Ep. 431: The R.O.I. of Design with Arianne Bellizaire

0:02Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head of the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at ballardesigns.net. Now on with the show.

0:33This week, we're excited to welcome Ariane Belazare of Ariane Belazare Interiors. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she brings over 10 years of experience blending innovative tech-forward design with Southern hospitality to create effortlessly sophisticated spaces. Arianne is also known for being a featured designer on Extreme Makeover Home Edition, which you can watch on Hulu. Her work, which includes custom builds, luxury kitchens, and multifamily developments, has been featured in Architectural Digest, Forbes, and House Beautiful. Arianne combines strategic ROI-focused design with trend-setting style.

1:14And today we're going to focus on her insights on creating impactful and stylish spaces that blend beauty with that strategy. Arianne, welcome. Thank you so much. I am so excited to be here. Thank you for having me. And I still feel like we're going to have a lot of fun. I think so. Let's get started on you. How did you get interested in design and what was your path that led you to today? Yeah, my road to design was very meandering. I like to say that my origin story as a superhero designer is like a lot of our heroes. They are accidental heroes, right? And I feel like I'm kind of the same. My upbringing, I didn't know anyone who did design.

1:57I didn't know that was a thing. I didn't even know I was creative. I wouldn't have called myself a creative. I was a firstborn girl. So my job was to follow the rules, make the parents proud and be a good example for brother and sister. So I grew up wanting to be Claire Huxable. I wanted to be a lawyer for the longest part of my life. Then I went to college. It was like, maybe law is too narrow. Maybe if I broaden my perspective and do communications, I'll have more options on the job front. The first part of my career, I worked in marketing, public relations and event planning and really loved that work.

2:26and then took a pause to kind of re-establish my family in a new location because of my husband's job. And that break really gave me a moment to just play. And in that play is where I started creating a home. I started picking paint colors and working with people to pick fabrics and furniture. And I didn't know how to do it, but I loved the process of collaborating with people and making a home for my family. And I had a pretty good eye. So as I was meeting new moms and families in a new location, they would ask me to help them. I did not understand that not everyone could see it. I was like, you really thought that was the right shade of yellow for that one?

3:02I'm like, that's the right thing in there? And only after multiple conversations and people going, no, no, I really need your help, did I realize that it might be a gift in the talent to be able to see homes in the way that I could. So I dove into learning as much as I could. I loved taking courses, reading, learning, and going to conferences. Because of my marketing background, I was also blogging about my experiences and doing YouTube videos about my experiences and using all of my skill sets together to talk about this new passion I'd fallen in love with. My passion and confidence not only allowed me to work on more and more projects, but also brands wanted to collaborate with me and take me all over the world to see more things.

3:46That's where the magic of design really locked in for me, where I could understand influences. I didn't grow up with a design knowledge, I just thought that rooms were pretty. I didn't understand the function was the most important. And I also didn't understand the references to some of the design styles we love. In Ballard, you know, you have such a beautiful, traditionally rooted design style in many of your products. It's understanding the reference point of those things that makes design come to life for me. My origin story went from not knowing anything to learning and sharing what I learned and then working with people and projects, going from residential projects to commercial.

4:22And now I I just feel like it's full circle because all of my transferable skills work together. Design works together. I'm on television, so that works with my marketing background. And it all just feels very natural and authentic to how I like to live in the world of design. Well, I think that totally comes through, especially in your YouTube videos, which I really love digging into. They're so accessible and so informative. I started learning all new things. I love that. There was a part of my business where it was the sweet spot where I had enough time to be consistent with YouTube and enough work to build my credibility.

4:58But then in 10, I got really credible and had lots of work. And I didn't have time to do YouTube anymore. But then, you know, years later, I get this wonderful opportunity to be on television with this amazing, iconic show. The best part is not the ability to say I'm on TV. It's the fact that I'm no longer the camera person, the grip, the producer, the writer. Because everything you see on YouTube is me. I'm making the music and I'm doing the edits. I loved doing it. It was kind of a creative outlet for me. It's a lot of work. And it's one of the reasons I haven't been able to be as consistent as I was.

5:29But I'm glad that you found value in the work. It takes a lot of work to do those YouTube videos. They stand up. They're great. Thank you. They are. For anyone who is looking for some tips and tricks, you have so many different topics and how-tos. I think it's a perfect educational tool to have at anyone's fingertips. For sure. Okay, can we dip into Extreme Makeover? Yeah, let's do it. I totally can look back and see how everything happens for a reason. And there's always divine timings. So, you know, we just talked about my origin story of communication being my background and then finding a way to communicate about what I love.

6:03It's a perfect mix, right? And then doing the work that I do, I kind of diverted my attention from content creation because I started running a business, which that's not easy. That's a whole different part of the brain you're using. more than design because it's not creative. It's definitely being more strategic and analytical. It's even why I talk about what I do. I talk about ROI and very strategic in how I talk about the creative side of it. I was doing more professional work and building a firm and business and not doing as much content creation. Yet I had this entire backlog of work that I had done and I had no idea what the purpose of that was.

6:37I thought it was just me sharing tips and tricks on YouTube. So little do I know that is an entire audition reel. That is an entire body of work. There's a body of work out there. There is me working really diligently on building a stand-up interior design firm that will be internationally known. That was what I was aspiring to do. In the midst of that, I invested in rebranding my business. So my logo, my website, and the brand specialist I worked with did a great job. We stayed in touch. A year later, She gets a call from a friend who says, hey, I have a friend who's a casting director for a show.

7:13I can't tell you what the show is, but they're looking for fresh faces of interior design. They want someone who is good at design, but also really personable and good on camera. There are a lot of good designers who are comfortable on camera. A lot of people are comfortable on camera and not good at designers. And we just can't find the right link. But we're looking for people to audition. And she's like, I think I might have someone you should call. she calls me and says hey i don't know what this is but they're looking to do a zoom call would you at least hit call so i'm like yes i'll take the zoom call so i get on the zoom call not knowing what the show is i think they're just stealing like can we do something with you so i do what i'm doing with you guys and i'm myself but like you've never done tv and again i have compartmentalized everything i don't realize the practice of youtube the practice about my show the practice of my talking about the passion that I have for the last was not TV, but it was camera work.

8:08And so they're like, I'm just doing the work. We want you to come and do a chem test. So it goes from they're filling me out to we need you to sign some paperwork. Because once you sign the paperwork, you're an NDA and now we can tell you what to show. I get through all of that. I don't know what age any of y 'all. I have a lawyer. I'm like, can you read that? Within a few weeks, I have an agent, a lawyer who's read a contract, and I now know that I'm about to show up for a chemistry test for Extreme Makeover Home Edition with Clea and Joanna of the home edit team. Had I known, I probably would have chickened out.

8:46But because I didn't know what I was walking into, I was like, okay, well, I'm here. This is going to be the best cocktail party story ever. So, again, trying to keep the pressure low, trying to show up as myself. I do this Zoom eight-hour audition. eight hour speed round audition which is like the coolest thing i've ever done but by the end of it i couldn't even talk or walk i was that tired and i went oh i can say i did it but there's no way they're gonna pick this girl from louisiana who's never been on tv to have a role in this iconic abc prime concert there's no way so yeah i put it to bed kept doing the work you had a phone call all you're like you're in and at the time it was just going to be a one show special it wasn't like a committed in a full season it was like it's gonna be one show so i was like oh my hotel party story i'm making now one episode and so we did the one episode it was magic abc loved it and they gave us a full season and that's how i can now tell you know usually are my grandchildren great-grandchildren how i wound up on tv doing one of the most incredible experiences i've ever had in my life.

9:55It was hard work, but I got so much joy and fulfillment from doing it. I would not trade one minute of that experience. Doing one episode seems like that would be insane enough. For our listeners, if you're not familiar with the show, you award a home to a very deserving family and you build the house that basically only the foundation is there. So the entire home is built from the ground up. That's right. You being able to walk into the home and you have it fully designed. That's right. In five days. In five days. Surreal. Had I not been there myself, I would also be like, you're not a girl, they're anyway.

10:43You know, we do the march, we surprise the family, which is not a friend. I love a surprise. So surprising a family with this dream always made me emotional. Seeing the family, I always sell them other than I want to put them in my little pocket and take a home from with me. That afternoon, after meeting them, we go to the job site. It is the most incredible thing to see. There is a mix of magic, but also intense planning and logistics. That is what makes that possible. It is only possible with a unique set of circumstances. So it takes about a million people and just an intense level of planning and logistics.

11:18And so one of the things I wish people new is that while on our generation of the show, there are four faces along with the family. That's the center. And what I love is it's not a design show. The house is the vehicle for the transformation. That's the role I get to play. It's the visual of what's happening on the inside of them. We can see their difference in the way they express their emotions and their body language, but the house is absolutely that I see night and day, right? So it's not a design show that I'm showing you. Here's how to paint a wall, but it is always reinforced power of design and how transformative it is.

11:47But the four of us who are the core cast, Leah Joanna as the host, and also that organizing arm, which is one of my favorite parts of this new iteration. Wendell with his incredible build skills. One guy who's always out there in the heat working, the most fun person I've ever worked with. And then me, we are really the avatars and faces for hundreds of people that have worked untold numbers of hours in the heat, not sleeping, barely eating, and they are literal angels on earth. Never complained. Never tired. I have never seen people work farther in my life. And so one of the things that I wish people could see is all of those faces.

12:24Everybody it took to make it happen because they do it with joy. They don't even want the recognition. They're like, this is what I came to do. And I just want to help these families. I feel like those are people that I am so grateful to have met and worked with. They are what makes the show magic. They really are. Okay, I have one more That's a real question. About the whole extreme makeover. Yeah. Because there's always some point in the design where you're like, okay, Wendell, I need to change things. I need to change this. We're taking the laundry room out of this room. I need a bookcase. Whatever it is.

13:00Are those real? I mean, because you have so much planning to do. So when I say they're real, we really do have a solid plan. We really do have special products that are baked in. And you really are, when we meet with the family, testing to make sure our assumptions and our little elves that have been in the background, that they got it right. So when they're doing the walkthrough, we're asking a lot of questions to test some of the ideas we already have. Because obviously we would need to have materials nearby. We'd have to have things kind of, you know, loosely planned out. But there are always cases on every episode.

13:28There's something that we learned and we're like, oh, actually, she hates that color. Right. So that is a part of what you see when I have to talk about on camera. Does that make sense? Totally not. We had a team meeting. We talked all the hundreds of people behind the scenes who have to make the change. And then Wendell and I are the storytelling vehicle to show you that change and how we thought through why it needs to happen. The other really big important part is in this iteration of Extreme, look, if you knew how much time and effort it took. You don't see it all on camera, but it really do go through every single thing with the family because they're not going to throw away something that wasn't given permission.

13:58And then once they figure out what they have left, sometimes mom doesn't want to give away all her clothes. Or mom is 60 pairs of shoes and not the 20th feel she beat. That information also comes to Wendell. And you don't see that on camera in real time, but there is a call. Hey, guys, we really do need more of this, more of that. Can we adjust? Wendell and I will reenact that on camera so there's no gap in the storyline. And sometimes it is a teachable moment, right? So it's like, Wendell, I think I should put cases around this bed because we don't have the closet. And so you can get that design focus that people want.

14:25And it also offers continuity with the story. So that makes it true. It makes me realize, too, that it's one thing to have a plan B for one project. But you have to have a plan B, C, D, and E for an entire home. Absolutely. Absolutely. For an entire home in multiple cities. And it's like a road sport, like a band tour. Like, you know, we're going city to city. So each city has a different family. We build a small town to do all the work on site. I mean, it is an incredible operation. One day they should do some type of documentary to show how it happens. But only after they're shared, the show will never be done again.

14:57Because it's like how we keep it a secret. We really surprise families. They don't know we're coming. And there's a special way that we do that that can't be revealed until we make sure that the show's never going to come back again. Yeah, it's crazy because there's a yard full of people and it is amazing. Even in 2025, it is still the best kept secret and surprise, even though the entire city and town knows. That's amazing. Well, one of my questions was, when do you get involved with each home? because you are part of it. And obviously, you're not walking up to the foundation and being like, no, here's what we're doing.

15:32So what part do they bring you in? Yeah. So the great thing is it's incredibly extensive and difficult show to pull off. It's a long run-up to the show. So the first round is calling for applications, vetting the families, choosing the right family that truly is in need. You know, there's so much. I'm so glad I'm not on that committee. I have no control for anyone. He's DMing me out his entire process. But once the families have been identified and they didn't, we know we can move forward with them. We had a build partner during Taylor Morrison, which we paired the family with a lot in their communities, which helped us because they were also going to build the houses.

16:10So the great thing is we never started for ground zero with our houses this season because we would always start with a Taylor Morrison plan and modify from theirs. That's one thing that kind of helps clear that. And so we basically look at all the floor plans and match the appropriate floor plan to the family's needs. We've got a family of five. Obviously, this floor plan isn't going to work because it's two bedrooms. But this one will, if we also modify the area over the garage and give them a room, we'll modify a floor plan with the helpful Telemorrisons team as well as our executive producers on the design side to clear the path for the initial intent of the design.

16:43They're clearing that path and allowing us to set up design teams that you see that's going to be the boots on the ground. so that for me, I'm really just at that creative high level, just like my fur. This is our intention. This is what we're doing for our team. The team will show me here's our look. Here's what we're thinking. And it's always tying that to the scope of what the families wanted. As a designer on camera, I am actually helping to make sure that I'm the only one who knows, oh, actually can't use that because she's doing episode three. And Leslie has used that color because then I didn't use Sarah.

17:10So I get to really have zoomed out high level creative director approach. which my job with the show is to be the vehicle on camera. So I can't be on the site picking the sofa, right? It has to be curated and given to me so that I can approve it, understand it, and then communicate it on camera. When the moment changes, because I understand the through line and I'm able to work with the team on site to make those adjustment changes, whatever's going to make sense for the family, for we have material live on hand. It's so collaborative, so refreshing. In some ways, it does kind of mirror what happens in the real world.

17:47It's just that I also wear the hat of having to be on camera to talk through what those things are. I love getting all of this behind the scenes. Thank you so much. It's the best suit. It's the best suit. Now, we did promise our listeners that we were going to talk about ROI in design, too. Because your spaces are so beautiful. They're clean. They're stylish and so functional and so livable. So talk about what we should be thinking about with our return on investment in our home. Yeah, I started using that language when I did the rebranding because I knew that many of my clients were coming to me as leaders in some capacity.

18:29They either meet businesses or they're leaders in the community. They don't have a lot of time. They value having someone else work with them to do it right the first time. and I understood that because a lot of times we talk about what we do from a creative lens, what does this look like? If I started speaking in business terms, it would differentiate me, but also attract the people I wanted to work with who weren't trying to do my job. They're trying to go make me. They just want to make sure the money they invest in their home and with me is going to have a good return. So that's where the ROI language came in.

19:01It's not just from what happens in the design, but it's also the mindset that I want my clients to have and that I would offer each of your viewers should have, whether it's buying a lamp from Ballard or investing in a really good sofa or doing a refresh of your kitchen. Everything that you're doing, you want it to have a good return on investment. You don't want to have an impulse buy. You want to really be thoughtful and intentional behind it. So ROI for me starts with intentionality that you partner with, intentionality and what the end goal of success looks like, and then letting me and my team help you get there with our process.

19:37From a design perspective, ROI is about what we bring in and what it means to us. If you are investing in a sofa and it's got a great frame that if we don't like the fabric in five or 10 years, we can recover that and still use the same sofa. That is a great investment. That gave us a great return. We got what we wanted today. We have a little room for tomorrow. That's the way I like to talk about every element in the house. To your listeners, I would say, think about your foundational elements. Make sure you're getting something that feels timeless to you it doesn't matter what other people are saying is it always going to be timeless to you and then kind of like we do with our handbags cost per wear have you heard that like with expensive shoes or handbags we say cost per wear we divide the amount of money you spend on the handbag the family comes even over and it's just yeah it's girl math it's girl math same with your sofa don't just buy it because it's on sale you want to think about okay what does it have to do for me who's going to sit on it how comfortable should to be?

20:33Do I have pets? Am I going to worry about people spilling things on it? And make sure you invest in the right piece. Do your girl math to justify the cause if you have to. But those are the ways we think about every element so that we don't make decisions that are short-sighted. I don't want someone to feel like they're doing something in a room that's going to meet their needs today, maybe tomorrow, but then they're going to have to reinvest again in another six months or a year because they were so short-sighted in how they did it. Yeah, that makes so much sense. And, you know, I joke about girl mouth, but it really is.

21:05But tell you the game. You want things that are going to last and make you feel good for years to come. Good. The girl math and the investment also helps with our expectation of the type of experience that we want. Could you buy a home element from another big box store that has a smaller price point? You could. But will you get the experience of walking into a Ballard store? Will you get the experience of looking to the beautifully curating catalogs. The catalogs themselves, and if you get our inspiration, they are things that you're like, oh, that's ruined the whole way that looks. But that is an investment, right?

21:34And so you might spend a little bit more for a piece from Ballard, but you're going to also get the experience of all the inspiration, all the curation, all the direction that was brought to you by that venture. Those are little things that anyone can take into the process as if they're designing their home. So Arianne, what is the top thing that you see in our homes that we need to be doing today? is it revamping a room is it function is it our kitchens is it our bathrooms i don't think there's anything prescriptive everyone should go oh look at their kitchen i do think that there seems to be this sense of us being in a time where people are really trying to be grounded by themselves and find what they love i think that's what luxury is to be honest with you it's not the dollar amount you spend it's your confidence and ability to have what you like no matter what other people think I started reading this book earlier this year called The Artist's Lay.

22:28I was like, I need to be more creative. Where's my creativity? So I started reading The Artist's Lay. And there are all these exercises you do, like you journal and you take yourself on an artist's date. And one of the artist's dates that I did was to clean out my closet and remove anything that did not feel like it was something my most authentic self would wear. Took me off. I began to do it. Lots of clothes went to donation. but I was left with things that I absolutely loved because I loved them not because I thought you should have this in your closet or maybe I'll wear it again I haven't worn it in three years maybe one day I would say it is your space you get to make the rules choose a room look at that room and from top to bottom make sure that everything in that room from the paint color to the drape to the rug it's something you and your authentic self love and would want if you don't of it, make a list and make a plan of how you're going to swap it out.

23:22There's no timeline, right? Self-conscious mind is going to be scanning for, I need a new rug, and so you're going to be shocked. You can add for a rug, you can see it on Instagram. But that awareness of what is no longer serving you and what you need to bring in to be a reflection of yourself, that's what I would tell you you should do. It has no price tag. It's not overwhelming. It could be as big as small as you want it to be. But I think that is going to do so much for your psyche and your ability to make your home your sanctuary and the best reflection of who you are to your spirituality.

23:52That's amazing. I actually just did a fall purge of my own closet, and so I'm in the mode. I love that idea of bringing it into every room in your house and really examining the things that you do have. Yes, and look space for things that you will find, discover that you love. I see behind you this beautiful curated wall with art pieces that you probably have collected over time and then just going one spell swoop and get like eight pieces you've probably collected and will continue to collect them but if you went and just bought things to say you have to have been on the wall you wouldn't have the space to discover things you actually love and i'm encouraging people to do this be okay with negative space for a little bit so the right things come into your home and help you tell the story of who you are no i definitely agree with the collected i want to know what you most have to convince people is their roi what is the one item you feel like you're always like, no, listen.

24:43In some cases, it's the small accent pieces, which we all know is what makes a room. Like it's that last 10%. You know, they spent so much. They're like, do we need something that costs XYZ? Those are the things that I think sometimes aren't a bit difficult to sell, especially if you try to sell them too early. If you sell it as a part of the full vision, it's a little bit easier for us. What we do is we will find, look, we want to do the full installation. We want to fully outfit and show you all the decor and just give you a little receipt. If you want to keep it, you can keep it. If not, we can return it.