quote of the day...

“as far as i’m concerned, either you have the confidence to like what’s good, or you don’t. either you know who you are, or you’re lost."

~nathaniel krame

ss review: loads of layers vs. less is more

episode 1 of showhouse showdown did not disappoint! 

i may or may not have watched it a total of three times already... thank you dvr!

alexandria designer shazalynn cavin-winfrey took on washington, d.c. designer eric kole

shazalynn was without a doubt my choice for the winner and thankfully the people of d.c. voted accordingly! while i cannot give anything away...  let's just say we have a lot in common in terms of the choices we made! kudos to you, shazalynn... you kicked ass!  the mixture of color, pattern, and texture in combination with the attention to functionality created a livable and sophisticated space for the ideal suburban family!

eric also did a fantastic job, but i thought he played it safe and lacked a wow factor in the majority of his rooms. he also neglected to design for his target market... a suburban family! while i can appreciate his attention to the spatial relationships throughout the house and a simple approach to design i am a firm believer that less is never more, more is more!

dining room

rec room

master bedroom

living room

family room

kitchen

make sure to tune in every monday on hgtv @ 9:00 est.

and remember: my episode airs on october 24th at 9:00 est.

i'm back...

and with exciting news!

those of you who know me well know i live my life as an open book... so to say it has been a challenge not sharing this news is an understatement!  i took a hiatus from blogging this summer because i was cast on a new hgtv show called showhouse showdown!  the second i received the news i was chosen it was undoubtedly the first time in my life i was rendered speechless... of course my silence quickly wore off and my tears were uncontrollable!  at the time i remember thinking "this is a chance to make my family proud and an opportunity to show who i am as a designer."  with the house completed and the show wrapped, i am happy to report i was not only able to make them proud, but i too am proud of what i accomplished and anxious for the world to see!

in the words of hgtv... 

showhouse showdown is a competition between two professional interior designers who take over two newly-built and identical homes or townhomes with identical budgets to create a winning interior design. at the end of each episode one designer is voted the winner by members of the public who represent the developer’s target market.

although the show has wrapped and life is back to normal i still cannot believe i was lucky enough to have been chosen for such an amazing opportunity... at the ripe age of 26 i am the youngest designer featured on the show! my experience on the show was humbling, surreal, and life changing to say the least... i was fortunate enough to meet and work with an amazing group of people! once my episode airs on october 24th i will post the mother of all posts chronicling my experience and thanking all those involved! in the meantime check out a first glimpse here and here and be sure to tune in for the first episode on hgtv tonight after the design star finale at 10:00! the show will take over the prime time slot on mondays at 9:00 with my episode airing on october 24th!

me with the host of the show and former bachelor, bob guiney :)

he was absolutely amazing to work with... charming, funny and unbelievably kind!

i will be sharing my thoughts on each episode after the show airs so be sure to check back for my reviews :)