The House Guest
Brought to us by Country and Town House magazine, The House Guest is a brilliant podcast in which the magazine’s interiors editor Carole Annett chats in depth to experts from the world of interior design and decoration. Big-name interviewees include Tricia Guild, Kelly Hoppen, Neisha Crosland, David Linley and Jane Churchill. But there are also plenty of lesser-known designers and decorators from whom there is a lot to learn. Linley is particularly compelling on the subject of hand-made items in this day and age. He says: ‘I think that craftsmanship is now more of an emotion as opposed to a need. As we get more and more techy, the more we would like to have something that is beautifully made.’
The Modern House Podcast
Brand new to the scene is The Modern House podcast. In it, the idea is that guests – architects, artists, designers and editors, all with an excellent eye for a beautiful living space – are asked to pick their three favourite homes from anywhere in the world. There has only been one episode so far – with the supremely stylish Cereal magazine editor, Rosa Park – but it’s a corker. The Modern House team describes its new podcast as a sort of ‘Desert Island Discs for design lovers’. Say no more.
The Great Indoors
Now in its fourth series, The Great Indoors is a wonderfully accessible podcast in which bubbly interior design experts Kate Watson-Smyth (winner of The Good Web Guide’s 2019 Blog of the Year award) and Sophie Robinson discuss everything from tiny tips to top trends to major movements in the world of decoration. Sometimes, they have a high-profile guest on board, but a lot of the time it is just the two of them chatting grippingly away – at one or other of their houses – in all their knowledgeable glory. In more than one episode, they are brilliant on their ‘red thread theory’. Search those ones out for starters.
Clever
At the helm of this American podcast about design is designer Amy Devers and Jaime Derringer, from the blog Design Milk. In each episode, they have ‘candid and revealing conversations’ with a range of visionary and super-smart designers. Devers’ and Derringer’s view is that ‘relating to the humans responsible for the objects and environments that shape our lives can result in a more meaningful connection to the built world’. You may not have heard of many of the guests in these hour-long episodes – but that’s no reason not to listen to this excellent crop of experts.
Monocle On Design
In this rather serious offering from Monocle magazine, everything to do with design, craft and architecture is under discussion. One moment, you may hear about the process of creating architectural drawings. The next moment, you may be in a charming restaurant in Brooklyn, hearing about its careful and nostalgic design. Then, you might hear an accomplished author like Dominic Bradbury discuss the contents of his latest book. Frivolous, it is not; informative, it is.
Material Matters With Grant Gibson
Grant Gibson is a UK-based design, craft and architecture writer. In each episode of his podcast, Material Matters, he interviews a talented designer, maker, artist or architect – including Edmund de Waal, Bill Amberg, Tom Dixon and Sebastian Cox – in their workshop about their favourite materials, why they chose to work with them and how their relationship with them has changed over time. The Observer’s Miranda Sawyer described Gibson’s podcast as a series of ‘enlightening, informed interviews’. We think Material Matters is a lovely, gentle and evocative way of learning more about design.
A Well-Designed Business
OK, so this one will appeal mainly to industry insiders. But it is so popular that it is iTunes’s number-one rated interior design business podcast and Architectural Digest rates it among the top ten podcasts listened to by interior designers. The presenter, LuAnn Nigara, has an authoritative design nous and coach-like vibe that serve her extraordinarily well. She says: ‘A successful interior design business is 20 per cent design talent and 80 per cent business skills. A Well-Designed Business® fills in the gaps and provides useful and understandable insights from industry leaders.’
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February 2020
By Becky Ladenburg
