When I moved into this apartment 3 years ago, I quickly slapped a coat of paint on the bathroom walls and I had not touched it since. I actually really liked the color but I was getting tired of how boring it looked.

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I knew I wanted to paint or draw a pattern on the largest wall, but I was conflicted over the direction in which to go. I’m attracted to patterns that are very repetitive and geometric, but the lopsided angles of this 110 year old building would have made for a lopsided pattern, which would have driven me crazy.

I probably looked at over 10,000 images while searching for inspiration for my bathroom. I pondered for 3 days weighing the advantages/disadvantages of having a light, dark, neutral, or colorful space. Finally, I came across this amazing Missoni print, and I decided to use that as my inspiration.

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I’m quite happy with the way it turned out, but I have to admit that for the first 2 days, I found the colors dizzying. You’d never guess it from looking at my vibrant portfolio, but I consider myself “allergic to color.” I only wear black, white, gray, and dark blue so this paint job was quite shocking to my corneas. The main color is Benjamin Moore’s “Passion Plum” #2073-30

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I was pretty pleased with how my parents’ house turned out even before the grass went in, but man,  landscaping makes a HUGE difference. It kind of looks like a house out of a fairytale now. My mom designed it herself :)

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I’m very fortunate to have had many wonderful roommates in my life. I’ve lived in my current apartment for 3 years and for one reason or another, my dear roommates keep leaving NYC and moving out. (It’s not because of me, I swear!) Every time a new person moves in, the big  sun-filled room completely transforms.

As a designer, I’m fascinated by how my roommates choose to arrange and decorate their room. This photo was taken shortly after I signed the lease and prepared to show the room to prospective new roomies.

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Before.

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My first roommate’s room. Musical instruments, board games, books.

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My second roommate’s room. Art, incense, paper mache alligator costume.

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My third roommate’s room. Books, fish, super comfy reading chair.

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My fourth roommate, Katie’s room! When she transitioned from her old studio in Williamsburg to my place in Fort Greene, she was overwhelmed by the stuff piled everywhere, work, and life. She had big plans to make the room pretty, but just never got around to it.

A few months later, she left the city for the summer to clear her head just as Andrea came to NYC to work on Project Runway with me. We spent a lot of time in Katie’s room and decided that it could really use a face lift. The layout was awkward, the paint hadn’t been touched up in years, and it didn’t reflect her fun and funky personality at all. While Katie was gone, Andrea and I devised an elaborate plan to give her a surprise room makeover. We used all her existing furniture, some fun accessories that I had lying around, and just $250 to turn this room into a gem.

My friend, Chi, grew up in this room. She moved out for college, and when she came back, the room seemed to need a facelift more than ever. The dingy paint with the poor lighting made the room unbearably drab. The lack of storage made it impossible to maintain a tidy space.  Fortunately, her room had great bones with plenty of wall space and nice hardwood floors. After a couple weeks of careful planning and with a little help from Chi, and I re-vamped this room in 2 days.

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Don’t forget to watch it Thursdays at 9pm et/pt on Lifetime or online any time!

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Meet the art department super crew, Luis, Brian, Keith, and Andrea. (not pictured: Katie & Scott)

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