Podcast, Ep. 363: Designing Warm & Inviting Spaces with Sabah Monsoor

This week we welcome designer Sabah Monsoor. With a style influenced by her childhood in South India, Sabah shares her appreciation for traditional handcrafts. She recalls visiting pottery villages as a child and studying textiles in art school, experiences that taught her to value diverse techniques of craftsmanship.

Sabah also chats with us about how to stir up inspiration and maintain a curious mindset, tips for using natural textures to layer and add an even deeper story to your space, and why we should think of our home as a living, breathing space.

What You’ll Hear This Episode:

• How growing up in India influenced Sabah’s love of the decorative arts.
• The diverse techniques Sabah learned while studying textiles and art in school.
• The importance of functional spaces in your home, such as a mudroom.
• It’s never too late to put energy into your dreams!
• Sabah gives great advice on feeding your artistic mind and drawing inspiration from unexpected places.
• The beauty of a formal room.
• Natural materials that can help foster warmth and that cozy feeling.
• Using indoor furniture outdoors, with tips for protecting against damage from elements.
• How Sabah uses color palettes and materials to set the tone based on a client’s personality and unique needs.

Decorating Dilemma:

Hi ladies,

Y’all are just fabulous. Thank you for the energy and thoughtfulness you put into the podcast. I can’t get enough!

My question is about using indoor furniture outdoors: I just received two gorgeous Ballard Carlyle Swivel Chairs that I purchased for my screened-in back porch. We will be enclosing the space with glass windows later this fall, but it will still technically be an outdoor space (no heating/AC). We have a standard porch floor that we have covered wall-to-wall with FLOR tiles.

I’m still playing with the layout, so your comments on that would be welcome. But my main question is more of a general one: can you talk about using indoor furniture in outdoor (covered) spaces – wooden furniture, upholstered items like my new chairs, accessories – any tips for ensuring items aren’t damaged by elements like humidity (hello, summer in the south!)?

I’m not concerned about direct exposure to things like rain since the space its covered. I’m more interested in understanding whether/how humidity in particular can affect products over time.

Thank you!

Melissa

 

Thanks Melissa!

So, Sabah reminds us that taking indoor furniture outdoors can cause damage over time due to differences in how materials are processed. Using protective coatings on wood and UV-resistant sprays on fabrics could help prolong the furniture’s life.

However, some fading and wear is still likely to occur. One suggestion is to swap the layout for better flow and move the furniture inside during hot, humid months until the porch is fully enclosed and climate controlled.

Thank you, and send us photos of your updated space as you make progress on it!

– How to Decorate

Also Mentioned in This Episode

• Ballard Designs
• Sabah Mansoor
• @sabahmansoor

Please send in your questions so we can answer them on our next episode! And of course, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. You can always check back here to see new episodes, but if you subscribe, it’ll automatically download to your phone.

Happy Decorating!

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