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with Designer Diana Hudson Kresnye As a first-year “Dream House Designer,” I was just as curious as you are about how it all happens and comes together. This is such a unique project! So, here are a few notes of what went on behind the scenes in creating this year’s Dream House. Friday, March 23, 2007 11:30 am First meeting of the Dream House Designers was held at the Central YMCA branch. It was a lunch meeting and when each designer arrived, she was given a packet that included her room assignment(s). Also included in the packet was a palette of paint colors dubbed the “new jewel tones” which would be our guide in creating our rooms. We also got a typed page that had a description of the kind of the family we were designing for - an imaginary family. While they might not be real this information helps as we create design plans. The more information we have, the better our designs. I discovered that I had been assigned two rooms – the laundry room and the foyer! In essence, I had the first room and the last room people will see when they come to the Dream House. I was thrilled! The lead designer for this year’s house found some pictures in magazines that were her “inspiration” for this year’s theme. Here are some pictures of her “boards”: Wed, April 4, 2007 3:00 pm Preliminary Design Meeting: I met one on one to discuss the ideas I had for both the laundry room and foyer. Our final boards were not due until the 16th. This meeting was to ensure that the designers were on the right track and that they “got” the theme. The color selection for my laundry room came from a sheet of scrap paper I found at a local craft store! The palette we were given was fairly dark with saturated colors but we were told we could go outside those five colors. We just needed to stay within the theme of the “new jewel” tones. When I found the garnet (red), taupe and black paper, I knew I had found the colors for the laundry room . . . proving once again that you just never know where inspiration will come from! I got two thumbs up on the design concepts I’d created which meant I could proceed with ordering furniture, accessories, etc. Here were my boards: Monday, April 16th, 2007 11:30 am Final Board Presentation Luncheon: This is the “Big Reveal” where all the other designers get to see what the others have created in the rooms they were assigned. I presented my foyer board first since it will be the first area people see when entering the house. It was a bit intimidating since it was my first year and I didn’t know how others had done their boards. Here are some of the boards the other designers presented that day. Designing a Dream House Room We had two months to pull our rooms together. During that time I met with Doug Page at Mentor Lumber to finalize my laundry room plans. He’s the man coordinating the cabinets and countertops and fabulous to work with! When I had first gotten my packet with my room assignments, there were several elevations and renderings (drawings) of the laundry room. The style and layout of the cabinets had been selected. While I had to stay with the style (as they coordinated with the kitchen), I was able to make changes to the layout which was important because I had very specific ideas for how to make the room much more functional. It is a pretty small area, just like in so many homes, so every inch needed to count.
I selected a granite-look laminate counter top which picked up the warm wood tone of the cabinet stain and the black that was going to be in the room as well. It’s a look that you don’t typically see in laundry rooms which can to often be all white or boring grays. But knowing how much time women can end up spending in a laundry room, if it’s prison for some of us, at least it should be a beautiful prison! ;o) I went to Sheraton Furniture in Willoughby to order a bench ottoman for the foyer and a skirted Parsons chair for the laundry room. “Mr. Larry” who owns the store is one of the major supporters of the Dream House and wonderfully generous. One of his designers on staff, Kathy Snowbrick, has been a Dream House designer for years and was a sweetheart to work with. The two pieces turned out wonderfully.
I have used this concept in my decorating since my years in San Diego; however, it seems to be a fairly new design element to this area. I am excited to be introducing it to Northeast Ohio! The graffiti was perfect in both rooms and I love how they came out. Installation Days, June 15-16, 2007 (Friday & Saturday) Before we knew it, George Davis and his wonderful crew at Pro Built had completed the construction of the Dream House and it was time for the designers to install all our treasures and make our area dream rooms. (A special thanks to Joe and John for their countless hours on this project and for all their help during the installation!) Things went well in the laundry room – if the graffiti is a look you’d like to have in your own home, it’s easy but a bit time consuming when you have the larger pieces. The laundry definition took my intern Rebecca Thorton and I more than three hours to install. The Established graffiti took just 20 minutes! The foyer was a challenge because we initially were only going to decorate the little nook where the stairs are. However, once we started decorating the spaces, the empty stair wall looked naked, as though we had forgotten it. This was not the case; it was the concern for safety for the people who tour the house. However, because it looked so naked, we really felt it needed to have something. So, just 72 hours before the ribbon cutting ceremony I was out shopping for decorations for the wall! I found what I was looking for at Pier One in Mentor and at Wal-Mart! In addition to decorating the two-story stairway wall, I also placed a few things on the ledge above the front door. Again, this ledge area had been a space they had not originally wanted decorated because it seems that’s where all the flies go to die! If you put something up there, the theory went; it would just draw attention to the dead flies that accumulate during the summer. To solve this problem, I bought four yards of material and bunched it up along the ledge. Between the printed fabric and the bunching, I figured you’d never see those dead flies! I popped a few decorative items on the ledge flanking the window to complete the look. I was literally decorating up until about 4:30 pm on Wednesday just hours before the ribbon cutting on June 22! The last minute change regarding foyer decorating took me right down to the wire. Here are a few pictures from behind the scenes:
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony & Reception: Wednesday, June 22, 2007 We had a beautiful day for the ceremony and my husband Ben and I spent about three hours at the event. Kudos to Peggy Swanger and Sonja Chom-Cesen for the fabulous job they did with the event! Here are a few photos from that evening:
It was a thrill to be part of the Dream House this year. I had so much fun creating the rooms. I hope you had just as much fun touring the house! Good luck to all who buy tickets to win this fabulous home! Diana ;o)
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I wanted to eliminate the shelf that was shown above the window. I wanted to install a larger corner unit on the top to give the cabinetry a more custom look. I also wanted to install crown molding along the tops of the cabinets and lastly, I wanted some open shelves both on the top (for decorative items) and on the bottom (for laundry baskets). Doug was great to work with and made the changes during our meeting. I walked out with redesigned cabinets in just 15 minutes!
You may have noticed the harlequin (diamond) pattern that runs throughout the house. You first see it in the kitchen and hearth room. I picked up on that pattern and carried it into the laundry room with the flooring I selected. The red and cream tiles are CVT – composite vinyl tile. This is a commercial product that has been around forever! It’s nearly indestructible which one of the reasons I selected it. Again, in keeping with the theme, of the “new traditional” I took something that is very traditional – CVT – and used it in a new way – in a residential laundry room set on the diagonal! I worked with the great people at Fuller Furniture and Flooring in Willoughby and they did a fabulous job!
Another key component of my design was the “graffiti” on the walls from Wonderful Graffiti. The definition of laundry and the “Just Breathe” are not stenciled on the walls. They are a very thin matte vinyl that we transferred onto the wall. It is not permanent so it’s much less of a commitment than wallpaper. If you take it down, it is not reusable. This is the “new wall paper” – again my goal was traditional with a twist. Mary McPail the creator and owner of WonderfulGraffiti (
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