Home & Hosting with Loui Burke

A beautiful home still has to support a full life.
In episode two of my listener Q&A series, I’m answering your questions about designing around children without surrendering your own taste, whether kitchen appliances need to match, making a tiny bedroom feel intentional, living with daily mess, owning a white sofa, where the dog bed should go and, finally, what to do with the permanently wet towel.
Because if your home only looks good when nobody is eating, charging a phone, making coffee or owning a towel, it isn’t well designed. It’s simply between activities.
Function isn’t the enemy of style. It’s part of what makes a home chic.

Buying more things will not automatically give you personal style. Sometimes the chicest thing you can do is stop shopping, properly understand your taste and edit what you already own.
In this episode of Home & Hosting, Loui answers your questions about developing a personal interior style, working with the architecture of your home, making colourful and eclectic interiors feel considered, creating the Nancy Meyers aesthetic without becoming themed, and keeping country style from looking dated.
Plus, a quick-fire round of Chic or Cheap covering bifold wardrobe doors, feature walls, chopping boards behind the stove, overfilled cushions and the dreaded karate chop.
A practical guide to making your home feel more expensive, personal and put together without filling it with more unnecessary stuff.
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Instagram: @louiburke

Before you spend another dollar on your home, look at the home you actually have.
This week on Home & Hosting with Loui Burke, we’re talking save or splurge, but not just what’s worth the money. We’re looking at how the age, architecture and existing character of your home should influence where you spend it in the first place.
From ’70s walk-ups and traditional cottages to contemporary new builds, I’m breaking down why fighting your home’s architecture can become an expensive mistake, which original features are worth preserving, and where spending more will actually make a difference.
Then we get into the practical stuff: where I’d save, where I’d splurge, what’s worth investing in and, importantly, when the answer is to spend absolutely nothing.
Because the rule is pretty simple: save where the item is flexible, spend where the decision is foundational, and stop assuming buying more is always going to make your home better.
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How can you make your home look better on a budget—without renovating or buying more décor?
Loui answers your home styling questions, including how to enjoy a rental or first home before you can renovate, how to mix affordable and high-end furniture, and how to reset a living room or bedroom using what you already own. From lighting and curtains to furniture placement, decluttering and creating atmosphere, these practical interior styling tips will help your home feel more considered, functional and put together.

Alright, we know how to set a beautiful table by now. And if not, honestly, video is probably the better educational source, so go and find me on Instagram.
This episode is about everything beyond the table. The music you put on before you do anything else, the bathroom guests absolutely notice, the porch light, the drinks station, the lighting, the food flow, the water jug, and the little old hospitality habits that keep a night moving.
Because flowers and candles are lovely, obviously. But a gorgeous table doesn’t host the evening. You do.
This is your chic hosting checklist for creating atmosphere, flow and a night that feels considered from front to back.
Polished, not precious. Special, not stiff. And yes, water deserves a vessel.