Podcast · Leisure & Travel

Slow Style Home: Decorating Personal, Meaningful Interiors

by Zandra Zuraw · English · Leisure & Travel

You want a home that’s uniquely you. One that reflects your passions, values and lifestyle. And you want to create one on your own, without having to hire a designer, breaking the bank, or hurting the planet. The challenge is that there are too many voices telling you what trend to jump on, what rul

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 18 min
Latest: 28 Sep 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

28 Sep 2026 · 11 min

A Great Mix Is a Good Conversation — with Nadia Watts

Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this Think Like A Designer episode, I sit down with Nadia Watts, a Colorado-based interior designer who works all over the country, to look closely at a home filled with salvage-yard finds, family heirlooms, old-world antiques, and contemporary art. It's about why some wildly mixed rooms feel deliberate while others just feel busy. The difference isn't matching. It's that every piece is in conversation with something else in the room: a c...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S44 · 21 Sep 2026 · 7 min
This Is How You Train Your Eye. No Formula. Just Practice, with Sophie von Oertzen Williamson
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode, I sit down with Sophie von Oertzen Williamson, author of The Art of the Clash, to talk about pattern, color, and the mix — and end up talking about how long it actually takes to earn your own eye. Sophie is 42 and has trained her eye across very different worlds: Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Singapore, Ohio, now Connecticut. At 28, she didn't have the aesthetic she has today. Not for lack of talent — she just hadn't lived t...
S44 · 14 Sep 2026 · 7 min
Why a $195 Throw Blanket Is a Bargain — with Lauren Hidalgo of Awarehouse
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this guest episode, I sit down with Lauren Hidalgo, founder of the online marketplace Awarehouse, to talk about something we rarely stop to add up: what we're actually spending on the small stuff. It's about how we assign value to what we buy — especially handmade objects — and the gap between what something costs and what it's actually worth. The $25 throw pillow doesn't feel like a real purchase. But enough of those add up to real money...
S44 · 7 Sep 2026 · 9 min
Your Home Has a Volume Control Panel. Aubrey Butcher Knows How to Use It.
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this Designers at Home episode, I tour the Dallas home of Aubrey Butcher — co-founder, with her husband Kale, of the tile company Riad Tile. Every room has a volume control. Most of us only know how to turn it down — fewer things, blanker walls, quieter colors. Aubrey knows how to work both ends of the dial: which parts of a room to hush, and which to let shout. And because she and Kale spend their days sourcing stone and tile from around...
S44 · 31 Aug 2026 · 26 min
Does Your House Need Hushing? Backwards Decluttering with Myquillyn Smith
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! Myquillyn Smith is a lifelong home-lover, three-time guest, and the author of House Hushing — you might know her as The Cozy Minimalist. In this conversation, she walks me through backwards decluttering: her method for clearing a room down to almost nothing, living in it that way for a day or two, and only letting things back in once you've proven you actually miss them. Somewhere in the middle of it, I found myself naming something that's b...
S44 · 24 Aug 2026 · 17 min
The Whole Slow Style Framework in One Bungalow — with Amy Dutton
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! None of the designers I bring on this show share the same aesthetic, and they don't need to. What I'm looking for is the Slow Style philosophy in practice, whether or not they've ever heard the term. I recently toured the home of designer Amy Dutton — a 1920s bungalow on the New Hampshire seacoast that she and her husband gutted and rebuilt while raising three kids. It turned out to be one of the clearest examples I've come across: without s...
S44 · 17 Aug 2026 · 8 min
How a Bag of Mussels Became a Wall Sconce — a Tour of Porta Romana with Ali Milam
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this guest episode, I sit down with Ali Milam, managing director of Porta Romana, the British lighting and furniture house, to swap some of the best origin stories I've heard in years. If you're the kind of person who loves a historical novel about an artist or architect — the drama around who really painted the portrait, who sat for it, who bought or stole it over the centuries — this episode is going to appeal to you the same way. Every...
S44 · 10 Aug 2026 · 8 min
Down the DIY Rabbit Hole: The case for handmade, whether you make it or buy it.
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this solo episode, I pull a chapter straight out of my book — Handmade — and this time I'm not just talking about it, I'm living it. What started as one paint color turned into curtains, a pleated lampshade, an antique cupboard found on Facebook Marketplace, and a chair I'm already planning to redo. It's about something I don't think gets said enough: handmade isn't a shopping category, like “farmhouse” or “coastal.” It's a relationship —...
S43 · 3 Aug 2026 · 41 min
No One's Home is Generic in France with Danielle Postel-Vinay
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! While the podcast is on break, I’m digging into the archives and re-airing my favorites. In this one, I sit down with novelist and New York Times book columnist Danielle Postel-Vinay to talk about what a French home is actually for. It's about home as a vessel for your vision of life — not the self-focused idea of a home that simply mirrors who you already are, but something more outward: a home that carries what you value and offers it, on ...
27 Jul 2026 · 42 min
Setting Intentions Through Decor with Kim Gordon
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! My conversation with Los Angeles designer Kim Gordon is about setting an intention before you design anything at all. Kim asks a house what it wants to be before she draws a single floor plan, and she treats the senses — not the color palette — as the true starting point of a room. This episode comes from our archives and therefore it's the full length version. The podcast is on break for two weeks. Subscribe to hear all of the n...
S43 · 20 Jul 2026 · 14 min
What Makes a Painting “Good”? With Julia Collins
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! To hear the full episode and see the video, subscribe here. In this guest episode, I sit down with Julia Collins, a London-based art advisor and dealer behind Collins & Green, to talk about how to actually look at a painting — no art history degree required. Julia has a real academic art background, and by her own admission, it's “in many ways irrelevant” to how she looks at a painting. The pieces she loves best aren't always the most te...
S43 · 13 Jul 2026 · 10 min
Fix Her Up: Remodeling The Person and The Home with Maida Korte
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! To hear the full episode and see the video, subscribe here. In this guest episode, I sit down with Chicago-area interior designer and author Maida Korte to talk about what happens when a “tight ship” personality runs headlong into a house that refuses to be controlled. Maida’s new memoir, Gutted: How an Old House Remodeled Me, set out to be a book about renovating a hundred-year-old house in Woodstock, Illinois. What it became, she told me, ...
S43 · 6 Jul 2026 · 10 min
Every Beautiful Room Started as a Complaint, with Debbie Mathews
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! To hear the full episode and see the video, subscribe here. In this Think Like A Designer episode, I sit down with Debbie Mathews, a Nashville-based interior designer and antiques dealer, to look through a curated selection of the rooms she's designed — from a sunroom in Belle Meade to a ranch outside Franklin, Tennessee. Every good client relationship starts the same way: the client names a problem and a few basics — a color they love...
S43 · 29 Jun 2026 · 29 min
Keep Your Grandma’s Stuff: How To Use Heritage as a Design Element
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this solo episode, I'm going deep on one of the five physical elements of every Slow Style home — and arguably the most personal one: Heritage and Culture. It's about heritage as authorship. Not just the objects you've inherited, but the idea that your personal history — however much of it you know, however complicated it is, however far back it goes — is a story you get to write, edit, and hand forward. Most people treat their heirlooms ...
S43 · 22 Jun 2026 · 8 min
The Final Design Decision You're Probably Skipping — with Liz Williams
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! To hear the full episode and see the video, subscribe here. In this Think Like A Designer episode, I sit down with Liz Williams, an Atlanta-based interior designer known for symmetry, elegance, and an eye for detail, to look through a curated selection of her portfolio — from a grand formal home on the Chattahoochee River to a barn in Madison, Georgia, that is rustic on the outside and quietly refined within. It's about the last decisi...
S43 · 15 Jun 2026 · 8 min
Before You Call the Contractor: Danielle Nicholson on Renovating Without Regrets
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! Want to avoid renovation regrets? I talk with interior designer Danielle Nicholson about the thing that causes more renovation heartbreak than bad tile choices or blown budgets: starting before you’re actually ready. Danielle’s book “Don’t Start Without Me” is built around a single idea: the real work of renovating happens before you even talk to a contractor. Or even a designer. Before anyone shows up with a truck. Before the showroom...
S43 · 8 Jun 2026 · 7 min
The Buddha in the Entry: Visual Storytelling with Jill Litner Kaplan
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this Designers at Home episode, I tour the home of Jill Litner Kaplan, a Boston-area interior designer whose approach to decorating stopped me in my tracks — not because it's flashy or maximalist, but because of a single idea I couldn't stop thinking about after I left. It's about how color palates emerge from storytelling as opposed to the "pop of color" advice that's been watered down into a band-aid solution. Subscribe to s...
S43 · 1 Jun 2026 · 5 min
Still In Style: Flipping Through 20 Years of Design Magazines
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! What does a 2007 issue of Domino have in common with a room you'd design today? More than you'd think. In this episode, I dig through a stack of old design magazines — Domino, Flea Market Style, House Beautiful, Veranda, and Country Living, spanning 2007 to 2019 — and ask the question I find myself returning to constantly: what still holds up? We talk suzanis, suzanis (yes, still), the case for painting all four walls instead of just one, wh...
S42 · 4 May 2026 · 29 min
The Episode I Almost Didn’t Make-Stay Till The End
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! This week's episode is a little different — and honestly, a little vulnerable for me. After ten years and more than 400 episodes of Slow Style Home, I'm pulling back the curtain on what it's really taken to create this podcast, and why I've decided to make a significant change. I've always believed that what we choose to surround ourselves with reflects what we truly value, and lately I've been turning that same lens on my own work. I've rea...
S42 · 27 Apr 2026 · 30 min
Buying Art, Simplified with Liz Lidgett
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! I keep thinking about how often we walk into a gallery already convinced we don’t belong there and how quickly that belief starts to shape what we choose. In this week's episode, I sit down with gallery owner Liz Lidgett to talk about her new book “Art Is For Everyone”. Because collecting art isn’t about having the right words or the right budget, it’s about being willing to notice your own reactions and trust them. We talked about how your...
21 Apr 2026 · 7 min
Podcast Trailer
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! The Slow Style Home podcast is is for you if you're tired of cookie-cutter decor but you don't know how to pull of a mix of styles, you want to know when to save and when to splurge, and if you care about the health of our planet and and getting off of the disposable decor hamster wheel. On this show, you’ll learn about all of the various aspects of my Slow Style framework for creating a home you love, without breaking the bank or foll...
S42 · 20 Apr 2026 · 29 min
Old Bones + Modern Soul: How Jo Berryman Honors History with Bold, Irreverent Choices
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode of the Designers at Home series, I take you inside the home of designer Jo Berryman, a space that, to me, perfectly embodies what it means to honor both history and personal expression. As we move through her home together, I’m struck by how effortlessly she blends old and new, preserving original architectural details while layering in sculptural, modern elements and deeply personal touches. What I love most is how grounded ...
S42 · 13 Apr 2026 · 23 min
Stuck in the In-Between? How to Decorate Your Way Through
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! Are you in the middle of a major life transition and feeling stuck between who you were and who you’re becoming? This episode is for you. Whether you’re navigating a career change, an empty nest, a move, or just a season of life that feels uncertain, your home doesn’t have to sit on pause while you wait for things to settle. In fact, the in-between might be the perfect time to start. In this episode we’re talking about why style evolves — an...
S41 · 23 Mar 2026 · 36 min
The Beautiful, Incomplete Room with Shabby Chic’s Rachel Ashwell
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rachel Ashwell, and what stayed with me most wasn’t just her iconic aesthetic; it was her mindset. We talked about her move back to the English countryside, her need for the rhythm of the seasons, and how she approaches her home as something always evolving, never finished. From embracing “leftovers” and layering pieces with history, to letting go of perfection and even her own hesita...
S41 · 16 Mar 2026 · 25 min
How Your “Comfortable” Home is Holding You Back with Vera Blouin
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! Interior designer Vera Blouin joins me to talk about her book, “The Reincarnated Room.” Vera sees the home as something that holds the history of who we’ve been, and through design, we can let go of those old layers and create spaces that support who we’re becoming. We explore how materials, light, and texture shape our emotional experience of a room, and why staying “comfortable” can sometimes keep us stuck instead of helping us grow. It’s ...
S41 · 9 Mar 2026 · 33 min
A Mix of Texture Rather Than Color: How To Flow From Room To Room With Hill Rondero
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode of the Designers at Home series, I had the pleasure of visiting the home of Charlotte-based interior designer Hill Rondero. I first met Hill when she moderated a design talk I gave at Slate Interiors, and I immediately knew I wanted to see her home. It’s a great example of what a cohesive house can look like. Nothing in the space is trying to be the star; instead, everything works together. It was the conversation happe...
S41 · 2 Mar 2026 · 18 min
Why Your Decor Feels Off: You’re Shopping For A Style, Not A Life
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! I kicked off this episode right where so many of us get stuck: drowning in throw pillows, 50 open browser tabs, and a vague sense that something is just… off. I’ve seen it all—the accidental French country phase, the “eclectic with a touch of hoarding” situation, the guilt over meaningful heirlooms that don’t quite fit. And here’s the truth bomb: The problem isn’t your taste. It’s starting from a category instead of your own story. “Life inf...
S41 · 23 Feb 2026 · 32 min
Slow Style In The Wild: Christina Cruz Leans on Art, Nature and Antiques
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode of Think Like a Designer, I sit down with Christina Cruz to talk about what slow style really looks like in action. Her aesthetic may be more modern and pared back than mine, but it’s just as layered and soulful. We explore how she blends antiques with clean lines, incorporates meaningful travel finds, and uses natural materials to warm up contemporary spaces. From gallery walls built around collected art to a moody office-tu...
S41 · 16 Feb 2026 · 36 min
Nature Knows Where Your Sofa Goes (Stop Overthinking It) with Abi Dare
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! Sitting down with Abi Dare to talk about her new book, Bring the Outside In, felt like having someone quietly turn on a light in rooms I thought I already understood. We started with the idea of nature in our homes, but very quickly moved far beyond the usual advice about adding more plants or maximizing daylight. Abi shows us how the landscapes we love can become a roadmap for every decision we make — from color palettes pulled from forest ...
S41 · 9 Feb 2026 · 36 min
Inside Sean Leffers’ Poetic Mix of Cultures, Eras, and Story
Text me your thoughts or questions on this episode! In this episode, I have the absolute pleasure of stepping inside the Los Angeles home of designer Sean Leffers—someone whose work I admire for its depth, sensitivity, and extraordinary sense of narrative. From the moment we walk through the door, it’s clear that Sean doesn’t decorate; he curates a life. His rooms are layered with art, antiques, travel finds, spiritual references, and handmade pieces that carry memory and lineage. As we tour,...

About Slow Style Home: Decorating Personal, Meaningful Interiors

Slow Style Home: Decorating Personal, Meaningful Interiors is a English leisure & travel podcast from Zandra Zuraw. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Zandra Zuraw
Language: English
Category: Leisure & Travel
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 18 min
Latest episode: 28 Sep 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1025244022

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