TheInstallPodcast: All right, guys, that's a wrap for this week. Have a question or even a hot take? Send emails to questions at theinstalledpodcast.com or DM us on social Don't forget to subscribe, like, rate, review, and download. for listening. ⁓ We'll see you next week. Paloma Contreras: Hi Caroline, or shall I say Chao Bella? Caroline Gidiere: Hey Paloma! Buongiorno! Buona sera! Paloma Contreras: Caroline's joining us from Rome this week. She's on holiday. As if you listened to our previous episode, it's her first vacation without children in over 20 years. So how has it been, Caroline? You're on your your second honeymoon. Caroline Gidiere: Can you see how relaxed I am? Yeah. ⁓ and cheers. know like the party is start. It's a little around four in the afternoon. And so we've had, you know, wine at lunch and I'm starting a little early wine at dinner. I usually don't drink. I've just been having a really great time. It's really wonderful. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Nice. So relaxed. I'm so glad. That's wonderful. I I feel like the end of the year, the school year, is so chaotic with kids. And then it also always happens to be a really busy time with work too, as people are preparing to leave for the summer. so I'm glad that you are getting this little well-deserved respite. Caroline Gidiere: stressful. Right? That's right. Yes. Although I'll say, you you are probably like me and luckily my husband works too. and I bless the young ladies in my office who are trying really hard to protect my time. But as the emails start rolling in, you know, I can't, I'm not. Paloma Contreras: Mm. Caroline Gidiere: I just can't not respond to that. You know, when I'm, can't allow these projects to stall out for two weeks. So I have been trying to jump in and out and find a balance and have nuggets of my day where I'm like responding to all the emails and trying to kick them back out. ⁓ but it is nice. Like before I go to bed, Stephen and I both 10 o'clock over here is what? Like two, three o'clock in the afternoon over there, send out like a flurry. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: flurry of emails so that when you wake up in the morning maybe you have the responses or what have you but that way I actually sleep better knowing yeah exactly exactly Paloma Contreras: Right. It's less stressful than letting it pile up. I feel like letting it pile up and just ignoring it makes it worse when you get back. Caroline Gidiere: Exactly, exactly. I mean, I'm not doing any heavy lifting. I'm not trying to put schemes together or do anything like that. But when they're like, what are we doing with the electrical plan in the study? You know, I'd rather keep the construction on schedule rather than waiting for two weeks and having a hard line, you know, boundary. So just trying to make it work. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's smart. I agree with you. I'm that way too. Okay, well let's jump right in. What is your high and your low for the week? Caroline Gidiere: Okay, this is my high. And I mean, I just ⁓ we've really I really haven't bumped into any kind of trouble this week. I mean, our our has been really easy. We were all the anticipated snags have Paloma Contreras: Understandable. Good. Caroline Gidiere: you know, evaporated or dissolved. And so I'm pretty boring this week. I mean, I just I'm just thrilled to be on vacation and nothing no, no, no gray skies. And look, even the clouds are clearing for our podcast. So what's going on with you this week? Paloma Contreras: I know it's beautiful. Well, good. ⁓ our high is we are getting a puppy. yeah. I know you have, I know. I feel like between you and Mark pushing when we were in England together, saying, You've gotta get Margot a dog, I finally we I mean, we were ready. It's been three years since our last dog, Tate, passed away. So Caroline Gidiere: I've been pushing for this. have to. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I felt like, and she's turning five. It felt like a good time. And then ⁓ we found this darling mini Australian labradoodle. I'll have to send you a photo. He's chocolate and white. So his body's mostly white, and he's got like some chocolate spots on his head, around his eyes, on his body. He's so cute. And we're naming him my. he is staying with the breeder for a few weeks to do some puppy training, which I think will be time well spent. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, it's perfect. Cute! Cute. Bye. ⁓ good. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I'm very excited for that. So he comes home on Sunday the fourteenth, the day after we get back from vacation. So we will go from vacation into having a little puppy at home. So Caroline Gidiere: How much fun? As I. As I told you before, once you've had a kid, puppies are easy. You only feel like puppies are hard when you haven't had children. When you've had children and you've been through of, you know, now that Margo five, you've seen it, you've done it, you've had to go to the emergency room in the middle of the night. Dogs are so easy because they only have to be fed twice a day. You don't need a babysitter. ⁓ It's ⁓ so easier to have a dog. Particularly, I don't know if you're going to have to walk my Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's true. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: but if you have a dog that you don't have to walk, it's even easier. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. We're super excited. And she's so cute. She has we made a countdown. So every day she crosses a day off of the calendar. And ⁓ she just she's so excited and she wants to practice being a good puppy sister and asks all kinds of questions about how to take care of a dog. And she's so excited that ⁓ she's asked me like about laperdoodles and I've described them to her that they're smart and they're gentle and affable and whatever. And she's like, I'm so glad we're getting a dog like that because that's exactly what Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ gosh. Paloma Contreras: What I want. He sounds like a great best friend. She's so sweet. Caroline Gidiere: Are you gonna let him sleep with her? Paloma Contreras: Not not until he's through crate training and like can sleep through the night without having to go potty. But once once he's old enough, yes. She really wants him to sleep in her room. Caroline Gidiere: Yep. I think Buttercup was... coming up on a year when she started sleeping with Lou, which is good to get them stabilized where they're not so needy in the middle of the night. But then they have slept. ⁓ We did the same thing with sugar and they sleep with Lou every single night. And I was kind of one of those people who was like the dog's not sleeping in the bed. But it's solved a lot of sleep issues with Lou that we had ⁓ just like that. Just having the dogs in the bed just put her I mean, you Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: put her at ease and enabled her to sleep through the night, which she was always waking up with bad dreams, which I used to do, so I get it, but yeah, yeah. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. ⁓ Yeah, I remember that. Yeah. Margot does that sometimes. She came in our room the other night and was like, I had a really bad dream and then she'd like remember it, but she wouldn't she never told me what it was, but she'd remember it and she'd be like, It was really bad and she'd start to cry again. I remember that age. I remember having nightmares around that age too, yeah. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah, I know. I had irrational fears of snakes and spiders that we didn't live anywhere that had either one of those. But I would dream that they were under my bed or, you know, coming through the windows and stuff like that. And I literally could not get back to sleep. My who is, Tay, who's a year older than me, to hate it because I would crawl in bed with her. I didn't have a puppy ⁓ in bed with her. And she'd be like, ⁓ out of my bed! ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Aw. So sweet. Yeah. Yes, yes. And thank you. We are too. No real lows to report. Just kind of a stressful end of the week. We leave for a vacation this weekend and I've got a few meetings today and have to also do laundry and get us packed and like run some errands. So there's just it's a busy day. Caroline Gidiere: Don't make me go. I'm so scared. But anyway, so that's great. Wonderful. Yay. I'm so excited for you. ⁓ God. If I had a low, it was all of the stress of trying to get out of town. That's so much, like getting everything wrapped up and being the lead of the house. The female is always in charge of all the packing and all this stuff. mean, maybe there's some guys who do that, but when you have kids, you've got to make sure they have everything that they need and they're like the sunscreen and all that kind of stuff. So it's tough. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yes. I mean, let's hear it for the girls. I f I I hate to say it, but I I said to my husband the other day, because we were talking about all of these things, like we're getting a puppy, we're going on vacation, Margo's birthday's coming up. And he was like, What time is Margot's birthday party? And I was like, In my next life, I would like to come back as a man because here I've Caroline Gidiere: That is wrong. Yes. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Planned our vacation, I'm getting us packed. I have handled all the puppy stuff. I've planned the birthday party, the presents. Have you thought about what to get her as a birthday present? Like all the things, you know, that moms do. And dads are just like, Where where do I go? What time do I show up? Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: All he needs to know is. Right? I get it. ⁓ time do I need to show up? ⁓ ⁓ want to make sure that's on my calendar so I don't schedule anything over it and have to miss it. You know? ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Right, right. Yeah, I know. I'm like, hmm, must be nice. ⁓ okay, so I have a question for you. I was talking to some girlfriends and they were talking about one of them had had her colors done. And I haven't done that. Have you had it done? Caroline Gidiere: Yep. All right. Yeah. had it done in 1989. Paloma Contreras: Okay, so that's the thing. I feel like it's such an old school thing and it's suddenly come back around. It's like, you know, all these girls who are playing mahjong are now getting their colors done. It's like you know, an old housewife kind of thing to do. But it it's a fun thing. And my friend was saying she felt it was worthwhile. It's not inexpensive now to do. because she was like, I kind of had my colors all wrong and it has saved me so much money because I'm not buying things that don't work on me. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Sure. Paloma Contreras: And then another friend was saying she wanted to do it and I was like, I kind of feel like I know my colors, but maybe it would surprise me. I don't know. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, it's a little intuitive. Yeah, it's a little intuitive. For some, it can be very enlightening, particularly when I think of the like, you know, I'd be surprised. I wouldn't know whether you were a spring or a fall, but you've got to be one or the other as far as what I remember of it. But where I think it becomes really important is in the shade of white that is Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. ⁓ Caroline Gidiere: best for you because we all have, you know, as a staple in the closet, a ⁓ dark and a light, like a white and a black. But if you know that it should be a cream and a dark chocolate brown as opposed to a black and white, I think those are kind of that. And then, you know, as you know, I don't wear a lot of color unless it's a dress. And ⁓ but it's, you know, no. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Mm. Mm. Right. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: knowing when you're, as we all look on the internet right now, like, oh, you know, like royal blue, I can't wear that color. It's very helpful. Yeah. So have you, are you going to have it done or have you had it done? Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. No. Yeah, yeah. Do it. I mean, I think it would be a fun, like team building thing with my team. ⁓ I might do it with a girlfriend, you know. I ⁓ don't know. I feel like as a decorator, I maybe I'm a little bit more intuitive about colors and I generally know what works. I mean, like I would assume that I were a spring or a fall. I have sort of warmer undertones even though I'm fair. ⁓ I'd be surprised. And actually, my my girlfriend who did it was her not that different from mine, actually, because she has brown eyes. Caroline Gidiere: That's a great idea. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Paloma Contreras: And she thought her whole life that she was an autumn and she ended up being like a cool winter or like something completely different than what she imagined. So it threw her for a loop, which was interesting. Caroline Gidiere: Mm. can imagine too, it changes as you age. I think I was a summer. I wanted really bad to be a winter. I don't know why. I do remember being disappointed to learn I was a summer. But I think I'd like to do it again. I would say we should get somebody on the show, but I don't think they can do it from a distance though. I think they put like the, yeah, yeah. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Ha ha. ⁓ Ooh. Yeah, that's true. Maybe when we're together somewhere, when we record together in person, that could be fun. Do a a live show. Okay. Are you following anybody on TikTok now that you're really enjoying or on Instagram? Is there an account that like makes you laugh or brings you joy? Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yeah, I love it. The thing about TikTok is that I like is that it It's not who you follow. mean, like I have very limited people that actually follow on TikTok. cause it pushes out. it is just totally algorithm based. So whatever you're spending time watching, it's going to send you five more ⁓ things like that. So you, you really do get, you have to ⁓ your algorithm and be sure to swipe when you're like, no, this is stupid. And I don't want to, I don't want this in my feed. You know, you, Paloma Contreras: Mm. Right. Caroline Gidiere: next time the next one that shows up you have to move really quickly from that. But on Instagram, you know, I'm like all the rest of us designers. I follow designers and I don't have a particular account that I'm following. Designers and fashion people and I just I really love to see Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: what people are doing like in the moment. Like, where are you, what are you doing? you know, like that kind of stuff still seems very fresh. So if you're on site or you're, you know, out at a party, it's like looking at zaps or whatever. I'd like to see those photos. How about you? Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Yeah. Okay, cool. Yeah. ⁓ I feel like my feed has suddenly become puppy training and and lots of English country houses, like all of these random accounts, you know, that show up in my feed, and then I'll start following them because they are doing tours of the English countryside or houses or whatever. So lot of that. But there's an account that I really enjoy called Trackstar. It's a show. ⁓ it's a guy in New York and he's Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ yeah. Sure. Paloma Contreras: I guess I don't know if he was previously in the music business or if he just loves music. But he interviews people on the street. It's like man on the street type of interviews. And sometimes it's famous musicians. And he puts headphones on them and plays the songs. And then they have to guess what the song is. And they talk about like what they love about that artist, that that album, that song. So I I don't know. I just love that. It makes me happy and it's fun to watch. Caroline Gidiere: Uh-huh. ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Headphones and plays music. Yeah. Love that guy. Yeah. He's great. I'd love any of the music ones and all of the music history. Particularly, I end up with the ones in the 80s and the 90s, which I just really, obviously, that's a walk down memory lane for me. ⁓ yeah, I mean, there's so many wonderful things about social media, and that's one of the best things, if you ask me. It's just like music. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. I agree. Well, in honor of you being on vacation and me heading on vacation as we head into summer travel season, we're gonna explore the intersection of design and travel today and how experiencing different places firsthand can fundamentally change the way we design and view the world. ⁓ so let's get right down to brass tacks Are you a hotel snom? I think I know the answer. Yes. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Honey, yes. I am. I, yes. Yeah. And I know that you are too. Paloma Contreras: I think it's important. I mean, well, yeah. I mean, there are the people out there who are like, ⁓ I don't want to spend all my money on the hotel because you're only there to sleep. And I'm like, actually, you're there to sleep. That's very important. Like you want it to feel comfortable and luxurious. And also I think from our perspective as designers, I feel like I always learn something or pick up on a detail that I'm seeing. in the lobby or in the bathroom or in the drapery in my room. Like there's always something to inspire or to notice. So I'm definitely hotel snob and will say it's hard to ⁓ you've become a hotel snob to like tear back down. ⁓ Caroline Gidiere: Absolutely. It's... It sure. And it's interesting you say that. I guess I haven't thought of it in those terms, but as designers. You know, some of the most important work that we do for our clients is curating their personal spaces. They're very intimate personal spaces and they're cocoons and they are the places that empower them, that they go to power up like Superman and, the Fortress Solitude and all, you know, like every superpower ⁓ had ⁓ a palace that was ⁓ unique to Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: them. We create these kind of out of whole cloth trying to weave together all the details for our clients. But we don't really have an opportunity to experience other bedrooms and other spaces very often unless you go and stay in someone's house. And that's certainly intimate. That's a very limited circle. But when we, you know, when you pop into this space, I'm always looking like say at the details of the bathroom. How is this laid out? How like how are the Paloma Contreras: Right. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: handles in the bathroom. How deep is this sink? Like just in this hotel, the sink is really deep and wide. I'm like, I think I've gotten this all wrong. And the ledges are all rounded. I like, this ⁓ is than I've been doing. I ⁓ need change up my game, you know? ⁓ So ⁓ you a ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm. ⁓ nice. Yeah. Right. Is there a hotel or a restaurant, ⁓ even a house that you've toured that really stopped you in your tracks where the design really kind of blew you away and you know, there were details you hadn't noticed before? Caroline Gidiere: There's one house that I have toured in my life that I literally could not take a deep breath. Like I literally started hyperventilating and like, and. Paloma Contreras: Mm. Caroline Gidiere: couldn't like pictures from it are so frenetic and there are no good pictures because I couldn't pause enough. I was so overstimulated ⁓ and is on ICAA tour ⁓ at Marina house outside of Charlottesville called Esmont ⁓ and is private home. They don't give ⁓ Marina doesn't live anymore. Her ex-husband has that the house ⁓ but ⁓ it decorated Marina was Paloma Contreras: ⁓ Mm. Caroline Gidiere: there and it showed up a time or two a couple of photographs in Town & Country but every single detail of that house Paloma when I tell you and I was like okay so the decorator ⁓ nobody would me a straight story on that ⁓ like didn't want to be you know I'm deep ⁓ southern not gonna push or ⁓ ask but really ⁓ took breath away how about you ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm. Interesting. Right. Gosh, I mean, feel like any place, I can't I'm struggling to think of one specific place because I feel like there are many. I mean, and even recently on our last trip that we took together that were really incredible and kind of took my breath away. ⁓ mean, Houghton in particular, that Cottesbrook house I thought was phenomenal because that one was really lived in and it was a family there. ⁓ so that that one to me was really special. But I think any any ⁓ place that Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Woo, honey. We'll Paloma Contreras: been to that really leaned into a sense of place where there was a sense of craftsmanship that was local, you know, they're speaking to the land, the setting, ⁓ the typical architecture. That to me is always more special and I think something that's very memorable, whether it's, you know, a resort in Mexico or a grand estate in the English countryside, you know, it doesn't matter. Caroline Gidiere: Sure, sure. The great thing about the Cottesbrook house was unlike any of the other houses, there wasn't a museum in this house. There wasn't like, most of the house are the staterooms and where, you know, King Henry was throned and came to visit and they did a huge bed for him and we've still got it here. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: which is fascinating to see, but that Cottesbrooke house, like every inch of it was just a private house. And so it was like truly the aristocracy ⁓ And it was breathtaking how ⁓ gorgeous was. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Right. Yeah, it was amazing. Mm-hmm. Right. Well, and to see a house that was built in the seventeen hundreds with so many original elements that have been preserved. I mean, I was reading the little book that he gave us when we departed. ⁓ and the walls and that beautiful entry have only been painted maybe three times in the history of the house since the seventeen seventies. And that's I mean, that's incredible. You know, the the fact that they can Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, live today. Yeah. Now. more to our conversation with Heidi about choosing things that will stand the test of time. Thinking about ripping things out after every 10 years to me, my heart. We had to be ⁓ like these, ⁓ olden times, there just were never gonna be more resources. Why you paint it if you didn't absolutely have to? ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Mm. ⁓ absolutely. Right. Caroline Gidiere: And gosh, every, and you know, when I was taking an architecture of Paris class, ⁓ we started just kind of with the history and our teacher was talking about ⁓ Brugge, I'm pronouncing that wrong, and Venice. And the architecture in both of those places is so old and we learned so much that all the other. Paloma Contreras: Mm. Caroline Gidiere: European cities had plenty of money, but these cities lost all of their wealth. And so nobody could come in and tear down and build new. And so the architecture was preserved out of necessity. And so we learn so much more when you don't have so much money. And you know, as Americans, we just tear everything down and start all over all the time. Paloma Contreras: Mm. ⁓ huh. I know. I know. I know. I know. It's it's something to think about, you know, it's a lesson to take away from other cultures, definitely. what do you think makes certain places stay with us long after we've left? What is that quality? How do you make is it tangible? Is it an intangible? Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. for sure. I think it's a lot of times it's just how you feel, you know, it is intangible, it's how you make it makes you feel. Certainly in those houses, like there's just such a feeling of warmth and casual elegance or what have you, but just being in Rome to me is like, and I feel like we're being invaded. Sorry, I don't know if you can hear all these like helicopters. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. It's the paparazzi, they've come to photograph you. Caroline Gidiere: Moving around. Yeah, there goes the big helicopter. Sorry. It's like right overhead. I don't know if you can hear it, but Paloma Contreras: It's okay. Caroline Gidiere: I've only been to Rome in the summer and it's me it's like like in the winter it makes me feel warm just thinking about it I feel warmer and ⁓ the tones of the city and the terracotta and the ⁓ green and ⁓ the and the food it's just all comfort and you I think those are the things ⁓ that inform sense place more than ⁓ just the the five senses. What about you? Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Well, you know, these are all questions that we ask our clients when we start working together. You know, how do you want your home to make you feel? Because there's how we want it to look and function, but the way that we want it to feel is super important. And that's a thread that we have to weave throughout all the different spaces. ⁓ we also ask what their favorite hotel is, their favorite city, their favorite museum, all of those things because Caroline Gidiere: Right? Mm-hmm, absolutely. Paloma Contreras: You may not want your house to look exactly like your favorite hotel, but there's something about it that stays with you and that calls you back time and time again that makes you feel so comforted comfortable and relaxed. And you know, we we try to sort of draw out what that is. And I I I agree, it's an intangible, it's a an accumulation of various things, the people, maybe the food, maybe the comfort, like the bed is extra comfortable or. Caroline Gidiere: tells you so much. Paloma Contreras: There's a beautiful color on the walls, you know, whatever it may be, the smell of ocean, the ocean water like near you, the breeze in the evenings, whatever. ⁓ but I think you can sort of drill down into what that is if you think about your favorite places and start to draw out what you love about that place and how it makes you feel, and then how you might translate that into your home. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: Sure. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Paloma Contreras: Do you have a favorite hotel ⁓ abroad? Caroline Gidiere: The hotel, my favorite hotel I've ever stayed in ⁓ be surprising, ⁓ it's ⁓ the place, not JK Place, but it's the same guy, The Place in Florence, ⁓ ⁓ it's on a palazzo. It's a very small hotel. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm mm mm Mm. Caroline Gidiere: But I'm here to tell you, like every detail of that was just so luxurious. And the bathroom was just like, I just didn't want to walk out. And it was a very small bathroom, but like it was so lux. And the sheets, like those. pressed preta... pretaizzi or pretizzi sheets and like just every detail in this place. Italians really know how to do it. I mean... Paloma Contreras: Mm. Do you know what's so funny? My favorite hotel is the JK Place in Paris. And it's the same group, and it's the same Italian designer, Michele Bonon. And I love it for all of the reasons you just mentioned. It feels like you're staying in your chicest friend's townhouse. It's small, it's intimate, but no detail is spared. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. I... Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Phew. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: I mean it's Ultra comfortable and luxurious. They've thought of everything down to the Dyson hairdryer and the drawer. You know, the like you, I I think we stayed in, you know, we upgraded a few categories and had a nicer, like bigger room, but still big. ⁓ I guess big for European standards. And our bathroom wasn't huge, but it was so perfectly laid out and well appointed that it was super comfortable. I mean, just ⁓ I mean, that was certainly one of my favorites. So it's so funny that we both Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-mm. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: in different cities were drawn to the same hotel group and designer. Caroline Gidiere: Well, I've stayed at a lot of great places. And I don't remember that costing more than any of the other great places that we've stayed. But it is more luxurious and more deluxe than any place. just like, even the coffee on the Genori and just like, ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yep. Caroline Gidiere: Every detail is just deluxe. It's in my brain. Paloma Contreras: I agree. How about stateside? Do you have a favorite hotel stateside? Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ yes. The Carlyle. That's top for me. How about you? Paloma Contreras: Hm. Yeah, the Carlyle's great. ⁓ I would say that Auberge de Soleil in Napa Valley. It's really special. It's a perfect location in the Valley with the most beautiful view. It's kind of set up in the hills, and so you have a a beautiful sweeping view of the whole valley. And again, like it's just so comfortable. Suzanne Tucker of Tucker and Marks did the interiors there and she originally did them with ⁓ goodness, his name? The ⁓ I like we're the Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: like geriatric twins here every on every episode were like, what's it called? I can't remember the name of what sorry, like we'll get that to you. Michael Taylor. She worked for yeah, she worked for Michael Taylor in the eighties. And Michael Taylor did the original Auberg du Soleil when it opened in the eighties. And then she came in and refreshed the interiors ⁓ maybe twenty years ago and then again recently. But Caroline Gidiere: I think we're trying to do too much. Paloma Contreras: The restaurant's incredible, the setting is incredible, the service is wonderful, it's super comfortable. So that's definitely a very special stay that we love. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, I love Napa Valley. I'm trying to think of where, I mean, speaking of geriatric. Where did we stay? I can't even think of it. I mean, so anyway. Paloma Contreras: Yeah You know, and I have to give a a a shout out. Like if we are talking about memorable hotel stays, it's not the fanciest, but in a s similar Northern California area in Pacific Heights in San Francisco, there's a little hotel you've probably stayed there called the Hotel Drisco in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. ⁓ so it's set in this gorgeous neighborhood. You can walk it. There are beautiful homes all around. It's part of the reason I like staying there. You can walk right down to the Palace of Fine Arts and you have a beautiful view of the bay. ⁓ and it's set in this, you know, Victorian house basically. So again, small. And while it's probably like, I wouldn't call it five star. It's probably like a solid four and a half. It's very comfortable. It's well appointed, but they think of everything. They're like super generous with the toiletries. They bring fresh fruit and cookies every day. Caroline Gidiere: Of course, yeah. Mmm. Paloma Contreras: Another thing that stands out to me as someone who travels a lot for business is their room the food at the room service is really good and it's like ten dollars and no service fees, which never happens because you can order a bowl of granola at most hotels and it's $90. I know. And they have a great ⁓ breakfast in their like dining room downstairs. So it's a really nice day. We actually stayed there with Margot last August when we just needed a break from the Houston heat. So Caroline Gidiere: Mmm. What? they in business or is it a charity? Paloma Contreras: Highly recommend, but you know, it's a little things like that that can make a stay memorable, whether it's the fanciest place or not. Caroline Gidiere: sure. And let me say this, let's shout out to the Hassler, which is where we are here. ⁓ There's not a better view in Rome. I don't know if you can see this. The second ⁓ dome is the Vatican and then all of this is the Vatican over here, but I think if you're around on the more front of the building, you would really have the panorama. Paloma Contreras: Mm. I mean I can see, yes, it's stunning. Uh-huh. The Vatican. Wow. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ Of Rome But the service is great, but they have a really great ⁓ Inner courtyard for breakfast. That's like a grotto and it's got this like clamshell thing. It's it's really really Great, and it's right at the top of the Spanish steps ⁓ and I just I know there are a lot of hotels, but Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. ⁓ Caroline Gidiere: This view, I'm like waking up every morning and opening the doors and having my coffee out here. It's just something deep in my soul that is like, Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. ⁓ yeah. That's pretty special. Well, you're inspiring me to go back to Rome. I don't think we've been in like twenty years, so definitely need to go back. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ you should, you've got to come back. I mean, I love Italy in general. let me just also say this week, I mean, my appreciation grows the more I come back and the more that I see. You know, I always love Italian furniture that is ornately carved and hand painted. That's how we know, like if we're putting three pieces of furniture out here, you know, we've got to decide one of these is French, one is English, one is Italian. Like the dead giveaway is if it's got some extraordinary hand painting on it, it's gonna be Italian, right? Like they're all maybe carved, the Italian, Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Caroline Gidiere: with the painting and just all of I've been to a couple of different ⁓ house museums this week which I love once you get beyond the big ones you know then you've got to get down into the house museums which I actually love more just the hand-painted like marble and 3d this ⁓ museum that we went to don't ask me Paloma Contreras: Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: I'll have to look up the I'm like, I don't speak Italian, so a lot of these names just don't trip off my tongue. But I could link it if anybody, but just like, like. Paloma Contreras: Ha ha ha ha. We'll excuse it. Caroline Gidiere: The painting of the draped fabric on the wall and the way the light hit it, but the way the light hit it in that room with the light coming in through that window and just Italians and the painting, it's just ⁓ ⁓ ⁓ know, I think if you took a scan of my brain, which is one of the things that I think is so important about travel. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm. Caroline Gidiere: is if you scanned my brain, I can guarantee you that firing in my brain are areas of my brain that are normally dormant, that are just up and inspired, that activates ⁓ and connections in my brain for that I'm going to draw on for the year to come. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, you know, it might sound sound cliche to say travel is inspiring, but it is. I mean, I think it was Diana Veland who said the eye has to travel. And if you think about it, if we were all stuck in our day-to-day, going to and from our offices and staying in our neighborhoods and sitting at our computer all day, how inspired would we really be as creatives? Like we have to get out there and see new things in a different light, you know, pick up on Caroline Gidiere: Absolutely. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ details we wouldn't have noticed before, be exposed to different places and people and smells and things and you know, it really like you said, it fires up all of these different parts of your brain and really creates memories that then translate into creativity and inspiration and, you know, make you all the better for it, whether you're a designer or not. Caroline Gidiere: Absolutely. And I'll tell you, one of the mind-blowing things that I've seen since I'm here, since I was here, it's on my Instagram today. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ I saw it. I think I know what you're talking about. ⁓ The shoe? I I swear I thought it I was like, is that like a random sculpture? Is this woman does she sculpt giant shoes? Caroline Gidiere: Yes! The woman shoe? I mean... thought it was a shoe sculpture when I sat down. okay, so my editor just, I texted him because the last time we were here in Rome, he happened to be here. And so I texted him like two months ago. I was like, Hey, are you going to be in Rome the first week of June? He was like, weirdly, yes. Anyway, so it's like, let's get together for cocktails or dinner, which we did. And then he said, Hey, there's this shoe museum opening that I'm going to as a reason I'm here. You love shoes. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Nice. Caroline Gidiere: shoes. You'd probably enjoy this. Vanessa Noel who makes shoes. She's a shoe designer in the states. She's opening a shoe museum in the states, but there's an exhibit here in Rome and there's an opening a lot of like Nicole Miller is going to be there blah blah blah blah. There's a whole bunch of people making presentations. Come. and go to the museum and come to lunch. today is mine and Stephen's wedding anniversary. So we had lunch plans, but we stayed for it. We sat down and I was not paying close attention, but I turned back around and there's like the shoe up behind the podium. And I'm like, ⁓ that's cool. I didn't see them put that out. And ⁓ people started speaking and it freaked me out so bad when this chick started Paloma Contreras: ⁓ happy anniversary. Mm. Caroline Gidiere: moving and then she would go back into her pose. She looks just like a shoe and it's an artist and they are actually from Spain but they do a lot of stuff here. They travel around but he paints women to look like shoes. Yes. Paloma Contreras: Right, and then she was all contorted. Her body she looked like a stiletto, it was crazy. Caroline Gidiere: She's like, yes, it was crazy how they had painted it in a way. my God. ⁓ like that just really ignite my brain. ⁓ should be looking at things differently. ⁓ think about putting a human in making a shoe and painting it in a way, mean, it's just, ⁓ ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Yeah. For sure. Are you typically I think I know the answer to this? ⁓ are you more of an adventurer or a creature of habit when it comes to travel? Meaning do you like to seek out new destinations and explore new places or do you like to go back to places that you love and know? Caroline Gidiere: I'm a 50-50 on that. I need a balance between the two. I can't just only do the things that I've done before, but I need a steady diet of things that I've done before to feel grounded in a space, if that makes any sense. How about you? Paloma Contreras: Mm, mm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I would agree. I mean, I'm probably more in the latter camp these days. I think just for ease. When I was younger, I think and we didn't have Margot yet, we definitely were more adventurous than we are now. And now it's more like, you know, what's easy and familiar with a child. and so I think that will be the season we're in for a while. But there's something to me that's yeah, something so comforting about Caroline Gidiere: Sure. Absolutely. For sure. There's time enough for adventure later. Paloma Contreras: Really identifying with a place and loving it and knowing your way around and having your favorite haunts, you know, whether it's shops or restaurants, museums, whatever, like to go back to those places to me is really enjoyable. I just I love that so much. Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. For sure. Absolutely. When our children were young, we started when Lou was three. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: We would, we had two vacations that we took and only two. And that was one month we would go to Paris in the summer, rent an apartment, same apartment every year. We really didn't do much of anything. We were close to the Luxembourg gardens. We did that every day. We ate like pizza, dinner at night, or I cooked dinner at home. But you know, we strolled around gardens and did different things. Or we went, we had a condo at the beach and we would go to the beach during the year for our vacation. And we really never did anything more than that. But it was good for them. I felt like it's good for children to feel safe, to do the same thing over and over again. The repetition makes them feel grounded and safe. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Right. Stability, yeah, for sure. ⁓ okay, is there anything that you think designers notice on their travels that regular people, non-designers, do not notice? What is what do we see through the lens, through our designer's lens? Caroline Gidiere: Wow! Sure, well, and I think when you get with a group of designers on a trip like we were on, like everybody's standing in front of the same things trying to get the same photos. And those are, you know, the things that, ⁓ you know, we've listed here. There are doorways and entrances and... Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Right. Caroline Gidiere: You know, I also think beyond just like the architectural elements of the houses that we're looking at, ⁓ the things that I really find eye-opening, because I really love color, are the colors of places. Like, I really try to study. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: and try to capture and it's hard to capture the eye can what the eye sees is different when the lens sees. And sometimes I have to go in and play with a stuff to get the settings to get the image to the color that I remember it being or like seems better for me. But different places have different colors and I take pictures sometimes just to capture Paloma Contreras: Right. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: how like everything here is sun-baked. It's not contrived, you know, out of a farrow and ball palette. It's like they've some guy has mixed some stuff up and put it on the wall and then it's baked in the sun for 200 years, you know, or 50 years to get this kind of patina. But those are the kind of things that that I ⁓ notice. What are the things that you like to take photos of? Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Yeah. the things that always stand out to me, I mean, I would say millwork details, doors, ⁓ railings, tile, and like marble, the way that stone is arranged or cut, you know, all those different designs and patterns. That's always super interesting. Lighting, of course. ⁓ I get really drawn to that. If something's really special, hardware. there was some really cool hardware we saw. Yeah. I mean Caroline Gidiere: you Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, garden implements, different garden elements, you know. Paloma Contreras: A little of everything. And I've been on not only this last England trip with you, but ⁓ I remember doing some house tours in Charleston with you and you you really it's fun to see 'cause I'll be like, ⁓ what is she looking at? Like, ⁓ you get down like on the ground and we'll take a really close up shot of stuff and you there's not a detail Caroline misses. It's really, really fun to be on those trips with her. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Well, you know, the last time I was at the phone place and I needed to. swap my phone out and like transfer it over and the guy was like oh we'll take but a second um unless you have like 15 000 photos or something and I was like honey I've got over 90 000 he was like what it's like you have how many and I was like I showed it to him he was like I've like literally never seen anybody that has this many photos a lot of them I haven't folders and stuff like that but now with the maps you can locate it but you know I'll think of something like when I'm talking Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. my gosh, that's crazy. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: to architect and I'm well, it can't be done. I'm like, wait a second, wait a second. I know I've seen this somewhere. Let me think of where it was. My brain does work sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm like, where was that? I know I can think of where I've seen something like this, but just to always just, those are just. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Mm. Yeah, yeah. Caroline Gidiere: ideas, right? That's what we're taking photos of, our ideas for the future. When something comes up, yeah, so you know. And in fact, let me share this really exciting thing that I saw at this restaurant that we were at. Okay, so Jasmine is in bloom and like on vines and everything, but right next to where we were sitting, they were having a private dinner, like an anniversary dinner. was a big long table and everything, but the divider was Paloma Contreras: Yeah, totally. For sure. We're filing it away. Mm. Caroline Gidiere: a ⁓ simple trellis, okay, on top of a box, on top of wheels. And it had like the little trellising where you have the bars that go across, but it had the diamond trellis form. Paloma Contreras: Right. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: the, you know, perpendicular to that, the trellising going across the top, but it came down into a box that had planted in little pots ⁓ jasmine. And in that box, that box was on wheels. So they could create this divider that was like a summer divider and it had blooming jasmine on it. So like, Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. So Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: You could, I don't know, put it in a greenhouse or put it in a place that's sheltered or bring them in your garage or whatever and grow these things in the winter, but create like a little divider or a little wall with these beautiful planter things. I mean, it's stuff like that. Like somebody came up with it. Yeah, you gotta take a picture of it. Paloma Contreras: Mm. Great idea. So chic, absolutely. Okay, well, as we wrap up, let's do a little quickfire. travel based quickfire. Most inspiring city. Caroline Gidiere: Okay. They're all inspiring to me. How about you? Paloma Contreras: I mean, if I have to pick, I'd say Paris. It never fails. ⁓ save or splurge on a hotel. Caroline Gidiere: Sure, sure. Blurge. Paloma Contreras: Splurge. Hotel chain versus boutique hotel. Caroline Gidiere: just depends on the hotel. ⁓ me, it doesn't have to be a chain. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Okay. ⁓ yeah. I mean I would say generally more boutique, but like I would stay at a high end boutique hotel probably before being like, ⁓ I'm gonna stay at the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons. Like those names don't matter to me just for at face value. So Caroline Gidiere: For sure, yeah. But some of these are like Rocco blah blah hotel where I was at last time. I mean where this divider thing was. What's the guy's name? think Rocco Forte, yeah. Hotel de Russie which I think is a French like down the road. I mean. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Forte? Rocco Forte? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: It was pretty deluxe, let me just say that. you know, it just, I would say, depends on the hotel. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, yeah. It depends. For sure. best garden you visited. Caroline Gidiere: Houghton Hall. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, I would I would agree. Houghton or Cottesbrooke was really special to me. ⁓ Caroline Gidiere: or Grimmsthorpe. ⁓ let just say also. ⁓ Yes. Shout out for Villandry and Chenençeau in the Loire Valley. Those two are really fabulous too. ⁓ In a different way. Paloma Contreras: Remember the garden at Grim Crimson? ⁓ no, yes, I do with the sculptures. Beautiful. Mm mm amazing. ⁓ favorite design shop abroad. Caroline Gidiere: Casa Lopez in Paris. Paloma Contreras: Ooh, that's a good one. And then who's the guy with the pottery in Paris? Caroline Gidiere: ⁓ yeah, what's the name of that? In the fifth. His shop is in the fifth. What's his name? Paloma Contreras: Here we go again. Yes. ⁓ okay, we'll we'll get y'all the name. sorry guys, we need to take a supplement or something. ⁓ because we don't have enough of those. favorite museum. Caroline Gidiere: Sorry. I ⁓ ⁓ Hotel de la Marine in Paris. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ that's a s I love that one. I also love the ⁓ Musee des Arts Decoratif in Paris, the Decorative Arts Museum and the Picasso Museum in Paris is wonderful. Favorite indulgence while traveling? Like are you having gelato every day? Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah. I have been having gelato every day. Like my indulgence is stepping. I am very routine. I am up at five. I eat the same things in the morning. Like so many other creative things have to flourish. And so that works best when I have this other regimen. The indulgence for me is stepping out of that regimen. The first day we were here, Paloma, I slept until 10.30. I went to bed at 9.30. I slept 13 hours. Can you believe it? Yes. I don't know when I've done that. How about you? Paloma Contreras: my gosh. I mean, now that is the ultimate luxury. I c it's unfathomable to me at this point in my life. That's amazing. ⁓ yeah, I would say just like stepping out of the usual r rigidity of the day to day routine and like being as cautious about what I'm eating or how much I'm drinking or whatever. Like, am I gonna have a croissant every day? Yeah, let's have another croissant. Like you know, ice cream every day? Sure. Like Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Yeah, 100%. Did I bring my white jeans? hell no. ⁓ in loose frocks every day. ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Is there a place? Aw, love it. ⁓ smart. And you're walking so much, so it all comes out in the wash. A place you're dying to visit. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, that's right. Balances. Sure. I want to go to India. I want to go to Japan. I want to go to Seoul. Those are the on agenda. How about you? ⁓ Paloma Contreras: Mm. ⁓ Yeah. ⁓ Japan is on my list for sure. And then I I've been now, but I really want to go back to the English countryside with Margot and Fabian. I feel like that would be a really special trip. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, me too. I gotta spend some more time in that Houghton Hall garden and I'm gonna go to the Chelsea Garden show. We should maybe plan something like that, yeah. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. ⁓ I know. That looks incredible. That's always been on my list. That would be great. ⁓ favorite city for architecture. Caroline Gidiere: I mean, they're, ugh. Any of the great European cities, I mean, just all of them. It's hard to say one of them is better than the next. How about you? Do you have a favorite? Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Right. I mean you're in Rome, it's like a living museum. again, it's hard. I feel like it depends on what you have to pick your poison for that day. London, the the architecture's beautiful there. Caroline Gidiere: It's great in the modern architecture too, the contrast between the two. Paloma Contreras: Yeah. ⁓ best hotel bathroom you've experienced. Okay. Yeah, the the JK Place in Paris was wonderful and The Mark in New York also has great bathrooms. Mm-hmm. ⁓ and really strong water pressure. Favorite antique shopping destination. Caroline Gidiere: The JK place. Or the place in Florence. ⁓ yeah, it's got a great bathroom, that's right. Come. Yes. Marché aux ⁓ for sure. I mean, it's just gotta ⁓ ⁓ there's Parma. We gotta go to that. Yeah, we gotta go to that. Yeah, yeah, we gotta go. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, for me too. ⁓ there's there's no topping that. Mm-hmm. Cause it's all in one place. I mean, it's amazing. Mm-hmm. I know. The f the fair. Yeah, maybe next year. favorite local craft you've discovered while traveling? Caroline Gidiere: I'm not sure if I've done this. How about you? Paloma Contreras: ⁓ we there's an artisan that we have bought a lot from ⁓ in Paris that does these beautiful plaster mirrors. ⁓ so I would say probably those. And we used to import them a lot for the shop. We sort of stopped doing that ⁓ recently, but beautiful and I've used them on a lot of projects and have some in my house. So that was a find. ⁓ travel souvenir worth collecting. Is there anything that you like to collect on your travels? Caroline Gidiere: you Yeah. Really no. I mean I guess more than anything I've collected alcohol from different places through my husband, which I think it's fun just having all the rando like bottles of wine and different liquors and liqueurs and bitters and things like that or and bottle openers and you know stirrers and bar accoutréments But I think anything that you collect if you start it can be... Paloma Contreras: Ha ha ha. Yeah, it's a memory. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Caroline Gidiere: Let me just say this, I had some clients who had bought an ice cream scoop in every town that they had ever visited. And even though we didn't do it because they thought it was sacrilege, but I was like, let's put them all on a wall and screw them through the scoop. Paloma Contreras: ⁓ that's fun. That's cute. Yeah. Caroline Gidiere: want to like and create this installation in the hallway when you go up and around so it's just because they have like 300 of them i'm like what else are we gonna do with these guys but anyway i just think it's fun yeah i like any collection what about you Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. That's cool. Yeah. They're just in a drawer otherwise. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ I tend to collect matchbooks. ⁓ when in Paris specifically. I mean, I don't do it in every city, but in Paris, there's a couple of dealers that I really like. So I typically will pick up a piece of art each trip. I love a bookmark. I mean, that's like Caroline Gidiere: Mm-hmm. Paloma Contreras: really like a tchotsky souvenir and they're harder to find, like postcards from art museums and ⁓ bookmarks I love 'cause I still love to read paper books. I don't read on a tablet. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah. Did you know, Paloma, I would take those and like frame them and do some great, that's so, that's such a beautiful thing to collect. I don't know, I would need to display them. Paloma Contreras: Yeah, that's a cute idea. Yeah. Christmas ornaments. ⁓ so we always have like our little travel ornaments on part of the tree. And I think that could be fun for Margot like as she gets older, and then she could have them. Caroline Gidiere: Yeah, yeah. Sure, I wish I was better at Christmas tree ornaments, but I'm really more, after I get done with the lights, I'm just done. Yeah. Yeah, anything. Anything people collect, I think is fun. Just if you have a collection, start one and then stick to it. Yeah. Paloma Contreras: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I mean those are those are the things that I like to collect. And it's always fun to hear what other people tend to gravitate to. Right. For for sure. Okay, great. Well, it's been so fun to talk about all of this. Listeners, let us know in your comments, email us, message us, let us know which design destination has influenced your style the most. And also where should we go, Caroline and I, on our next design trip? ⁓ because we, I mean, I feel like this England trip is the gift that continues to give. We've been so inspired and we've talked about it so much. So I'd love to do another big trip like that. Caroline Gidiere: Yes. Yeah. Trip. 100%. And one thing that I wanted to mention, we're going to start trying to do this more and more. Two big things coming up shortly, and that is the D. Porthault sale starts June 8th. The Christopher Spitzmiller sale starts June ⁓ And then there are two events, design events next month you might be interested in. That's Nantucket by Design, which starts July 13th. The tickets are on sale now. ⁓ The Newport Design Days starts July 22nd. Both of those you can get tickets for now. put those on your calendar guys. Paloma Contreras: Fabulous. Lots to look forward to. Well, so good seeing you. Enjoy your anniversary and your beautiful vacation, and we'll talk soon. Caroline Gidiere: Okay, well, yeah. Hey, thank you. Yeah, thanks so much. All right. Sounds great.