5
MORE Q&A WITH
BOBBY BERK
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interview.
THINK OF YOUR HOME
AS A CHARGER
“When we get home at night, we
always plug in our phone because we
know if it doesn’t get a full charge,
it won’t last to the next day. But
we don’t think of ourselves as
a phone that needs to be
recharged. Your home is
that charger, and you need
to make sure you’re getting
back up to 100 percent.”
HOME DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
BY: MALLORY ABREU; PHOTO: CINDY ORD/STRINGER/GETTY IMAGES
42 | September 2019
room
After four seasons of costarring on the Netflix hit show Queer Eye, interior designer
Bobby Berk has the experience to say that you don’t need to gut a room to transform it.
We caught up with Berk about how he solves real-life decorating challenges in style.
AN INSTANT FIX FOR ANY ROOM
“Curtains. Naked windows are not always the
best for all rooms,” Berk says. “I love bringing in texture
and softness through window treatments. Whether
that means you use a Roman shade or fl oor-to-ceiling
panels, the textiles will do a lot to soften hard lines.”
Berk recommends linen curtains. They’re thick enough
to hang gracefully while allowing
light to fi lter through.
1
WHERE TO
SPLURGE
Bedding. “You spend
20 to 30 percent
of your life in bed.
It should feel
like when you
go to a nice
hotel and the sheets
are smooth and crisp.” 4
WHERE
TO SAVE
Rugs. “Rugs can be
so crazy expensive,
and you literally
walk all over them. Scrimp on
rugs. Just make sure you’re
not getting one that will shed
forever, because that’s going to
drive you insane.”
3
A RULE
TO
LIVE BY
“Things that are
done in threes
give more
impact,” Berk
says. “But you
don’t need to think
about it so literally. That
rule can apply to the
number of materials used in
furniture, the heights of
objects in a vignette, or even
the tones used in a painting.”
7
LIGHTING IS VITAL
Every room needs three
kinds of lighting: ■DIRECTIONAL
task lighting ■AMBIENT
overhead or recessed lighting
■ACCENT LIGHTING like table lamps
and candles. “Without all three,
a room doesn’t function or look
as good as it truly could.”
6
FIND YOUR STYLE
“Ask yourself about things that
have nothing to do with design.”
What’s your favorite TV
show or movie, dream vacation
destination, fashion role
model? Gather photos and
think about what they have in
common: similar colors, a sense of
humor, a certain era? Write a
list of those traits and use them to
edit furniture and paint colors.
2
SERVICE
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