Jonathan Adler’s Latest Design Mantra Comes From a Kacey Musgraves Song

For Jonathan Adler, it all started with a pot. “I went from being an unemployed screwup to having a small company where I was everything: potter, painter, glass packer, shipper, and bookkeeper,” he tells Domino contributing style editor Benjamin Reynaert on the sixth episode of Design Time: Trending Forward (out today on Spotify and Apple Podcasts). Twenty-five years later, the designer is responsible for the humorous and colorful ceramics and home furnishings that have sparked a thousand trends.

Adler, of course, is no stranger to bold interiors—his signature “happy chic” style has garnered a cultlike following. But the road to finding that aesthetic wasn’t so linear. In the conversation, he talks about how he got his start, doles out expert advice on incorporating color and pattern into your home (whether you’re color shy or neutral averse), and shares what trends he’s loving (and the ones he could do without). Spoiler alert—he’s not convinced you need to rotate your preferences as often as the seasons change: “I feel like if you like it, then you like it!” 

What’s In: Patchwork

Totally into it. Why not? It all comes back to that Kacey Musgraves song—you know: “Follow your arrow wherever it points.” Whatever gets you through the day.

What’s Out: Cookie-Cutter Design

I hate houses that feel like they’re right out of a decorating magazine. Everything needs to be a little bit off; everything needs a bit of a wink. That can come from thrift shopping or an IKEA hack. I always try to do high and low.

What’s Next: More Is More 

We are #Blessed to be alive in an era where anything goes—a true Madonna-express-yourself moment. You’d be mad not to take advantage of that freedom.

Eager to know what else it’s time to move on from—and what to look out for next? Listen to the full episode here.