Designing the Logical Living Home
by: Nina James, Kirkland’s Designer, Logical Living Home Interior Designer I am proud and blessed to be able to say that in my first year of business, I got my first million dollar home to stage. In my second year, I became a National Designer for Kirkland’s. In my third year, I was a featured designer on Lifetime’s “Designing Spaces” and I am so excited to announce a second milestone in my third year: I am the designer for a house in the Spring Homearama! Did you hear that? I think I heard angels singing.Let me tell you, people, I had been trying to be a Homearama designer for a long while. Relationships between builders and designers go way back and it’s hard to find an open slot to slip into. I was incredibly lucky and fortunate to secure a place on the Joey Corporation and Closet Factory team. The house is the “Logical Living” house and will feature Closet Factory storage solutions throughout. I am thrilled to be part this experience! The team I get to work with is incredible.
So there’s all the sunshine and roses, but here are my traumas:
I am working with Carter’s Furniture of Suffolk for pieces to stage in the house. Donnie Carter has been wonderful to buy pieces specifically for our house that he might not have bought otherwise. At the same time, I will also be using pieces right off his floor. If those pieces sell before it’s time to move them into the house, I’ll have to strategize replacements at the very last minute which introduces a whole new set of challenges. Will he have something in the same color, same style, same finish? Who knows? Yikes!
I had to choose paint colors long before other elements and fabrics in the room were confirmed. Normally, paint is the very last thing I select after I’ve made decisions on fabrics, rugs, art, whatever. You all know that about me by now. Those elements guide the paint choice for me, but this time I had to take a leap of faith and make choices from minimal information. Double yikes!
The Joey Corporation/Closet Factory house had won tons of awards in the 2011 Fall Homearama like “Best Home in Show”, “Most Creative”, “Best Interior Design” and “Best Cotton-Pickin’-Thing-Ever”. Ok, I made that last one up, but seriously?! They actually won more than I listed and now I’ve got all that pressure on me to deliver something just as spectacular as last year. Triple yikes.
So I’m giving this thing my very best shot and obsessing about it 24 hours a day. I will continue to do so until June 16th when the doors open to the public and there’s nothing more I can do. If you make it by the house, I hope you like what you see and feedback is welcome. I’ll be in the house as much as I can and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about the house or even a dilemma that you might be having at your own home. I hope to see you there!
PS…if you don’t like what you see, please be prepared to medicate the designer with chocolate until professional help arrives.