Creative Listening and the Five Senses: Choosing Materials That Make a Home Feel Better

Our CFM Expert Tony Medecke Was Featured on the “It’s Your Space” Podcast

When an interior designer invites you onto a podcast to talk materials, it is usually because you bring more than product knowledge. You bring perspective.

Tony Medecke, one of our experts at Contract Furnishings Mart, was recently featured on It’s Your Space with host Mary Cox, a Seattle-based designer known for her holistic approach to interiors. Mary has brought clients to CFM for more than 25 years, and in this episode she invited Tony on to share what he sees every day in the showroom: the choices that look great in a photo are not always the choices that feel great in real life.

Tony describes his day in the CFM Redmond showroom with a line that nails it: “Working in the Redmond showroom, it’s like working on an aircraft carrier.” With constant traffic and thousands of samples, his role is to help clients and designers cut through the noise. “I’m there at the front desk as they walk in to help them navigate,” he says, guiding people through “thousands of choices” while connecting selections back to lifestyle. For Tony, the work is not just aesthetic. “There’s a science behind why they need to select this tile or this flooring or this carpet,” he explains.

The episode centers on what Mary calls “creative listening,” a design process that starts with emotion, not products. Mary shares a Reno, Nevada home where the client said things like, “I cherish my grandmother’s antique armoire,” and “I want to feel like I brought the outside in,” referencing mountain views. Those statements became the project’s north star. Instead of hiding the armoire in a closet, Mary designed the entry so it greets you immediately, setting the emotional tone. To blend old and new, exposed beams in the great room were stained to match, creating a home that felt intentional and deeply personal.

When it was time for selections, Mary brought the project to CFM and described the showroom as an experience that engages all five senses: sight through color and texture, sound through footsteps across different surfaces, touch through soft carpet and tactile finishes, smell through the warmth of wood, and yes, even taste, thanks to the candy bowls that make the showroom feel welcoming.

Tony expands on why senses like touch and sound matter more than people expect. Clients instinctively reach out to feel materials, and Tony encourages that. “People take their shoes off and their socks off all the time, and that’s what they’re supposed to do,” he says. “You don’t buy a bed without laying on the mattress first.” The point is simple: you should experience surfaces the way you will live with them.

Sound is another overlooked factor. Tony notes that some materials may photograph beautifully, but real life includes kids, pets, and daily traffic. He helps clients understand options like underlayment and construction differences, always returning to fit. “It’s about the right product for your lifestyle,” Tony says, “not just because of what it cost or how it looks.”

The big takeaway from the episode is that people often know what they want, even if they cannot name it yet. With the right questions and guidance, “feeling into function” becomes possible, and the end result is a home that supports real life, not just an image. Want to hear the full conversation? Listen to Tony Medecke on the It’s Your Space podcast with host Mary Cox, and hear more about “creative listening” and how design choices can shape the way your home feels.