May 3, 2014
In episode 3 of American Dream Builders I was finally given the chance to do an interior living space! Not that I didn’t enjoy my exterior and kitchen renovations before but it was my time to really show what I was capable of when it came to decorating.
Our team leader that week, Erinn agreed to allow me to do the living room. This is the main room of the house and the room that you entered into through the front door. Many people have a similar arrangement which makes the room even more important in the statement the room makes about you and your home. I wanted to make sure that the room hit the right notes of style and comfort.
The peaked ceiling was a happy surprise. High ceiling always add so much appeal to a room. The focal point of the room though was the fireplace at the far end flanked by windows, this detail made the room! But, the lack of design on the fireplace really left it looking flat and forlorn. That was going to be fun to fix!
The front wall of the living room also had tall French windows that looked out over the front courtyard. My other teammate Lukas had big plans to add a raised fountain directly outside those windows so I knew the effect of light and water would be stunning.
The big question for me structurally was, how to create a focal point fireplace and do it on a limited budget and in a small amount of time. This is where working on a team with other talented and experienced designers really comes in handy! We were given access to some incredible painted concrete tiles and they were an easy choice for the façade. I also decided to create a large wood beam mantle. This element was courtesy of our friends at Faux Wood Beams a fantastic source that you can find online. The really unique element of the design was the decision to scallop the top pieces of tile to create and almost pediment effect above the mantle.
The furnishings for the room I selected were to be both fresh and modern as well as comfortable for a small family and for watching TV. The vintage church chandelier gave the room an antique effect that is in keeping with the architecture and then the contemporary “spiked” wood console gave the room a modern pop for this young family of artists.
I framed the French doors and the view of the gorgeous new fountain with simple metallic linen drapery panels. The fabric I bought from Calico Corners online and it was both casual and sophisticated, I even sewed them myself. I finished off the room with incredible gilded iron club chairs covered in a faux fur with small selection of well curated accessories (never too many) and a big beautiful arrangement of orchids in a silver bowl.
If you would like to see exactly how you can make yourself an impressive orchid arrangement like mine, checkout NBC.com/AmericanDreamBuilders for my video creating that piece. It’s easy and got all of the pieces I needed at Lowe’s!
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