1. INTRO

We were honored to be asked to participate in the One Room Challenge. Twenty design influencers were selected from around the U.S. to take the challenge of transforming a room and documenting the process and sharing their sources and professional advice over eight weekly posts. The One Room Challenge™ is currently in its seventeenth season, a highly anticipated bi-annual event held every April and October.

This Episode is Sponsored by Helser Brothers Hardware. Helser brothers are a fully custom manufacturer of drapery hardware. It is run by Brothers Jay and Mark. Jay was an expert independent drapery installer and designs new products that are install friendly and engineered for strength and Mark, a talented metal worker with a mind of an engineer, has been regarded as a mechanical genius by all who know him. Helser has an outstanding reputation and has been in business for 24 years. Their customer service agents known as “The Rod Squad” include retired interior designers and drapery workroom owners with decades of experience.

They can customize anything and any order over $100 is shipped free. you can see their products at helserbrothers.com or find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Listen to our interview with Jay Helser on Episode 71.

It’s interesting that in deciding to do our podcast studio as the space for the One Room Challenge, COVID was not a thing. Now that so many of us are working from home and doing zoom calls, it seems appropriate that this update is very relevant to those working at home and trying to make their space functional and visually attractive at the same time.

Episode 1 hit the airwaves in January of 2018. We have been recording in the same spot and we are now recording Episode 82. One thing that we are not changing is our production company called “Produce Your Podcast”. They offer a full service, turn-key remote recording service with a live engineer in broadcast quality and then do all of the editing, sound mixing and post production of the podcast. One thing we determined from the very beginning was that we wanted high quality sound. Nothing worse than listening to a podcast that is hard to hear or fuzzy. Another goal of ours is to “video” our podcasts. We have found that there are some people who don’t either like to listen to podcasts or don’t know how. We purchased a ring light and that’s about as far as we’ve gotten for right now.

2. OUR PODCAST STUDIO

A. Located in the Kandrac & Kole Office

i. A 2-story house located in a culdesac of 8 historic homes that are all businesses – We work on the top floor and use the bottom floor for storage and a conference room where we do client presentations.

B. Prior to the Renovation:

i. A space that we kept overflow fabric books and various finish samples such as carpet, tile, countertop material, wallpaper samples, etc. This is where we WERE recording our podcast because if offered good sound absorption and we figured no one would “see us”.

3. WHAT WE DID

A. Removed everything from the space to start fresh

i. We had a lot of fabric samples on the wall where we used the Rubbermaid Fast Track Wall Organizing System. Read our blog – Week 2 that shows this versatile system that works great for fabrics or any other type of wall organization.

B. We painted over the original green color in Sherwin Williams Spare White – SW6204 – light and bright! Thank you to Sherwin Williams for donating the paint and to Verge and Associates in Atlanta for painting the room for us. Listen to Podcast Episode #55 where we talk about our favorite white paint colors. Also, check out Sherwin Williams “Designer Color Collection”. An exclusive collection of 200 new colors, including brighter and purer whites.

C. We selected the entire paint palette for the space – We did a rebrand at the end of 2019 with the help of Franki Durbin (frankidurbin.com) and Emory Kole Designs. The color palette for the brand, and our podcast studio is navy, blush pink and chartreuse.

D. We determined the needs and function for the space

i. Good sound absorption

ii. Comfortable chairs for ourselves and guests of the podcast

iii. A way to hide the design resources we still needed in the space (fabrics and finish samples)

iv. A way to organize and hide our equipment wires

v. Larger microphones for more comfortable speaking posture – we use the Audio Technica AT2005USB

vi. Artwork that would energize and inspire us

vii. Statement lighting

4. OUR SPONSORS

A. LIGHTING - Blueprint Lighting out of New York – Known for custom handmade lighting that is mid-century

modern inspired and handcrafted with quick lead times. They work with designers, decorators and architects. We chose the 3 Arm Monarch Chandelier – you can customize the enamel color. We went with a blush/pink to fit our brand color. Check out their website – blueprintlighting.com to see their ceiling fixtures, pendants, flush mounts, floor lamps and wall lamps and sconces. One of our favorites is the Tuxedo Wall Sconce!

B. FURNITURE

i. Woodbridge Furniture - Our Podcast Table – the Helene Breakfast Table – we needed a fairly small round wood table to fit in the space and this was perfect at 44” round. It has a light wood finish that we knew we would have to make grommet holes into for wire management. Very distracting with lots of wires around! A big thank you to Woodbridge, high end brand of case goods, dining, occasional and outdoor furniture.

They make beautiful traditional and transitional pieces and many can be customized in any color with a paint chip or specific manufacturer’s color. We LOVE their barstools and tables. Check them out at woodbridgefurniture.com. and see their new collection from Lauren Liess – I especially love the Revival Chair, Counter and Bar Stool.

ii. Fairfield Chair –4 Swivel Chairs to go around the table. They are called the Tipsy Swivel Chair. They are a petite tight back chair with a brass base at the bottom. You can add nail trim to the chair and it’s also available with a dual USB port. We elected to do a COM, which means “Customer’s Own Material”. We used a fabric in the Trend Line of Fabricut, another wonderful sponsor. We chose Fabric #04250 in a solid chartreuse color which came from the Vern Yip book called Palisades Velvet. Fairfield is a major U.S. manufacturer established in 1921 of fine upholstered seating for home, office and hospitality as well as headboards and case goods. They partnered with interior designer, television personality and lifestyle expert Libby Langdon to design several upholstery pieces and case goods as well as bedroom furniture, which is a first for Fairfield. These gorgeous pieces debuted at the October High Point Market. They have a huge variety of products, fabrics and finishes and we appreciate their generous donation. Check them out at fairfield.com

iii. Currey and Company – We chose the Thea Credenza in a light wood finish with 2 cabinet doors (with 4 shelves) and 2 drawers. This is where we will house our podcast equipment and keep it nice and tidy behind the cabinet doors. If you are regular listeners of our podcast, you know that Currey Is our go to lighting source that also sells beautiful furniture and accessories. Their high quality products and customer service have made them one of our all time favorite vendors.

In our next Episode #83 we will dive into the fabrics we selected, the amazing artists that grace our art gallery wall, our podcast tile logo on the wall, and the professional photography of the space.