Design Dash Competition

8 bloggers styling 8 spaces all within a limited amount of time= Design Dash Competition. 

First of all, I just want to say that this experience with La-Z-Boy was not only one of the best experiences in my short career as a blogger but really one of the best in my entire life. What a dream come true. Since voting started this past Monday, I wanted to give you all some background information regarding this so called Design Dash Competition. 

When you think of La-Z-Boy, what comes to mind? To me, I think of them as the quintessential big leather chair recliner that we had in our home growing up. It wan’t the most stylish looking chair but it sure was comfortable.

Well, I was super surprised to see the options that are now readily available. They are so much more than those bulky recliners. I love how they have added so much versatility to their options and have created pieces that are on trend and current with the times. They really have pieces that anyone can use. To me it’s equally important when the stylish piece of furniture is actually comfortable and you’ll see that rings true for LaZBoy. If you love eclectic, you can create that look. If you love modern, they have that too. Rustic, traditional, transitional? You name it, they got it. 

A few months ago, LaZBoy reached out to me to participate in their Design Dash competition. I literally almost spit out my tea because I thought, “is this a joke?” They probably got the wrong email. I better respond quickly before they realize it’s a mistake! Haha, I’m not even kidding.

When I later saw the list of bloggers, I’ll be honest, it was  intimidating. Some of these girls have published books, they are an editor of a magazine and many have years of experience blogging with a huge social media following. I had moments where I was dumfounded because I had no idea how this happened. Until duh. It was literally by God’s grace. As I type this, I get a little emotional because I know that God truly listens to our hearts and he puts in place some of the things that are so crazy that it could only be him. Through this journey, he has continued to tell me that even when I’m dreaming big, he dreams bigger. #insertuglycry #thankyoujesus

I actually followed along with last year’s competition and one of my favorite bloggers that I have been following for the longest time named, Sarah won the design challenge. I messaged her right away and asked what she thought about her experience and she only had the most positive things to say in regards to it. That helped solidify my decision.

I checked my calendar to make sure the dates would work and lo and behold, I discovered the dates were literally right after I came home from Italy. When I say it was right after, I mean I got home from Italy around 11PM Tuesday night, repacked my bags, slept a few hours, woke my kids up early just so I could love on them and got back on a plane to High Point, North Carolina early Wednesday morning.

To give you a little more information about the Design Dash, LaZBoy chose 9 bloggers (8 blogs to be exact bc one blog has a pair of twins representing them) to participate in a design competition. Before this event, we were given the task to design one of their sofas from their new line called Urban Attitudes. I went to one of my local stores and met with a designer there to select all the custom selections for my particular sofa called the McKinney. I chose the fabric, color, legs and pillows and this sofa is perfect for people who are looking for a smaller sofa with nice lines and comfortable cushions. 

The options for choosing your sofa is truly amazing as you have the opportunity to tailor and customize it to your preference and needs. We also gave them two paint colors for our space. I chose a neutral sofa with soft chenille fabric, Alabaster white walls by Sherwin Williams and a dark accent wall in navy. I decided to stick with what I feel most comfortable and really wanted to represent my style the best to my ability.

Fast forward a couple of months and LaZBoy flew me to High Point, NC which is the furniture capital of the world. I just want to say that the team truly went above and beyond in spoiling us rotten. They thought of every detail to make our trip so memorable and comfortable for all of us. After getting off the plane in North Carolina, a driver took me to the hotel to check in. Immediately following that, we left for the 70,000 sq ft LaZBoy showroom. 

The Dash was intense but so much fun! It was 2 levels and it had so many products. I knew I had to find rugs, more chair options, coffee tables, end tables, lamps, art, mirrors, pillows, blankets, decorative items, faux plants, sofa table, etc. I basically had a few seconds to see the layout of the room on paper but I didn’t know the dimension of the space. Talk about adrenaline rush! 

I was also the only one with built in bookshelves so I knew I had to find some larger items to fill in those shelves. 

After the Dash, we went back to our hotel to rest a bit and get ready for dinner. LaZBoy hired a moving company to take all of our tagged products to the production studio. It was a lot of stuff so I’m pretty sure they worked all night getting everything transferred. 

We were treated to the most delicious southern dinner at Spring House Rest. This is about the time when the jet lag from Italy was really hitting me. Thankfully, some of the other ladies were super tired as well and we excused ourselves right before dessert. You know I’m really tired if I’m missing dessert! But I had to get good sleep so I could be ready for the next full day of work. 

When we arrived to the production studio the next day, we were each given a “bay.” These rooms were custom built and were incredible. From the flooring, windows, doors, mantles and other architectural details, each room was unique in it’s own way. I was the only one with built in bookshelves which is a pro or con depending on how you feel about styling them. Some of the other girls had high beautiful ceilings with wooden beams, or large curvy doors, etc. We all had something to work with and it was so cool to see design come to life from each of our own perspectives. 

LaZBoy provided fresh flowers so we all got to create arrangements for our space. I ended up with 4 arrangements and thanked my in laws for operating a flower shop for so many years! I’m not an expert at designing them but I do feel somewhat confident putting together simple floral arrangements. 

Thanks to LaZBoy, we also had some help moving the furniture. I had to move things around quite a bit to really feel confident with the layout. I also learned a lot about product photography. When staging for products, you have to really showcase them properly because you’re only getting a one dimensional picture from photos. If I were actually designing this room for a client, I would’ve added another sofa in the front. But since we are photographing, it wouldn’t make sense to add the sofa since that would block everything else in sight. Does that make sense? It was such a cool learning experience!

I tried out a few coffee tables but they just didn’t look right. I came back to the upholstered round one and it worked! I also layered the rugs for added warmth and dimension. I really wanted to create a space where it looked like people were actually living in it. LaZBoy also flew a few of their designers from different stores to come and help us. They assisted us with finding items, giving styling opinions to offering any additional support and encouragement. 

Kelly Edwards was the host for Design Dash and you may remember her from Design on a Dime from HGTV. She was such a doll and so great at interviewing all of us. 

Honestly, I don’t remember what I was saying there because I was still working hard styling my space. We had about 4 hours total to complete it. They even hired hair and make-up for our interviews. I could get used to that!

I still had a lot left to do at this point but was happy with at least figuring out the sofa, coffee table and rug situation. And let me just say, those tennis shoes saved my life! They obviously are killing my outfit vibe here but my feet were ready!

Gosh, I really could live here! Like in the video, I really do love mixing the modern and traditional, the old with the new, to create an inviting space. I believe a space is meant to be lived in and I love that these sofas are perfect for anyone. Did you know you can order sofas with fabric that are completely resistant to stains? LaZBoy was so generous and let us choose a custom sofa and I went with the Iclean fabric because #kids. 

This chaise was sooo comfortable. I really loved how that navy wall situation turned out too. That’s where you can see a bit of my love for adding a modern edge to the space.

I would totally put all of these items in my own home. The large marble table is beautiful. I love the camel ottoman, tray, art and lamps. See, I do love it all.

The built in bookshelves took the longest time to style. I really tried keeping it clean but at the same time with some character. We were given 3o minutes to the production studio’s prop area to pick items for our room. We were giving a guideline and these chosen items could only be books, faux plants, baskets, candles and vintage decor. That’s where I got a lot of my fun vintage finds to style the shelves. 

I added two simple floral arrangements on the coffee table and added some beads to naturally drape on the tray. Flowers really do make a difference. Look, I changed my shoes! 😀

I’m really happy and proud of my space. I think it does represent my style which is creating stylish living spaces combined with both design and function. 

Taking it all in! What an amazing experience!

Here’s a final BEFORE and AFTER!

As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart! The last thing I’ll add is how I already feel like the biggest winner ever.

 

 

My facebook feed has been blowing up because of the support of my friends and family sharing the voting link  and celebrating with me. Thank you so much friends for believing in me and being my biggest cheerleaders. I’m truly truly grateful. You are a big reason I made it here!

xoxo,