is really rough and scary. And it's brave when you just say like, this is what I want, let's go out on a date. This is what my boundaries are. This is what I need.

This is what I'm excited about. And I like what they're doing because it just encourages you to like go out, have the conversations, say the thing, take the risk. And you guys can get the auto book for free on Spotify. We're recording right now. Yeah. And if you like dating content, which you do, if you're listening to this podcast, you'll really like this. It's just nice. I mean, put it on in the car while you're taking a walk.

It's just like a really nice listen. And I love that they did this and love that you guys can listen on Spotify. Okay. So I am going to talk about my hair journey a little bit. You know that I have been doing wavy hair. and I've used a variety of products and I want to talk about one that I have been using. So Day is this clean, dreamy hair care brand and they have this cactus fruit, three and one styling cream.

And it has like this viral reputation and it really makes sense once you use it. So there's so many different ways to use it. So it has gone viral for slickbacks. So you can do that if you want. But you can also use it as a blow dry cream to define your waves or curls with an air dry or just to add shine. So I wouldn't say it's like a curl. cream, you know, but it really is so versatile and you can do it again to have those air dried waves to prep for your blowout to define your waves or you can use it to slick back. It really just

doesn't have one job. Okay, the slick back, I actually was like trying to do one this weekend without day and I used lotion, which I was just like, I can't. I love the, I didn't have, I didn't my day with me. Yeah. I love the look, but like it is, you need a specific type of product to make this work. We love it so, so much. It is definitely the silent cream that is most likely to do the most. And there's even a version sold in on-the-go packaging. So great for travel with this built-in taming wand, which is perfect for taming flyways, smoothing frizz and styling edges. I have these little hairs that are like some new growth, just breakage. And I'm like, I need to slick them down, but you don't want greasy-looking hair around your face or anywhere. So that's what I use for

that. We're just so obsessed with it. And again, that is the cactus fruit, three-and-one styling cream or commonly known on the streets as the 3-1 styling cream or day styling cream. So we want you guys to check it out. The scent is incredible. Their signature citrus scent, notes of citrus, dewy orange blossom and warm vanilla. So just for our listeners, visit dayhair.com and use code G-G at checkout for 20% off your first order. That's D-A-E-H-A-I-R.com and use code G-G for 20% off your first order until October 31st, 2026. Okay. And it's a design episode. So what perfect time to talk about article. If you guys are looking for a wreck, it's article. So home design obviously is super important to me. And if you're looking to curate the look of

your place, article is just the best place to do it. So they have a range of furniture styles. They've mid-century modern, coastal, scandy inspired pieces. They really shine on their own, but also they're going to show you how to style them. So if you go to their Instagram, you go their website, you see how other people have styled it and their designers have styled things together. You can mix and match different styles. We're going into the fall. It's a good time to get a new couch. I love their couches. I love their bedroom stuff, their headboards, their outdoor furniture. Again, we're getting into fall. But like just again, like Raina was saying, like, you can use their site also as a tool to see how they've styled all these items and

accessories. I have a lot of the like home accessories too. Great lamps. Everything. Really good quality. I like this Sven collection. I like their sofa. It's leather. They've been nine different colors. And I've gotten quite a few things from them. The delivery is like really seamless and easy. Packaging. packaging is wasteful. Everything really is on point. Just particularly fact. The go-to.

The weight and feel of the product, the shipping and assembly is fast and affordable, which is great. The support, I mean, Ashley and I are just like, we won't buy stuff from companies that don't have good support. So it is available seven days a week and they have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

So you can shop with confidence knowing if you're not completely in love with your furniture, you can easily return it. Right now, Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more to claim. Visit article.com slash GGE, and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. That's article.com slash gge for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

Okay, let's get into it. Okay, guys, we are very excited to welcome our guest today. He is an Emmy-winning designer, a television host, a best-selling author at one of the original stars of Netflix's Queer Eye. Over the course of his career, he has transformed hundreds of poems and lives from launching a successful home collection to authoring right at home. He's become one of the most influential voices in interior design. Please welcome to the show, Bobby Burke.

Hi, ladies, thanks for having me. Hi. Oh, my God. You forgot. voice. You forgot the Applebee's credit. Yeah, like, longest running server at Applebee's probably. Well, I was waiting to, like, to have you saying, because it is your most important credit. It is. Where did you work at Applebee's? Here? No, no, no, no. Springfield, Missouri, Branson, Missouri, and Denver, Colorado. Did you grow up in Missouri?

It did, sadly. Oh, my gosh, three different places. The one in Branson. You did the circuit. Yeah, well, Branson, I didn't even live in Branson, but I would drive from Springfield to Branson. Branson's like Vegas meets Nashville. in the Ozark Mountains, it's weird. And I would work all day Friday, and then I would sleep in my car in the parking lot Friday night, and I'd work all day Saturday, and then sleep in my car in the parking lot Saturday night,

and then all day Sunday, and then drive back to Springfield, because it was like an hour and a half in between, so I couldn't, and I had a really shitty car that wouldn't make it all the time. Oh, gosh. So that way I only had to work three full days because I would make more in Branson than I would working seven days at spring.

Wow. Wow. What a come up? During the Weight Watchers menu era? No, this would have been the late next. 90s. Oh, it's heyday. Yeah. Honestly.

Tequila lime chicken. It was so good. I used to all the time. Well, we were more of a Friday's family and me and my friends, but I grew up where there was a NASCAR track in Dover, Delaware. And so Applebee's on a NASCAR weekend, y'all, we'd be going there. It was two hour wait. My server friends and I from Applebee's, TGI Fridays was always open like two hours later

than Applebee's. Yeah. We would close and then we'd go across the street to drink at Fridays. Yes. You hit the rounds. Okay. Play trivia. Yes, yes, we had a karaoke at ours.

I dated a bouncer. Anyway, you know, that's a whole note. Bouncers, what was it? Bouncers, busboys, and another sex in the city reference. Bouncers, Bouncers, busboys. Bouncers, bus. Like, who fucks the best? Like, what is they referring to?

What, fuck Mary Kill? No, no, no, no, no. Samantha was like in her sea of like 20-something men, and she's like, I'm only dating bouncer, Bouncers, busboys, and... Cater waiters? No, it was another Bouncer. Bouncers, Bouncers, Bost, and bartenders. I'm still in that era?

That's the one where Carrie was like, yeah, I'll do that too. And then when she woke up, like, she had to use toilet paper for coffee filter. But then she didn't have any to wipe with. Yeah. She's like, I'm never doing this again. Okay. So, Bobby, you've come a long way since the Branson Appleby's. Yes.

And people know you from all these different things we mentioned. Can you tell us, like, what you're doing now, focused on now? Like, what's going on your life? Yeah. So I have a new show on HGTV and HBO called Junker Jackpot. It was created by John Cena. He had this, I know, it's random, right? He had this idea while out at dinner with friends, and he contacted ATV, and he was like, I want Bobby Burke from queer eye to host it, if he will.

And so they reached out, and I was like, well, sure, when Daddy asks to. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, yes, daddy. You say yes. So, yeah, we've been doing that. It's fun. It's a cute show.

I love that. And not an ensemble cast, which is a different format. Exactly. It's just me. Yeah, you are. And then I have my design firm, which I've had for decades at this point. I also have a hospitality brand called Kamana Collective. It's a collection of wellness estates.

So it's private wellness retreat estates. I don't know if you've ever been on a wellness retreat, but here in the states... Thank you for the hanging that we look like we go on. You know, wellness retreats, while ayahuasca retreat, you know, any type of retreat. You know, here in the states, there's not really places for that. You rent an Airbnb, which doesn't have all the amenities you need, or you rent out a block of rooms in a hotel,

which then usually will have some creeper guy, like all of your downward dog, and it's not fun. We ruin the vibe. So our properties are, like, private estates. That is just your group. But we've also built them out with saunas and coal plunges and pickleball courts and chef's kitchen. So you have all the amenities you would get at a hotel,

but all the privacy you would get as if you were having a retreat at a friend's estate. And where are they? So we have one in Palm Desert already. That one, class at a year. Okay. And then we have a second one that's opening up down the street in the next couple months. And then we'll be opening up more in other type of climate locations.

Congrats. That's also just there's a obviously trend, especially with the younger generation of even like bacheloretts. People want to do that type of thing. So we also have tons of weddings there, bachelor's, corporate retreats. And honestly, just like people who want a property for a large group of friends,

because I set up the property, like I like to travel with people, but I don't love people. You know, So I don't want to be in one big house under one roof. So all of our properties have multiple homes on the property. So you can go with your friends, but you have your own spaces. All of them are on three to nine acres.

So there's all these little moments where you can have great interactions with the whole group or small groups or literally just time by yourself. Okay. So yeah, they're really cool. Well, congrats on all this stuff you've gone on. I like to travel with people, but I don't really like people. Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know what I mean? Yeah, you're like, I want to be.

able to hang, but I also want to not be able to hang. Ashley wants to be with people all the time. She just wants to like do everything, be in a group, be around people. And I am like, I'm going to take a walk alone. What's your sign? I'm a Gemini. She's a cancer. All my best girlfriends are all Gemini's.

Really? We have a lot of Gemini friends. We've so. So many. My sister, like everybody like really in my close orbit, even my husband, I thought he was, but then in the end. What is he? He's a Libra.

A Libra. So is mine. Yeah. His mom lied about his birthday his whole life, and we only found out recently. What? That is kind of crazy. Was he born in a different country? Vietnam.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my husband, we can't find his, we know his birthday, but not his like full horoscope, like sun moon and rising. But when I first met him, I thought he was a Scorpio. I was like, ooh, so sexy. But actually Libra is where it's at, super balanced, really unproblematic. And he would always be like, I'm not a Gemini. I don't feel like a Gemini. And finally we're like, you were right.

First time. All along you've been around. Leberman, really. We were at Mirval Resort, and we were going to get our charts read. And so we're like, hey, Ma, what time was he born? and she was like, oh, 730 September 23rd. Whatever, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we were like, no, no, his birthday's June 7th, 19.

And she's like, no. That's how you found out? Yeah, she didn't want him to get a bad reading. So she was like, I better fess up. All this time. She's like, now's a weird time to let you know. Yeah, in Vietnam. So births aren't registered at the hospital.

Okay. Back then anyways. You had to go to a registry office, a government registry office to register your baby. and military service was mandatory. And she wanted him to be older. He had to go into the military. So she waited till the very last minute until they came knocking.

And they're like, hey, you got to register your baby. Jim Staten. Yeah. That was such a fun. The next year. You've got to see the baby from Seinfeld. I was like, if no one laughs at that. Oh, my gosh.

She's for Staten Island. Yeah, the Vietnamese guy in Vietnam is from St. Island. He's like, Ma, we got to get the birthday. You got to see the baby. And so Jude 6 happened to be the day they came knocking. And they're like, this is the last day you can do it until you're going to get fined. And so, yeah.

This is really so crazy, though, that you called her. She was like, now's the time. I'm going to tell the truth. Yeah. And she was just like so nonchalant about it. It wasn't like, oh, I have, I need to tell you something. She's like, what I lied. Here's the date.

And we're like, that's not the date. She's like, yeah, it is. I feel like my mom would do. that she'd be like what i know your brother's birthday who cares about yours yeah you can be a leap or two right now who knows to say there yeah there's a lot to unpack there yeah yeah so okay wait what's yours i'm a vergo okay okay okay do you feel like a virgo vergo okay isn't that's very like off camera to everyone that feels design organization all that and very like yes yeah okay so we want to talk to you on design you're the first designer to ever be on the show

Really? We do dating and relationships, which we will touch on a little bit, like living with a significant other. But we pull our audience about what are they looking for in terms of design advice. And I was looking at your website. And the first thing I was really drawn to is that, and we were talking about this earlier, is you do suggest some, like, budget-friendly options. And I think when people hear interior designer, they're like, what is this going to cost me? And you're so great at being like, pick an aesthetic, a theme, a color. I'll drive you towards what to spend and how to spend it.

So maybe a good place to start. and our audience was like, I'm going to design a place in my apartment. Where do I even begin to figure out my style, my theme? How do I know what I like? I mean, my brand has always been about democratizing design. Like, I feel like design is for everybody. Design shouldn't just be for the rich. I've always wanted to be accessible.

So for me, like, you know, I kind of learned different tactics of figuring out people's aesthetic. Mm-hmm. From the very beginning, the first episode of Queer Eye, actually. I asked Tom, I'm like, what's your, what's your aesthetic? And he's like, oh, French industrial. And I was like, that's specific. Do you know what that is? And he was like, no, I just heard it once.

And I was like, okay. And so often you'll ask a client, what's your design aesthetic? And they'll just say something they think. And, you know, this isn't their thing. So that's why they're hiring a designer. So often they'll just throw something out there so they don't sound stupid or, you know, but it's not right. And so you'll design around that.

So I've learned to ask people, you know, what's your dream vacation? Show me your favorite piece of clothing. You know, what's your favorite TV show? You know, there was a client once who was a young bachelor and he had no idea, no fashion sense, no nothing. And so I was like, what's your dream vacation? And he was like, oh, like, I want to go to Havana.

I want to go to Cuba. I'm like, what's your favorite show? And he's like, madman. I'm like, okay, you love the 50s. And hypermasculine? You love mid-century. So I did the whole house in mid-century. And like I did this cool, like, banana leaf wallpaper in the bathroom

and like a mural of Havana in the living room. And he was like, how did you, this is so me? How did you get that? I gave you nothing. And I was like, no, you gave me everything. You gave me the things that you're passionate about and you love. And he's like, I didn't tell you anything about design. I'm like, you didn't need to.

Fill your home full of the things that you're passionate about and you love. And that's what your design aesthetic is. Not look at a magazine to be like, oh, yeah, this is trendy right now. So this is what I should do. No, no, no. Figure out what you love outside of design. I mean, if you already know what you love and design, great. But a lot of people don't.

I haven't really thought of it. And then they just go all white or something. Or they just pick a thing. If you are passionate about Paris, girl, go that direction. Yeah, I'd love that question. Yeah. But I'm like, yeah, if you want to do something themey or some Eiffel Tower pictures, you know, I'm just saying this because I recently saw an apartment that was real Paris.

And I was like, okay. But she loved it. She came home every day and her home recharges her because it was filled with things that make her happy. and Paris is one of those. So fill your home full of things that make you happy. And just like your phone needs a full charge every night, you'll be getting that full charge every night. I love that. I love that.

I like think about where you want to be on vacation. And what do you think? Like I'm so drawn to beautiful places. And I just immediately think Greece. That's the, I like why I like that clean. I don't know. You know me. Centurini.

Yeah. That's what I picture. If you're like pick a place that you want to translate into your home, I think that's what I'd go with. And do it. Uh-huh. Lots of white. Some blue pops, some natural stones. Yes, stone.

Totally. I just, I like the lobby of the one hotel. And a girlfriend in my art was designed. It's funny. I did all the upholstery for the one hotel in Central Park. Oh, well, really? Crushed it. Yeah.

We have a girlfriend that designed her apartment in Florida also, and she gave her inspo the lobby of the one hotel in Miami was her inspo. I like a lot of, it's probably not that in styling. I like a lot of white and a lot of wood. I live at the beach, my house in Venice. So that's how I designed it. But like, I just moved to New York. It doesn't really translate there, like this beachy aesthetic.

so I had to learn how to update that for the city. If that's what makes you happy. I know. I mean, New York's a lot, so why not come home to a beachy vibe? I like that you said that too, because I think that there's like a lot of trends. I'd love to hear your thoughts on trends

that are just like, this isn't in anymore. Millennial gray is not in. All white's not in. I mean, I'm kind of glad gray is not in anymore. I'm just kind of, it was a little much. The gray wall, this is awkward. The gray walls, the gray, as I'm pointing down, I'm like the gray carpet.

But no, the gray like wood. the gray wood the gray wood floors the gray wood cabinets that's where I was like this is true you drop a line yeah

this is too much that's a good call so where do you feel like people should splurge and save or is this really case by case it's kind of case by case but you're always

going to get your investment back on your kitchen and bathrooms other rooms not necessarily okay you know but kitchen and bathroom upgrades

it's always going to increase the value of your home okay and if somebody says let's say living room if somebody's like okay in my living room where should I put a lot of money and where should I save?

Because interior design is so important to me. I spend so much time on it. And for me, I'm like, I want to spend on the couch. That's the thing I sit on. But everything else I can actually find a little bit cheaper. But how do you advise somebody? I would say, you know, don't go crazy on a sofa. But yeah, make sure you're getting a quality sofa.

Because if you're not getting a quality sofa, it's not going to last very long. You're going to have to replace it again. So when it comes to furniture like that that you use, get more better quality. Like the other things that you're not sitting on, you know, that you're not like physically using, you can go a little bit cheaper on. But yeah, a sofa, I always say spend good money on a mattress, you know, that will, it's worth the investment, you know, and aches and pains, it's worth the investment. Okay.

Also, I mean, people, it might be what rooms you care about. I really care about a bathroom. Some people don't. You know, if I'm talking about even renting and can I do certain things here and there to make my apartment home more enjoyable that I don't own because we're going to talk about like that today, too. It might be like, spend a little money doing the bathroom. You spent money to do your kitchen in New York? My bathroom.

And I rented. I rented and I knew that I'd live there for at least four years. Yeah, sometimes it's worth it. So I replaced the sink, the mirror, and the lights. And I told the owner I was going to do it. And I think I spent under $1,000. And I was like, okay, this is $250 a year for me for four years to have a better bathroom.

Yeah. I've changed almost every rental I've ever run on. Right. Okay. Yeah. So a lot of our listeners rent. I mean, are there certain things you would say? say,

yeah, we want to hear your thoughts on that because people will come for you. Why would you do that? You're renting, you know? Well, I mean,

just like with you, you went to the landlord and got permission. Sometimes that's the route. Right. Sometimes it's not the route. You know, you know,

because if you are just, yeah, yeah, if you're changing the lighting in a room, keep the original, you know, and switch it back.

Mm-hmm. They're shitty garbage, yeah. Yeah, if you, it's better to ask for forgiveness and permission. That's how I live most of my life.

Same. Like, I remember years ago, I was living in this awful apartment in Denver, and I put in new flooring, I put in new bathroom stuff, I put in new lighting, I painted the kitchen cabinets, I painted the walls, and the manager's building,

she hated me, and she came in once and saw it, and she was like, oh, this is, I've got you. Look at what you did, and she brought the owner, and she's like, look at what he did. And the owner looks at me, and he goes, how much for you to do the other apartments? I knew that was going to happen, obviously. Yeah, he's like, can we do a tradeout

where I give you free rent for you to do this to the other apartments? And I was like, well, now there's a start of queer eye. Yeah, yeah. Wow. I love that story. Like, we have our bedroom, the lighting, it was like the grossest lighting fixture. And we put in like a fandalier.

Like, I don't know. A fanelier. Like it has this very like beachy vibe to it. And I'm like, well, when we move out, she can keep the fandalier. Like, whatever, but we'll keep the original thing if she wants that disgusting lighting fixture back. But, you know. Uh-huh. So how do you feel about peel and stick wallpaper?

I mean, I have my own collection, so I love it. Yeah, we love it. Yeah, we love it. Yeah, we love it. And it's perfect for a bathroom as well because peeling stick wallpaper is usually a final. And also your bathroom walls are usually painted in a gloss. And it comes off easiest from that. Right, right.

Don't ever put peel and stick wallpaper on flat paint. Okay. We've done that, but that's okay. Well, it doesn't come off. It doesn't feel it off. It doesn't feel it off. Yeah, yeah. I learned that the hard way years ago.

But you think for a rental, life textures, peel and stick wallpaper. Peel and paper is great paint. You know, I know, I know. Lisa's usually always say you can't paint, do it anyways. As long as you pay it. A, if you don't care about your security closet, B, if you do care about your security closet, paint it back when you're done.

Like, you know, if you're only going to live there six months to a year, eh, whatever. But if you're going to be there for a few years, make it your own, you know, make it a place that you feel happy in. Are you a real slut for lighting? I do, yeah, I'm a slut for lighting. Let's talk about it.

I want it up top. I want it on the bottom. I want it in the middle. It just matters so much. Am I warning? Do you ever go into someone's house? They have fluorescent bulbs. You're like, how are you living like this?

Like, I've gone to my brother's house and I'm like, Matt, I need to bring you light bulbs. My husband's aunt years ago, I like did a little like judge to their house and I painted and I like got new furniture for them and I made it really cute and like good lighting. And then I came over a week later and she had mounted like a fluorescent light like this to the wall of the living room and the dining room. And I was like, Kathy, what's the floor? And she's like, it's too dark in here. And I was like, but, but this? Yes. And she's like, yes.

And I'm like, well, why this? We're in a psych ward? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Or not even, not fluorescent. I get, it's just whatever that bulb is, that bright, not the soft light. That's what you're talking about, not the soft light. Yeah, there's different levels of, it's called Kelvin levels.

And like, this is like a 5,000. It's like operating room. You're at work. And then a lower, like a 2,700 Kelvin is perfect. So it's a nice, soft more of a yellowish light. Yes. That feels nice. It feels more like a,

an old school incandescent bulb. And it feels more like the golden hour. Right. And so when you're picking a bulb, look for 2,700 Kelvin. Okay. Higher than that, it's going to be too cool. Lower than that, it's going to be too, like, antique bulb. 2700's like the goldy locks of light bulbs.

Okay. It's weird how some people don't pick up on it. And I'm like, don't you hate this? They're like, I don't know what you're talking about. And like overhead lighting has its moment. But I think they're very few and far between when you're cleaning. Maybe when you're getting ready. If you need surgery in the apartment.

Yeah, yeah. You're folding clothes and putting stuff away. Like I wish our bedroom actually had overhead lighting. It doesn't because sometimes I'm like, I wish I had more lighting. Right. Yeah, mine too. But you then need to have, you know, lamps. And I like uplighting as well, you know, at the bottom of plants.

Yes. I usually like to put a light bulb in my potted plants and then it like shines up. I was going to ask you we thought about that. It's luxurious. Yeah, you should also have everything on dimmers because people are like, oh, I have such a hard time sleeping. I lay in bed for an hour before I can fall asleep. I'm like, well, do you dim your lights a couple hours before? They're like, no.

I'm like, well, you're sitting under bright lights. Our bodies don't start producing melatonin until it gets dark. Like, that's how we evolved. We evolved under the stars. When it gets dark, our body's like, oh, let me start producing melatonin. We're going to be going to sleep soon. So if you don't dim your lights, if you're sitting under bright lights, your body doesn't know. And then you're like, oh, I'm going to bed now.

And your body's like, oh, shit, okay, let me start producing this. That's such a good sleep hack and like you need to wind down. Uh-huh. Maybe you need to get your phone away. Yes. Yeah. And blue light. So the sun has different ranges of light as well.

So early morning light is white. It's like this. And that's what your body needs to wake up. Wake up, yeah. But amber light, again, you're just telling your body, it's time to go to sleep. So there's a setting on your phone that you can change the, take the blue out of your phone. Yeah, the light mode. Yeah.

I have that come on at like 9 p.m. Do you have Bluetooth enabled bulbs? I just put those in in my apartment? Because I don't, my apartment has no light fixtures. And I was like, I don't know what to do here. And the internet suggested I get these bulbs. I've been using Phillips Hugh for years and started in New York City apartments that had no lighting. Yes.

And there's an app I can dim them. But I love the idea of up lighting. And I think it is really luxurious. And a lot of our listeners were like, what are little touches I can do to make something feel more luxurious for less money? The right lighting can make a shithole look amazing. Mm-hmm. All right. Well, let's talk about furniture then.

Like, are there other ways to make a room look better, whether it's artwork or furniture, is your furniture too big? It makes the room look cheap? Things like that. So always think about function and flow. You might love a sofa, but if it's too big, you're going to end up hating it or if it's too small you're going to end up hating it. Too small sofa. There's nothing more embarrassing. Then you walk into a room, you're like, this is too embarrassing. You go

over to a hookup and you walk in and the sofa is so small. And you're like, Britney Spears can't move on this. I am not sitting on that. I'm not fucking on that. If you want me to suck your dick, you will get a bigger sofa. I'm sorry, we both can't fit on that. What is this? What are we doing? Then you get on your knees. I just something, it's so sad.

Yeah. When furniture's too small. Size does matter. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and it needs to be just right. Exactly. Because if it's too small, there's nowhere to sit.

And if it's too big, there's nowhere to walk. Exactly. You know? So yeah, make sure, like, function and scale is a big deal for furniture. Yeah. And also if you're living in, like, New York, your furniture needs to do double time. Like, every piece, at least, it needs to have two different uses. So often I say, hey, if you live in a small space for a coffee,

table, get like a storage coffee table or get like storage cubes that you put together as your coffee table. They have storage in them. If you need more seating when guests come over, they can be seating. Oh, okay. So, you know, a bed if you have a small apartment with a small bedroom, make sure it's a bed that either A has drawers underneath or B is high enough that you can put other things underneath. Like the clearance. I remember that when I was in New York. I was like, I'm going to have to put storage bins under this. I remember doing the measurements with the box like to make sure I had the clearance on the bed frame. You go to Bethion and get this little stilt things to put your bed frame on them.

So it could be higher and you'd get more stuff under there. Yeah. But I think the number one question we got was how do I get storage in my apartment? Yeah. So this is perfect.

Everything should have space in it to store stuff. Yeah. If you have, again, going back to the cubes, like even if you have space for a small dining table, don't do chairs,

do storage cubes. Mm-hmm. Oh. Because A, it's seating that can move into the living room. B, it's more storage. So, I love this. That doubles his chairs.

You don't sit there and have like hours long dinner or sometime. It's, you don't necessarily need a back. It's more important to have storage. And also the cubes slide completely under the table. So visually, it makes the space feel bigger.

I love a storage cube. Yeah. And I don't know how you feel about this. Like, just for an example, like my husband and I are thinking moving back to New York, we looked at this place. We actually really loved it. It was a ton of space, great outdoor space. But there oddly wasn't space for a dining table. We have a great dining table here in L.A.

We have a nice big house. And I was like, but how often do we use our dining table? And I don't know. We could put one outside, so we could have people over when the weather is nice. And most nights we eat outside on our patio or we eat at our bar and our kitchen. I'm like literally we never sit at that table. So I wonder if people just think they're like I could never not have a dining table. But it's like how often use our dining table.

I mean, did you ever have one in New York though? I've just, this is my first apartment at this big age of older than 40 that I first time I've ever had a dining table in my apartment. I just didn't need it. But that's the thing. I kind of want to give people the freedom to be like, fuck it. If you don't use it and you have a limited space. Fuck the dining table. I mean, I think most people in New York realize that already.

Yes. Okay, even when I was like in my late 30s, I lived in New York to eat dinner, I sat on my floor and I ate off of my coffee table. I mean, we have a house up in the hills and I still don't use a dining table. I like to eat the island. Yeah, we eat at the kitchen in the island. Yes. Or we eat at the, you know, the coffee table and watch TV. Yeah, so it's just like fuck your tiny table.

And when we have people over, we usually eat outside. Yes, see, that's what I'm saying. I put this very thin. You remember my last apartment? This kind of, is it a credenza? I pushed it up against the window and it was sort of like my desk and if I needed somebody to eat, I would put it there. But it's thin and long. So instead of circular and taking up all that space.

For a table is great for, yeah, other things. What else are you doing on it? Are you fucking on the dining room table? Yeah, of course. Obviously. It's thin and long and, you know, it's great. I mean, you give me a service and I'll fuck on anything, honestly. I'm so horny lately.

Who wants thin and long? A girl's got to eat, right? I want to circle back now that I'm so horny To artwork And Bobby, I love you so much I think it's also You're turning red, I'm surprised I know weirdly sometimes I get like

embarrassed which is weird because I'm like you said it You started this But definitely I'm not to a person on this Is this laugh not Jeremy? Oh my God This is like my best friend Yeah Jeremy Jacobowitz

We love him You might know his content He does amazing food content New York you should do a show. He sits and asks, what's your bagel order in the park. Have you ever seen these clips? He's done like, did he do John Cena? Ashley and I were both on it. Oh, he used to work for the WWE. He's had politicians and it's fun and he asks celebrities, what's your bagel order? It's just fun and like I want to see them laugh together and you'd be like surround sound. You guys have the same exact laugh. I love the laugh. He's like an amazing laugh. I've always said that. So we get like a little taste here today. Yeah. Okay, I want to talk about art because I also think that's a good way to like make your space. look ridiculous or expensive or nice but like there's such a range so like if someone is looking to like put some artwork up

how big how much space where do we start I mean that's loaded question yeah that depends on the space depends on where it's going don't put a tiny piece above your sofa like if you have a tiny piece add some other tiny pieces to it you know don't just do one tiny piece

a gallery of tiny pieces but I say with art mix your art up you know I hate it when I walk into somewhere and everything is just paintings Like mix your mediums up Do some photography, do some paintings Do some objects You know, don't make it look like

Oh, I just went to home goods And I got all the painting things Yeah Mix your artwork up Because it looks then more collected Instead of designed Okay Are there certain websites that you like

Like I mean this is lower and cheaper But like I've always like Society 6 They have so many prints and photography I find a lot of great objects on Etsy Obviously Yes From individual makers Society success grade. You can also, on Etsy, find great artists that you can just download

the art. You don't actually have to get a physical one. And then you can email that to companies like frameology and they can frame it and then send it to you. And it's great. Love that. Any other like affordable framing options? I mean, IKEA, honestly, the best frames. I've used them so, so, so many times. Okay, me too. And you don't have to send it away and spend a fortune. And I know, like, when I sometimes look up the price of framing, it's shocking. It's one of those weird things. Like, what are we doing here? Like, what's going on in the framing industry?

Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. But yeah, like, framology is, I mean, it's not inexpensive, but compared to other framing sites, it's great value. Okay. But, yeah, if you're, like, on a super budget, just do IKEA ones. I totally agree. And you can print out art yourself. So I do that.

I print stuff out at CVS. I'll download files and stuff like that. I'll print it out at CVS and I frame it with IKEA. And it looks beautiful. How do you feel an accent wall? It depends. Again, all about whatever makes you happy. So if you love a big purple accent wall, go for it.

I prefer to do an accent wall, kind of like what's happened here, like a texture. Okay. That's cool. As opposed to just one color. So if you guys aren't watching, it's sort of like, what would you call this? A fluted. A fluted wall. Yeah, it's fluted.

I can't tell what material. But even the wall behind you is a textured look. Yeah, yeah. It's like a color wash. Like a plaster. Yeah. But yeah, so I prefer a room to be one color. You do. Because it just feels bigger.

Right. Okay. But I do love to add a texture to one of the walls because that adds some depth and some interest. Okay. Someone's like, I'm going to just not do any art, but I'm going to paint this wall red. It's like, yikes, Mr. Big. Remember the red wall?

Yeah. So if you're in a small space or you're trying to create another room, a workspace, how do you recommend doing it? The last apartment I'm talking about, we were down in full. Bolton Street in South Street, Seaport. And it was a studio with a nook. Uh-huh. And so I'm like, well, I want a full bedroom.

I'm like, I'm going to put a wall up. Okay. Like put a wall up. Yeah. I definitely had to pay the billing manager to take it down when we left. But, yeah. There's a lot of that in New York. Those fake walls.

I mean, it's just, I don't know who you call for it. Well, because to put up a fake wall in New York, you can't put it all the way to the ceiling. Oh. Okay. Because then it's a real wall and, like, fire sprinklers and all kinds of stuff. so you can put it like, I think, within 12 inches of the ceiling, and I put it all the way up, you know,

which is why it had to be removed. I saw one place in New York that I really liked that was like bookcases where it was enough to separate a space. Yeah, I mean, a Billy bookcase from IKEA is a really great inexpensive way. Yeah, like, and it wasn't a bedroom. It was like a workspace, but it was like the way that they had some separation in like a big open space. I always find it fascinating what people are able to do in just big studio loft spaces

that makes it feel like there's separate areas in real. rooms. Is there a way to make a room feel bigger? I mean, even drapes. You know, IKEA has these really great ceiling mount drapery tracks and you can mount it on the ceiling and you can create private space that can then be pushed back if you need it to be more open. That's a good call. Yeah, like one of the places we looked at also would have to do something like that. And so you hang it from the ceiling. Yep. Hang it from the ceiling. You're like in a hospital. Like the curtains in between the beds. You can get those type of tracks that look not like a hospital. And it's, yeah, a really great way to divide a space inexpensively. And so. You're like in a hospital. And so. You're like in a

and something that can easily come down. Yeah, okay, nice. Do you like for storage, like, if there's no closets, do you have a suggestion? Arm walls. Like, arm, yeah, okay. Again, I keep mentioning IKEA, but IKEA has great closet systems.

I mean, the amount of IKEA closet systems I bought when I lived in New York, you know, a ton. I mean, if you have tons of money, you have a custom closet companies. Yeah, California closets is amazing. Yeah. IKEA, you can really customize also an extreme amount of customization,

but a lot of places just don't have closets. I mean, I've lived in apartments in New York that have like one closet for a two-bedroom apartment. Well, I mean, it was, was it an older building? Yeah, they were built when people had three outfits. Yeah, right. You couldn't have a shopping addiction. Yeah, you had your work outfit, you had your evening outfit, and you had your Sunday outfit, and that's it. Right.

Day to night. Yeah. Okay, just going to take a quick break, and then we'll get back into it. I'm telling you guys about Nutrifle. So as you know, I'm always on a hair journey. I feel like it's never looked better. And Nutraful is the cornerstone of what I do. I take my four capsules of the women's formula daily, and I've been taking it for years.

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Visit BetterHelp.com slash G-G-E. That's BetterH-E-L-P dot com slash G-G-E. Okay. Let's talk about some color and design stuff. What's your stance on colors? Is there too much color? Like, if you have-stance is no. Okay.

No color. No, no, okay. Like, if someone comes to you and they're like, I love a bunch of color, like, do you have to take them down a notch or can we just go crazy? No, I mean, because that's what you love? Great. If you love maximal's color, and I used to be very, I mean, I don't have a lot of color in my own home, but I've recently started thinking about embracing it. I've always liked neutrals.

I like adding a lot of texture in my house, so this is very tactile. But I'm starting to really love color, like just saturating everywhere. I love that you said I'm thinking about color. I'm like that too. I'm thinking about brown. Well, how are you introducing it? I want to hear. Like, tell us how you're bringing some color into life.

I'm not yet. No, I'm just thinking about it. I'm thinking about it. I don't ever want to do anything to my own house. Really? No. Like, we've been planning on remodeling our house.

We have the plans done and everything since we bought it in 2020. We still haven't. Because we keep doing other projects. Like, we've done two houses in the desert. We've had our house in Portugal. And it's what I do for a living. Totally. I don't want to do it when I get home.

Yeah. I decorated the house when we moved in with what we had from the other places. And it's great. It's fine. It's mid-century. And I don't want to change anything because I'm like, I'm going to wait until we remodel. Got it'll change.

everything. Right. Yeah. It's so, I'm the same way. I'm like, I'm terrified of color. I have recent, I do have a couple rust colored throw pillows. And I've touched on some darker wood shades for like, maybe like a candle or something like that. This is not a hot take, but I just am not a design person like at all. I do my best.

But I just don't have that talent. I have lots of other skills and talents. But I remember asking a friend, like, my couch is dark and it just felt really masculine to me. And I wanted to be dark. We have a dog. He's black. Like I just, and she was like, actually do like white throw pillows and like a white blanket. And it changed.

Balance. Yeah. Like little things. Like you can't do too much dark because it feels too heavy. You can't do too much light because it, yeah, it's not great. So it's all about balance. If you're going to do black cabinets in your kitchen, do a lot of other things light color. You know, light floors.

You can't do dark floors and dark cabinets. Totally. It's too much. You can't do light floors and light cabinets because it, you know, you could. But it's balance. Right. So when it comes to light and dark in a space, I'm always trying to. to balance it as much as possible.

Yeah, like a bunch of white throw pillows change the look of the whole couch with the white Lola on it too. Polo blanket. I mean, I'm sure that, you know, people want to pay you and they have an idea. You're happy to facilitate it, but like, are there some design trends

where you're like, don't do this. This will not age well. I mean, we always try to steer people away from trends. Trends in general, okay. Because you're right, they don't age well. You can walk in and you're like, oh, Kelly Green, 1998, you know, like. Yeah, it's like a wedding almost.

I see a lot of the TikToks. I'm like, you can tell what you're this wedding took place because of like the trend. Okay. What we want to talk about is moving in with a partner. Okay. And I bought and renovated a house. I had the pleasure of not having to talk to somebody else. I got to do every single thing that I wanted and then I got to furnish it exactly how I wanted.

But like, I also think I have incredible taste and we should defer to what I want. But I was lucky enough to not have to do that this time with a partner. But I have moved in with partners before. And they're like, I want to put my football helmets up. I want to put my jerseys up. And this is, I mean, this is when I was younger. But you wouldn't. I've heard you have heard you with somewhere like that now.

But yes, I hear. I mean, I was like, did you pay for this football team? No. So you can't have your helmet up in our house. Are you on this team? No. I mean, I have done sports memorabilia rooms. Yeah.

Yeah. Sure. Yeah, but not. In the main room. No. Like, we put a helmet on our billy bookcase from IKEA in Brooklyn. I was 23. Right.

Yeah. Years ago, I was speaking and this woman in the end had a question. And she was like, hey, so I've been dating this guy for years and we're madly in love. And I think we're going to get married. But he doesn't care about design. Like, not it. His house is just sparse. He doesn't care anything about design.

He has no opinions on it. And like, I'm obsessed with design. I love design. It's everything. She's like, I feel like I can't marry him because he doesn't care. That sounds great. I'm like, are you crazy? That's perfect.

If you have such strong opinions about design, designs and he has none. I'm like, that is an ideal situation. And she goes, I've never thought of it that way. And I was like, are you? What's wrong with you? As long as he's not being like, we have to hang up my car poster. Yeah, no. He would deferred to her? Yeah. A dream. A dream. You're going to have a great life. Yeah. What is? Go marry him right now. Go tomorrow. That's really so crazy. And that really is probably a lot of couples. Like, you care about this. You are better at this. You do it. My husband has opinions now and it drives me crazy. Oh, how dare you?

I mean, I moved in with him in 2004, and he lived on the Upper East Side and Mount Sinai student housing, like literally like a folding table for the dining room, like a commercial one, a mattress on the floor, you know, until I came in and I redone everything. He didn't care, but now he has a pain.

Is he an interior designer? No, he's a surgeon. 22 years later. He's a surgeon? Yeah, yeah, but the great thing is. Do you give him advice on surgery? Exactly. Exactly.

Yes. I am a Virgo. I can do this. But I mean, luckily, I mean, we've been together for 24 years. Luckily, his opinions have been molded by me. Right. You are a surgeon now too, though. Yeah, yeah. Are you that kind of guy that's like, I could fly the plane?

Yeah, I'm gay. I'm a Virgo. Yeah, I can do that. I'll read one book. I'll fly the plane. There's this audio that was going around. It's like, you know what, the gays have the ability to just do things, blah, blah, blah. You know, rocket science, yeah, I'm gay.

I can do that. Blah, blah, blah. I'm gay. I can do that. It's a very funny audio. Yeah. We've had to always just figure out how to make it work. Right.

The plane's going down. I can't have some straight man run up here and try to... It goes, gay men, straight women, way at the bottom. Straight men. Okay, you might not have an answer to this. This might just be like go to therapy. But like, if you have designed, you've decorated your space and you have a partner moving in and they want to like bring their shit into the space.

And this is like the top tier of what stresses me out. It's like you are going to come in here and I've already made the design choices. Do you have advice? Are you asking me or? Whoever has the best taste wins. Whoever thinks that they're a therapist. Whoever's the best taste wins. Yeah. Let's put this on Instagram.

You have to vote. Yeah. You know, put stuff blindly on Instagram for people to vote on. Don't say whose it is and just let people vote. And whoever gets the least votes concedes. I think it's tough. I mean, like Shishonk has... What's his name?

My husband's name is Shishon. That's so cool. Yeah, it's a good name. He has opinions. He has stuff. he liked, luckily it wasn't football helmets. Yeah, he's an adult. But he has those cause sculptures.

He gave you one. They're, this artist he likes, like street art, they're all black, thank God. So they just really like can blend in. They blend into the background. They're not, and they can look chic. Yeah. It's not my dream that they're at our house. But like, we have found places for them and I.

To hide them. No, you can, they're out there. They're kind of cool. I will say that. Like they are, again, they're not football jerseys. I have one on my shirt. Over the years, I just would slowly throw things away. I mean, but like this is, it's hard to say to somebody.

His dreams, yeah. Yeah, I don't know where that sculpture went. It was so weird. Yeah. To your point, if you have the space and there can be sort of like a place for it. Yeah, you're like, this is going to be amazing in guest room. In your room. Yeah, in your room.

Yeah, in the back wing. In the storage space. But I don't, I want to validate this. I don't really know that I have the answer. Like we're talking about a woman If we're talking about... It's an impossible question with no answer. Right.

It's because, I mean, every situation's different. I guess you just have to compromise on it. But I'm literally picturing a signed jersey and it's in a frame. That's what I'm picturing. This is this man's like pride and joy. Make more money and get a bigger house.

Hallway, hallway. Compromise. So have it framed to match the room that it's in. Okay. You know, I don't love the idea of it either. But compromise. If it's like an ugly jersey in a crap frame and it doesn't look good, you're like, all right, if we want this in there, it's got to be elevated. You need to pay to have it framed nicely.

It needs to be matted, like to where it looks like a piece of art instead of a jersey in a plastic frame. Yeah, and then wait them out. They won't do it. Yeah, they won't do it. But I just... Or pay the movers to lose their boxes. I'm like, I don't know what happened. Can you imagine?

You're like, okay, there's a few boxes marked with a big two on them. You put a one-ten on it. One-10. One-10. And then when you draw a line in between, it means it says no. No, okay. We solved it. Am I going to get Applebee's suit here?

We used to do that Applebee is when people would drop off their applications and we would be like, no, we didn't get the vibe. We'd put 110 at the top, so that way the manager knew not to call them. Oh, my gosh. We didn't like their vibe. That's so funny. Please sue Bobby individually, the former employee. He seemed like a lot. We don't want to work with that.

Yeah. So, but let's talk about a couple that's moving in, and they're going to tackle this together. And have you ever met with couples like this? Like, have you ever kind of been in the middle of how are we going to merge your styles? Years ago, we had a client, and it was his house. But he had a girlfriend who, he had a girlfriend who, he, He would say to us, you know, she probably isn't going to be around that long, so don't listen to her. Okay.

Yeah, which I could understand why. She's kind of crazy. But she would cause so many issues because he would make a decision and she wouldn't like that. So then they'd get in a fight about it. And then it would cause us to not be able to pull the trigger on anything. So, yeah, honestly, we don't take a lot of private clients because of that. We work predominantly with commercial spaces and builders. So we design homes all over the U.S., but we work with the builder.

so we design the homes that they're going to use as the model for the communities. And it's just we get to do whatever we want as long as it looks great. There's no emotion. There's no personal opinions. It's just we want it to look great. I mean, I know that you're not a therapist. I imagine designing a home together and everybody we know that's done it with their partners. Like one of the biggest tests of your relationship.

Like can you compromise on this? Can I say no to you and you don't feel that I've emasculated you or said something terrible about you? Just do what we want. But I think these are the things to, conversations you shouldn't be surprised with. I don't know if you really think you're going to live with somebody long term, shouldn't you kind of know what they like before you pull the trigger? So it's not such a surprise. I don't think a design aesthetic should be like a-break-a-cote. Yeah, break a couple off. But, you know, it shouldn't be a deal-breaker. I don't think design aesthetic should be a deal-breaker. But, I mean, unless it's really bad. Unless it's more representative of what's helping in every other area of the relationship. It's the same as like a couple breaking up while they plan their wedding. Like they can't. agree and they can't navigate the conflict. I think at the end of the day, the person that it's means the most to the other person should concede. Like if you're really a design person and your space really affects your mental health and your well-being and the other one's like,

bring mental health into it. Yeah, it doesn't. It's not. Bring mental health into it. It's always, it's my mental health. It's always the key. It's America. Yeah. That would design, that. That jersey is just really affecting my mental health. Honestly, it would for me. And I almost have, yeah, it gives me anxiety. Exxiety, yes. Like, I think about the NFL and their capitalism and it makes me angry. Bring your anxiety up with his sports memorabilia. The NFL and their capitalism.

Okay, millennials, we didn't know about this in our early 20th. Now we can really capitalize on this. I mean, I just, I could have been like my mental health. Genzi really opened the floodgates for the mental health. I've got to go home from work. Mental health great. Your design choices just really give me anxiety. And I've just, I've been going to therapy about it.

beach now. I'm like, yeah, I needed that for my mental health. I really love that. Is there anything else that, like, you would suggest or anything we missed that you're like, these are my biggest pieces of advice when you're just like, I want to make my space better? No, I mean, I think it just goes back to do what you love, you know, put the things in it that make you happy, not what makes your friends happy. Your friends don't live there. You do. It doesn't matter what your friends' opinions are. Yeah. And like we said with a lifestyle, if there's furniture you're never going to use, you don't need it.

We touched on trends a little bit. I'm just curious, and if you don't have to answer, that's fine. But are you seeing any trends right now that are really standing out to you that you like or don't like? Or do you just kind of ignore trends? I do love that pattern is really back and like lots of different pattern and layering patterns. Like maximalism is really, and I used to like, I used to hate maximalism. But I'm starting to love it. Okay.

Okay. I don't know if I could do it in my own home. Sam, I'm not brave enough, but I can look at it and enjoy it. It's not me. I'm, I need, I need minimalism. It's like my brain is always on. It's always crazy. Like, I need minimalism surrounding me. And you, your home is more mid-century modern, you said, because we, we talked about this a lot, this style of really white, neutral, feels kind of millennial, female. And I still like it. You know, I'm curious if, you know, if someone wants to do that, I guess. It's like, if you like it. If you like it, do it. Yeah. That's what I do. I love it. But again, you guys. You, you too, and everyone listening, can slowly start to think about color. Yes. Put a dark, boy face. Think about it. Just think about it a little.

Just, you know. Okay, another, like, entree into color is just a little marble, like a marble candle holder. Or a marble vase. And it feels fun. Again, like burgundy-ish merlo-ish marble is very in right now. Oh, okay. I love that. Anything else that you feel like is very in?

I honestly, I never, like, look at design. That's what I figured. I feel like that's probably the best way to be. I don't, like, if you have someone listening that wants to design their space, probably the worst place to start is what's in right now, as opposed to what do I like? Where, like you said, what shows do I like? What I like to vacation? Like, what trends are in?

I would never start there. Some people do. Yeah. You know, we have a design quiz on our website that helps you try to figure out what your aesthetic is. Yeah. It's not like trends. It's what's my design style. Oh, I love that.

That's great. Yeah, that's great. Okay. Bobby, this has been like such a pleasure. It's like our first interior design episode. And it's just like, we just wanted you for it. And we're so happy you could do this. Thanks for having me.

Can you tell everybody like your website? Where to pink the quiz? Yeah. My website's Bobbyberg.com. And that's B-E-R-K. My Instagram's Bobby. My threads is Bobby. And my TikTok is Bobby.

Okay. So that's where everybody can find you. And you guys know where to find us. Girls Got to Eat.com. Girls Got to eat podcast, Instagram and TikTok. I'm Ash Hess on Instagram and TikTok. Rina is reina. org and Raina.grenberg.

And Raina Greenberg. com for her tour tickets this fall. You can watch full video on Spotify. and YouTube, subscribe, share this episode with a friend, leave a comment. And we will actually not have an episode on Thursday, but we will see you guys next Monday. Have a good weekend, guys. Bye.