Makeover Monday: My design tip for HGTV’s Design Star audition

Hi everyone! I have a little news…I auditioned for HGTV’s Design Star. I about fell off my chair, when the casting director emailed me saying that Brian Patrick Flynn of Décor Demon “highly recommended that she reach out to me”. Alrighty then! I was so taken by surprise that I just sat, for about 30 minutes, on the very thought of me interviewing for a television show (on the network that I’m obsessed with) and never miss an episode. Really? Me? After coming to the realization that, yes, I’m qualified and yes, I can do this, I responded with a YES!, I’d love to come meet you for a one on one interview!

For my audition, I had to prepare a 5 minute demonstration of an interior design tip. Something that my first design professor told me is that, Mother Nature is never wrong and that inspiration can always be found in nature. So I headed outdoors! My design concept for my demonstration is bringing the outdoors in while adding a touch of glamour. I won’t go on and on about how to actually do this throughout your home, but I do want to share with you a project that I created that aided in demonstrating my concept to the casting panel.

I started with a $10 piece of art that I found at a local thrift store, branches from a park across the street from my home and 2 cans of spray paint.

After collecting my twigs, I wiped them down and laid them out to see which ones I wanted to use. Mr. Minx really loved this part.

I then popped out the beach scene and the coordinating mat. Good bye tree, hello twigs!

I wiped down the frame, and sprayed a coat of grey primer on both sides, front and back.

I let the primer dry, then sprayed 2 coats of Metallic Aluminum.

After the paint dried, I flipped over the frame and stapled the branches to the backside.

Voila!

An original piece of artwork that took an afternoon and less than $20 to create!

The juxtaposition of the traditional frame against the organic curvature and brown colors of the branches, creates contrast, form, texture and a visually appealing pattern. This could be the perfect focal point on top of your mantle or on a wall in your room

I had to do a little shopping as well, since I wanted to look good for my interview. I’m normally a TJ Maxx kind of girl, but for this special occasion, I made an exception and headed to Nordstrom, where I found these beauties:

I love my new Paige Skye dress! I paired them with the camel wedges on the left. LOVE!