Elbow Room Premiere Time!!!

Many of you already know, but for those of you who don't, for the last six or so months I have been working on a show for a little network called HGTV!!!  This past year has been one amazing journey after another.  Not only was my son, Chase, born almost a year ago, but three weeks later I auditioned for and won a spot as co-host and design coordinator of a new project that was being pitched to HGTV.  Within weeks filming began for the pilot of "Elbow Room" with host Chip Wade.  In October, we found out that we were green-lit for the first season of "Elbow Room" and the rest is history. 

With one extra-long week to go, we are coming to the close of our first season.  Thirteen episodes in, I am so excited to have been a part of this show.  My limits as a designer have been pushed to the most amazing sides of extreme.  I've worked on projects that I never dreamed of working on, and I've met so many amazing people along the way.  My fingers are crossed and we are anxiously waiting for confirmation of a second season.

Please set your DVRs and tune in for "Elbow Room" on HGTV, premiering this Saturday, May 12th at 1 pm EST.  We are also on Facebook and Twitter.  Make sure you check us out.

Thanks for all your support!

xoxo, Cristi

LiveJournal Tags: Elbow Room,HGTV,Chip Wade

JCP

I was kindof surprised to see this slipcovered sofa on JCP’s website.  I think it’s safe to say that JCP is stepping up their game.

Looks pretty darn good, right?  And what about the price? $900.  You can’t beat that.  I’m not sure about the quality because the reviews are mixed, but if you have a room that you won’t be using much this sofa would probably be great. 

And look at this mercury lamp. 

At $65 it’s a fraction of the cost of this lamp from Pottery Barn.

As far as window treatments go, JCPenney has long been one of my main hardware resources.  It might surprise you that a designer would buy window treatment hardware from JCP.  When it comes to basic, no frills hardware at a low cost though, they can’t be beat.  One of my favorite rods is the Studio ceiling mount rod.  I love it because you can mount it to the ceiling or the wall.

The thin profile is perfect.  Here’s an example from a project that I did a couple of years ago.

Hopefully Penney’s will continue to step it up in the future.  I’m liking this new branding direction.

LiveJournal Tags: JCPenney,JCP,mercury lamp,slipcovered sofa,window treatment hardware

Kid’s ARt Idea

I was flipping through the pages of my West Elm catalog over the weekend and saw the most adorable novelty Easter plates.  I immediately thought “how cute would these be hanging in a kid’s room!”

My nursery is already designed, but hopefully one of you can use these in your child’s room or even a bathroom.  They are on sale right now for $6 a piece.  You can’t beat that.

And it would be even more adorable if you bought some of these hanging vases from cb2, hung them mixed in with the plates and filled them with jelly beans.

Happy Monday y’all!

p.s. – if any of you happen to do this please send me pictures.

LiveJournal Tags: West Elm,cb2

High Style High Rise

It’s not very often that you can see the designs of six major Atlanta designers all in one building, but Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles is making this possible.  AH&L is sponsoring High Style High Rise, a tour of six superbly designed homes at The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown, which benefits the High Museum of Art running from March 8th through April 1st.  Each featured designer is paired with a local retailer.  The pairings include Michel Boyd for Bradley Hughes, Amy D. Morris for The Mercantile, Bill Peace for Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Barbara Westbrook for Room & Board, Kerry Howard for Redefined Home Boutique and Susan Ferrier for R Hughes Showroom. 

See and hear Barbara Westbrook, one of the designers, in the video below as she talks about how she gets started with designing a space.

You can attend a VIP preview event for the newly designed residences March 8th from 6pm to 9pm and enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres all benefiting the High.  Tickets for Thursday night’s event are $100 and are available online HERE or RSVP to atlantahomesmag@gmail.com to pay at the door.  After Thursday’s VIP preview event you will be able to tour these show homes for $20 per person through April 1st.

LiveJournal Tags: atlanta homes and lifestyles,high style high rise,The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown

Press

I think every designer has hopes of seeing their work in print one day.  I’m so excited because Cottages & Bungalows and the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Homefinder both featured my work this month.

Cottages & Bungalows magazine featured a guest bedroom from a house I designed in Dallas, Texas in their “Inspiring Bedrooms” article.

[Cottages & Bungalows]

An office and bar area that I designed in the same Dallas home was featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Homefinder along with a children’s room that I designed locally.  Also featured in the article were designers Christiane Lemieux, founder and creative director of DwellStudio, and Carter Kay, owner of Carter Kay Interiors.

[AJC]

A big thank you to Cottages & Bungalows and AJC Homefinder for including me in these issues!

LiveJournal Tags: Atlanta Journal Constitution,AJC Homefinder Cottages and Bungalows,Christian Lemieux,Dwell Studio,Carter Kay

HGTV’s Elbow Room

Wow, has it really been almost two months since I’ve written a blog?!?!?!  I guess it has.  There has been so much going on and it’s been so hard keeping up with my blog. 

The main thing that is taking up all of my time is the new HGTV show that I am working on!!  We started filming at the beginning of December and have been going non-stop.  HGTV finally put out a press release this week so I can actually talk about it.  The new show is called Elbow Room and is set to premier on HGTV in May.  Chip Wade, previously a contractor on Curb Appeal: The Block, is the new Host and Designer on the show.  I’m assisting Chip as Design Coordinator.  My main responsibility is styling the renovated homes.  A lot of my work is behind the scenes but I get some camera time too.  It’s all very exciting. 

Here’s a description of the show from an article on Bizjournals.com...

We have filmed 5 episodes so far and have 8 more to go.  It has been so much fun getting a behind the scenes look into how an HGTV show is created.  My mom came down to visit and described it so perfectly.  She said “it’s like a Nascar race…when you watch a race on tv you know that the cars are going fast and you know it’s really loud.  But, watching it on TV is nothing compared to being at the real race and seeing the cars in action.”  At any moment there could be 30 people on the set going a million miles an hour and each doing a different task.  When the cameras start rolling though, the only ones in the scene are Chip and the homeowners.  It’s really fascinating.  I’m so lucky to be a part of it all.

I’ll make sure to post updates about the show as I have them.  I’m looking forward to the show’s premier in May of this year.  Thanks to all my readers for sticking around during my lack of blogging.  You guys are the best!  xoxo, Cristi

LiveJournal Tags: HGTV,Elbow Room,Chip Wade

Attic Inspiration

We all have that space in our home that we wonder what to do with.  For some it’s a guest bedroom, for some it’s a basement and for some it’s an attic.  Well, get out your pen and paper because you definitely need to take some notes on this space. 

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

Believe it or not this stunning attic space used to look like this…

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

The plain white attic was in a charming 1940’s home on the East side of Atlanta.  The owner of the home, interiors photographer Christina Wedge, was looking to spruce up the empty space.  Designer and stylist Alexandra Hernandez stepped in, worked her magic and completely transformed the space into a luxurious retreat with high style on a small budget.  It worked out great for Alexandra in the end because she was actually able to rent the attic space.

[photo credits – Christina Wedge]

Alexandra is currently working with me on the new show for HGTV [details to come soon!] and she’s incredibly talented.  I was blown away when I saw the pictures of her attic abode in an article that Brian Patrick Flynn wrote for HGTVremodels.com.  I knew you all would be blown away too so I just had to share!

To add some interest to the plain Jane window wall Alex came up with a pretty clever and inexpensive solution.  She covered the entire wall with inexpensive burlap wrapped and secured around small pieces of foam.  She also covered her headboard with the same burlap. 

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

A great way to save pennies while decorating a space is buying flea market finds and freshening them up.  For the one of a kind storage below Alex purchased a $10 thrift store chest.  She gave it a fresh coat of paint and purchased decorative pulls from Anthropologie. 

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

I love how she layered old frames on top of the mirror.  The rustic wood gives the space such a comfortable feeling.  Laying the mirror and frames on the floor is a subtle reminder that the space is still an attic.

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

Since there is very little storage space in the room Alex’s Expidit shelf unit from IKEA doubles as extra clothes storage.

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

[photo credit – Christina Wedge]

If you have been stumped on what to do with your extra undecorated space hopefully this space gave you a little inspiration. 

LiveJournal Tags: HGTVremodels.com,Brian Patrick Flynn,Attic,IKEA,Burlap