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Sarah 101: Debbie's Living Room

by - Wednesday, January 05, 2011

*** spoiler alert ***

If you didn't catch Sarah 101 last night and don't want to see what the room looked like, don't read any further!
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And for the rest of you (including you American readers who can't wait until Sarah 101 hits HGTV US!), here's the low-down on the Sarah & Tommy magic from last night's episode:

S&T worked on a typical Toronto home. In fact, you may notice that the layout is very similar to my own home, minus the walls between the living room and dining room and the wall to the basement. The problem with these homes is they are not very big so you need to maximize space and pick furnishings to suit.

It was great to see the signature Sarah style back in action - a great mix of patterns, clever use of tile, and comfortable livable rooms. Sarah continued to use a bolder, more colourful palette; gone are the muted creams, greens, and blues from Design Inc. days. In this episode, she used a playful & graphic Josef Frank-ish floral fabric from my fave store Designer Fabrics as her jumping off point and paired it with apple greens, raspberries and pinks.






Sarah 101 is like a recipe book where S&T give you the ingredients to make a spectacular space. A few of my favourite tips from this episode:

- save silks for window treatments where they're away from sticky fingers and everyday wear and tear
- make a small window look bigger by using two panels on either side, with the patterned panel on the exterior
- choose a mid-toned colour for your floors for a timeless look. Anything too extreme, too dark or too light, will look dated at some point. And if you have pets, never choose dark floors which show all the dirt and hairs!
- put a bold fabric on a smaller piece of furniture. That graphic floral on the large sofa would have overwhelmed the space, according to S&T.
- consider good solid vintage pieces for furnishings. That dining table with three leaves was $150 and Sarah had it refinished for $500. Still a good investment.
- a daybed is a great for helping define the living room area, but it doesn't block sightlines
- think about piping. The contrasting piping on that reupholstered sofa makes it just a bit more interesting, don't you think?

So that was episode 1. Did you watch it? Any favourite elements? We're talking about it too on my Facebook page so let me know what you think.

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