The host of the Nate Berkus Show explains how to create a great space and listen to the voice within.
Best Design Rule
Incorporate nature. It can be as simple as taking a tall leafy branch from the backyard and putting it in a clear glass vase.

Best Tradition
Handwritten notes. If I get a beautiful letter or thank-you card, it goes in a frame, just as a photograph would.

Best Way to Ruin a Room
Decorate it for anyone besides yourself. It might be gorgeous, but you'll never feel at home.

Best Nosh
A hot dog from Crif Dogs in the East Village. Ketchup, mustard, onion, relish. And if there were Dairy Queens in New York City, I'd get a medium vanilla cone dipped in either chocolate or butterscotch—depending on my mood—and that would be a perfect afternoon.

Best Flea Market Mantra
Buy it now! You have only one chance. If you see something that speaks to you, that moves you even just a little bit, you have to own it.

Best Words of Inspiration
In Elizabeth Edwards's book Resilience, she quotes the Leonard Cohen song "Anthem": Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in. That's an amazing insight—to know that nothing's perfect and it's not intended to be.

Best decorating rules:
From the October 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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