At Home With Padma Lakshmi: Entertaining, Cooking, and Why She Turns to Home Experts
Morgan Olsen•Thumbtack’s Home Design Expert•Last updated Apr 29, 2025
Last updated Apr 29, 2025
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Padma Lakshmi is a New York Times bestselling author, Emmy-nominated producer, and television personality with a breadth of talents: her vibrant culinary creativity, her thoughtful storytelling, and her effortlessly chic style are just a few. But even someone as accomplished as Padma knows that being “home smart” is a whole different skill set — and one that doesn’t always come naturally. That’s why she, like millions of homeowners, turns to Thumbtack to get expert help when she needs it.
Our latest For the Joy of Home report revealed that while homeownership brings pride and joy, it also brings a lot of unknowns — from not knowing where to start on a renovation to being uncertain how to find a trusted professional. We’re here to help homeowners go from not knowing to knowing, helping them feel more confident in managing their homes and actually enjoying their space.
In our conversation with Padma, she opens the doors to her colorful, cozy, and personality-filled home — sharing everything from her favorite room, her design philosophy, and the setup that best fuels her creativity, to the unexpected stressors that can come with home projects. Here’s how she makes her space feel joyful, functional, and full of love — and why asking for help is always a smart move.
Let’s start by talking about your home. How would you describe your home style and aesthetic?
Padma: My home is an eclectic place filled with everything I’ve hunted and gathered from decades of travel around the globe. Most of my chandeliers are Baguès that I’ve foraged from the flea market in Paris. But there are also some family heirlooms, a lot of antique cookware, and of course my art collection plays a major role too. In general, I like a lot of color — second only to my love for books.
I love that! Do you have a favorite room or a space where you spend a lot of your time?
Padma: That’s a hard one, I would say it’s probably a toss between my kitchen, my writing room, and my bedroom. Those are pretty much the rooms I spend the most of my time in unless I’m entertaining. And that basically tells you a lot about my personality. All I care about is cooking, reading and sleeping. All of those things define self-care and pleasure to me.
Do you have any home projects you’ve been procrastinating on?
Padma: For a couple of years now I’ve been meaning to paint my office, and get new drapes as well. Sometimes having a home office isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and there can be little separation between home life and work life. Especially when what you do for a living is so domestic. This is certainly true of both my life as a writer, and as someone who works in food. It’s so disruptive to do any kind of home renovations, and also, I have been busy — but I think it will make me feel better when I do get them done. And hopefully that will be soon.
Do you consider yourself a DIYer when it comes to home projects?
Padma: I’m the least handy person you’ll ever meet. I need help with everything from screwing in a lightbulb to hanging up a small picture, to touching up the paint on a well-trafficked door. You name it, I suck at it. Luckily I have other skills.
I completely get that! Have you ever had a DIY project go wrong or a particularly stressful home moment?
Padma: I tend not to take on DIY projects, as I have some modicum of self-awareness, but home ownership is always stressful and there certainly have been moments of great duress. A big one was when we had all of these leaks due to no fault of my own, from the roof of our building. We had to move out of our bedrooms and live out of our dining room for the better part of a whole year. Which is only fun and exciting, even to a child, for about three days. It’s hard to sell camping in your own house to anyone.
When thinking about kitchen design, what do you consider to be the most important elements?
Padma: The most important element is functionality and comfort. While I want my home to be elegant and beautiful, it means nothing if you have to be ultra careful about where you sit and don’t feel at home, well, in your home. Enough counter space is always an issue no matter how big or small your kitchen is. I’m not a big gadget person but we have seemed to procure items I only use sparingly (including an espresso machine and second ice cream maker), and they have now squatted on my counter indefinitely.
How has your work influenced your personal kitchen setup?
Padma: I designed my current kitchen before I ever did Taste the Nation, and I always thought bigger was better. In this realm it is not always the case. I love my kitchen, I designed it exactly the way I wanted it, but sometimes I feel like it is a little too big. And sometimes I wish it was a little cozier, because it does take me a long time to get from the stove to the pantry and then to the shelves — and while it’s good exercise, as I grow as a cook and a cookbook author I realize that no matter how big your kitchen is, you will always fill it. And often most of us don’t need at least a third to half of what we own.
I’m sure it’s nice to have the extra space when hosting though. Talk me through what a night of hosting might look like.
Padma: My main way to socialize is to hold gatherings at home. Whether it’s charades night, an intimate dinner party, or a Diwali celebration for over 100 people, each type of gathering leverages a different setup. For 6 guests or less, I will just use the kitchen table which is in the kitchen next to the island. Dinners for 10 or 12 are relegated to the formal dining room, and if the weather is nice, we utilize our roof terrace as well. However, living in the Northeast this is only possible four to five months of the year. I also opt for doing buffets which are nice because it allows guests to mingle with more than who would be sitting left or right of them, and it also contributes to a more relaxed and casual atmosphere.
Are there any kitchen organizing tips you can share, maybe something you’ve picked up from other chefs during Taste the Nation?
Padma: Have a clear-eyed understanding of how you move through the space and what you reach for most often. In my case, my spice collection is as integral to my cooking as a painter’s palette is to his or her canvas. And so, my spices are easily accessible while I’m standing at my stove. I have custom drawers fitted so that I can see all of my spices clearly, and they are organized both by region of the world and frequency of use.
Finally, I’m such a huge fan of you and your daughter’s TikTok videos! Do you feel like your space impacts how you spend time as a family at home?
Padma: I will say having a big kitchen is nice because inevitably, everyone always ends up there. I come from a family who is plotting their dinner as they clear away the plates from lunch, so food is always at the center of everything, and therefore the kitchen is always at the center as well. In my case that’s both physically and emotionally.
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