The infamous pink geese. (Photo: www.hgtv.com/designstar)
Design Star may be over, but some of the design choices live on as shining examples of beautiful, translatable design. Here are our favorites. Feel free to chime in with your own in the comments.
5. Dribble milk down your walls
Episode 3
Not really. (Can you imagine?) But what Nathan’s winning white-wall challenge taught us was that texture is king when it comes to design. He painted a wall black and then dribbled milk over the side to create natural stripes.
You could do the same sort of thing by mixing white paint with glaze and dribbling it down a green wall or something like that. I imagine a teenager might love it.
4. Add a pop of color
Episode 1
Genevieve was right when she said that if this country could call
itself the “red, white and beige” it would. We like ourselves some
neutrals. And neutrals are great. But as with clothing (I’m paying
attention, Stacy and Clinton!), the thing that really makes an outfit
unique is the pop of color.
Antonio proved this the first week with the infamous pink geese: In
a room of tasteful white and purple, he threw in some hot-pink wooden
geese. This is great because it takes something simple--wooden
ornaments—and dresses them up in a way that really ties the room
together.
3. Pattern your wall Episode 5
Lonni won big props for her chevron pattern on the dining room wall. The reason it had such a big impact wasn’t just that it was pretty and modern. It was that it had some kind of meaning for the family: The father wore chevrons on his naval uniform to denote rank.
Is there something like that that’s meaningful to you? Look around your mementos not for what they mean for you but the patterns they create. Then choose a wall and go crazy.
3. Go sculptural
Episode 8
When Dan came up with the idea of putting hulls on the ceiling of a children’s room, it sounded like themey dreck to me, as you’ll recall. But it turned out to be elegant and understated. If you’re having a kid and you’re handy, consider something like this for them. A few shapes repeated at different sizes hung from the ceiling will engage your child and add some beauty to the room. The key seems to be that less is more: natural wood, unpainted, with as few adornments as possible. Keep it simple.
2. Add some “jewelry pieces”
Episode 9
Candice was right when she purred about the beauty of Dan’s beveled mirrors and modern chandelier. Those “jewelry pieces” make the room sparkle and add a new dimension—much like texture and some of the other things mentioned on this list. They reflect light and add sparkle. Candice has a habit of putting mirrors behind bookshelves to add dimension. You can do it too.
1. Find the unexpected
Episode 9
Antonio did something really surprising with his living room mantle: He went to a furniture store, found a really unique armoir and, instead of placing it on the side of the room like a behemoth, he cut off 2/3 of the depth and created a mantle and cabinet for the flat-screen TV. Beautiful, and you can bet no one else has it.
Next up: The design stars' biggest blunders.—Heather Boerner