Martha Stewart Told Etsy She’ll Never Have This Decor Staple in Her House
Plus how she avoids constantly cleaning her shower.
Published Mar 28, 2023 2:16 PM
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Cabbage leaf placemats, copper pots, peacocks—these are just some of the collections you’ll find in Martha Stewart’s home. But there is one thing you’ll almost never see in her space: curtains. “I will never put curtains on my windows,” Stewart boldly declared in a recent roundtable-style interview led by Etsy’s in-house trend expert, Dayna Isom Johnson. Stewart’s reasoning? She prefers uninterrupted views of the outdoors over privacy. “I’ll use translucent shades, but I’m not going to do curtains,” she added.
All that to say, Stewart knows what she likes and what she doesn’t, which makes her the perfect person for Etsy to dub its first-ever collection curator. In this new role for the brand, the longtime lifestyle and wedding authority will handpick items on the website—a commendable job given there are 7.5 million sellers on the platform and its largest category is home decor and furniture. “I can look at something and know if it’s going to look good in someone’s home. I know if it’ll break, if it’s poorly made,” said Stewart. “I’m also a very good inventor and creator myself, and that’s part of it. I identify with the makers on Etsy in a personal way.” Stewart’s first collection spans more than 200 items from small businesses around the world, including sellers based in Canada, the U.K., France, and Germany.
Her no-drapery rule isn’t the only shocking decorating opinion she shared during the press call. Peep her thoughts on sofa height, living room lighting, and more ahead—all while shopping a few of her top Etsy picks for spring.
Her Low-Lift Solution for Setting a Table
Oftentimes I’ll use a table runner instead of individual placemats. I will [put] a runner down one side of my long dining room table and one down the other side.
Her Sofa Stance
I don’t like big slouchy couches. I cannot sit in them. I don’t like couches that are too close to the floor. I have long legs, and I don’t want to sit with my knees at my chin.
Her Take on Travel
I really love going to places I haven’t been [to before]. I just got back from AlUla, a beautiful, ancient ruin in the southern part of Saudi Arabia. I had no idea that that existed.
Her Bathroom Cleaning Hack
I have a lot of guests all the time, and I try to encourage everybody to dry the shower (and tub and shower curtain) down with a towel after they’ve dried themselves (you can also use a squeegee if you have glass). It’ll be perfectly clean and you won’t have to scrub it once a week.
Her Living Room Refresh Tip
Revisit your lighting fixtures. Is your lampshade torn? Is it frayed? Is it dirty? Lampshades get dirty and torn and they really look awful. Also, make sure all of them have the same watt lightbulbs so that you don’t turn on one that’s very bright and turn one that’s very dim.
Her New DIY Tool
I just bought a new Ryobi glue gun. It works very fast and it’s battery-run so that you don’t have a cord. [I’m going to] use it to fix a Murano Venetian mirror that I lost a piece of glass to.