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I tried to make an upholstered headboard once. I got the idea from an episode of HGTV's Design on a Dime. Armed with an oversized piece of fiberboard, soft batting, a staple gun and a bolt of fabric, I set to work measuring, cutting, padding and stapling. Hours later, I was the proud owner of a DIY headboard.
The problem: It was a $156 mess. There were lumps in the batting, the fabric was crooked and it didn't have that "hotel chic" promised by the on-screen designers. I rescued the fabric, which is still buried -- unused -- in a dark corner of a storage closet, tossed the fiberboard in the trash and bought a headboard instead.
It was not the first time I'd been the victim of an HGTV-inspired makeover-gone-wrong. Trading Spaces designer Vern Yip shared a great tip: To make the windows in the bedroom look larger hang the curtain rod at ceiling height. What he failed to add was that one should measure the curtains first to ensure that each panel is long enough to reach the floor. It doesn't take a good designer to know that window treatments, like pants, should never be too short. It took me several hours, a container of Spackle and two coats of paint to relocate my curtain rod six inches lower.
Next, I watched as Divine Design's Candace Olsen advocated having a feature wall to create visual interest in a space. I tried this in the bedroom, painting three walls a light shade of blue-gray and using a much darker blue-gray for my feature wall. The room looked like a toss-up between a collegiate locker room and the nursery for a bouncing baby boy. It took an entire afternoon and another gallon of paint to understand the reasons interior designers spend semesters, if not years, learning how to work with color.
I tune into HGTV with a mission: I want inspiration. I watch Dear Genevieve, Divine Design and Colour Confidential and I'm left with so many options: Should I sew new pillows to add a bright pop to my chocolate brown sofa? Add texture to the bathroom walls with wallpaper? Create original art on canvas? Refinish an old cabinet?
I've spent countless hours attempting to replicate the looks I've seen, going to great lengths to find the same materials and to follow the design advice to the letter. And I have had a few DIY successes, including a pair of handmade curtain panels and a paint treatment of turquoise and white stripes in the powder bathroom. But more often than not, the projects I attempt suffer the same fate as the upholstered headboard – the trash.
I was at IKEA recently and like all good HGTV fans, I picked up a set of black picture frames to turn into custom frames for treasured gallery using fabric mats. Several attempts (and countless four-letter words) later, I removed the crooked and bulging fabric and resorted to using the plain white mats that came with the frames. On the plus side, while I was inside the Swedish superstore, I found a pair of brown velvet curtains for the bedroom-the very ones that Color Splash's David Bromstad and Vern Yip have used in their makeovers.
Even so, for a long time I felt like a failure for not being able to replicate all the DIY ideas I saw on HGTV. They looked so simple on TV. How could I mess them up? Therein lies the problem: The network has snagged top-notch designers, allocated them huge budgets, stocked trailers with all the tools of the trade, hired talented craftspeople and edited the hell out of the footage to make it look possible -- even simple -- to transform an entire room in the span of a 30-minute segment.
Meanwhile, at my house, there are no color consultants, seamstresses or teams of painters. I don't have a design degree, a big budget or the skills to use a jigsaw. I don't even own a jigsaw (though I do have a laser level that I love showing off). It's just me, an idea, a meager checking account, a couple of paintbrushes and the determination to save the living room from looking like the "before" pictures I see on HGTV shows.
Still, I haven't given up on having a home that looks like it belongs on HGTV. Along with legions of homeowners, I plan to upload gallery of my home makeovers to the message boards for Rate My Space, in the hopes of achieving a 5-star rating from fellow design fans. Low ratings and pictures of outdated kitchens, lackluster living rooms and bare master bedrooms can earn viewers a room makeover courtesy of the show's host Angelo Surmelis.
Better yet, I know that all it will take is a knock on the door from Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip, Candace Olson or David Bromstad, a camera crew, a trailer filled with the tools-of-the-trade, a team of talented carpenters and a week of chaos (which will be edited down to a 30-minute episode). I have even practiced my look of surprise when it's time for the big reveal.
Now, you'll have to excuse me. I have online applications to fill out if I want my house to be the next HGTV makeover.
Jodi Helmer lives in an uninspired home in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she's not dreaming about built-ins or attempting to choose a paint color for the living room, she is a freelance writer.
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Reader comments (Page 3 of 3)
some skills are required for all projects and common sense. : )
ReplyI love HGTV. I swear by that station. I did a complete redecor on my tiny apartment while watching HGTV. Am artistic, and original, so what I do is different, but with some ideal. All rooms turned out very nice, and took a year. Believe those that do the decor ARE professional, and they don't show all that goes into it, just show what they want to show. People should look into whom done it and ask how was it made or done, otherwise...it can be a flop...yes.
ReplySounds like the writer either doesn't have a lick of sense, or this article is her way of trying to get HGTV to show up at her house.
ReplyThese DIY articles are designed to spark interest...then use common sense, or ask more questions on how to do these things. I find it amusing that someone would put holes in a wall to hang drapes...without measuring.
And David Bromstad...PLEASE paint a mural for me!!! And thank you so much for your pleasant personality!!!
That was a cute article and written tongue in cheek. We have all been there. I watch that channel all the time, and it gives me some great ideas. I saw a bedroom in an online magazine once, fell in love with it, and busted my hump trying to recreate the results for a reasonable cost down to the last candlestick. Truth is, it didnt turn out too bad. It was a good jumping off point. Some rooms refuse to cooperate with being decorated, and for that you need to tear a page straight out of a magazine and do it just as you see it. I liked her article,she is a skillful writer. Sounds like she was following all the right steps. But sometimes it is cheaper just to buy what it is you are looking for. Start at Home Goods which is owned by the same company as Marshalls . They have beautiful everything all under one roof. Not a paid endorsement, just a HomeGoods junkie.
ReplyGreat piece - I know exactly how you feel. It all looks so easy, but . . . I too wish one of those folks would show up at my wowfully under decorated home. Watching them is inspiring, but the devil is in the details!
ReplyHIRE A PROFESSIONAL IF YOU WANTTHE JOB DONE RIGHT!
ReplyReading about the mishaps in trying to duplicate HGTV's many makeover wonders, I smiled. I, too, tried to make a headboard and mine came out so well that now my friends all want me to do the same for them. I've stripped, sanded and painted old furniture in the hopes of giving them new life and wound up with the most incredible bedroom set in just the color I wanted that folks have asked me where I got it. So many of the makeover lessons I've learned, over the years, on HGTV have helped turn rooms into something that I am very proud of. Though, on occasion, I have failed. It just gives me more spunk the next time I want to try something new that one of HGTV's wonderful hosts and hostesses have sparked my imagination with. I am forever grateful to every one of them.
ReplyGood writing and the sharing of experience. Glad I'm not the only one that has had major fails in DIY projects. When I decided to paint the interior of the house for the first time ever, I bought what I thought was a lovely light pink color paint. When put on the walls it was a Pepto Bismol puke pink and ended up with gallons of that stuff. I would even buy those little kits to do cross stitch that said it was simple and easy to use by following the directions. HA! I barely got the first stitch in before giving up on it....same with origami, calligraphy, and other stuff.
ReplyI've been unsuccessful for years now in fixing the broken chain in a toilet. Right now, one toilet has a twist tie on it to flush. However I did manage to replace my other toilet's broken handle and chain. Two different toilets, two different set-ups. I realize in the world of DIY I am known as the 'customer'. Who wisely hires a professional to do it for her.
Just call Mike Holmes he will fix it right and all your mistakes will be done right He is AWESOME and the rule of thumb always is measure alot of times and then cut once !!!!!!!!!
ReplyLove Mike Holmes!! Watch all his shows (even repeats). It's on in my area EVERY afternoon and several mornings and nights too!! Can't get enough of his show. I've learn so much and learn more each time I watch. Hope he never retires!!!!!! Go Mike!!
I've been watching HGTV for years, have done many of the projects shown on the shows listed, and have NEVER had any of them not turn out right. I've even done several projects for other people and have had great praise for jobs well done. It takes patience, some knowledge of the items and tools used to do the projects, the willingness to follow directions; and, in return, you have the great satisfaction and pride of making something for yourself or for others. And if you do your shopping correctly, it will not cost you an arm and a leg!!!
ReplyTHE FIRST THING THEY DON'T TELL OR SHOW YOU IS THE BEHIND THE SCENE MISHAPS BEFORE THEY GET IT RIGHT THEN PARADE IT OUT LIKE IT WAS SO EASY A CHILD COULD DO IT, NOT TO MENTION THE BEHIND THE SCENE DESIGNERS THAT YOU DON'T SEE ON SCREEN. ALL THE DIY, DESIGNER SHOWS DO IT. SAME WITH THE COOKING SHOWS, EVER TRIED TO MAKE ONE OF THOSE "30 MINUTE MEALS"? MAYBE IF YOU HAD A FULL KITCHEN STAFF TO HELP.
ReplyI am not being "boastful"...but this authorl has no common sense....first of all...before you buy or make curtains....you MEASURE the length you need ..duh? We learned that in 6th grade home economics.
ReplyI have made two BEAUTIFUL headboards that I stole the idea from HGTV...you need to use common sense and have a general idea of how to pull fabric tightly etc...also when they made it on HGTV...they put the batting down then a layer of foam before the fabric.
I, too, enjoyed Jodi's article. I've often thought of trying some of their design shows' projects.
ReplyLuckily, my father was a DIY [he's 90], and I'm married to a skilled man who knows how to do many things, so I am often confronted by remarks like " you do know, dear, it isn't really that easy?"
Yes, for many of us - we would realize that first you measure the curtains for fit , but think of the fun she had doing these things and learning. Yes, her pocketbook has less in it - but I'll bet she learned more than how to measure a curtain and buy it at the store. Hopefully, Jodi is enjoying what many of us do with our homes - she is making it uniquely hers. Hooray for you, Jodi.
The curtain trick can work (if too short can even work if behind a couch or other piece of furniture). I have used the idea with the valance and hung it near the ceiling (the length of the valence covered the regular curtain rod by a couple of inches. Also, the window in question is a narrow floor to ceiling one that standard fabric shower curtains were just the right size (plus in a pattern that I couldn't find in the curtain isle). One thing they do in the shows is to take standard store bought curtains and add a stripe or panel to the top or bottom to get the length needed for a non-standard size.
ReplyOne great thing about these shows (especially Design on a Dime, Trading Spaces etc, is too think outside of the box sometimes). Just because it says "Shower Curtain" on the package doesn't mean it can only be used there. Can't find the right pattern, color, texture etc in the regular section? look elsewhere. Try a flat sheet as a curtain (if sewing skills are lacking, find one that has the "pocket" at the top edge of the sheet) or use clip on rings if no "pocket" exists (have done this on Serape style rugs and used as curtains. Cost may end up being dramatically lower too
The most important rule of doing it yourself is knowing when not to.
Replysome people have it some dont . thats all it boils down too . not a big thing to discuss
ReplyThe only problem with DIY shows are the rabid viewers in search of instant gratification...
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