Jeremiah Brent Talks Design And Queer Representation At Penn 1

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Jeremiah Brent, multi-hyphenate and newest member of Queer Eye’s Fab5, loves design—so much so that he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “It’s how I show love, it’s how I communicate, it’s how I express beauty,” he gushed to Interior Design Editor in Chief Cindy Allen during an October 16 talk in Manhattan, kicking off his third season as host of California Closets’ podcast, Ideas of Order. But the star almost took his career in a different direction.

In his early twenties, Brent worked with fashion designer Rachel Zoe on her reality show The Rachel Zoe Project who pointed out that he was more interested in furnishings than clothes. “She was the one who looked at me and told me I was doing the wrong thing,” Brent shares, noting that he filed the paperwork for his design business shortly after. Since then, his firm has grown into a team of 30 with offices in New York and Los Angeles. And Brent’s grown with it.

From designing chic residential locales to sharing a glimpse into his life with partner Nate Berkus and their two children on various reality shows, to hosting a successful podcast and writing a book, Brent’s career knows no limits. But each project is deeply rooted in exploring a central theme: The meaning of home.

Cindy Allen and Jeremiah Brent on the steps of The Landing at Penn 1.

“Why does home mean so much to you?” Allen asked Brent, the pair perched atop chairs before a crowd in Penn 1’s The Landing. “We grew up with not a lot of money,” offered Brent, who said he used to walk around Target with his mom and peer into model homes imagining the different ways people lived. “The fantasy of home, for me, has always been about the moments people have,” he added. The Ideas of Order podcast he hosts examines this idea closely and the upcoming season, which features his Queer Eye costar Karamo Brown and singer and actress Kelly Rowland to name a few, is shaping up to be especially intriguing. “The podcast is really a tapestry of design styles and aesthetics,” he shared, offering gratitude to California Closets for the freedom to pursue such narratives.

As a successful creative who happens to be gay, Brent also feels compelled to share his own home life with the world to help expand queer representation. “I got good at being who I needed to be,” he told Allen, reflecting on a time in his life before coming out or, as Brent aptly rebrands it, “letting people in.” Embracing his queer identity enabled the designer to connect more deeply with others, creating a career rooted in community and authenticity. “My favorite part of design is the human connection component,” he said. “Hands down.” 

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Want to hear more about what home means to top creatives? Listen to Ideas of Order podcast on SURROUND Podcast Network, hosted by Jeremiah Brent, and stay tuned for the launch of Season 3 in early 2025.

Brent leans into that element on the upcoming season of Queer Eye, which marks his debut on the show. “I believe you can’t ask somebody for something you’re not willing to give—asking people to open up and share the most vulnerable parts of their lives… the only thing I can offer them is all of me, as well.” The Queer Eye cast also welcomed Brent into his first real queer community. “I had the best time of my life doing the show,” he said. But the challenge of redesigning spaces in 72 hours when filming is steep. The time crunch is real, Brent assured attendees, adding that he loves every minute of it. “Every episode is different stylistically because people are different,” he said.

The Space That Keeps You: When Home Becomes a Love Story, Brent’s inaugural book published earlier this year, further showcases the human side of design. “The book is an exploration of people I met and loved, and why they never left their homes,” he said. “It’s about the beauty of intention and of ceremony.”

As for his dream project, Brent was quick to answer: “I’d like to do the White House when Kamala [Harris] wins,” he said with a smile, inspiring everyone in the room to follow their own dreams and stay true to themselves.

Jeremiah Brent Talks Design And Queer Representation At Penn 1

A crowd of architects and designers gathered on October 16 for the event.

The October 16, 2024, Penn 1 conversation between Jeremiah Brent and Cindy Allen, hosted in partnership with California Closets, is dedicated to the brand’s former chief brand officer, Edward Leaman, who recently passed away.

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