How designers are rethinking podcast studios for Jake Shane and Jay Shetty

Podcasts have become the new talk show, Livingetc's Maya Glantz argues, yet many sets still look like a teenager's basement: neon logos, swivel chairs and grey foam panels, or what interior designer Emily Cunnane calls the 'bricks and books' look. Haley Draznin, founder of the studio The Chat Room, says these rooms were long designed for ears, not eyes. Now, as Interwoven Studios co-founder Harrison Sheinberg puts it, a viewer's first meeting with a show might be a fifteen-second clip.

For Jake Shane's Therapuss, since picked up by Netflix, Interwoven designer Conner Brock worked from Shane's idea of a midcentury therapist's office: wood-panelled walls, leather sofas and a small room used to make conversations feel closer. A green room and a shared viewing area mean the experience begins at the door.

Hema Persad of Sagrada Studio took a similar line with Jay Shetty's On Purpose studio in 2022, since redone. She chose dark, cocooning walls, warm furniture and antique-market finds, reasoning that bright, 'professional' setups can make guests nervous. Cunnane's own sets lean on mauve walls, blush drapery, soft furnishings that quietly absorb sound and a large artwork by Merijn Hos.

There is nothing to visit here, but it is a good read for anyone who has wondered why every podcast looks the same, and how a room can work for both the guests and the camera.

Our summary of a story from Livingetc, published 23 October 2026. Read the original

Photos: Livingetc · See all 8