Business of Home Podcast

In the late 90s, Ann Sutherland went from long-time interior designer to first-time entrepreneur. Alongside her husband, outdoor furniture magnate David Sutherland, she developed a line of solution-dyed acrylics that combined the resilience of outdoor fabrics with the high style of to-the-trade design. Her company, Perennials, grew in leaps and bounds, and the success of the company helped usher in a new era, in which performance fabrics are used both outdoors and in. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, Sutherland speaks with host Dennis Scully about the rocky early days, Perennials’ relationship with Restoration Hardware, and what new product represents the future of her company. This episode is sponsored by High Point Market and Paintzen.

The world of high-end design can feel very far apart from the big-tent appeal of home makeover shows, but interior designer Mikel Welch has managed to break through in both. His work has been featured in premier showhouses around the country, and he’s a regular on TV, with appearances on everything from TLC’s Trading Spaces to Good Morning America to a new show for Quibi with a premise that has to be seen to be believed. On this episode of the podcast, he chats with host Dennis Scully about his circuitous career path, the surprising economics of design on TV, and the industry’s long-overdue reckoning with race. This episode is sponsored by The Urban Electric Company.

Michele Varian and Jay Norris are the founders of Guesst, a tech platform that allows brands, retailers and landlords to connect in new ways. In addition to being an entrepreneur, Michele is also the owner of a beloved New York design shop that she recently relocated from SoHo to Brooklyn to escape skyrocketing rents. As a broker in the commercial real estate world, Jay saw the rent crises unfold from the other side of the table. Together with host Dennis Scully, they discuss what effect out-of-control rents have had on the design world, why the internet broke the wholesale model, and how COVID-19 will reset the retail equation. This episode is sponsored by The Urban Electric Company.

Stephane Silverman literally grew up in the fabric business—his parents brought the French textile company Boussac to America, and as a child, he would do his homework in their D&D Building showroom. A restless intellect and a critical thinker, Silverman has been experimenting with ways to modernize a distinctly old-school industry ever since he started Castel in 1999. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, he gives host Dennis Scully a whirlwind tour through the past, present and future of fabric, explaining why the Amazon version of e-commerce doesn’t work for interior design, the future of showrooms, and the surprising reason why a yard of fabric costs what it does.  This episode is sponsored by Henrybuilt and Industry West.

Ryan Hughes and Steven Leonard are the creative team behind Atlanta showroom R. Hughes. In a time when some in the industry are questioning the multiline model, Ryan and Steven have created a destination that does everything showrooms are supposed to do—showcase product in new ways, inspire designers, and draw visitors from near and far. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, they tell host Dennis Scully why they moved from a new development to a design center, the importance of putting their own brand first, and how everything from hardwood flooring to the right Spotify playlist can make all the difference. This episode is sponsored by Henrybuilt's Primary Objects and Industry West.

This week’s guest is Brad Hargreaves, the founder of co-living company Common. Co-living is a relatively new phenomenon, sometimes oversimplified as “dorms for grownups.” But there’s a lot more to it than that, and in conversation with host Dennis Scully, Hargreaves explains the demographic changes and economic forces that have created a market for shared housing—at any age. In the first half of the episode, he discusses the similarities between education and real estate, why developers are getting tired of luxury housing, and how COVID might disrupt commercial real estate in unexpected ways. This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and The Urban Electric Co.

Dexter and Byron Peart are the founders of Goodee—an e-commerce site focused on design products and home goods with an ethical mission. The Pearts are twin brothers and lifelong entrepreneurs—they created the renowned fashion and accessories brand WANT Les Essentials before selling it in 2017. For their latest endeavor, they wanted to focus on selling products that are not only beautiful, but good too—and to tap into a growing audience known as the conscious consumer. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, the Pearts chat with host Dennis Scully about whether the mission or the design comes first, how the coronavirus has changed online shopping, and what makes a product good enough for Goodee. This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and The Urban Electric Company.

It’s hard to think of two fields more closely intertwined than interior design and real estate—where one goes, so goes the other. On this week’s episode of the podcast, host Dennis Scully chats with two real estate experts to hear about how COVID-19 has affected the housing market, and what comes next. First, Leonard Steinberg, a veteran agent and the chief evangelist for tech-enabled brokerage Compass, discusses whether people will really flee cities en masse. Then, Shaun Osher, the founder of boutique real estate marketing firm Core, shares some insight into what the homes of tomorrow will look like.  This episode is sponsored by Buildlane.

Andrew Cogan’s history with Knoll stretches back thirty years—he’s been with the company through changes of ownership, recessions, and now a pandemic. On this episode of the Business of Home podcas, Cogan chats with host Dennis Scully about how his strategy to move into residential categories is paying off, Knoll’s commitment to social responsibility, and why—despite what people are saying—it’s too soon to write an obituary for the office. This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and Industry West.

Over the course of almost forty years, the name Alexandra Champalimaud has become synonymous with exceptional hospitality design—her firm has worked on the finest hotels in  the world, from The Plaza in New York to the Bel-Air in Los Angeles to the recently completed Raffles in Singapore. In this episode of the Business of Home podcast, host Dennis Scully speaks to Champalimaud as well as the CEO of her firm, Ed Bakos. They discuss bringing a hospitality approach to residential design, the surprising way that Zoom meetings are making designers more creative, and why it’s important to react, not overreact, to the coronavirus pandemic. This episode is sponsored by Buildlane and Industry West.