BRITANY SIMON DESIGN

HOME TIPS & TRICKS ON GOOD MORNING ARIZONA

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:10:00 +0000

The TV interviews continue this week (and I couldn't be happier about that). I had the opportunity to meet with the fabulous Kaley O'Kelley on Good Morning Arizona 3TV this morning to talk about Design Star (of course) and also give some of my favorite inexpensive design tips & tricks from the show. Check it out...

Check out the full story & video on www.azfamily.com
http://www.azfamily.com/video/yahoo-video/Design-Star-runner-up-shares-budget-friendly-design-secrets-on-Good-Morning-Arizona-164781706.html

ABC 15 Sonoran Living Live

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 23:32:00 +0000

This week I have been busy busy busy with the press & media here in Arizona after the finale of HGTV Design Star. I want to first thank all of you that have been keeping up with me and reading my blog along my journey on DS. I also know many of you don't live in Arizona and aren't able to tune into watch some of the TV interviews I have done this week, so I promised to update the blog with links to watch them from anywhere! Here is my interview from Wednesday on ABC 15 Sonoran Living... we chatted about my experience on Design Star as well as a fun DIY project on how to make your own stylish pin board.

HGTV DESIGN STAR FINALE RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:39:00 +0000

I was happy to be sharing this whole experience with Danielle. We made friends very early in the competition when we both discovered we had lost our Mother's to cancer. After getting to know each other better, we also realized that our Mom's were the driving force for both of us to get into the design field. I lost my Mom last August, and Danielle lost her Mom only a few months prior to the taping of the show. I was always amazed by her strength for being able to handle that and the competition at the same time. That being said, we were two tough chicks that have been through a lot in life, and it was going to make this final competition even harder...

FINAL TWO! Danielle and I

Right after being named the final 2 from the yurt challenge evaluation, we were told that there was more that we needed to stick around for. We had no idea what was going on, because typically after evaluation, we load up in the van and head home. We both assumed we were probably going to be headed right into the final evaluation and a new Design Star finale twist. We walked into the designer lounge to see David ready and waiting for us. We were so excited to hear that our past competitors were coming back to help us, because lets be real, we needed it. We were told that we had three days to makeover a real homeowners living and dining space, as well as film our pilot presentations for our show concept. That is A LOT to handle in only three days. When Rachel, Mikel, Stanley, and Hilari walked through the door, I was so happy. We were able to pick our teams, and I quickly picked Rachel & Mikel, and Danielle selected Hilari and Stanley.

Luckily we didn't have to jump right into a challenge, but we did get to sit down with our producers and our team to discuss our plan for the pilots. My show concept was "Picture Perfect Spaces"...when we got to the final four of the competition, all of us had meetings with the main producers of the show to discuss our show concept ideas. From that meeting they had come up with what they thought the best concept for us as well as the name of our shows. I knew I wanted to incorporate photography in my show idea in a way to make the space more personal and show a new and fun dynamic to the homeowner interaction. My show wouldn't always be baseed around me taking photos of the homeowners, but also photos of whatever inspires my clients and myself through the design process... people, architecture, nature, etc. I would then incorporate photography relating these inspirations to the space. For this pilot in particular, the producers wanted me to photograph the family and incorporate those photos in the space.

Meeting with my producer Matt before meeting the family

Meeting my family Song, Mark & Luke

Picture Perfect Spaces

I was excited to meet with the family I was working with and to get started. I only had 10 minutes to meet with the homeowners to get a sense of their style and vision for the space. Most importantly they wanted an updated adult space, and it was clear their son's toys had taken over. They let me know that they wanted all of the toys gone, and to not worry about any sort of toy storage in the space. This was a space just for the grown up to hang out in. They wanted their space to feel chic and they specifically requested beefier baseboards and molding to accent the architecture of the home. They also let me know that they wanted fun and bold artwork in the space too. I was getting more and more excited to get going. With such little time to meet with the clients I did some digging and analyzing of the their current space after they left. The rug they had in the dining room was bold and graphic and that let me know they would be comfortable with patterns. They had a small framed piece of grasscloth on the wall as art, and that inspired me to use patterned grasscloth somehow in their dining space. I also found small orange accessories in one of the boxes that was packed up, and that let me know that they were comfortable with that shade of orange, which inspired my pops of the color for the overall design.

Living Room BEFORE

Dining Room AKA Luke's Room BEFORE

Filming the "beats" (aka design tips and clips) for the pilot were so much fun. It was a totally different dynamic filming talking segments to the camera without David and his stopwatch timing me. I was able to relax and really enjoy the experience of hosting. Filming all of the segments that make up a five minute pilot were really really time consuming which left little time for actually designing the space. I was able to come up with a main design concept and luckily I had Rachel and Mikel to source items for me. I was so thankful to have them on my team.

My fabulous design team... Mikel & Rachel

Working with the dream team

Right away I knew I wanted to add wainscoting to the living and dining rooms to tie the two spaces together. The homeowners requested 'beefier moldings' and I wanted take that to the next level. It would not only accent the architecture of the house, but also bring in a modern graphic element. I also wanted to add a printed grasscloth to the dining room to add texture and drama and a nod to their artwork I had found earlier. It would also help tie in the rug pattern and the color of their existing stone fireplace from the family room. The artwork I found was bold and a contemporary twist to traditional art. It would be the wow moment as soon as you walked in. My most exciting moment was when I found the amazing hand painted bowl that you can see on the coffee table while I was shopping. It was that 'it' piece that helped me inspire the rest of the room's colors and theme around. In my pilot I talked about how a great find like this can lead you in a great design direction, but unfortunately it was edited out of the final cut.

The orange and black and white hand painted bowl that inspired my design for the space

Living Room AFTER

Living Room "moment" and me setting up the Dining Room

Dining space AFTER

Living Room AFTER

One of the art pieces OBSESSED

Mixing of prints & textures

Custom shoe storage

The photo shoot with the homeowners was so fun... we actually only had 15 minutes to shoot the photos because they had to go to work. But I was excited to be able to capture their photos and use them to make the space more personal. I have always loved taking photos of children, and trust me, it is incredible what great pictures you can get out of candy or donut bribes. The photos turned out great, and I printed them in black in white in order to allow them to work well with the other bold artwork I had throughout the space. In the end the homeowners loved the space, and were thrilled to finally have the space they would be proud to invite their friends over to and entertain in.

Homeowner Reveal

My photography of the family on the printed grasscloth wallpaper

Me in my final dining space

I walked away feeling confident in my final design for the family as well as my pilot presentation. I felt so thankful to have made it through the entire competition without any regrets, and was genuinely proud of every space that I designed. I had a strong showing throughout, never being at risk for elimination, and with two wins under my belt, I was walking into the final evaluation with my head held high.

Danielle and I toasting to our finished spaces

I was sure that Danielle also did well in her final challenge and with her pilot presentation, so I was soooo nervous going into evaluation. I took a moment to say a prayer before we went in.... I prayed to God and my Mother, and asked them to take away my anxiety and that I would trust in their plan for me. If I didn't win this competition, I would trust that it wasn't meant to be, and that God had a bigger plan for me.

Evaluation

After Danielle was named the next Design Star I was absolutely devastated. But I continued to remind myself of my prayer, and that I would continue to trust in Gods plan. Everything happens for a reason and I know there are big things ahead for me. At the evaluation, I had told Genevieve, Vern & David that if I didn't win, I would continue to work towards my dream of having my own design show, and promised it wouldn't be the last they saw of me. They came up to me afterwards to remind me of my promise and really encouraged me to continue to follow my dream. I am so thankful for the experience, and know in my heart this isn't the end for me. I will continue to do what I love...designing fabulous spaces for my clients, and will continue to work towards my dream of being back in front of that camera again!

The newest Design Star Danielle with judges David, Genevieve, and Vern

Thank you all for your support, and the Fan Favorite voting is still open until Friday. Please continue to cast your votes for me... and if I win, I will be back in front of that camera for hgtv.com http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote-thanks/package/index.html?cid=3507

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 8 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:40:00 +0000

FINAL THREE! I couldn't believe it. I was so excited to be left in the house with Hilari & Danielle. We had all become great friends, and all of us were actually still sharing a one room together in that huge house! We were anticipated a very 'creative' challenge to be placed on us for this one, and we spent the morning reminiscing about glass houses, and tiny house challenges. We had a feeling HGTV was going to be mixing it up on this one.

Heading to the challenge in the fan we pulled into the park near our house... not surprising. We had a feeling it was going to be in some sort of public setting. But then they blindfolded us, and things took a different direction. If you want to really want to freak someone out, take 3 A type personalities...keep a huge secret from them, put them in the final three of a major challenge, and then blindfold them so they have NO idea whats going on. It was actually pretty hilarious, and the three of us were in a great mood kicking this challenge off.

The final 3 of us with David

We removed our blindfolds and were directed to walk torwards David. I immediately saw these three round tent/structure looking things, and my first thought was, "oh my god, is this a yurt?" The crew actually thought it was pretty funny that me of all people knew what it was. My design manager from my job back at home is a bit of a hippy, and she would often talk about quitting her job, selling all of her belongings, and living in a yurt... down by the river. Maybe not down by the river, but I had to add that in there. In any case, she would tell me stories about these things, and how she actually has friends that live in one. I was kicking myself for not 'googling' these crazy yurts she would talk about, because I had a feeling I could have used the research.

The 'fantasy' yurt before... not so dreamy...

Our sneaking suspicion was true... we were in fact design yurts. Oh boy. Where are the tiny houses? Bring back the glass house challenge! A round, non-permanent structure with no real walls, kind of sounds like a designers nightmare. Okay, it is. We were asked to design a 'fantasy bedroom yurt' in our space... I laughed because to me, using fantasy and yurt in the same sentence was a bit of an oxymoron. This coming from someone who has never camped in her life, I wouldn't consider myself an outdoorsy kind of gal. I was having a hard time imagining why someone would choose to live in one of these, let alone consider it a 'fantasy'. I was going to need really dig deep on this to come up with something good.

Team BROWN yurt

I sat in the center of my yurt for what felt like forever looking around this crazy round structure and what the heck I was going to do. I wanted to prove to the judges that I was able to design in many different styles and this was definitely the way to do it. I felt a little pigeon holed in past challenges being that the Kris Jenner Office challenge and the Hollywood Regency Lounge challenge were both similar to my style but they weren't challenges & styles I actually chose myself, they were given to me. Yet, I was told I used the same style too often....I felt I had to defend my design abilities because of this. I was confident in the fact that I shown a range in style when I could and was planning on showing them something new on this one too. I wasn't going to make a 'glam chic', 'hollywood regency', or 'modern industrical' yurt. I decided upon a mid century beach bungalow... yurt. The only place I could see myself living or vacationing in a yurt was on a tropical beach somewhere fabulous. So that is where my inspiration came from, a more masculine, beach bungalow with some mid century flavor. The three of us were all assigned carpenters for the job and I had the fabulous Joel West from Design on a Dime. He was pumped to help me and was determined to do whatever it took to keep me in the competition. We were going to create something inventive to enhance the round shape of the space. A bed on castors that would rotate with the space to enjoy different views, serve as hidden storage in the back, with functional nightstands & desk space build it... it was going to be the ultimate furniture piece for this yurt.

Joel & I discussing the design plan...

Using teal fabrics to bring color to the space & draw your eye up to the statement chandalier

I remember coming back at the end of day one, and Joel had been busting his butt working on the bed. The yurt smelled like a coffee bean and I noticed a stack of 5 or 6 empty grande coffee cups stacked on top of one another. Joel wasn't messing around, he was hoppin himself up on coffee in order to get this bed made, no matter what. I appreciated his intensity, and was so happy to have him as a partner in this challenge. Casey Noble, host of Design on a Dime (from season 5 of Design Star) lit a fire under his butt and warned him not to screw anything up for me. But I wasn't worried about Joel, I could tell he took on this challenge as if it was his own. He gave me some really great tips when it comes to hosting and we were ready for our partner camera challenge together.

On the morning of day two, we got a chance to tour all the yurts, and I was excited to see the progress of Danielle & Hilari's yurts. It was clear that all of our yurts were VERY different from one another. Giving the girls a tour of mine, I didn't want to let them know my bed was on castors and rotated in the space. Like I said in the show, "I didn't want to show all my tricks." I just didn't want them to know what I was up to in my yurt. From a competition standpoint I wanted it to be a surprise factor in my space. I mean, you can't give away all your secrets can you!?! Hilari's was heading in a really beautiful direction, and Danielle's looked to be moving in a more contemporary space. It was hard to tell at that point where we all stood in the competition.

Things were going yurt-astic in the challenge by the second day, and I felt confident in the direction my yurt was going. Ideally, I would have changed a couple things in the space. I wanted a cleaner wood look for my bed with maple or birch wood, but Joel had picked up more of an oak veneer at the store and was far more grainy than I had hoped. But sometimes you just have to work with what you've got! I had also hoped the bed would be stained in a much darker color, but with our limited time frame, we didn't have the proper time to layer the stain like we needed to for the optimal finish. In the end I still loved the yurt, and could totally envision myself trying out the whole 'outdoorsy thing' and sleeping in it on a beautiful beach somewhere. At the end of the challenge it was time for our 'MTV Cribs' style camera challenge touring our yurt spaces. I got a chance to peek into Hilari & Danielles final spaces and seeing them all finished made it even clearer how different we all are as designers. Again, I headed into evaluation not knowing where we all stood in the competition. I was confident that I designed the yurt the best that I could, and had come to terms that if it was my time to go, I would leave with my head held high.

Mid Century Beach Bungalow... yurt.

This bed spins, damn you still photography.

Seating area

I love this light fixture. It spoke to me, it said, please... put me in your yurt.

Heading into evaluation, I was anxious as always to hear what Vern & Genevieve were going to say. Mark Steines from Entertainment Tonight was also our guest judge, and I knew he was going to bring some interesting feedback from a hosting standpoint. I was also glad it was a male guest judge, because I thought a man would probably appreciate the industrial & inventive idea with the rotating bed... I hoped.

The judges... Mark Steines, Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder, David Bromstad

The critiques were pretty fair for all of us, but Vern wasn't keen on my photography for yurt. I got 'Yipped' as we like to say. He suggested I had taken more abstract photos or close up pictures of bark. I didn't really agree... I took the photos because the space needed more color & interest, and photos of bark would have been a real bummer in a mainly brown space. But again, if that was the worst critique I was okay with agreeing to disagree and moving forward!

My photography... Vern suggested close up photos of bark insead... no, Vern, no.

In the end the judges sent Hilari home. I was actually pretty surprised. Her yurt was absolutely stunning, but I did agree with them about the lack of design tips and content in her camera challenge. I love Hilari, and think she is one of the funniest people I have ever met. I know she is going places, and this will not be the end for Hilari on TV. We didn't have to wait long...(today HGTV officially announced her as part of the cast of Design Star All Stars airing after the finale of Design Star). Kick butt Hilari... makde DS7 proud!

Hilari's 'Flirt Yurt'

Danielle's Global Contemporary Yurt

It's official, I made it into the FINAL TWO!!! Danielle and I are the last two standing in the quest for HGTV's next Design Star. Next week we will be working with real clients and also filming our pilots for our potential show on the network. It is definitely going to be a finale you will not want to miss!

As always thank you for all your support, and keep up the online voting for me as your Fan Favorite!!! http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote-thanks/package/index.html?cid=3507

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 7 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 23:21:00 +0000

We made it to challenge number 7, otherwise known as episode 707 (season 7 episode 7) from a production standpoint. We have officially been away from home and our 'normal' lives for a month now. Not only have we been void of television, music, internet, magazines, cell phones... I have only been able to talk with my husband 4 times (limited to 15 minutes a session) since I left. He has NO idea how I have been doing on the show, because we are unable to discuss details of the compeition with anyone. I have attempted to speak in 'code' to him over the phone by saying things like... "I'm good... Im STILL hereeeee, soooooo, yeah." We should have probably come up with code words before I left so I could give him a little more insight to how things were going. On top of that, this challenge was happening around Valentine's Day, which definitely made me miss home that much more.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 7 Cast (Britany Simon, Hilari Younger-Powell, David Bromstad, Danielle Colding, Mikel Welch

Not only are we missing home, but let me tell you, coming up with new and fabulous designs day after day without ANY sort of inspiration at all from tv, internet, or magazines was getting harder and harder. It's almost as if we'd been drained of our design ideas, and just needed a little pick me up with a peek of HGTV Mag, or Elle Decor for God's sake... SOMETHING stimulating.

Enough of the negativity... on a more positive side, I was beyond excited to still be in the competition. We were down to the FINAL FOUR designers. I had put my blood, sweat, and tears into these challenges, and the longer I stayed, the more and more I wanted to win. Not only did I want to win because, lets be real, this is any designers dream job, but I really did want to make my husband and my family proud. I had touched on my Mothers passing in my first recap, but I had made a promise to my Mom the day that she passed away... I promised her I would live my life in a way that would make her proud. And that is exactly what I intended to do coming on the show. I know she would be so proud of me and how far I have come, and even if I didn't win, I wanted to walk away from this experience being feeling proud of my designs and the way I carried myself on the show. And I know she was watching over me from Heaven with a smile beaming as bright as the sun.

Finding out we were designing condos inspired by a color seemed like a fairly easy challenge. Finding out we were presenting a tip incorporating this color Live on CBS The Talk, and doing all of it in just two days make it a little more interesting. The condo unit was a fairly large space... and by large, I mean that Hilari described the main living room wall as 'The Great Wall of Marina Del Rey.' No kidding. We were to design, decorate and style the dining, living, and nook space incorporating our color and using our specific design point of view. The colors were picked randomly and Mikel selected green, Danielle had blue, Hilari was red, and I got yellow. Yellow happens to be my favorite color, but it put me at a disadvantage being that Danielle and I had just used pops of yellow in our previous kitchen challenge. I had to go out of my way to incorporate it in a sense that felt different from the last. (No one trick ponies up in here)

Colorful Condo Space BEFORE

Literally walking into the space, we had 10 minutes to pick a paint color. Say whaaaaaaat?! Every designer knows that the paint color is certainly not the first decision you make when designing a space, and certainly need more than 10 minutes to do it. Let's just say, this was a struggle for all of us. I had no idea what I was going to be able to find while out shopping, so my plan was to pick a color that would help any yellow accents I chose POP in the space. And I prayed I would find a sofa in a color that wouldn't fight with it. I chose Dunn Edwards Mythical Blue, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Out shopping for this challenge was the tightest time crunch yet in the competition. We were required to find and purchase all of the elements for our camera challenge for The Talk on the first day, and being that this was our only full day to shop, we sure as heck needed to find most of our key furniture pieces too. You never, EVER want to get stuck out shopping the last day of the challenge because in LA a 'quick' shopping trip could turn into a 5 hour stint... inevitably leaving you with an unfinished space by the end of the challenge. No bueno. Mikel & Danielle were required to shop together in a van, and Hilari and I were in the other. I wished they would have shown more of us out shopping. (Truthfully, I'm pretty bummed about the way HGTV has edited me and my personality, I'm actually a little bored even watching myself, I promise I am NOT that serious all the time, and I assure you, I am MUCH more fun than what they show) Hilari and I had so much fun together... we never let the competition get in the way of our friendship and we enjoyed our crazy shopping trips together. We ended up at the flower market in downtown LA on Valentines Day. It was pure chaos, and after we purchased our flowers, Hilari & I and the camera man barely fit into our van. Let's just say its insane how many flowers you can buy for $200 at wholesale prices. I think we might have tried to make up for not actually celebrating Valentines Day by overbuying flowers for our spaces.

The last day of the challenge I began to panic at the amount of work that still needed to be done. I pride myself in great time management, and I was starting to feel like I severely mismanaged something somewhere along the way. Towards the end of the day, it was clear the amazing mirrors and artwork I had purchased for the walls weren't going to be hung, and fine tuning my accessories wasn't going to happen either. We were in individual condos so we couldn't see eachother's spaces, and as far as I knew, I was the only one that hadn't finished my space the way I had intended to. I cried when time was called at the end of the challenge because I thought I was at risk for going home, and after coming so far, I wasn't ready to give up on my dream yet.

Britany Simon Colorful Condo- AFTER

Britany Simon Colorful Condo- AFTER (Wishing they had a shot of my 'nook' area... I carried the graphic into that space to tie the two areas together, it was actually a pretty darn cute little reading nook)

Britany Simon Colorful Condo- AFTER

Getting into the cast van at the end of the day, it was clear we all felt very defeated. Danielle was visibly upset on the drive home, and Mikel barely said one word. I was fearful for evaluation, but also anxious to see what I was up against this week. We still had our tips on The Talk for our camera challenge, and as always I was going to need to bring my A game.

Me on Talkin' on CBS The Talk

Driving to The Talk the next day, we were all SO excited. It was strange that we all weren't very nervous to be talking in front of a live studio audience and recording our tips live on national television. I guess its because we were so used to being in front of a camera and a large production crew everyday. And maybe it was because we were all such good friends, and excited to be experiencing it together. We got to have our hair and make-up 'touched up' before the show, and it was so much fun to get a little taste of what it might be light if we won our own show at the end of this. My favorite part was hanging out with David in the green room and on set before we went on air. He is has such a fun and magnetic personality, and exudes this amazing energy whenever he is around. He let us know that performing on national television and in front of a live audience is like 'the best drug you will every have'... and he was right. With the music blaring and the energy of the crowd in the studio, it was by far the most fun I have had on the show so far. It was an unbelievable experience, and I will remember it forever.

Design Star Episode 7 Cast & Judges (Guest Judge Meg Caswell)

Heading into evaluation I had NO idea what to expect. I only knew what my final space looked like, and after watching everyone's performance on The Talk, I couldn't figure out how they would choose a winner or a loser based on them. Finally seeing Danielle, Mikel & Hilari's spaces did put me a bit at ease because it was obvious no one else finished their spaces how they had hoped to either. I was however a bit frustrated with critique from the judges. They asked us to design the spaces using OUR design point of view, which mine is bold and graphic, and they gave me a hard time about not showing enough of a range in design styles. I disagreed with them being that I have shown not just bold and graphic, but designed an outdoor space, a hollywood regency lounge, and an eclectic industrial kitchen as well. They also didn't think I smiled enough in my camera challenge which I thought was kind of silly, but if that was their worst critique I was happy to take it.

Screenshot of me at Evaluation (Winner winner chicken dinner)

I believed Hilari & I were both up for the win, but at the end they declared me as the WINNER. I was soooo surprised. I had gone from being genuinely nervous about possibly going home, to walking away the winner of the challenge and officially in the final three of the competition. Mikel & Danielle did not receive well reviews at evaluation, and in the end they decided to eliminate Mikel from the competition. I was going to miss my 'Mary Poppins' in the house... we had both come so far from our very first challenge together at the house. It was official, a woman was going to win this year's Design Star. It is between Danielle, Hilari and I for the win, and I was determined to show a new side of me and my design skills in the next challenge.

Hilari's Colorful Condo- RED

Danielle's Colorful Condo- BLUE

Mikel's Colorful Condo- GREEN (Eliminated this week)

Tune in next week to watch us design 'Fantasy Yurt's' (and yes, you'll have to watch to find out what a Yurt is) with guest judge Mark Steines from Entertainment Tonight. Also don't forget to vote for me as your Fan Favorite at http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote/package/index.html?soc=share

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 6 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 17:38:00 +0000

I knew the kitchen challenge was coming. Besides the iconic White Room Challenge, in most every design star season there is at some point, a kitchen challenge. Many fear it, few excel at it, and some have fallen hard from it. And I knew I had the potential to come out on top. I have been so close to a win the last few weeks, I knew it was a place where I could shine.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 6 Cast- Rachel Kate, Mikel Welch, Hilari Younger-Powell, Sara Peterson, David Bromstad, Stanley Palmieri, Britany Simon, Danielle Colding

The first morning of our new challenge we all discussed the possibilities for what HGTV had in store for us next. You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy ideas we all had… Mikel was mostly concerned about his loafers, and as usual, wondering if he had chosen the correct footwear for the day. We did know that with 6 remaining, it was most likely going to be another team challenge. As we pulled up to the studio and saw cabinet, countertop and flooring trucks, we were sure it was going to involve the kitchen. I looked around the van, and it was clear Danielle and I were the most excited about it.

Episode 6- Kitchen Design BEFORE

We walked into the studio only to see 3 blank white spaces with Kohler boxes sitting in the center of each room, confirming our suspicions. This is also when we find out that the winner of the challenge is going to be published in an upcoming issue of HGTV Magazine. Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!?! This is crazy huge. Being published in a national design magazine is huge platform for any interior designer, and can get your name out to millions of readers. If there was a challenge to win, this was it. Because she won last week, Danielle was able to choose her partner as well as the other two teams. Danielle chose to work with me, and she paired Rachel with Mikel, and Hilari with Stanley. I knew D and I were going to knock this challenge out of the park.

Britany Simon & Danielle Colding-Dynamic Duo

As usual we had about 10 minutes to gather our entire design plan based around our sink & faucet as inspiration for our kitchen. Sara, the editor of HGTV Magazine asked for bold kitchens. I knew I could handle the bold challenge, and my first instinct was to do a kelly green kitchen, being green is such a hot color right now. Danielle wasn’t keen on this idea so we settled on a minty green instead. We did agree upon our cabinet/flooring/countertop choices pretty easily, but as soon as we met with the representatives for these, we realized how limited we really were. We wanted to stagger the cabinets, or at least raise them to 42” uppers, not available. We wanted to herringbone the wood floors, or at least install them on a diagonal, not available. In every kitchen I have designed, I almost ALWAYS do a killer statement making backsplash to add a punch of color, texture & visual interest. We didn’t have the correct resources or the time to do this either… this was a huge letdown, so I settled on bringing in framed art instead. We were 0 for 3 on ways to help our kitchen stand out and feel less ordinary, so we knew we were going to have to make our furniture pieces and accessories for our space really shine on their own.

Danielle & I out shopping at our favorite store- H.D. Buttercup

It wasn’t until the second day of the challenge David let us know two designers were going to be eliminated this week. As if we all weren’t stressed out enough! With only six designers left in the competition, this was going to be a BIG elimination. Not only did I want to win to have the opportunity to be published in HGTV Magazine, but I wanted to win so that I could stay in the competition and be a part of the final four, and two steps closer to potentially winning the competition.

I remember looking around at the other kitchens and checking out Rachel & Mikel’s space. It was country, but I actually loved the bold wallpaper. It made for a really dynamic and bold space. Something the HGTV viewer may not ordinarily do on their own, and that certainly fit the ‘out of the box’ criteria. But I could tell by the look on Rachel’s face, she was worried about it. That made me scared for her…she had become one of my favorite people in the house and I certainly didn’t want to see her go home. I looked over at Hilari & Stanley’s kitchen, and as soon as I saw Stanley installing the hand’s for hardware on their cabinets, I knew there was going to be a problem. It was bold, and yes they asked us to step out of the box… but to quote the Kitchen Cousins, “we said step out of the box, we didn’t say jump off of the cliff.”

I was nervous for all of us. The six of left had all become very close, and none of us wanted to go home, or see anyone else go home either. I knew that it may just come down to the camera challenge for the judges to decide who stays and who goes. I was determined to make sure I implemented all of the feedback from evaluation about my camera challenges and to finish strong, and keep my smile throughout. I wanted to show them that I could not only design a beautiful space, but that I could also handling hosting a show as well.

Britany & Danielle's Eclectic Kitchen AFTER

Weathered Buffet- H.D. Buttercup

Britany's chandalier & Danielle's shelf styling

Britany's backsplash

We all sat outside in a semi-circle as we were called in one by one to do our camera challenges in our kitchens. You could see the anxiety on everyone’s face. We tried to calm our nerves by joking around with one another and giving each other words of encouragement. Really, we had all become like family in this competition. Although each and every one of us equally wanted to win, we all seemed to put that competitiveness to the side and cheer each other on.

As usual, my stomach was in knots walking into evaluation. I have been working so hard for 6 weeks to win a challenge, and I was praying that it was my time. The judges let us know it was unanimous among all of them that Danielle and I were the winners of the challenge. VICTORIOUS. I couldn’t believe it. My first win so far in the competition AND I was going to be published in the October issue of HGTV Magazine. I couldn’t be any happier or more proud of our work.

Britany & Danielle's WINNING kitchen design

For Stanley, his too-far-out-of-the-box hardware selection paired with an overly laid back camera challenge sent him home this week. And apparently the judges didn’t like my buddy Rachel’s literal country translation in her kitchen and she was also eliminated. It was definitely a bittersweet week for Danielle, Hilari, Mikel and I. We had officially made it into the final four of the competition, but we were realizing how hard it had become to say goodbye to our new found Design Star family.

Stanley & Hilari's SUPER BOLD Kitchen- Stanley eliminated this week

Rachel & Mikel's Country Kitchen- Rachel eliminated this week

OMG this is it. I am only three challenges away to potentially winning my very own show on HGTV. I could hardly believe it. I am so proud of everything I have done so far in the design challenges, and hope to continue surprising the judges with my work. I’ve soaked up every critique I have been given so far and have to implement all that I have learned and really step it up, in hopes to bring home the big win.

Tune in next week when we design condo units in Marina Del Ray, with guest judge Meg Caswell, last years winner of Design Star. As always, your vote counts… head to hgtv.com/designstar Fan Vote to vote for me as your favorite design star and help me win my own show on hgtv.com

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 5 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:55:00 +0000

This week on Design Star we had to design individual lounge spaces for Hollywood's 125th Birthday party. Yes, I said individual challenge. Thank. God. I have been pretty fortunate with my partnerships so far on the competition, but it does add to the stress level of the challenge, and I feel you often end up compromising a bit of yourself as a team versus working on your own. These types of individual challenge were exactly the reason why coming on Design Star was so appealing to me. To been given a blank slate that I could do anything to without having to convince a client of my design plans and just roll with my own ideas is a designers dream come true. (Note to future clients... if you just want to give me your budget and tell me to 'go to town' I would be totally cool with that.)

Our lounge spaces needed to be designed to reflect a particular era in Hollywood's design history. We selected our design styles at random, and at first I was beyond excited to have the Hollywood Regency style. It is one of my favorite design styles, and perfect for the theme of this party in particular. After my initial excitement, reality hit me. I picked a style that was certainly in my wheelhouse (no excuses), and it's a Hollywood Regency for a Hollywood party... if I screw this up... I'm definitely going home.

We arrived at a Hollywood prop shop where we were given $ to spend on renting props. This place was enormous... ridiculously enormous. We only had 45 minutes to shop (it said 2 hours, but technically it was 15 minutes to navigate the store, 45 minutes to actually shop, and 1 hour to check out.) On top of that, we were asked to stay in 3 groups because there were only 3 employees that were able to help us tag the items we wanted to rent. WHAAAAAT?!!? You know we all just wanted to run wild throughout that store and call dibs on things all on our own, but no no, not today. I was shopping with Danielle and Rachel, and good thing we all liked each other so we were good with sharing time shopping for each of our rooms. If Luca was still around, this would have been a tragic experience.

At first I thought I was going to have an easy time with Hollywood Regency furniture because the style is so popular right now, but it was exactly the opposite. Because it is so popular, most of the items I found were already tagged for pick up from real customers, or were checked out of the space entirely. I was hoping to shop and find something inspiring to shape the rest of my ideas for the space. Black and white are iconic of the time which was why I immediately chose to do my checkered floor... but pops of red and kelly green were big for my design era too, and I was crossing my fingers to find something that would allow me to add some color in the space. But after shopping in the prop shop, it was clear that just wasn't happening.

After a few more failed attempts at furniture stores to find anything super inspiring, I had arrived into full panic hysteria mode. Danielle, Rachel and I got into a hysterical laughing until we cry fit in the van at the end of day one. I wished they would have shown this, because it was ridiculous. We began to ask ourselves, "who signs up for this?!?! Here's a plywood and pipe structure, please design this immaculately in no time at all. Oh, and please give a presentation about it in front of hundreds of people afterwards. Thanks". Madness. Don't get me wrong, we were all happy to still be in the competition, but as designers, we know these are crazy time, money, and resource constraints we aren't used to, and none of us could have prepared for. In the words of Hilari... "this is so whack."

Outside the competition and at the house, the final seven of us had all become really close. Spending day after day with everyone where there is no tv, internet, music, or magazines, all we do in our time at the house is hang out with each other. We developed nicknames for everyone as well as picked up on everyone's unique and quirky personality traits. We called Kris "honey badger" for his impeccable impression of the popular YouTube video, Mikel was "Mary Poppins" because of his always positive personality and his HGTV bag stocked with snacks. There was "Manly Stanley" for the obvious, Hilari's slogan was "this is whack", and Rachel was known for saying "duuuuude." I was nicknamed "Hollywood", and known for my ever present "whaaaaaaaaaaat!?" comments. (Maybe you will notice these from here on out, trust me they were a good time.) Needless to say, none of us wanted to go home at this point, and it was going to be hard to say goodbye to anyone as well.

The second day of the challenge Danielle and I both had to go shopping for some key furniture pieces we were still missing. I had one shot at the store we chose due to the time constraints and was in 'make it work' mode. Luckily they had everything I needed and we were able to get in and out pretty quickly. We even had time to stop by the florist to pick up flowers for our spaces too, which in our opinions, was an important element to party planning. In the last few hours of the challenge I had done a 180 in my mind. I was starting to see everything come together and was absolutely loving it. I had come from feeling like I could be going home, to realizing I might have a shot at winning the challenge. I finished with time to spare and sat down in my space and started working on my camera challenge. I knew I had a great space, but knew my camera challenge had to be equally solid to win.

My presentation actually went really well. Those silly HGTV producers focused on the very small section where I flubbed on my words for a second, and the ominous music playing made it look much worse than it was. I was really confident with my presentation but know that I do loose my smile or 'sparkle' towards the end and was hoping that didn't happen this week. Overall, I was really pleased with how I did considering the limitations and my lack of experience with public speaking at large intimidating Hollywood parties. We didn't get to stay and mingle at the party afterwards, and we were all really bummed about that. We were aching to get feedback from the guests and have some time in a social setting outside the confines of our cast house. Stanley was most disappointed we weren't able to attend the party, and by disappointed I mean raging mad about the situation. It was like they dangled a carrot in front of him and took it away at the last minute. Poor Stanley, he just wanted to party. To make up for this, we were allowed to listen to music on the way home, and had a dance party in the van all by ourselves which involved a lot of Beyonce and hair swinging.

At evaluation they named Danielle the winner of the competition. When they announced it, I felt as if someone sucker punched me in my stomach. I was so confident in my space and my presentation, and at evaluation there were no real negative critiques from the judges. I felt so dissapointed and helpless at that moment. OMG I wanted to curl and a ball in hide last night when they showed me crying on national television. We eat, sleep, breathe this competition and its all you do and think about, so it's beyond upsetting to continuously feel really confident about your spaces, but find that essentially its still not 'good enough' for a win. I felt I had shown really strong designs so far in the competition along with great reviews at evaluations, I was becoming really confused at what the judges were looking for in order for me to win a challenge. To say I felt defeated was an understatement. I let Danielle know in that moment that my sadness did not mean I didn't think she deserved to win, or that her space wasn't beautiful, because it was. It was me sad with the situation, and she 100% understood that. We have all had expressed our ups and downs at the house with one another, and we know that this isn't something we take personal, its a design competition.

What I WAS excited about though, was that I had officially made it into the final 6 of Design Star! I could hardly believe it. My goal coming onto the show was to not be the first to go home, and then to strive to make it into the final 6. I had reached my first and second goal of the challenge, and now my third was to win it all! I was so happy that Rachel wasn't sent home this week. Her and I had become very close, and I know she was much more talented than the victorian space allowed her to show. I was still very sad to see Kris go, he is such a quirky and fun personality, and always made me laugh. I knew we were all going to miss him, but knew he was going on to do big things in the design world.

Danielle's gorgeous Art Deco Lounge- Tonight's WINNER!

Hilari's 80's Lounge- Single handedly made the 80's cool again

Mikel's Mid Century Contemporary Lounge- Full of his 'white on white' moments

Rachel's Victorian Lounge- I love Rachel, and we both didn't love this room.

Stanley's Futuristic Lounge- Along with his custom phallic coffee table

Kris's 70's Lounge- Eliminated this week... we will miss you Honey Badger!

Tune in next week for the infamous kitchen challenge, where the final 6 work in teams of 2 to transform a white box into a dream kitchen space. The Kitchen Cousins join us as the guest judges, and the winner will be published in an upcoming issue of HGTV Magazine.... HUGE prize for a designer. Also remember to vote online for your FAN FAVORITE of the show...( hint...ME. ) http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote/package/index.html

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 4 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:58:00 +0000

It's challenge number 4 and before we left the house we were told to wear shoes we would want to wear outdoors. So being the investigator I am, I knew this one was probably going to be an outdoor challenge. Let me tell you, I am not a landscape designer by any means. I have what you would call a 'brown thumb' and really don't know anything when it comes to different types of plants, trees, and landscaping in general. So I was sweating big time this morning.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Cast with Host David Bromstad

Arriving to the 'set' we realize the 8 of us are split into 2 houses across the street from each other. Hilari, Mikel, Stanley & I are working with the Mast family, and Danielle, Miera, Rachel & Kris at the Nitzkin home. In each house two designers would work on redesigning the living room and the other two would work on reinventing the outdoor space. These groups were pre determined for us, and right away the producers let us know that Mikel and I could not work together again. Shoot... I could see that one coming. Mikel gave me a quick look as if to say, "Brit, you know I'm not working outdoors with these hands."... or something along those lines. I looked at Stanley and he gave me a reassuring look and let me know he has had three years of landscaping design experience. SOLD. I know what looks great outdoors, just not what the right materials are to use, or how to build it, so Stanley filled in my gaps with those qualities and I we signed up for what I hoped would be a memorable collaboration.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Mast House "Dream Team"- Britany, Hilari, Stanley, Mikel

The purpose of the challenge was to create an environment to bring the outdoors in and the indoors out. So it was really important for our house to work together as a team and really create cohesive spaces. What they didn't show on TV was that each house/team had a lump sum budget, and and it was up to the teams to figure out together how much each space would need. This is the very reason why HGTV doesn't need to 'create' drama for Design Star. Give us designers a very limited time frame to transform a huge space, AND make them divide up and manage money between four designers. Things can go very very wrong. Luckily our team was very much drama free, and we knew that we all had to work well together as a group in order to come out on top in this challenge. After seeing how a bad partnership can derail you and even send you home, like in the case of Luca and Bex from last week, we wanted to end this challenge holding hands and singing kumbaya if we needed to in order to stay in the competition.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode Backyard BEFORE

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard BEFORE

Stanley and I quickly came up with a game plan for our space and addressed the needs of our clients who wanted to get rid of the concrete jungle feel, gain more privacy from their neighbors, and have a great entertaining space. It was really important for me to show the judges what I am capable of as a designer, and surprise them with a space that they wouldn't expect me to do. But I was really worried that building a herringbone privacy fence, a cabana, and laying wood on the patio was taking on too much for our 3 day time frame.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Britany and Stanley

A lot of really funny moments didn't make the cut for this episode. The first being the absolute chaos that was our Target shopping trip. The 8 of us designers had a large sum of money as group to spend at Target, but only 45 minutes to do it in. All of us were running around like crazy people and grabbing anything and everything we thought we could use in our spaces. There was even a scuffle between Stanley and Kris over a BBQ, that I had to quickly squash with a very mature game of paper, rock, scissors. I also wished they would have shown Stanley and I at the nursery. The first day we went shopping for all the greenery that we needed, which really meant I point at a plant I think is cute and Stanley would tell me if it would work or not. Stanley was like a kid in a candy store. He would grab palette after palette of flowers for us to buy with the biggest, most childlike smile I have ever seen. He was officially in his element, and seeing this buff guy in a black beater tank top walking around like a giddy school girl with flats of flowers was hysterical. A not so funny moment however was our handyman. They only showed a glimpse of this issue in the episode, but apparently our handyman was everything but helpful to Stanley and his projects. He made so many bad cuts for the herringbone wall, and Stanley ended up working twice as hard fixing the mistakes the handyman was making. At one point I heard one of the camera men say, "what should I do if Stanley punches the handyman in the face?!" Not good.

When it came to the camera challenges this week, all of us struggled with what project we would use to bring the outdoors in or indoors out in 30 seconds. One night at the house during the competition Hilari was writing her camera challenge and I asked her to read it to me. It was then that she admitted to me her only idea to bring the outdoors in was to 'light a candle in your favorite outdoor scent.' We began to laugh hysterically at what a desperate attempt we were all making for our camera challenges, because we knew we were going to have to come up with something better. Our final tips for the camera challenge were all very lack luster, and last night we texted each other poking fun at all of our not so fabulous ideas.

In the last hour of the challenge Stanley and I realized we might have been in over our heads. All of the producers and camera men on set had gathered around our tiny backyard to watch what they thought might be the demise of Stanley and I in this competition. But we knew we had to finish, and even if we didn't get to finish all the projects we wanted to, we were going to make it look like we had. And luckily with no time to spare, Stanley and I had finished an epic backyard challenge. I was so proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and taking on such a huge challenge in the backyard. And I don't think I could have done it without Stanley as a partner.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER- Herringbone Privacy Fence

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER Pergola Seating Area

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER- Pergola Details


HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER- Reclaimed Wood Decking


HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Backyard AFTER- Deck Details

In the end our house won the challenge with Hilari being the big winner. Hilari & Mikel's living room was gorgeous and a big transformation Our guest judge Sabrina Soto loved all of Hilari's contributions to the living room space and was impressed most by her camera challenge this week. So I found myself in second place again this week, but I was absolutely happy with that. I continued to tell myself that slow and steady can win this race! Miera and Danielle found themselves at the bottom because of their unfinished living room. Miera had said the famous last words of , "trust me, I know what I am doing," And in the end her semi custom built ins were a time sucker leaving nothing completed and sending her home.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Judges- Vern Yip, Sabrina Soto, David Bromstad, Genevieve Gorder

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 4 Hilari & Mikel's Winning Living Room Space

Tune in next week as we each create a lounge space for Hollywood's 125th Birthday! And remember to vote for me as your FAN FAVORITE at http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote

FUN WITH PAINT COLORS- ARIZONA MIDDAY

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:17:00 +0000

On Arizona Midday channel 12 today I am talking about picking paint colors. Here in Arizona we have an over abundance of beige painted homes... inside & out. I'm going to give you some new color ideas to try out (say NO to beige).... and show you how to create a mood using darker tones and colors, as well as punching up those neutrals for those of you who aren't quite ready to commit to color on your walls.

DARK & MOODY... perfect for a cozy workspace or den. For my base color I selected a dark grey, but you can go as dark as black to really turn up the drama in your space:

DARK & COLORFUL... great for an intimate bedroom. Teal is a good base color used to pop additional accent colors with like fuchsia and orange. Paired with neutral furniture and linens, its a color combination easy enough for even the most color timid clients:

BRIGHT & WELCOMING... this trendy yet classic yellow & grey combination is perfect for both a country or contemporary kitchen or dining area:

COLORFUL & REFRESHING... mint green is so popular right now. It's a perfect color to use in any space if you prefer to use more neutral accents and furniture. This mint green is the perfect bedroom color scheme with crisp whites, gold accents and hints of coral or brown hues:

DARK NEUTRAL... if your afraid of committing to color on the walls, this darker neutral tone is a great backdrop for punches of color. It's traditional with a bold twist:

LIGHT NEUTRAL... better known as beige. Yes, I know I am suggesting colors to use other than beige, but I wanted to show how you can spice up those bland walls with more contrast and color. Use color in your draperies, area rug & throw pillows to take 'boring beige' to a more contemporary look:

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 3 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:15:00 +0000

I woke up on the first day of challenge 3 with what had become my 'typical' anxious/nervous/excited feeling in my stomach. Every muscle in my body still sore from the last challenge, and my mind still replaying the judges critiques at the evaluation from last night. For you viewers, it would appear that we do one challenge a week for Design Star... no siree, there is no rest for the weary when it comes to filming a television show. Our schedule looks a little something like this... morning call time typically begins at 6 am which involves us being dressed and ready to go for the day. We head to our challenge and begin designing/working... the work day ends somewhere around 6-7pm and then we head home. Occasionally, there is some 'night reality' at the house for another 30 minutes to an hour discussing our day as a group at the house. Rinse & repeat for 1 to 2 more days depending on the particular time frame of the challenge. The day after a completed challenge we get up early for one-on-one interviews with our producer to discuss our experience during the challenge. (This is what is used as commentary for the episode.) After 3-4 hours of interview, we change at the studio and get ready for a VERY long and extensive evaluation with the judges. Only about 15 minutes of this evaluation actually makes it into the show but we are actually individually critiqued by each judge on our 3 main contributions to our spaces. You quickly learn that you've got to not only be quick on your feet when it comes to design ideas, but also be someone that can function well off of very little sleep, and a diet of crafty snacks and red bull.

Rachel and I chose to be roommates in the house together after the first challenge and we stayed up all night trying to come up with ideas on what crazy challenge HGTV had in store for us next. After the traditional challenges of our house remodel and the iconic White Room, I had no idea what to expect for challenge 3. What I did know was that just being 'safe' so far in the competition was started to mess with my head a little and I was going to need to step it up somehow to stand out above the rest. After some 'morning reality' at the house we were all loaded into the vans and headed towards what appeared to be our main production studio in Sherman Oaks.

David Bromstad with guest judge Kris Kardashian Jenner

We arrive in designers lounge at the studio to meet up with David for our new challenge reveal. He lets us know that we are designing a space for a busy Mom that people have trouble 'keeping up with'. My jaw literally dropped to the floor when I found out we were designing the new office space for Kris Jenner and the Jenner/Kardashian family. I watch their reality show 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' and part of that reason is because I am absolutely obsessed with the style of their homes, which are designed by the incredible Jeff Andrews. Everything about their spaces scream hollywood glamour, which is my favorite design style. And talk about a major connections...if I can impress Kris Kardashian Jenner my design networking opportunities could be incredible! I was quickly brought back to reality when David let us know this week would be a double elimination. Two people going home is double the pressure. We also learned it was another partnered challenge and I was praying that I wasn't paired up with Luca or Miera for this one because, well, you know, they aren't the easiest to work with. Thankfully the design Gods blessed me by partnering Mikel and I together again. We were assigned the task of designing the conference room, which is not typically the most 'interesting' room of an office, so we were going to have to find a way to really make our space unique and not your typical meeting space. Mikel aka 'Mary Poppins' and I became really close from the start and work really well as a team, so we were SO thrilled to be working together again on this one.

HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 3 Cast

On the drive over to the office space, I came up with the 3D mirrored wall treatment for our space. I know how much Kris Jenner loves mirrors in her space at home, and I wanted to make sure her conference room space reflected on an extension of her home, in a bigger, bolder, and unexpected way. Each team had 5 minutes to meet one on one with Kris, and I was anxious to not only meet her, but find out what her must haves for the space were. Let me tell you, Kris is even more beautiful in person than she is on TV, and as soon as you meet her you can tell right away that she is a very sweet and caring soul. You also got the sense that she was really pulling for all of us to do well, not only because she wanted a great office space, but because she knew how much this competition means for all of us designers. As soon as Kris confirmed with me that she "never meet a mirror she didn't like", I knew my mirrored wall would probably be her favorite element in the space.

HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Kris Kardashian Jenner Communications Conference Room BEFORE

Britany Simon & Mikel Welch HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Conference Room

Britany Simon, Mikel Welch and David Bromstad HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Camera Challenge

Britany Simon & Mikel Welch HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Conference Room

Once the clock started on our challenge, the drama began! Mikel & I closed ourselves off at the end of the hallway in our conference room hoping to escape. From our space all we could hear was Bex & Luca arguing, Hilari & Danielle freaking out, and Miera reprimanding Kris for who knows what. I remember thinking, oh boy, this is going to be interesting. Mikel & I got through the challenge with no real hiccups to speak of, which probably explains the little face time we had on this episode. After watching this episode last night it was clear HGTV wanted to highlight the drama more than the design process this time. I was impressed with how well all the designers spaces turned out despite all of the time spent on bickering between eachother. At first glace of the spaces, I couldn't tell who the clear winner or loser was, and was anxious but confident about heading into evaluation and learning my fate.

Britany Simon & Mikel Welch HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Conference Room

Britany Simon HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Conference Room- Britany's Chandelier and Custom Window Treatments

Britany Simon & Mikel Welch HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Conference Room

Britany Simon HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Custom 3D Mirror Wall

At evaluation I learned that my 3D mirror wall was one Kris, Genevieve and Vern's favorite element of the entire office. It was exactly the confidence booster I needed, and our team ended up in 2nd place this week. I was happy to not just fall into the 'safe' category for this challenge again, and hoped to continue moving my way up in the rank! Stanley took home the win this week with his 'tennis bracelet' mirror installation, and a most improved camera challenge. Stanley and Rachel were paired together in Kris Jenner's office, and I questioned if Stanley should have truly won the challenge. I think the standout elements in Kris' office were the window arches, wallpaper, and sofa selections, which were all done by Rachel. But I believe the judges didn't want her to totally dominate the first three episodes, so they had to share the love a little. It was a double elimination, and Luca was the first eliminated. You could tell by the lack of reaction in the designer lounge how we all felt about him going home. Luca was a bully without the design skills to back it up, and it was definitely his time to go. Bex was also eliminated, which unfortunately I think was mainly collateral damage from being partnered with Luca. I can't imagine how hard it was to come up with much of anything design wise being a part of that team, let alone creating a space that would stand out above the rest.

Bex Hale & Luca Paganico HGTV Design Star Episode 3 Eliminated Designers

Tune in next week when we are all paired up again for an indoor/outdoor challenge with guest judge Sabrina Soto! And don't forget to go online and vote for me as your HGTV Design Star Fan Favorite at http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote/package/index.html

Also, inspired by my 3D mirrored wall, HGTV put together this How-To video to show you how you can create a similar mirror at home!

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 2 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:30:00 +0000

My heart stopped. Our van's pulled up to Union Station & I knew it only meant one thing...this week's episode was the White Room Challenge. The most iconic Design Star challenge and better known as the one that "the fans love, but the designers dread." This particular challenge is typically the one and only space that doesn't have to be 'functional'. Ironically... that is what scared me the most about this challenge. As interior designers we are constantly concerned about creating spaces that are both beautiful and functional, and for me it's hard to try and forget about that for this space. I knew that a few of the other finalists in this competition call themselves artists first, designers second, and they were probably going to have more of a leg up in this particular challenge. I decided to stick with what I know... and that is to create a beautiful space, and not concentrate too much on trying to create an art installation and hope that I'd survive.

Our challenge took place in the Historic Union Station in Los Angeles, and the main element we were asked to focus on for our White Room was to re-purpose one of the existing furniture pieces that was already in our space. I was immediately inspired by the beautiful architecture and the mood of the location. My plan for my white room was an updated red, white and blue color palette paired with newspapers for wallpaper along with applied moldings for the walls to bring a total 'nod' to the historic mood of the location. My main re-purposed element would be the lamp and side table top turned upside down and transformed into a bold eye catching chandelier using yards upon yards of gold chain from the Home & Garden store.

Shopping at the Home & Garden store was insane, it was like Hunger Games meets Supermarket Sweep. And after a painstakingly long check out process, we all headed back to Union Station to get to work. Unfortunately, the first thing you learn in this competition is that plan A, never, ever, EVER works out. Only after our shopping trip was I informed that if I wanted to use my first idea with the newspapers I would need to cut out or blank out every brand name, store name, newspaper name, or any name of any kind from each page. Being that we only had about a day to actually work in our space, there wasn't enough time for that kind of nonsense! After some brainstorming and replaying Vanilla Ice's mantra of "if there is a problem, yo, I'll solve it" in my head... I landed upon plan E, which consisted of me using painters tape for an 'applied molding' look on my massive 10ft walls in order to add some architecture and my signature graphic style into my blank white space.

Those silly HGTV producers wanted to make things even more interesting for us designers...our 'Tool Town' area that is set up for all of us to use each episode was placed in the least convenient location humanly possible. Every time you needed a ladder, a hammer, a drill, forgot a nail, or your painters tape you had to walk (or jog for most of us) out of union station, around the massive building and across the parking lot to the tool area. This challenge quickly turned into the longest most exasperating cardiovascular workout I have ever done. Ultimately, this was the most physically demanding yet rewarding design challenge I have ever done. I was really proud of my final space & was looking forward to what Vern & Genevieve were going to think of it at evaluation.

Our guest judge this week was Vanilla Ice, which was an awesome surprise. I remember immediately thinking that my brother was going to think I am the coolest sister in the world for getting the chance to meet him. Back in the 90's Vanilla Ice was the coolest rapper known to man to my brother and I and we listened to him on repeat for what felt like a decade. Mr. Vanwinkle (that's his real name) is also very well known for his own show on the DIY network, the Vanilla Ice Project. He made quite a name for himself in the renovating and house flipping business! I was looking forward to what kind of feedback he was going to give us at evaluation. In the end... I found myself safe again this week. The judges love my space but wished I had pushed it just a little bit further. I was definitely relieved but also a bit disappointed being that my goal is always to be at the top every week. But slow & steady wins the race, and I am going to keep my eyes set on the finish line. Rachel took home the win again this week with her incredible hand painted wall graphic and great layering of prints. Jordan was sent home, which in my opinion wasn't the right choice from the judges. I liked his glamaZEN space, and thought he deserved to stay in the competition.

Rachel Kate's Winning Design- Her wall graphic was INCREDIBLE

Jordan Cappella was sent home for his GlamaZEN Garden- Love you Jordan, you will be missed!!!

Watch next week when we makeover the corporate office for Jenner Communications with Kris Jenner in Calabasas, CA! Also don't forget to go online to http://www.hgtv.com/design-star-fan-vote/package/index.html to vote for me as you Fan Favorite!!

DAVID BROMSTAD'S EPISODE 1 REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:48:00 +0000

Check out the fabulous David Bromstad on his take of our Design Star Episode One...Guess who's room was HIS favorite?!?!?...

HGTV DESIGN STAR EPISODE 1 RECAP

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Wow, what a night! To watch myself on tv for the very first time is surreal to say the least. I have been anticipating the premiere for Design Star for what feels like years now. I remember our very first day on the show and how excited I was to finally get to meet my 'competitor's for the first time. All of the designers really are incredible people, and I still couldn't believe that I was a part of this talented bunch.

My initial reaction to watching the first episode was 'wow, its crazy how much doesn't actually make it onto the show!'. Mainly I was hoping they would also share my personal story being a wife for almost 3 years now, and that my Mother passed away from gastric cancer almost two years ago, and that is what drove me to try out for the show. Knowing that life is short and to follow my dreams. But... make to the challenge... luckily I was paired with Mikel for this first episode and we were in charge of designing and decorating bedroom 1 in our house. Not only do we have to design the space, we have to design it incorporating our 'personal' items that were selected to represent our design styles. I was so excited to be paired with Mikel, since we had become fast friends over the first couple days of being in LA. We worked together very harmoniously compared to a lot of the other groups. I remember being tucked away in our little bedroom working while hearing many screaming matches & arguments coming from the living room & the den. Yes its reality tv, but its HGTV, and they don't push the drama on us... all you have to do is force designers to work as a team with a partner they don't get to choose, and give them a time constraint and a budget to manage and see what kind of magic you get. Although Mikel & I worked well together, we had plenty of 'oh no' moments that didn't make the show. Some to name a few... we realized on the last day we didn't actually purchase any comforter inserts for our duvet covers and were given the wrong drapery panels at checkout but somehow negotiated a local store to drop off what we needed COD (thank goodness). Then, with 5 minutes remaining in the challenge we were hanging our last drapery rod we realized the rod wasn't fitting inside the socket. I decided to poke out the rubber insert with scissors and unknowingly stabbed myself and proceeded to bleed almost all over our white draperies. A lot of the arguments & big drama didn't actually make the first episode, which is probably best for everyone...don't need to come out with the first episode guns blazing!

Mikel Welch & Britany Simon HGTV Design Star Season 7 Episode 1

I have watched every single episode of all the past seasons of Design Star, but it truly doesn't prepare you for the competition when your actually in it. Somehow the producers have designed the challenges in such a way that initially you feel confident with your budget and time frame, but somewhere along the way in the end you are always rushing to finish and scraping together every penny you have left. Those clever producers really know what they are doing. The most exciting part for me in the first challenge was meeting the panel of judges for the first time. I have been such a fan of HGTV for so long and admired Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip for their talent and uber success in this business. As an interior designer, I strive to be as successful as both of them one day. After our challenge was completed and we saw them for the first time, I felt like I needed to pinch myself, and still couldn't believe I was standing right in front of David, Vern and Genevieve only a few feet in front of me. But I couldn't help but wonder... "where's Candice Olsen?!?". Candice has always been my favorite designer from the network, but it appears she has some big things happening right now and it doesn't look like she will be a judge for our season of Design Star. Bummer.

Walking into evaluation for the first time was the most nerve racking moment for me. As a designer we aren't used to having someone critique our work let alone possibly send us home for it. I do wish however they would have showed my favorite comment from the evaluation... Vern started the evaluation with me by saying... "Britany, that wall you designed wasn't good... it was GREAT"!! My heart sank, and then rejoiced knowing that he appreciated my big bold wall move. I left the evaluation 'safe', but happy that I was still able to impress the judges and live another week! Stay tuned for next week for the infamous 'white box challenge' with guest judge Vanilla Ice. Also remember you can vote 10 times daily for me as your Fan Favorite at www.hgtv.com/designstar

Our Bedroom BEFORE

Britany Simon & Mikel Welch Bedroom 1 HGTV Design Star Episode 1 AFTER

HGTV DESIGN STAR TONIGHT!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:26:00 +0000

It's officially here!!! HGTV Design Star begins tonight at 9/8c. I am BEYOND excited mixed with a bit of nerves about watching tonight. I have always been a serious fan of the show and I can promise you, that this season is going to be the best one yet!

Here's the best part... check my blog after every episode to get the inside story on what really happened, or what they didn't show, info on our guest judges... and the scoop on what I was really thinking... I hope your tuning in!!!!

MASCULINE GLAMOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:12:00 +0000

Often times there is a misconception in design that for a space to feel sexy, it must feel overly feminine. I'd like to set the record straight on that old school theory... For me, some of the sexiest spaces have a good mix of both masculine & feminine elements. Some of my favorites happen to have more of what I call a 'masculine glamour' vibe. There has to be a balance of feminine lines and masculine pieces to strike the right 'balance' and 'mood'. These are some of my favorite masculine sexy spaces...

1. Nuevo Estilo, 2-7. Pinterest, 8. Jordan Cappella, 9-11. Pinterest

ONE WEEK UNTIL HGTV DESIGN STAR SEASON 7 PREMIERE

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:11:00 +0000

OMG, I can hardly believe Design Star starts next week (Tuesday, May 29th to be exact). Because of that, this week has been crazy with media getting everyone excited about watching. As far as media goes, I am pleased to announce I will be on the June cover of So Scottsdale magazine, as well as an interview inside talking about life, design & design star. Also today I did my first TV appearance for the show on Arizona Midday Channel 12 where I gave some easy and budget friendly tips for revamping your home & of course... talked about design star.

I am all set to interview tomorrow on Sonoran Living on channel 15 at 9am as part of their DIY week... and for those of you who know me, or those who don't... I love me some do-it-yourself projects. I also noticed that the OG of Design Star, David Bromstad was on Sonoran Living this week. I watched his segment just because I love watching him, but also because I wanted to see what kind of tips he was giving and was pleasantly surprised when their conversation turned to ME! It is the weirdest thing having people who I am used to watching on television even say my name. David had some really sweet things to say about me, and made me feel like the coolest kid in town. I definitely walked with a little more pep in my step after I watched it. You can check that out here...

Also on Saturday morning I will be on Good Morning Arizona Channel 3... my segment will be on at 7:20am. No tips or tricks on this one... just a good ole fashioned interview. I hope you all check it out! I will be posting the segments for your viewing pleasure on my blog just in case you missed any of them.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN...

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:28:00 +0000

I told you a little about my journey to HGTV Design Star in the last post. After my drive to Las Vegas for the original casting call & call back, I was asked to make a 5 minute video about myself & my design background. I wanted to share that video with you to give you a little more insight on the process. Wow, I look back and watch this video and think how 'green' I was on film. (Besides this absolutely crazy face I seem to have on the link) It was scary to do my very first EVER interview in front of the camera for such a BIG opportunity. It is a little bit rough for me to watch, but I know I have come a long way as far as comfort level in front of the camera. (and most importantly, toned down those "crazy hands" while I talk). But... regardless.... here it is... for all to see!

HGTV DESIGN STAR 7 FINALIST

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:10:00 +0000

I am SO excited to share with you all that I have been selected as a finalist on the hit series HGTV Design Star!! This is a HUGE honor and I feel so blessed to be a part of the competition. For all that know me, they know how much I love HGTV in general, but I especially love Design Star and have watched every episode of all the past 6 seasons. Every time I'd watch, I'd sit on the edge of my seat thinking "oh my god I need to be on there doing that!". So while watching the last season a casting notice for season 7 popped up... I looked up the information and there happened to be a casting call that Sunday in Las Vegas. So Matt and I thought, why not!?!... and decided to take the 4.5 hour drive to Vegas to spend the weekend and check out the Design Star casting call. The rest is history!...

Yep, theres a little promo action for you. Thanks to my fabulous friend Juliana Gonzalez who is an amazing graphic designer to make this up for me. (Her work can be found at www.delightfulink.com )

For those of you who aren't familiar with the show... Design Star is a competition with 12 designers from all over the country who are put through crazy design challenges as well as camera/hosting challenges, with only one winner that will will their own show on the HGTV network! Its a pretty big deal, I often refer to it as the American Idol for Interior Designers...people seem to understand it better that way. Anyways... the show was a crazy, amazing, intense experience & I loved every minute of it. I can't wait for the show to air May 29th to share my experience with you all.

Here's the best, most important part... YOU viewers & fans at home get to vote online for your FAN FAVORITE. The voting starts May 1st and ends July 27th... The winner of the 'fan favorite' spot win's their own web series on HGTV.com! Pretty big deal! So it would be A LOT to be if you could take the time and check out the website and vote for me as your fan favorite (only if I am indeed your favorite, of course...). You can vote up to 10x a day, from every computer/phone/ipad/etc... you get the idea. There you can also check out all the designers bio's and portfolios of their work.

Here's a little sneak peek of the season...

VOTE FOR BRITANY SIMON AS YOUR HGTV DESIGN STAR FAN FAVORITE

Stay tuned... I will be updating everyone on my journey on Design Star... and tune in May 29th, you aren't going to want to miss this season!

THE WAIT IS OVER...

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:35:00 +0000

First things first... welcome to my blog! A place where I will be blogging about design, photography, fashion, my love for DIY, and my journey to where I am today. So... thanks for checking me out. Also do check out my official Britany Simon Design website at www.britanysimon.com where you will find my portfolio, and design services that I offer.

Now... lets get to the good stuff. A project, I lovingly like to call "Urban Funk". I am a sucker for bold colors, and bold graphic patterns... so most of the spaces I design have those elements. And this office space & apartment are perfect examples of that. Using primary colors aren't something I typically do, but I was so pumped when I met with my client and we wanted to keep with the colors already used in the architecture of the building. My first thought was 'lego land'... so I wanted to make sure and keep the vibe feeling trendy, hip & fun. (not that lego's aren't cool...but, you know what I'm saying...)

We had a tighter budget on this project for both the office & the apartment. I actually welcome a challenge, and it added another element of fun. So I had to get creative with everyones favorite Ikea items, and shop at more commercial stores like target, and do some digging at my favorite stores Marshalls & HomeGoods. I also did a bit of online shopping research to track down some great items for less. I just love the way these spaces turned out. What do you think?!?

BLOG + WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

noreply@blogger.com (Britany) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Hi All!!! Thank you for your patience while the official Britany Simon Design blog & website are under construction. Check back in April to see the updated blog & web design.