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Kim Carroll is an interior designer based in northeast Ohio who has been working with homeowners and businesses for nearly three decades to help them create interior spaces that reflect the unique tastes of each client. In this podcast series, Kim discusses both the art and science of interior design, including her unique process for helping clients discover what they truly want their interior space to look like and feel like. Kim studied at Cuyahoga Community College, Denison University and ...
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We recently visited Steele Mansion in Painesville, Ohio, and asked the proprietor, Carol Shamakian, to describe how she and her family came to own this place. She told us that her husband went to the grocery store one day and came home to say, “Honey, I bought a mansion.” Unfortunately this once grand home, built in the 1860’s, had been deemed unsa…
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We recently sat down with Ron Nandor, who owns Eastwood Furniture. This company has three locations in Ohio and works very closely with local Amish craftspeople. Over the past twenty years, he has seen furniture adapt from very basic designs, with limited choices in wood and finishes, to highly customized pieces, which now offer various wood specie…
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In this episode, we meet Chris Bores, a neighbor of Mark Goode. Chris and his wife Erin moved to their 100-year-old home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 2018, along with their two young daughters. They knew when they moved in that they would be doing some repairs, starting with the bathrooms. Since Chris had done a lot of hands-on improvements at their…
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In this episode, Kim and Mark get to know Rob Windhorst, an area representative for Kravet. Rob describes his background, from going with his seamstress mother to fabric outlets, to learning about fabrics and window treatments in a drapery workroom, to managing a home store for JC Penney. Rob has worked for Kravet since 2007. This 104-year-old comp…
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With a background in fine art, Ann Monroe is the owner of a showroom at the Ohio Design Centre in Beachwood, Ohio. Ann represents various manufacturers and displays samples of their products. In her showroom, one can sit in a chair, feel the texture of a fabric or see the finish on a custom table. In this episode, you will discover how she works wi…
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Art consultation, framing and installation are very specialized professions, as we discovered when we spoke with Eileen Roth and Bebe Boyle. During her 40 years of experience as an art consultant to large corporations, as well as interior designers and their clients, Eileen has developed relationships with national and international artists. Workin…
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In Episode 16, Mark Goode introduced us to the basics of smart lighting for the home. Now in Episode 18, he goes further into the use of smart technology, cautioning that is more complex to set up than the manufacturers would have us believe. Mark leads us through a history of the development of this technology, offering a visual graph that is avai…
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Phillip Jeffries is an innovative wall covering company. Utilizing many different organic materials, such as grasscloth, water hyacinth, banana leaves, and wood veneers, the design team at Phillip Jeffries creates beautiful paperbacked coverings for walls. Sales representative Crystal Brown takes us through the beginnings of this leading-edge compa…
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When arriving home on a dark evening, it is reassuring to be able to turn on the lights before you even open the door. Technology built into our cellphones and smart light bulbs enables us to control the lighting in our homes. We can turn lights off and on, vary the intensity and even change the color of the light! In this episode we discuss the be…
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In our first podcast show recorded “on the road,” we sit down with Thom Capretta, manager of Atelier Lapchi, a custom rug company with a showroom in the Ohio Design Centre and its factory in Nepal. We learn how, in this day of technology and automation, Atelier Lapchi weavers use Tibetian wool and silk to create custom rugs in both traditional and …
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In this episode, Kim Carroll discusses three lighting options: ambient, task, and accent lighting. She discusses the the many different fixtures available to us, as well as a few “Lighting Atrocities” that can make our lives really uncomfortable. The human eye has evolved in natural daylight since the humans first lived on earth. We are finely tune…
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In Episode 13, Kim discusses window treatments, why they are needed, and the many options you can choose from. Did you know that the word “window” comes from the Old Norse words for “eye” and “wind,” or “the eye of the house through which the wind comes through”? What happens to this romantic notion when too much wind comes in, or too much rain or …
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In Episode 12, Kim explores the different elements that, when used thoughtfully, will help to achieve a balanced design. Style can be formal or informal, traditional or contemporary, country or industrial, but it should weave a thread of continuity throughout the home. Color, another very personal choice, will influence a room's design. So will the…
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As we prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, I find that my guests are always delighted when we gather around a thoughtfully decorated table setting. It can be formal or casual, extravagant or tailored, depending on your personal style. Start with what you already have (furnishings, dishes, glassware, etc.) and build around it. …
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With the holidays approaching, many of us will have family and friends coming to stay with us. How can we prepare for them to have a wonderful, memorable experience? A comfortable guest room is a great way to say ”Welcome!” In order to prepare a guest room, there are many things which are common sense, so much so that we don't focus on them. A thor…
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An interesting tablescape invites our guests to have a wonderful experience, to “eat first with their eyes.” It requires careful thought about the details but need not be very expensive. In Episode 9, Kim has assembled four different tablescapes for Thanksgiving. Each tablescape has a unique menu, created by Kim's son Jamie. You can see each of the…
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As the holidays approach, we start to think about doing more entertaining at home. Kim likes to delight and surprise her guests by creating a visual dining experience, before the meal even appears. In this first part of her Tablescape Series, Kim explains how she designs unique tables. How does Kim approach doing a tablescape that is unique? Beginn…
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We are influenced by design trends every day. In Episode 7, Kim explores where trends come from. Manufacturers, world events, technology, and designers themselves influence how we decorate our homes. Some trends have a profound impact on the design world, such as mid-century style, and have had an extraordinary resurgence, while others just disappe…
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In designing a room or a house, there are many preconceptions and expectations that we bring with us. We may think that a room should have a certain look because our family always decorated this way, or because that is what the retail marketing and social media are showing. Shouldn't everything match? Can't I just buy everything I love and put it t…
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Maya Angelou wrote “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are, and not be questioned.” In Episode 5, Kim explains how she works with clients to create their own very personal spaces, the home that Maya Angelou describes. Kim’s process begins with a “dreaming phase” in which clients are encouraged to imagine thei…
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Color and light are key factors in interior design. But are you aware how both color and the “temperature” of light affect your mood? Did you know that the temperature of light — and how it affects us emotionally — relates to where we live on the globe? In this fascinating episode Kim Carroll explains the role that light and color play in designing…
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Although working from home is not new, the past year and a half has made it essential for many of us to create a work space in the home, whether we were ready or not. This shift in lifestyle has also brought into focus the need to establish a work/life balance, in a new context. In this podcast Kim prompts us to pay attention to what we need around…
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In this episode, Kim discusses the process she uses to discover what her client's need and want in their interior space. While many interior designers employ a pre-determined style or template, Kim works patiently with the client to help them discover what is most important and desireable to them in terms of how a room should function, look, and fe…
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Kim Carroll has been assisting homeowners and businesses design their interior spaces for nearly three decades. In this first episode of the series, Kim discusses her lifelong love of interior design (starting with rearranging her parent's furniture while still in kindergarten!) and her journey from a passion to a business. Kim, who is based in Cle…
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