It took me 25 years to answer my mother's question.
She just wanted to know what to buy.
My name is Mr Call. I've decorated rooms featured in Vogue, the New York Times, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Lonny, and Surface. I've created campaigns for Kenneth Cole, Brooks Brothers, and Benjamin Moore. I've won awards from House Beautiful, Benjamin Moore, and the IFDA. I've specified furniture for student housing across 13 states — more than 13,700 beds.
I came up in the New York studio system — Diamond Baratta, then Shawn Henderson, both now recognized as AD100 practices. As part of the Diamond Baratta team, I worked on landmark residential projects including the Manhattan residence later featured as Miranda Priestly's home in The Devil Wears Prada. In 2008, when the recession hit, I joined HGTV as Creative Producer on The High Low Project with Sabrina Soto — a national platform built on a premise I already believed: exceptional design does not require an exceptional budget. I opened my own firm in 2010.
Over 25 years I've specified and purchased more than $41 million in furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Not browsed. Not unboxed on camera. Bought. Installed. Lived with the results. Taken the call when a sofa frame creaks after eight months. When your name is attached to the product, you get very honest about what works.
The internet doesn't need another recommendation site. It needs one with consequences. Every product here was chosen the same way I choose for clients: will it hold up, does it justify what it costs, and would I stake my name on it? If the best product in a category has no affiliate program, it makes the list anyway. If a product pays well but I wouldn't put it in a client's home, it doesn't.
Here's how I get paid: when you buy through my links, the retailer pays me a small commission. You pay the exact same price. The brands subsidize the access — you get 25 years of specification data for free. That model only works if the recommendations are honest. Which is why they are.
House Beautiful "Next Wave" designer · Benjamin Moore HUE Award · IFDA Award winner · FGI Award nominee · New York Times · Vogue · Elle Decor · House Beautiful
The Career Arc
From the New York studio system to a national public resource
The New York Studio Years
Trained inside two of the most demanding residential practices in New York — Diamond Baratta and Shawn Henderson, both now recognized as AD100 studios. Learned what high-end residential design actually requires: not just taste, but accountability. As part of the Diamond Baratta team, worked on landmark projects including the Manhattan residence later featured as Miranda Priestly's home in The Devil Wears Prada.
HGTV — The High Low Project
When the recession hit and the studios contracted, joined HGTV as Creative Producer on The High Low Project with Sabrina Soto. A national television platform built on a premise I already believed: great design at every budget. It was the first time I told a national audience what to buy — and why. That experience never left me.
Founded the Practice
Opened my own firm — residential and student housing, coast to coast. Over the next decade: $41M+ in procurement, 97 projects, 37 student housing properties, 13,700+ beds across 13 states. Oscar-winning actors. Fortune 500 CEOs. Clients who could hire anyone and chose someone who told them the truth.
House Beautiful Next Wave
Recognized as one of the next generation of important American design voices. Began speaking at industry events. Started thinking more seriously about the gap between what designers know and what the public has access to.
The Model Changed
I became obsessed with beauty content. Tati Westbrook. Jeffree Star. What they built wasn't just entertainment — it was a review economy. The brand pays the reviewer. The consumer gets expert guidance for free. Interior design had never done this. The knowledge existed. The platform didn't. That year, I started building toward what Mr Call Designs would become.
Benjamin Moore HUE Award
Received Benjamin Moore's award for design excellence and color expertise. Featured in the New York Times, Vogue, and Elle Decor. The private practice was at its peak. The decision to close it was already forming.
Mr Call Designs Launches
Closed the private practice. Published the entire playbook. Every product I specify. Every brand opinion. Every standard I maintain. The same judgment that costs clients a design fee is now available for free — with the products they need to actually execute the work.
As Seen In
Featured in leading publications for over a decade
How I Get Paid — And Why It Doesn't Change What I Tell You
When you buy through my links, the retailer pays me a small commission. You pay the exact same price. That's how the lights stay on. This model works, and I'm transparent about it because there's nothing to hide.
Brands can pay a Testing & Production Fee to have their products reviewed. That fee covers my time, the testing, the photography, the video production. It does not buy a positive review. If the product is bad, I'll tell my audience that. My audience's trust is the only product I actually sell. I don't compromise that for any amount of money.
If the best product in a category has no affiliate program, I recommend it anyway. I will never recommend something I wouldn't use on a client's project. That's not marketing. That's 25 years of career standard. I've turned down more commission-paying partnerships than I've accepted because most products aren't good enough. The ones that are, I specify. The ones that aren't, I don't.
ABOUT
Mr Call founded his namesake design firm in New York City in 2010, following an intensive tenure within the industry's "blue-chip" studio system under Diamond Baratta and Shawn Henderson. A graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, Jon Daniel Call built a body of work defined by an instinctive understanding of how people inhabit space—expanding his practice across 23 states and earning immediate critical acclaim.
Over sixteen years, Mr Call specified and purchased more than $41 million in furniture, fixtures, and equipment across thousands of rooms. This was not the work of a stylist browsing showrooms or unboxing products for a camera; it was the work of a practitioner. He bought the pieces, installed them, and lived with the consequences. When a sofa frame creaks eight months after delivery, Mr Call is the one who takes the 2:00 AM call. That level of accountability has stripped away the veneer of the industry, leaving him with a definitive, honest understanding of what truly works.
In 2026, Mr Call is closing the design house to bridge a gap he identified over two decades of service: most people do not want a designer—they want to know exactly what to buy. He is now converting over twenty-five years of proprietary specification data into a free public resource.
By removing the $150,000+ design fee, MR CALL is granting the public direct access to his trusted brands, his rigorous standards, and the exact products he has placed in the world’s most exclusive homes. He is moving past the guesswork to provide the industry’s ultimate answers.
HONORS AND PRESS
Awards: House Beautiful Next Wave, Benjamin Moore HUE Award, IFDA Award, FGI Award Nominee.
Featured In: The New York Times, Vogue, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Lonny, Surface.
TELEVISION + MAGAZINES
GUEST SPEAKER
Blogfest NYC for Hearst Magazines
La Cienega Design Quarter for House Beautiful
Affordable Art Festival for Zatista
What’s New, What’s Next - 200 Lexington
Las Vegas Furniture Market for Editor At Large
Atlanta Furniture Market for Brian Patrick Flynn
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Manual - Homme Design
La Dolce Vita - He Said/She Said
BLOG ARTICLES
“10 FAVORITE THINGS” - Casa Sugar
“3-DAY BACHELOR PAD ” - Front & Main
“EMERGING HOME DECOR TRENDS” - She Knows
“THE NEW GUARD” - Cj Dellatore
“HOT ON PINTEREST” - Huffington Post
“HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF A SMALL SPACE” - Fox News
“TABLE TOP INSPIRATION FROM LENOX HILL GALA” - Quintessence
”ABOUT HOLIDAY HOUSE” - Ask Patrick
“FEATURED DESIGNERS” - The Shade Store
"MR CALL DESIGNS” - Remodelista
“FLORAL PATTERNS GET AN UPDATE” - The Desert Sun
“THE NEXT WAVE” - Desire To Inspire
“DESIGNS BY MCD FOR STARK” - Nicole Gibbons Style
"MR CALL DESIGNS" - White & Gold
“DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT” - The Source For Antiques
"INTERVIEW WITH JON CALL" - Fashion We Like
RADIO INTERVIEW- Grace Bonney
“MY INTERVIEW WITH MR CALL” - After The Jump
ASK A DESIGNER: 4 SIMPLE STEPS TOWARDS A HEALTHIER HOME - Indiana Gazette
FESTIVE HOME HOLIDAY DECOR REDISCOVERED - The Fayetteville Observer
“9 WAYS TO DESIGN A HOME FOR MULTI-GENERATIONAL LIVING” - AARP
BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
Kenneth Cole Productions
Crestron
Volvo
CHARITIES
Holiday House NYC
Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Young Collectors Night
Ronald McDonald House Long Island
Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Design Dinner
The Jewish Museum New York