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Love Your Abode

Recipes, Do-it-yourself, Interior Design and Lifestyle

Design Dash Competition

November 14, 2018

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. 

Disclosure: 
I was compensated by La-Z-Boy to participate in their Design Dash Challenge but all opinions, thoughts and dorky moments are 100% my own.
 
design-dash-competition
When you get your own director’s chair, you kind of freak out a little. Okay, you freak out A LOT because you can’t contain your inner dorkiness.

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.

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Here I am in my local LaZboy store holding the two pieces of fabric I chose for my sofa that I got to custom design.

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. 

design-dash-competition-lazboy-blogger
LaZBoy welcomed us to NC with the sweetest goodie bags, put us in a swanky hotel and thought of every small detail.

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.

design-dash-competition-highpoint

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

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All the bloggers getting ready for the 30 minute Design Dash!

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.

italy-burano-island
Here I am in Italy just two days before heading to North Carolina. What a whirlwind!

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.

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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. 

design-challenge-lazboy-blogger-competition
Here are two guys bringing in my floating wall. I chose two paint colors and stuck with my tried and true colors, Alabaster and Hale Navy.

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.

kimpton-cardinal-hotel
LaZBoy had us stay in this gorgeous Kimpton Cardinal hotel. Even the elevator was super cool.

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. 

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I am ready for the dash!

 

design-dash-lazboy-competition
We all got one assistant who had a cart running around with us to tag items. I was basically a crazy woman trying to get things that caught my eye before someone else tagged it. 

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! 

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Hmm.. should I tag that mirror?

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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. 

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Brass? I’ll take it!

 

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Afterwards, my blogger friend Carla and I were discussing our rooms. We got a good sweat from the Design Dash!

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. 

spring-house-rest-restaurant

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. 

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These girls are insanely talented and all deserve to win.

 

design-dash-bay
This is what I saw in my “bay.” There’s my pretty sofa!

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. 

design-dash-floral

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. 

design-dash-competition-mckinney

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!

design-dash-competition-mckinney-sofa

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. 

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Design really makes me happy can you tell?

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. 

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“I love my room!”

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!

design-dash-lazboy-kelly-edwards  

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!

lazboy-mckinney-sofa

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. 

lazboy-chaise

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.

lazboy-modern-art

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.

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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. 

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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! 😀

lazboy-mckinney-sofa-design-competition

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. 

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Taking it all in! What an amazing experience!

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Here’s a final BEFORE and AFTER!

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Do you want to know the best part?  

YOU can win a $15,000 prize and one of us can win as well.

From now until December 16th, you can vote (enter) every single day to win a room makeover! I truly hope one of my friends (that’s you) wins.

Hop on over here and vote! 

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.
 
best-husband-ever
When your husband brings home flowers because he says you’re already a winner.
 

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,
 
 
 
 
 
Let all that you do be done in Love. 1 Corinthians 16:14
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Comments

  1. Ann Madden says

    November 15, 2018 at 10:06 am

    Yuni is the winner here! Yuni thought of it all bookshelves, fireplace, table, lamp and artwork WOW Grand Prize WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Yuni Min says

      November 15, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      Wow, thank you so much for you kind comment and enthusiasm!! You are so so sweet!

  2. Barbi K. says

    November 15, 2018 at 9:32 pm

    What a beautifully designed well thought room!! I love it and I hope everyone else does too and votes for you. I love your accent wall and the styling on the bookshelves. Nothing is too overwhelming for the eye and it looks homey and relaxing. Nicely done!

    • Yuni Min says

      November 16, 2018 at 8:30 am

      Barbi, thank you so so much for you sweet and thoughtful comment. I’m so glad you loved the room with LaZBoy. Thank you for always leaving me the kindest words. You are a blessing!

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Hi I’m Yuni

Hi I’m Yuni

loveyourabode

Full time non profit @friendsofrefugees . Part time creator at LYA. I’m also a golf ⛳️ addict.
✉️:loveyourabode@gmail.com

When your girl has been talking about chopping her When your girl has been talking about chopping her hair off for months and you decide to do it together. Jules is donating her long healthy hair to @locksofloveofficial. Here’s to the last month of high school for my soon to be college girly! 😩🥹
22 years on 2-22!! The years have truly flown by w 22 years on 2-22!! The years have truly flown by way too fast. Happy anniversary to the one who thinks I’m hilarious, gives me my daily morning/nightly back scratches, never makes me drive, and lets me take the last tasty bite of his food. If that’s not true love, Idk what is!Wahoooo ❤️ Thank you, Lord!

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If you know Emmy, she is my super creative child. If you know Emmy, she is my super creative child. She loves @drunkelephant skincare care products so much she recreated her own paper version using paper and a box. This girl asks me to take her @sephora every month.😩 I think I see a product designer in the making?🧐
I found a pretty marbled top table for $20 and sty I found a pretty marbled top table for $20 and styled it 3 ways. Which one is your favorite? One of you shared you have a similar one and her husband uses it to hold his hat. Not a bad idea! 🧢 🎩 What else could you do with this? 
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