Hey everyone!

First of all, let me say that I am loving this blog powered by my friends at Mohawk Flooring. As a designer, I’ll be the first to tell you that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to make your home a fun, fresh, stylish place. There are lots of great and affordable home décor ideas here at Creative Home that you can incorporate. So get out of your comfort zone and take a risk! Try one of these cool ideas out!

Speaking of risks, I want to tell you about a BIG one that I recently took! As an HGTV designer, I’ve gotten to know the folks over at the Rachael Ray Show. Rachael just started the seventh season of her daytime talk show, and she wanted to celebrate lucky #7 with a refreshed, revamped look. She moved into a new studio space, and she asked me to design all of the backstage and green room areas.

Of course, each project has its challenges, and this case, one of them was time. Or actually, the lack of it. I had less than 5 days to overhaul this HUGE space and create 4 cool, unique dressing rooms that Rachael and her guests would love. I was up for the challenge! Luckily, I have worked with some amazing people and companies in my career—including Mohawk Flooring—that helped me race against the clock and make this happen.

We sanded. We painted. We ripped up carpet and laid down new flooring. I’m telling you, we did it all. Four times over! It was a lot of work, but the look on Rachael’s face when I showed her the finished product was totally worth it.

Rachael’s show attracts many different guests—politicians, athletes, celebrities—you name ‘em, and they’re visiting the Rachael Ray Show at some point. My plan was to give each dressing room a unique feel, so at least one of the rooms would appeal to each person who visits the show.

We ended up with a “Hampton Suite,”

“The Marilyn Room”– which is uber glamorous,

“The Missoni Room,” (not pictured here) and a room we affectionately call “The Lodge.”

Click here to watch the Rachael Ray redesign as it unfolded…

Designing the backstage green rooms for the Rachel Ray Show is one of the highlights of my career. I loved it because I was able to pull in so many different types of design and sources of inspiration. That’s what I would encourage you to do when you’re designing your own home. Don’t feel like every item in every room of your home has to be matchy-matchy. Go Modern with the coffee table in your living room. Embrace your preppy side with fun textures in the Master Bedroom. Incorporate a throwback piece of furniture or artwork in your Home Office.

If making design changes is a little nerve wracking, let me give you some helpful advice: As long as you stay true to what you love and what inspires you, then I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results.

… Until next time!

~Taniya