Business of Home Podcast

Over his 25 years with the company, Matt Briggs has helped transform a small antiques importer into one of the industry's most successful furniture businesses, with annual revenue approaching a billion dollars. But as Four Hands celebrates its 30th anniversary, Briggs is navigating some of the biggest changes in the company's history, including a difficult year that tested the business in ways he never imagined.

On this episode of the podcast Briggs speaks with host Dennis Scully about why the traditional furniture retail model is under threat, what happens when a company famous for customer service suddenly can't...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a big quarter for Wayfair, a viral video about lead in zellige tiles, and the battle for Ethan Allen. Later, London-based interior designer Rita Konig joins the show to discuss her new book, Returning Home.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Resource Furniture

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Rita Konig
Business of Home

Born in South Africa, interior designer Ross Cassidy made his way to Los Angeles where he first came to national attention on Bravo's Million Dollar Decorators. Today he's an AD100 designer, wth a roster of celebrity clients and a longstanding collaboration wth CB2. While many designers dream of building bigger firms, launching more collections and becoming household names, Cassidy has gone in almost the opposite direction. He's deliberately kept his firm small, turns down most of the clients who approach him, and has some strong opinions about an industry he thinks takes itself far too seriously.

On thi...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a big week for Ethan Allen, Wayfair’s plans to triple its store count and whether 1stDibs can put dealer drama behind it. Later, Form Portfolios founder Mark Masiello joins the show to discuss his company's unique business model.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and NKBA

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Form Portfolios
Business of Home

Over the last 15 years, Amber Lewis has grown her business into a household name, parlaying her success into a millions-strong Instagram presence, an expanding collection of retail stores, and licenses with brands like Loloi, Four Hands, and Visual Comfort. She also remains a busy designer, taking on a handful of projects at a time. On this episode of the podcast, Lewis speaks with host Dennis Scully about how she's structured her business to streamline her billing strategy, why she wants to keep a hand in all of her design studio’s projects, and how AI will impact the human ex...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a housing check-in, the rise of the NDA, and why Apple is making a play for the home. Later, BOH editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen joins the show to recap High Point Fall Market.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and NKBA

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Business of Home

Before starting his namesake firm in 2011, Patrick Mele began his career in retail, designing merchandising displays and storefront windows for iconic lifestyle brands Ralph Lauren and Kate Spade. Since then, he’s gained recognition for his panache with pattern and color in projects that have landed him on the AD100 and Elle Décor’s A List, as well as major design publications around the world.

On this episode of the podcast, Mele speaks with host Dennis Scully about how mentorship has shaped his career, the importance of having a strong point of view, and why owning a ret...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a shutdown for Haynes and The Dump, the death of the dinner party and whether AI will replace photography. Later, Farrow & Ball's managing director Clare Dunbar joins the show to talk about the company's efforts to reach the trade.

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and NKBA

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Farrow & Ball
Business of Home

Bob Maricich revolutionized the market landscape when he merged the failing World Market Center in Las Vegas with three of High Point’s biggest properties to form the International Market Centers, now known as Andmore, in 2011. Eventually, he brought Atlanta’s AmericasMart and Decorative Arts Center into the fold as well. In the last two years, the former CEO has taken a step back from Andmore’s daily operations, transitioning into the role of Executive Chairman of the Board, yet his finger remains on the pulse of the furniture industry and its future.

On this episode of the po...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a proposed quartz ban in California, the decline of midcentury modern, and how designers should feel about AI agents. Later, designer Suzanne Tucker joins the show to discuss the San Francisco Fall Show. 

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and NKBA

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Tucker & Marks
San Francisco Fall Show
Business of Home

Raised on a farm in rural Alabama, Jeffrey Dungan found architecture almost by accident, when a guidance counselor suggested it might suit his love of drawing. After studying at Auburn, he went on to build a Birmingham-based practice known for deeply rooted, highly personal houses. His work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Veranda and The New York Times, and his new book, The Soulful House, was just published by Rizzoli. On this episode of the podcast, Dungan speaks with host Dennis Scully about how growing up on his family's farm shaped his love of the land, why he rewards...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world,  including the shocking rise in renovation costs, bankruptcy for Designers Guild, and what happened to mushroom leather. Later, designer Richard Keith Langham joins the show to talk about Antiques at the Gardens. 

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and NKBA

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Richard Keith Langham
Antiques at the Gardens
Business of Home

Will Meyer and Gray Davis are the founders of the award-winning architecture and design firm Meyer Davis. After beginning their careers at legendary New York offices—Meyer at Gwathmey Siegel, and Davis at John Saladino and later Aero Studios—they joined forces in 1999. Over the past 25 years, they’ve built a global practice whose work ranges from Four Seasons hotels and Oscar de la Renta boutiques to homes for clients like Jenna Lyons. Their new book, The Language of Home, out this month, turns the focus to residential design and the ideas that connect their work across hospitality and home...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including Ethan Allen drama, why Designers Guild is eyeing bankruptcy and a viral debate over client privacy. Later, Later, Shea McGee joins the show to discuss her company's big push into retail.  

This episode is sponsored by Chelsea House  and Hickory Chair

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Studio McGee
Shea McGee
Business of Home

When Niraj Shah and his co-founder Steve Conine started selling furniture online more than two decades ago, furniture brands were skeptical. Today, Wayfair is one of the biggest names in the category, and it's betting heavily on physical retail, with three stores open now and another seven planned by 2028. At the same time, the company is pushing further into the high-end market through its Perigold brand and building out its trade business for designers. 

On this episode of the podcast, Shah speaks with host Dennis Scully about how the K-shaped economy is reshaping the way Wayfair thinks a...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including RH’s latest earnings report, the spending habits of the AI elite, and a look at what home brands are doing with their tariff refunds. Later, Homes & Gardens' global brand director Sarah Spiteri joins the show to talk about a new offshoot publication, Anthology. 

This episode is sponsored by Chelsea House  and Hickory Chair

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Homes and Gardens Anthology
Business of Home

Annie Meyers-Shyer is the multihyphenate creator behind the popular Instagram account turned home brand This Oak House. The daughter of legendary filmmakers Nancy Meyers and the late Charles Shyer, Annie grew up in a famously creative household, surrounded by the movies, interiors and storytelling that have become part of our cultural vocabulary.

After documenting the renovation of an historic family home in Los Angeles, Annie found a much larger audience and began building a brand of her own, culminating in a forthcoming book about the process and a new collection of home accessories with Target.

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Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a new report on AI in design, why some brands are selling their own dupes, and the rise of stainless steel. Later, Mary Celeste Beall joins the show to look back on fifty years of Blackberry Farm.  

This episode is sponsored by Chelsea House  and Hickory Chair

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Blackberry Farm
Business of Home

Host Dennis Scully and BOH editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen discuss the biggest news in the design world, including the acquisition of a beloved West Coast fabric brand, how Instagram might start labeling your AI-generated content, and what designers should know about $1 trillion in art that will change hands over the next decade. Later, BOH columnist Warren Shoulberg joins the show to discuss the state of retail.

This episode is sponsored by Chelsea House  and Hickory Chair

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Business of Home

David Cohen is the founder of the New York-based high-end residential contracting firm I-Grace. He started the business in 1988 after cutting his teeth for other builders, and quickly found himself in the midst of greatness, working for architects and designers like Mark Hampton, Oscar Shamamian and Peter Marino. Over the years I-Grace has become an institution—one of the industry’s best-known contracting firms at the top of the market. 

On this episode of the podcast Cohen speaks with host Dennis Scully about how dealing with stringent summer building rules made his business better, how he got comfo...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a trade war with Canada, Lovesac drama, and whether designers should give away their services. Later, designer Rainey Richardson joins the show to talk about her program for aspiring designers, Project Design Week.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Lutron.

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Rainey Richardson
Project Design Week
Business of Home

Alex Shuford is the CEO of Rock House Designer Brands, a portfolio of companies that includes Century, Hancock & Moore and Hickory Chair. Shuford is the ultimate furniture business insider and a podcast regular—every year he joins the show to share his take on the state of the design industry. This time he spoke with host Dennis Scully about why young designers should take psychology courses, why he thinks pricing will stabilize by next year, and how AI helped Rock House launch a new brand.  

This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Maiden Home. 

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Roc...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including earnings from Home Depot and Lowe’s, the industry’s freight problem, and why a tech mogul is trying to invent a new design style. Later, designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen joins the show to share story behind her buzzy glassware brand.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Lutron.

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Sophie Lou Jacobsen
Business of Home

Alex Papachristidis is a proudly old school decorator of the Upper East Side tradition—he can often be seen on Park Avenue in a crisp blue blazer, bag of samples in hand. But Papachristidis has also embraced 21st century entrepreneurship, with a popular Instagram account and the launch of a tabletop line, Everyday Elegance. On this episode of the podcast he speaks with host Dennis Scully about how growing up a city kid influenced his outlook, why he doesn’t gatekeep vendors, and why being a great decorator comes down to one thing: paying attention.

This episode is s...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including earnings from 1stDibs and Arhaus, corporate drama at Ethan Allen and whether influencers are ruining estate sales. Later, Christine Gachot joins the show to discuss her new book, The Thought That Counts. 

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Lutron.

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Gachot
The Thought That Counts
Business of Home

Eric Graham is a third-generation furniture executive who has spent his career in the business, including long stretches at Century Furniture and Jonathan Charles, before taking the helm of Baker last year. On this episode of the podcast he speaks with host Dennis Scully about how he’s mining that remarkable history for ideas about Baker’s future, why he thinks comfort should be every bit as important as beauty, and, of course, how he’s thinking about AI. 

This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Maiden Home. 

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Baker Furniture Group
Dennis Scully

Host Dennis Scully and BOH editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a new tariff lawsuit, Wayfair’s surprisingly strong quarter and why Ralph Pucci just made its first acquisition. Later, the founders of e-commerce furnishings brand Pepper Home join the show.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi and Lutron.

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Pepper Home
Business of Home

A graduate of UC Berkeley and Columbia with a focus in historic preservation, Elizabeth Roberts had an impressive career before she started a firm. On her own, she’s become famous for her reinventions of Brooklyn townhouses—including the Cobble Hill project that helped make Athena Calderone a star. On this episode of the podcast she speaks with host Dennis Scully about how starting small let her only take on work she really wanted, why her office takes on interior design as well as architecture, and why her life’s mission is to find new uses for old buildings. 

T...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including sweeping new tariffs, a designer’s arrest in California and whether GLP-1’s are transforming home design. Later, digital consultant Ian Lurie joins the show to share advice on helping AI chatbots find your business.   

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi

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Ian Lurie
Business of Home

A veteran of the industry and a master of his trade, Simon Upton’s work has appeared in every major shelter magazine, and his list of high profile clients goes on and on: Gil Schafer, Bobby McAlpine, Rose Uniacke, Robert Kime and countless others have all turned to him to capture their best work. Upton’s new book, A-Z Interiors is a retrospective on more than three decades, organized alphabetically.

On this episode of the podcast, he speaks with host Dennis Scully about what designers need to tell their photographers, why daylight is always the best light, and...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including new interior design legislation, why Boomers are buying bigger homes, and why some furniture companies are hiring AI employees. Later, Grant Bowen, founder of the owner's rep firm Peak Projects, joins the show.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi

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Peak Projects
Business of Home

Adam Charlap Hyman and Andre Herrero met as students at RISD, but they didn’t start a firm until 2014, after connecting when they happened to be employed by different firms working on the same project. In a short amount of time, Charlap Hyman and Herrero have become two of the design industry’s brightest young stars, earning a spot on Elle Decor’s A-List and the AD100, and this year winning the annual interior design award from the Cooper Hewitt museum. Their work pushes boundaries—occasionally surreal, often driven by narrative, the unveiling of a new  Charlap Hyman & Herrero project i...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a major housing bill, Kips Bay’s big move and why GEO is the new SEO. Later, British interior designer Tiffany Duggan of Studio Duggan joins the show.

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi

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Studio Duggan
Business of Home

Haworth began in the 1940s as a maker of office partitions and grew into a commercial furniture giant. But today the company is also home to a robust portfolio of high-end design brands, including Janus et Cie, Poltrona Frau, Cassina, Luminaire, Heller and more. On this episode of the podcast, Haworth CEO Franco Bianchi speaks with host Dennis Scully about what the American luxury landscape is missing out on, the company’s slow-and-steady acquisition process, and why he wants Haworth to go faster. 

This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Kohler

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Haworth
Denn...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a tariff update, the IIDA’s future readiness report, and a look at the biggest stories of the year (so far). Later, Monika McCommon of The Home Influencers joins the show to talk about her new platform. 

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi

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The Home Influencers
Business of Home

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including a new hub for home influencers, what makes for a great design portfolio and the final piece of RH’s European strategy. Later, Michael Smith joins the show to talk about his first collection for Zoffany.  

This episode is sponsored by Joon Loloi

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Michael Smith for Zoffany
Business of Home

Drew Michael Scott grew up on YouTube, starting his first channel at age 12. Almost two decades later under the moniker Lone Fox, he’s become one of the biggest voices in DIY and design on the platform with nearly 2 million subscribers—not to mention his 1.5 million on Instagram. Drew doesn’t pretend to be an interior designer—he loves to learn alongside his audience, and embraces the journey, clip by clip. On this episode of the podcast he speaks with host Dennis Scully about why he’s opened up a shop dedicated to vintage pieces, which social media platform has the le...

Host Dennis Scully and BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus discuss the biggest news in the design world, including Charles Cohen’s great escape, Bed Bath & Beyond’s third acquisition in three months and the rise of the owner’s rep. Later, CEOs Andy Singer and Rohan Blacker join the show to talk about why Visual Comfort bought Pooky.

This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Newport Brass

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Visual Comfort
Pooky
Business of Home

The last time Fireclay Tile CEO Eric Edelson was on the podcast, he shared the story of how he took over the company and, in a Jerry McGuire moment, turned its business model upside down. Six years later, and Fireclay has grown considerably, and Edelson has been on an acquisition spree, recently picking up Fox Marble, a sizeable Bay Area area fabrication and installation firm.  

On this episode of the podcast, Edelson tells host Dennis Scully about why running a company in California is both an opportunity and a challenge, why he still believes in the B Co...

BOH executive editor Fred Nicolaus and editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen discuss the biggest news in the design world, including RH’s latest earnings report, Louis Poulsen’s new ownership, and why everything is hidden in the new luxury kitchen.

This episode is sponsored by Loloi and Newport Brass

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Business of Home