When I see a wall that's hung with different objects, framed or unframed, what I like about it is its fluidity and rule-breaking nature. Just experiment a bit. Nate Berkus More Quotes by Nate Berkus More Quotes From Nate Berkus I knew that I was a gay boy fairly early; what was interesting to me was that my mother didn’t know. She made me play baseball - I had no desire to do that. I said, ‘Mom, I don’t like direct sunlight, I don’t like bugs, I don’t like grass, and I’d rather be in the house playing with your fabric samples.’ Nate Berkus mom baseball mother People first. Dogs second. Things last. Nate Berkus lasts dog people I can look at a photo and the dimensions of any piece and tell you if it's going to sit well with the four other pieces in your room. Nate Berkus dimensions pieces looks I didn't necessarily want to be famous growing up, but I knew I would be a good famous person because I'm not offended if somebody comes up to me and knows things about me and wants to engage me in a conversation. Nate Berkus growing-up would-be want 'Priced to sell' - just the phrase makes me smile. When a dealer says all the items in his booth are priced to sell, he means he's tagged them as aggressively as he can to get you to buy them. Don't worry, though, I still haggle. You have to. That's the point of a flea market. Nate Berkus fleas worry mean My favorite thing about decorating is mixing different periods and styles. If you have something that's old, and you really do want to mix those styles, then you have to add something that's obviously modern with it. You can't put a kind of a mediocre thing in the middle. Nate Berkus mixing favorites-things style We hold back our true feelings and beliefs, whether it's from a sense of being polite or fear of hurting someone's feelings. But what I have seen on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' is that no one benefits from holding back and keeping things bottled up inside. So I pride myself on speaking my mind and not being afraid to give honest feedback. Nate Berkus speaking-my-mind pride hurt You can find a lot of reasonable buys at Wal-Mart. But one key to making it on a budget is by donating your time and labor to the project. Do-it-yourself projects will always help you save. Nate Berkus projects keys helping When I take on a design project, I have to jet from the bookstore to the hardware shop to the lamp store and back again just to collect a small portion of the many items I need to fill a home. But, when you hit the flea market, they're all right there. From booth to booth, you have the bases covered. Nate Berkus fleas design home Layering in different patterns will keep things from appearing too studied. Nate Berkus appearing patterns different I was a boy with one dream and one dream only: I wanted - no, strike that, I was desperate for - a room of my own. You see, in those days I shared a room with my little brother, Jesse, and it wasn't pretty. He was the Oscar to my Felix: messy, careless, and just a little bit sticky - exactly the way a kindergartner is supposed to be. Nate Berkus brother dream boys I love linen in soothing colors for any room in the house. Nate Berkus color house rooms You can change the feel of your sofa by adding a thick, cozy throw and playing a couple of classic pillows off a more Moroccan-inspired one. Nate Berkus cozy classic couple I was barely in grade school when I helped my mother rearrange the living room furniture for the first time. Nate Berkus mother rooms school Go outside! I mean, even leaves from a park are beautiful in a clear glass vase. I'd rather see that than fake anything any day. Nate Berkus glasses beautiful mean I can change a light fixture, and I can do certain things. But I'm really bad in terms of construction. I can't do any of it on my own. Nate Berkus fixture construction light Mixing in some rusty oranges is a warm way to update your place for fall. Nate Berkus orange mixing fall There’s something beautiful and very circular about passing by something that was important to the person you loved, or touching something that once meant something to him — that brings me some peace. Nate Berkus passing-by touching beautiful I got my first Charvet knit tie when I was 15. I actually stole it from my father. I love them because you can wear them day to night. They're French and preppy and have been around since the 1800s. Nate Berkus ties night father I made my parents crazy. As a kid, I redecorated my bedroom every month. I would literally save my allowance and go buy things. Nate Berkus crazy parent kids