The iDesign Lab Podcast | Where Design, Business, and Culture Shape How We Live and Build

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Drapery isn’t just fabric on a rod. It’s acoustics, light control, privacy, proportion, and that instant shift from “nice room” to “finished home.” We sit down with Leslie Excel, founder of Excel and Design Group, to unpack what’s really happening behind the scenes of custom window treatments and why the best designers treat their drapery team like true design partners.

Leslie shares her path from working next door to a drapery workroom to building a nationally recognized fabrication studio celebrating 20 years. Along the way, we get practical about the details that make or break results: fabric content, blackout lining vs sheers, interlining for body, pattern matching, and the reality of railroading double-width fabric in homes with massive ceilings and wide spans. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a sample book photo and then panicked at how it will actually hang, this conversation is for you.

We also dig into collaboration and planning, including why window treatments can’t be designed in isolation. Leslie explains how coordination with builders, architects, installers, and AV integrators prevents change orders and finger-pointing, especially with motorized shades, tracks, recessed pockets, and stack-back limitations. Plus, we talk hardware choices, why tracks with fascia can outperform rod-and-ring setups, and why “workroom” might be the wrong word for a craft this technical.

If you care about interior design, craftsmanship, and building projects that feel cohesive, press play, then subscribe, share the episode with a designer or homeowner friend, and leave a review so more people can learn what’s really behind the drapes.
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Art can be intimidating until someone finally explains the parts nobody says out loud: what collectors actually look for, how prices really move, and why the best art is often about an idea more than a “pretty picture.” We’re joined by Breck Kling, a fine art consultant and longtime collector, to talk about the real intersection of art, passion, interior design, and investment and how to approach it without getting lost in hype.

We dig into Breck’s path from art history and architecture to advising collectors, then get practical about how people learn contemporary art. He breaks down why contemporary simply means “made in our time,” how visiting galleries, studio visits, and major art fairs can train your eye, and why Art Basel Miami Beach has become a concentrated crash course in the collectible art world. We also talk about the reality of collecting for a home: wall space, scale, and how a piece can carry meaning beyond decoration.

Then we get into the art market mechanics: auction records, shifting taste, speculative cycles, and how dealers, curators, museums, and major collectors can influence demand and supply like market makers. Breck also explains provenance, forgeries, and why credibility of the source matters, plus how editions, prints, and lithographs can still hold real value through scarcity. If you want a smarter, calmer way to buy art and build a collection you can live with, this conversation is your roadmap.

Subscribe for more conversations at the crossroads of design and culture, share this with a friend who loves art, and leave a review so more collectors and design lovers can find us. What’s the most meaningful piece in your home right now?
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Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com

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AI is moving so fast that it’s hard to tell what’s hype, what’s helpful, and what’s genuinely risky. That’s why we brought in Eric Simons, a serial entrepreneur who helped pioneer affiliate marketing and has spent more than 25 years working with artificial intelligence and automation. He’s seen one world-changing wave up close already, and he believes the AI wave looks a lot like the early internet, only faster and more personal.

We talk through the early days when “search” meant Yahoo and Excite, when websites had traffic but no monetization, and when automation was the unfair advantage. Eric shares how affiliate programs worked before today’s ad platforms, how scaling SEO became a systems problem, and the wild story of accidentally becoming the top online source for caskets overnight. Along the way, we dig into what those experiences teach any entrepreneur: distribution matters, margins can lie, and logistics can make or break a business.

Then we bring it to the present: modern AI, large language models, custom GPTs, and agentic AI that can actually do work across tools like email and calendars. We also don’t dodge the uncomfortable parts like deepfakes, voice cloning, scams, and what happens when AI becomes “too agreeable.” If you’re a designer, creative, or business owner looking for practical AI use cases, clearer language, and smarter guardrails, this conversation gives you a grounded starting point.

Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s curious (or anxious) about AI, and leave a review. What’s one task you want AI to take off your plate next?
Support the show
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com

Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com

Send us Fan Mail
Your next client might walk into a design meeting with a third voice: an AI chatbot. That’s where our conversation with Liza Hausman, VP of Industry Marketing at Houzz, gets real. With Houzz connecting more than 65 million homeowners and 3 million design professionals, Liza has a rare, front-row view into what’s changing in home remodeling, interior design, and construction and what still never changes.

We talk about the new baseline homeowners expect: a clear renovation timeline, better education, 3D visuals that build confidence before money is spent, and real financial clarity from proposals to online payments. Liza also breaks down why “software overload syndrome” is draining firms, with teams stuck using six to fourteen disconnected apps and doing double entry just to keep a project moving. Her case is simple: AI only delivers value when it lives inside the workflows, powered by a single source of truth.

From there, we dig into practical tools inside Houzz Pro: AI-assisted project management, an AI meeting note-taker with transcripts and summaries, 2D plans converted into editable 3D floor plans, and even turning a 2D product image into a manipulable 3D model so renderings match the exact items clients will buy. We also go deep on AI search, AEO/GEO, reviews, badges, and verified projects as credibility signals that help homeowners find the right designer.

If you’re a designer, builder, or architect trying to protect your time while raising the client experience, this one is packed with usable ideas. Subscribe for more, share this with a design friend, and leave a review so more pros can find the show.
Support the show
Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/
https://scottwoolley.com