Celebrity Spotlight: See J. Allen At The Capital Home Show

The Capital Home Show is taking place September 19-21, 2014 at the Dulles Expo Center. This show is a great place for homeowners to get the tips, advice and exclusive deals they need to help make their home projects happen. We know that undertaking a home renovation, remodel, or redesign can be an overwhelming process - there's budgets to balance, expectations to meet, and work to do. That's why we enlist the help of lots of home experts at the show, like J. Allen.

J. Allen is an accomplished interior designer whose talents have been features on HGTV's Design Star, in Home & Design Magazine and in The Washington Post. J. is the founder of Perceptions Interiors and has over 11 years experience in residential, commercial, and hospitality interiors. J. will be sharing the ultimate guide to decorating in five steps. But before you cure your design woes and learn how to pull a room together like a pro, enjoy our interview with J. below.

MEET J. ALLEN

Twitter: @perceptionsid
Facebook: Perception Interiors by J .Allen
Pinterest: Perception Interiors
Houzz: Perception Interiors

Marketplace Events (MPE): What three items do you always keep in your purse/pockets?

• J. Allen (JA): "Tape measure, phone with camera, hand sanitizer."

MPE: What was your first job?

• JA: "Designed a basement apartment in Alexandria Virginia. It was my first paid gig, single mom with two kids. It had a $1,000 budget and I was so excited that someone wanted to hire me, I stretched that budget like no other job and she is still a client today in her third home.”

MPE: How were you discovered?

• JA: “I had clients who recommended that I audition for the show – on a whim I tried for casting in Philadelphia and drove and they asked me to come back the next day and there was a blizzard and I ended up going back and forth to the show in the storm – a little voice in my head just said just do it and it worked out.”

MPE: Most memorable career moment to date?

• JA: “Design Star was a pivotal moment – being selected for that top 12 and being a small fish in the big pond and being selected was a big deal.”

MPE: What famous figure inspires your career?

• JA: “Mary McDonald’s design style – her outlook and how she tackles her projects – I love a lot of different designers for different reasons, but I love her drive, great attitude and energy.”

MPE: What’s your personal mantra

• JA: “Perception is reality – which is the reason for the name of my company.”

MPE: What is the most challenging part of your job?

• JA: “Identifying my clients’ taste and style and creating a style that is them and not me and something they are happy to live in every day – capturing their lifestyle.”

MPE: What do you see as a new trend?

• JA: “1. Grey has been my favorite color for a long time – and it is coming back right now.
  2. Designers are being seen as more than a luxury service – and people see them as a viable service.
  3. Reclaimed industrial trends – we are finding ways to reuse/recycle – it makes things more interesting.”

MPE: What was your most embarrassing moment?

• JA: “First day on camera we were eating Chinese food and I was so nervous that I shoved a fortune cookie in my mouth and wound up eating the fortune inside!”

MPE: What is your favorite design or garden-related phone app?

• JA: “Houzz.”

MPE: What is your favorite room in your house?

• JA: “My closet – because I took a lot of time with it and I don’t have to share it with my husband – I could live in my closet.”

Make sure to catch J. at the Capital Home Show. Grab your tickets online early to save $3 courtesy of Thompson Creek Window Company. We can’t wait to see you there!

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Getting To Know HGTV Design Star Meg Caswell

This fall Meg Caswell, season 6 winner of HGTV’s Design Star, host of Megs Great Rooms, Americas Best-Kept Secrets (HGTV), and more will be LIVE at the Capital Home Show (Sept 20-22 @ Dulles Expo Center).

Meg's design aesthetic is chic, and she sparkles with vibrant ideas – plus, she’s just plain FUN to be around!  This high-energy media darling has some serious home decor, design, and renovation chops.  Check out our interview with her below! 

10 Questions for Meg: 

• How were you discovered?
• Season Six of HGTV Design Star
• Most memorable career moment to date?
• The premiere of my very first show, winning a Telly Award.  Also, the first time I was able to do a home reveal to homeowners and change their lives.
• Any embarrassing on-the-job moments you’d like to share?
• I pulled a tile sample out of my bag and my neon green thong underwear was hanging off the back of it, this was during the taping of a show.  Also, while on camera I found a treasure, and in my excitement I dropped it and it was all caught for the show.  
• Describe your design style in five words or less.
• Vintage Palm Beach Chic
• What was your first ever DIY project?
• I made my own headboard. 
• What design/gardening trend or item are you coveting this season?
• Hi-gloss lacquered walls
• What is your favorite room in your home and why?
• My sun room, it has a beautiful white coach and furnishings that make me feel like I’m outside.
• The last item you bought or crafted for your home?
• I purchased two French night stands and painted them white.  I also crafted a mirror that is covered in oyster shells.                                   
• What is your design or gardening pet peeve?
• When a designer creates the same room over and over for different clients
• Describe the Capital Home Show in one word.
• Inspiring 

Follow Meg on social media!
      

Don't miss Meg Caswell at the Capital Home Show, September 20-22 at the Dulles Expo Center.  

Meg will be LIVE on stage Friday, Saturday & Sunday!

For 2 for 1 tickets to the show click HERE! 

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Meet Leslie Ezelle HGTV’s first-ever Design Star All Stars Winner!

Being crowned HGTV’s first-ever Design Star All Stars winner hasn’t gone to Leslie Ezelle’s head.  This nationally acclaimed interior designer, TV personality, cancer-survivor and mom of six keeps herself busy incorporating simplicity, structure and function into her projects and her life.

"I am loving white on cream, light grey on light taupe and white on white."

We sat down with Leslie to ask her a few questions about design, life, and tire tables. Read on to learn more about this design star – and be sure to catch her presentation on the main stage at the Great Big Texas Home Show at Cowboys Stadium, March 8-10, 2013!

 What design trend or item are you coveting this season?

”Trend??” “Item??” I have WAY too many favorites to choose just one! But, my most favorite piece in my home is my coffee table from Montauk Sofa, the tire table from Design Star Season 6.  I loved it so much that I ordered it from NYC, and had it shipped all the way to Dallas!

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Meet Designer Todd Davis: Exciting Addition to Minneapolis Home + Garden Show!

HGTV junkies know Todd Davis from his high-energy turn as a finalist on  "Design Star" as well as his adventurous design style from “Room Crashers,” namely, his transformations of dull bland rooms into stunning eye-popping showpieces.  Todd describes himself as "smart, hyper-creative, dynamic and very opinionated" and says he can "build anything from chicken wire and lint in a timely fashion."

"...smart, hyper-creative, dynamic and very opinionated..."

In addition to being an athlete and surfer, Todd Davis also owns a design business in San Francisco, Epic Spaces, that specializes in unique spaces--both indoor and outdoor--that reflect a Northern California sense of refined relaxation, adventure, and fun. With Todd’s direction, Epic Spaces offers leading edge design with an intelligent interactive twist.

Need project ideas for that room of your home that needs some serious crashing?

Todd knows just where to begin and how to create a plan that won’t turn your household upside down in the process.  He'll give you budget-friendly answers on how to take that unseemly living space and create a room that will soon become your favorite.

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Todd Davis will be appearing on the Lifestyle Stage at the Minneapolis  Home + Garden Show March 1 & 2, on the LIFESTYLE STAGE!


 

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