Design Wisdom from Palm Beach Design Days 2026

In late January, Calico sponsored an event at Palm Beach Design Days, a four-day program packed with panels, parties and people staged at venues in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach in Florida. To beat the traffic, one of the participants bicycled among the events and departed in style after lunch with design legend Lillian August at the Calico store in West Palm Beach. More on that later!

Calico was well represented at Palm Beach Design Days by Colleen Delpo, Director of Store Operations; Julie Mihuc, Director of Marketing & Visual Merchandising; and Jan Jessup, part of the Marketing & Merchandising team at Calico HQ in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. This is what Jan gleaned from the talented interior designers at PBDD:

 Design Giants: Celebrating the Best of American Interiors

Designers Victoria Hagan and Tom Scheerer with moderator Jacqueline Terrebone, editor of Galerie Magazine.  (Photos by Capehart Photography)

Designer Victoria Hagan:

As a child, Victoria would go to Calico Corners with her mother, captivated by all the fabrics, patterns and colors. Later, Victoria would beg her mother to take her to the store. What a great way to start a design career!

“Fresh eyes are so important to being a good designer,” stated Victoria. “Everyone has a dream of how they want to live—and our job is to help them realize that. What do you love about your home? What do you dislike?”

“Ever since the pandemic, I’ve sensed a more relaxed style of decorating,” she observed. “People want their houses to be comfortable.  They want a sense of calm and order in a chaotic world.”

“[As a designer], we really are in the nitty gritty of client’s lives,” noted Victoria.  “We are design enablers—whisperers. We are helping clients find that balance in the ‘less is more’ ethos.”

Interior designers Victoria Hagan and Tom Scheerer at PBDD panel, held at the Norton Art Museum in West Palm Beach.. (Photos by Capehart Photography)

Designer Tom Scheerer: 

“People just aren’t creating formal rooms anymore,” he observed. “It’s important for houses to be usable.  We see a retraction from ‘too big’ rooms. Do you really want to unload two dishwashers in the morning? Do you really need two islands?”

 Designer Lillian August at Calico:

The invitation to Lunch with Design Legend Lillian August at Calico in West Palm Beach. Eliza Weiss, Director of Brand & Marketing, and her grandmother, Lillian August, perch on furniture covered in fabrics from Lillian’s new collection. (Photo by Serena Woodward)

Lillian August started making a name for herself with English Country-look textile collections that took off in the early 1980s. It harkened back to the era of Queen Victoria, one of the original design influencers, and her large family. A woman’s point of view dominated home decorating. Ruffles and romance reigned.

(Photo by Serena Woodward)

As a designer, Lillian realized that there was a void in fabric selection. She was an artist and easily migrated to textile design. “As an interior designer, I was always textile and color driven. I loved the challenge of having my own fabric collections!” she recalled. Lillian is still designing textiles and all Calico stores have her colorful collection on display.

Swatches of prints from the Lillian August collection are ready for customers. At right, Calico’s Julie Mihuc chats with a colorfully-attired guest at the Lunch with Lillian in the West Palm Beach store. (Photos by Serena Woodward)

Three generations of design talent: Granddaughter Eliza Weiss, Lillian August, and son and co-founder Dan Weiss. Dan also designs furniture and Eliza is the Director of Brand & Marketing for Lillian August. (Photos by Serena Woodward)

“There is a sense of storytelling in what we design, whether from the patterns or a New Traditional generational story,” notes Eliza. “Lillian is a master of color, and the colors throughout this collection work seamlessly together to create a beautifully curated home.” 

The Power of the Edit: Styling with Personality, Depth & Detail

Moderator Marisa Marcantonio of Stylebeat, Ben Reynaert of Elle Decor & Interiors Stylist & Designer Mieke ten Have

Interiors Stylist and Designer Mieke ten Have:

Anything too linear, too perfect, becomes boring, states Mieke. “If something is perfect, the eye loses interest.”  She often uses branches in vases to add visual interest and fight symmetry. “Something slightly ‘off’ creates visual tension.”

Moderator Jacqueline Terrebone, editor of Galerie Magazine with designer Patrick Sutton and other panelists at Perigold in West Palm Beach. (Photos by Capehart Photography)

The New Rules of Luxury: How Designers Are Defining Beauty, Craft & Comfort Today

 Designer Patrick Sutton:

“We derive comfort from family,” he notes. “We’re rooted in the past, but we can’t live there.”  Patrick loves to mix modern interiors with beautiful antiques for a comfortable room. 

Another observation: “No one wants to leave their house [these days]!” says Patrick. “They want [to build in] all the amenities so their friends will come to them: saunas, cold plunge pools, mahjong rooms, game tables.”

Designer Meredith Millner:

“Every room needs something special—whether it be the ceiling, the art, a chandelier,” she states. Perhaps even the window treatments! “In the Dallas area, almost every fabric has to be a performance fabric, as so much living is indoor/outdoor.” Upholstery fabric is so important, notes Meredith—the softness and how the furniture sits. “It’s paramount because it’s a long-term investment.”

Meredith sees decorating as a “team sport, a collaborative effort, with everyone participating and sharing ideas.” 

Anatomy of a Great Room: A Master Class in Inspiration

Designer Suzanne Tucker:

“In creating a great room, scale and proportion are everything!” emphasizes Suzanne. “You can have Louis, Huey and Wooie, but if the scale and proportion aren’t right, it never works. Something will feel off.”  Think of where your eyes will travel, she advised, and divert them if needed. For example, if you’re dealing with 8-foot ceilings, raise the doorways, raise the window treatments, she suggests. Suzanne is always after ‘imperfect’ perfection. “You want intimate spaces, even in a large room.”

Suzanne Tucker & Brian McCarthy   (photos by Hive Collective)

Designer Brian McCarthy:

Brian takes a furniture plan for a room and turns it to view it from every angle: what is the visual through-line to the next room?  “Every room has to have an anchor or a focal point,” he notes. “If not a fireplace, it could be art, a carpet, a large console, an 8-foot sofa.” 

Noted designer Albert Hadley taught him to consider the “skyline” in a room—how the eye travels around a room. “Incorporate three-dimensional elements,” he advises, “such as art, a vase on a wall bracket, so that everything isn’t flat.”  [Beautiful draperies are another way to add depth and softness.]

“Every room needs quiet space where the eye can rest. The negative space helps make the room better,” states Brian. A client taught him that decorating is an art, not a science. “Rooms are a canvas that we build up and change over the years.”

AD at Home: Stories in Style & Design

Aerin Lauder (granddaughter of Estee Lauder):

“Heritage is such an important quality for a brand,” states Aerin. In 1946, Estee Lauder created the first face creams for her brand. She also created the first Gift-with-Purchase program, noting, “Every woman loves a little gift!”

Amy Astley, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest; Robin Standefer of Roman & Williams; and Aerin Lauder, photographed at the newly restored Glazer Hall in Palm Beach.

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