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Our guests this week are Emma Bazilian and Stephanie Diaz, the authors of Charm School: The Schumacher Guide to Traditional Decorating for Today. Emma is a designer, writer, editor, and content director at F. Schumacher & Co. Stephanie is the art director at F. Schumacher & Co. In our chat, they talk about the path that led them to work together and the research and organization that went into Charm School. We discuss the balance between traditional and modern elements and the fun of identifying and incorporating small touches of traditional decorating throughout the design process.

What You’ll Hear On This Episode:

• The origins of the “grand millennial” movement.
• How Emma and Stephanie learned to appreciate different styles yet still focus on their individual strengths.
• The process of how Charm School mixes archival images with present-day designers and how they found a balance to showcase both the traditional and modern.
• We take a trip down memory lane and remember some of our favorite memories of childhood bedrooms.
• Why it’s cool to embrace the “uncool” elements of design, such as matching, but not to go too overboard.
• The appeal of canopy beds and bed skirts.
• A special bonus? When your home decor can help you hide something.
• The doll collection that is still very much remembered in the present day.
• Tips for bringing in handmade and bespoke design elements that tell a story and reflect your personal touch.
• Emma and Stephanie’s predictions for the future of design trends.

Also Mentioned This Episode:

• Ballard Designs
• Charm School (Full Book)
• Schumacher
• Nancy Braithwaite article where she used matelasse fabric to cover chairs in her living room. 

Please send in your questions and decorating dilemmas to podcast@ballarddesigns.net so we can answer them on our next episode!