[piano intro] - Hello, I'm Nido Qubein.

Welcome to "Side by Side."

My guest today started her interior design business 20 years ago, and she became a television star too.

We'll meet interior designer and makeover TV personality Libby Langdon.

- [Announcer] Funding for "Side by Side" with Nido Qubein is made possible by.

- [Announcer] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated, your local bottler.

- [Announcer] The Budd Group has been serving the southeast for over 60 years.

Specializing in janitorial, landscape, and facility solutions, our trusted staff delivers exceptional customer satisfaction.

Comprehensive facility support with the Budd Group.

- [Announcer] Truist, we're here to help people, communities, and businesses thrive in North Carolina and beyond.

The commitment of our teammates makes the difference every day.

Truist, leaders in banking, unwavering in care.

[upbeat music] - Libby, welcome to "Side by Side."

I'm fascinated by your career.

You've had a celebrated career.

You were born in North Carolina, in High Point, to be exact, and at age 16, you left High Point, you packed your bags, you went to New York, you finished high school in New York, and you wanted to be a model.

- Yes, yes, I did.

I was always so focused on work, even at a young age, and I actually started modeling here in North Carolina, and I also grew up performing at the community theater, the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, so I kind of had performing, and I sort of had that in my blood, but once I started modeling in North Carolina, that just became a total focus for me, even at a very young age, and I was lucky enough that my parents gave me the opportunity to move to New York at such a young age and follow my dreams.

- Take us a bit in the world of modeling.

You know, we have a pedestrian view of it.

We hear good things, we hear not so good things, but we know it's hard work.

What did you do?

How did you start?

Where was your break?

Were you lonely?

Were you homesick?

How did you overcome all that?

- You know, interestingly enough, I think what was great about modeling and starting to model at such a young age was there's a lot of rejection, a lot of rejection, and it's based on your looks, and if you're right for a job or you're not right for a job, and so even at a very young age, I kind of got some thick skin, and I learned to take rejection, and once I moved to New York, it was a whole different can of worms.

You are just a number, but I think I also learned that the jobs that I got were the right jobs for me.

I wasn't sort of a fancy runway model.

I did more catalogs and teen magazines and "17" and that kind of thing, but it was interesting because I feel like I had always been around adults growing up in North Carolina, whether it was the theater or performing or modeling, so once I transitioned to New York, I actually felt very comfortable being around adults, and it was hard because I was balancing high school, and I went to a school called Professional Children's School, which is for kids that are actors, ballerinas, violinists, they play Carnegie Hall, kids that are working, so you're only in school when you can be in school, and so the year I was 17 and 18, I actually moved to Europe, and was modeling there for about six months, and just felt like I didn't know how long I was gonna be able to experience these things, so I was just drinking in every second I could get, and I just loved it.

- So you had an agency that represented you?

- Yes.

- How did you get the agency in the first place?

- So I went, my parents took me to New York because I was bugging them relentlessly: "I wanna go and see if I can model in New York."

- And your dad was in textiles?

- Yes, my dad was in textiles, and my mom was in design, and so they took me to New York just to kind of appease me, and they said, "We're sure no agencies are gonna wanna take her," and so they took me to two agencies, and one agency called and said, "Yeah, we'd love to work with her," and they sort of thought, "Oh, now what do we do?"

But they were incredible in letting me go and really discover what my next steps were gonna be.

- So how does one become a model?

Did you take lessons?

- No, no, I was a performer and in a dance recital, and somebody in Greensboro saw me in the dance recital and recommended an agency here in North Carolina, and that was how it started.

- And then, when you're modeling, you're working with photographers?

- [Libby] Yes.

- In a studio or on site somewhere?

- [Libby] Yes.

- And how do you know what to do?

- I think it's, people say it's the it factor.

You have it or you don't have it, and I just, I joke with people now.

I've never met a camera I didn't like, so I'm kind of shameless about that, but I really, I loved it, and I just felt very comfortable in front of the camera, always.

- What percentage of the time were you, to quote your word, rejected?

- Oh gosh, probably rejected 90% of the time.

- Really?

- Yeah, so they would, so the agency would recommend you to a client, and then somebody there, producer or director, - Yeah.

- Somebody would say, "She's not the right one."

- You go on the go-sees.

You go on them starting in the morning till the late afternoon, and you're trucking around New York or Europe or whatever city you're in, and you just never know what job is gonna be the right job for you, but yeah, they would just flip through your book.

Now I think they go through an iPad, but they look at your images and say, "You're right," or, "You're not right."

- And you have to have strong self-esteem to accept that.

- Very, very.

- And what happens when you go back home?

Let's say you go for a, what do you call it?

- A go-see.

- Yeah, or an audition, yeah.

- A go-see, audition, and you come back home, and you realize you are rejected.

- Yeah.

- You sit there and cry or eat chocolate?

- Well, as a model, you don't eat chocolate, and usually, I would just sort of roll up my sleeves and do my homework, so I think I've always had a really positive outlook, and I think I also just felt very fortunate that I had the opportunity to be there, and I knew, at some point, what the exact right fit for me was gonna be would show itself.

- And at age 17, how much did you get paid?

- It was actually a lot for, at that age, I mean, anywhere from, I don't know, 1,500 a day to 2,500 a day.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- At age 16, 17.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And the agent would take a piece of that?

- Yes.

Yes.

- What would the agent take?

20%?

- 10 to 15%, yeah, yeah.

- 10 to 15%.

- And the rest you would get.

- [Lilly] Yeah.

- And so you were making some cash.

- I was making some cash, and then- - But you're living in New York too?

- Yeah, exactly.

As I was modeling, that was how it sort of twisted for me for television and TV, and so my agent in New York said, "We actually think, with your personality, "you might be great on camera," and so that was a natural transition for me, so that was when I moved from modeling more into TV commercials, soap operas, television, that kind of thing.

- I see, and then you had some participation in "The Rachael Ray Show" and "The Early Show" and "NBC's Open House."

- Yes.

- What were you doing with all that?

- So, you know, it's interesting 'cause actually, my interior design career came about in a completely crazy way, and so that was when I was doing Rachael Ray and doing interior design on these different TV shows, but I actually had worked in movies and television for about 11 years after I stopped modeling, and so, at a certain point, my agent said, you know, "I kind of thought, "I think I wanna try some kind of makeover show "or a cooking show, something completely different," and so my agent said, "Well, for a cooking show, "you need a cookbook or a restaurant," and I was like, "Ugh, I don't have either one," and they said, "But if you wanted to audition "for an interior design show, "we bet you would be able to host "an interior design makeover show," and so I went and auditioned for a show, and I didn't get that one, but the production company contacted me three months later, and they said, "We're doing a show called 'Design Invasion.'"

- And that was on HGTV.

- This show was on Fox, and after that, I did "Small Space, Big Style" on HGTV, but for the first show I did, I would, they said, "We want you to be the host and the designer.

"You'll have 12 hours and $6,000 "to make over a room you've never seen before."

- Wow.

- [Libby] That was how I learned about interior design.

- How does one do that?

- It was a certain amount of fearlessness, I think, was what allowed me to do it.

At the time, I was 34.

I had been married for 11 years.

I was newly divorced.

I had gone through a really painful time in my life.

I thought, you know, "What's the worst thing that could happen?"

The worst thing just happened.

I got divorced.

My heart was broken.

I had to figure out what my next steps were gonna be, and so that was why I said, "I'm gonna audition for a makeover show."

- And how did it go?

- And then I got it.

- And how did it go?

- It went great.

It changed my life, and that fearlessness and that ability to take chances were the things that set me on a completely new path, a whole new career I could have never imagined, but I think what was fabulous was learning that my performing, my background in design, my mom, my dad in textiles here in North Carolina, all of that, all of that got me ready to be right where I was at that exact moment.

- And what are some lessons that you've learned in your career?

- I think some of the things I've learned in my career is, as a woman, it's okay to ask for what you want, and it's also okay to tell people you wanna make money.

I think a lot of times people are afraid to say, "Well, I wanna make money."

That's not a bad thing, and so when I started my own interior design business, at first, I was a little nervous to send out invoices and bills, and all of a sudden I was billing hourly.

I used to be a model and an actress, and now I'm calling myself an interior designer, and then, eventually, I saw my worth, and I saw the value of what I was bringing, and I thought, "Oh, I love invoice day.

"That means I'm gonna get paid."

- Yes, and keep the business going.

- Keep the business going.

- And at what point did "House Beautiful" come in?

You had a column, "Libby's Makeover"?

- Yes, and so after I had done several, I had a show with NBC's Open House, and one of the editors of "House Beautiful" magazine said, "We love your daycovers," and basically, I would film my client installs, and they would put it on air, and they said, "We love it.

"We'd love to do a makeover with you with the magazine," and so we had such a great time working together I had a column for two years called "Libby's Makeover," where I'd give tips and information, and I think that's part of my secret sauce is I love to share information.

- At what point did you get into this licensed home furnishings collection business?

- See, that was something that kind of goes back to this was a second career, and so I knew that I was gonna need to find different outlets, not just my interior design business, and I felt like with my experience of moving across the country through real people's homes in the United States, seeing how they really live and what they really want, I felt like I'm gonna be able to design product that they want, whether it's furniture, lighting, rugs, wall decor.

I just felt like that was another whole outlet where I was gonna be able to have creative freedom and fun.

- How does one design a piece of furniture, and then, how does one convince a company to add it to their collection?

- I start with a folder, and the title of the folder is, "Stuff I Can't Find," so if the people in my office, a client is looking for a certain bed or a certain chair or a certain sofa, if we can't find that, it's probably a good idea for me to make it, and so I partner now with Fairfield.

They're outta Lenoir, North Carolina, and I just have a blast making the furniture with them.

I will say I start with terrible sketches.

I am no artist, but I can convey the ideas, give the dimensions, and then really send it into their department, and they hone it and fine-tune it.

- How do you know if that piece of furniture is there?

I mean, do you go online?

Do you search everybody's catalog?

How does one do such a search, let's say, internationally?

- Yeah, so we don't buy a ton of furniture internationally.

I would say it's primarily domestic.

Google is amazing.

You can pop something in, and if something populates like it, then you know it's not something you need to do, so I think, also, for me, because I started in makeover TV, I'm very focused on value, and I don't need to make a $15,000 sofa or $20,000 sofa.

I'm used to making things for real people and real homes.

- Affordable.

- Yeah.

- Affordable things.

I read somewhere where you're involved in something called She Builds Women.

- Yes, Women She Builds, and- - Oh, Women She Builds.

- Yes.

It's a wonderful organization.

- [Nido] Well, what is that?

- So it's a great organization with different businesswomen in New York.

They're everything from bankers to attorneys, and they raise money, and they go into different rec centers or housing projects or developments where they need a makeover or they need a new gym, and so I've been lucky enough to go in and be the orchestrator of a makeover to really convert a space and make it feel joyous and happy and just like a space that these people would really wanna go spend time in.

- I don't know if you have a daughter, but if you have a daughter who's 16, 17, would you, and she had a leaning towards modeling, would you recommend she packs up, goes to New York, and do that?

Or did you learn such tough lessons that you would say, "No, no, wait till later," or, "Don't do it at all"?

- I think, I have a stepdaughter and I have a stepson, I think if they were as focused on work and as responsible as I was and very, just had goals and goal-driven, I think I would.

I think I would, so it's hard to say because I don't have a daughter that's 16, but I feel so lucky my parents let me go and start to craft the life that I'm living now.

- You start modeling.

Then you got interior design.

Then you did makeovers on television.

Then you wrote a column.

Which of these disciplines did you find most fulfilling and most fun?

- You know, I will say it is a tossup.

When I design a home for a client, and they walk in and they see it for the first time, [gasps] it's magic.

It is magic.

It just fills your heart.

- Assuming they like it.

- Yes, well, I haven't had anybody who hasn't liked it yet.

- Really.

Wow.

- No, I'm batting a thousand at this point.

- So that means you've done your homework up front with- - Yes, and I would say the second part of that, honestly, I do my homework, but I think, as an interior designer, I'm a good listener first, I'm a problem-solver second, and I'm a designer third.

I'm a good listener.

I listen to what people want.

If they say, "I hate olive green, I hate chenille, "and I hate dark wood finishes," I'm never gonna show them any of those things, but you have to really hear what they want, and the second part of that, as far as what's my favorite thing?

Probably the product design.

If I see something pop up in somebody's house or a chandelier, or it's on Instagram, or somebody's just randomly decided that something I've designed is something they wanna live with, that is thrilling, yeah.

- How does an interior designer get paid?

Is it fee?

Is it percentage of the goods that she buys for the client?

- You know what?

It can be both ways.

It can be an hourly fee.

It can be part of the overall budget, or it can be a combination of an hourly fee and a percentage of what you buy for them, and so, for me, I do an hourly fee and a markup, and that allows me to do budgets, if they're not big, huge, crazy budgets, I can still work with people and know that I'm being compensated for the amount of time I'm spending.

- Which is it that most people like?

I mean, I hear, you know, I hear a lot of comments about people who say, "Well, I paid too much," or, "I didn't like the way this was marked up," or, "They recommended that because they get a markup."

Which do you find that most clients appreciate?

- I think most clients appreciate if there's an hourly fee and a markup, but you're very transparent and you're very upfront with what it is that you're buying.

I've heard horror stories of people who have just gone crazy and marked things up or way overcharged, but when we send in our hours, it's like an attorney.

They see exactly what we've done and the exact amount of time, and same when we send them products, so they can see that we're buying it for them at a much lower price than if they went out to buy it for themselves.

- So do you have offices now?

- Yeah, oh, we've had an office.

I've had an office in New York since, wow, 2000, gosh, yeah, 2002.

- And most of your clients are in New York, or?

- No, that's the fun part of it is they're all over.

We do projects in Washington DC, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut.

- Are these second homes?

- Some are second homes, and some are primary homes.

We just finished a big project in Miami.

We're working on a project in Hawaii, so that's the other thing that's nice is it's dynamic design.

I don't feel like I'm doing the same job over and over again, so it's really crafted and tailored to the individual.

- Now, you were born in High Point.

- [Libby] Yes.

- And High Point, of course, dependent, to a great extent, on furniture industry.

- [Libby] Yes.

- What is Libby Langdon's view of what was, what is, and what might become vis-à-vis this important economic impact source for not only High Point, not only the region, but really, for North Carolina?

- Yeah, so it's interesting to see how the industry has changed at who the furnishings industry targeted, and I think for so many years they always targeted furniture retailers.

That was the mecca.

That was where you needed to be.

That was- - Most of those are gone, right?

The small retailers are gone.

- Exactly right, exactly right.

Where I've seen the business go is it went from people saying, "Oh, they're designers.

"They're coming in the showrooms," to, "Let's do events "so we can get designers in our showrooms," so that's the biggest way I've seen the dynamic change to where we are now.

To where it's going in the future, I think it's gonna be a combination of e-commerce and designers, and how are they targeting a younger audience that is gonna want longer-lasting quality pieces of furniture, and so I think that narrative and that story has gotta change, and it's frustrating when I see manufacturers just chasing those retailers and chasing those retailers.

I understand it, but there's this big fat world of people out there that are buying furniture through people like me, and they're not just buying a little bit of furniture; they're buying a whole house, so I think the more people could shift their thinking and try to target the designers, I think that's where it's gonna go.

- Does e-commerce really ever take over?

I mean, if you're buying a sofa, you'd want to sit in the sofa.

- And I don't think e-commerce will ever take over, but I do think there is a big generation of younger people that don't feel like they need to kick the tires.

They don't feel like they need to sit in the sofa.

- I see.

- They care more about the look, and I think that comes from things like reality TV, social media.

It's very much visual for them, and less about how does it feel when I sit in it?

And that's been a big shift in the industry, so I think young people are bombarded by beautiful images of gorgeous homes all the time, and I don't think that was the case 10 or 15 years ago.

You had to subscribe to "House Beautiful" or a magazine, and now it's just, it's coming at you all day, every day.

- So what lies ahead for Libby Langdon?

- Ah, what does lie ahead for me?

I think what lies ahead for me are some more licensing deals.

I'd love to keep developing product.

I really enjoy it.

I find it to be very lucrative, definitely expanding the footprint of where I'm doing interior design jobs, and I will say, I think since COVID, I have found a little bit better life-work balance, and that has really changed everything, and I think I have some more, more ways to say no now than I used to, and I'm enjoying that.

- How many interior design projects can you manage at the same time?

I realize it's size and all of that.

- Yeah, I think the most we've had at any given time are 13.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- And you only do homes, not necessarily commercial property, offices.

- No, yeah, we do restaurants.

We've done four restaurants in New York, one in Connecticut, one in Florida.

We've just finished a café in Palm Beach, so yeah, no, I love that aspect of it as well.

That's a whole new spin and a whole new can of worms, but really fun to reimagine spaces into restaurants.

- So you are living the dream, as they say, right?

- Yes.

- You started in a small way.

You built this conglomerate of activity.

You've been lots of places.

You've done lots of things.

You've learned lots of lessons from all that, and now you're matriculating all that and streamlining it in ways that your clients can benefit from it, and I do know that you also work with young people and students to give your time to help younger men and women to understand the world of interior design and maybe even the world of modeling, but Libby, thank you for being with me on "Side by Side."

It's a joy to hear from you and to know what you're up to.

- Thank you so much.

This was wonderful, and thank you for all you do.

[upbeat music] - [Announcer] Funding for "Side by Side" with Nido Qubein is made possible by.

- [Announcer] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated, your local bottler.

- [Announcer] The Budd Group has been serving the southeast for over 60 years.

Specializing in janitorial, landscape, and facility solutions, our trusted staff delivers exceptional customer satisfaction.

Comprehensive facility support with the Budd Group.

- [Announcer] Truist, we're here to help people, communities, and businesses thrive in North Carolina and beyond.

The commitment of our teammates makes the difference every day.

Truist, leaders in banking, unwavering in care.

[upbeat music]