Recently, Lewis — who was just nominated for his first Emmy for “Flipping Out” — has expanded beyond television, debuting a series of interiors-related products including a new paint line Jeff Lewis Color exclusively available online at Home Depot.
While mostly associated with LA’s real estate scene, Lewis has his eye on a potential East Coast operation.
As he ponders expanding to Gotham, we spoke with Lewis about finding affordable design, designing for small spaces and keeping your staff smiling.
Designer Jeff Lewis may be best known as the hard-charging, sharp-tongued, deal-making designer on Bravo’s hit shows “Flipping Out” and “Interior Therapy.”
Now in its seventh season, the show chronicles Lewis’ personal and professional travails as the head of his eponymous, LA-based house-flipping and interior decorating businesses.
There are many ways to make small spaces look larger. Consider lighter colors of fabrics for walls and furniture or opt for more compact furniture pieces — and fewer of them.
Keep fabric patterns subtle and consider platform beds for the bedroom — they sit low to the ground and conserve space.
There are many great stores offering quality furniture at a good price — the key is to not exclusively shop at one place in particular, but mix it all up.
I like West Elm and Crate and Barrel — and Restoration Hardware also offers great options. RH is more on the higher end and I find they’re products becoming better and better every year.
The most common mistake folks make when decorating is buying furniture in shops without first measuring the space back home.
As a result, they can end up with pieces that are either too big or too small for their intended spaces. Even after years of decorating, I can still make this mistake myself.
The best way to keep your staff happy — such as my house-keeper Zoila Chavez — is to take good care of them.
I think I pay my team well and I give them lot of perks — what other boss provides gifts like diamonds, bracelets or even a face-lift. Basically — I bribe them!
The biggest difference between design styles in New York and Los Angeles is space — we simply have a lot more space in our homes in LA.
So in New York, issues like storage are crucial — furniture can’t merely look good, it also has to be functional. In LA, we have the luxury of buying pieces purely because they are pretty.
I don’t have too many design idols, but one person whose work I truly connect with is Thom Filicia.
I respect the way in which his work is warm, livable and accessible — as well as always stylish and comfortable. I really love his use of layering and his ability to make spaces that feel dressy — but never too casual.
If I had $2.5 million to invest in real estate right now, I would definitely invest in LA — because I know the market so well.
But rather than buy one high-priced property, I would use the money as a down payment for three or four different homes; as the market goes up, I would make money just on their appreciation alone.