Bobby Berk has a message for builders and flippers everywhere: “Stop doing all white kitchens!”
The Queer Eye alum, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly that he “cannot stand all white kitchens.” Berk, who is partnering with Amazon Devices to introduce SIY, a.k.a. “Smartify It Yourself,” house techniques, dished on why that design style drives him “nuts.”
Berk explained that he gets “so frustrated” when builders and flippers especially in Los Angeles decide to keep everything so monochrome and clinical. (He also confessed that all white bathrooms are not his favorite.)
“They’re like, ‘Well, we just wanna do all white because we want it to appeal to everybody.’ But I’m like, ‘It doesn’t appeal to anybody anymore,’” Berk vented. “Stop doing it. Put a little personality in there.”
The interior designer noted, “You don’t have to go crazy with color.” Berk suggested adding earth tones on the cabinets or as a “back splash the countertop” for a simple upgrade.
If you keep an all-white space, Berk confessed, “You walk in and it doesn’t feel like a kitchen. It feels like an operating room.” He added, “I hope people read this and stop doing it.”
Although Berk has strong opinions on all white décor, he told Us that he’s “not a big fan of trends” seasonal or otherwise.
He said people should do what “makes them happy in their home and not necessarily worry about what I tell them should make them happy.”
That being said, Berk told Us he is a fan of cleaning — but not in the spring as is tradition. “One of the trends that I actually would love to get started, it’s fall cleaning instead of spring cleaning.”
Berk pointed out that spring cleaning can be problematic because “it rains” when you empty out your garage to organize. “Fall [equals] less rain. And most people are already digging in their garages starting in like October for their Halloween decor, and then in November for their Thanksgiving décor,” he explained. “So you’re already in your garage, you’re already digging through things.”
The reality star added, “I think the fall is actually the best time of year to clean. I want to get people to stop doing that spring cleaning thing and focus on fall cleaning.”
As Berk heads into his favorite cleaning season, he has learned to lean into technology for assistance in his daily tasks. Through his partnership with Amazon Devices to promote SIY — which is a spin on the popular DIY trend — Berk has upgraded his home to become a smart house with Alexa and other Amazon products.
Whether it is utilizing Amazon’s smart plug, or smart coffee maker in the kitchen, or using an Echo Show 15 to watch the backyard from his living room, Berk is happily “smartify-ing” his home.
“In the morning I have a smart plug that works with Alexa that my coffee maker’s plugged into. When I wake up, I say, ‘Alexa, rise and design,’ and Alexa automatically turns on my coffee maker and starts brew[ing],” Berk told Us. “And then also automatically turns the lights in the kitchen onto an energizing hue.”
As a “big SIY fan” himself, Berk said Amazon’s products have enhanced his day to day. “I’m always looking for ways to make my life easier and more automated,” he shared. “And luckily, like literally everything in your house can be, can be smartify now.”
Berk added: “It was a natural perfect partnership because not only do I use Alexa — not just in my house, but in my car — but I use the smart bulbs. I use it with my music. I use my ring cameras, my Blink cameras. … It was a match made in heaven.”
Learn more about Amazon Device’s SIY — “Smartify It Yourself” — campaign and tools here.
With reporting by Mandie DeCamp
