What we’re binging now: ‘Get a Room with Carson & Thom’
Fashion expert Carson Kressley and interior designer Thom Filicia, two of the original cast members of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” reunited on Bravo with “Get A Room with Carson & Thom,” a show Kressley describes as, “a sassy, best-friend buddy comedy with a hearty dose of great information about interior design.” (Missed it? Season 1 is re-airing now.)
We caught up with the slaying superheroes of style to get their take on the crimes of interior design, lessons learned during shooting, advice for beginners and more:
Strike out on your own
Leave the “themed” spaces for Disneyland. “People tend to get thematic,” Filicia said. “They buy a midcentury house and then everything they buy is midcentury. … It’s no different than going to an early American museum. It tells the story of the theme instead of the people who live there.”
Don’t chicken out. “The other thing I see very often is that people know what they want … but when they go to execute it, they back out,” Filicia said. “They don’t follow through and trust their instincts. … That can lead to a very ho-hum interior, something that’s not terribly interesting or authentic. … It doesn’t have any energy.”
When bad is better than none
“I always say I would rather someone have bad taste than no taste, or lame taste. … It’s more interesting than just being bland,” Filicia said.
Aha! moments
“For a successful interior you need two things … your floor plan, all of your measurements, how tall your ceiling is, how wide your room is, what kind of furniture is going to fit. … Having that physical plan is your road map,” Kressley said. “It will help prevent you from making big, expensive mistakes.”
“The other part of that plan is to know the overall concept or vibe,” Kressley said. Create a concept board to keep your style on track.
Words of wisdom?
“My biggest piece of advice is just get started,” said Kressley. “There’s temporary peel-and-stick wallpaper, which is amazing. We used a brand called Tempaper on the show, and it was so fun and easy. We put it on the ceiling of a closet, the inside of a bookcase … those small triumphs can motivate you to tackle bigger projects.”
Sixth sense
“One of my very first projects [on the show] was creating a work space for a psychic,” said Kressley, “and we were getting advice from the great beyond. The woman who had owned the space before was the client’s late mother-in-law, and we were checking in with her. So there were moments where we were kind of designing for two people, one who was alive and one who was dead.”
And what you won’t see
Here’s one moment that we wish were captured on “Get a Room” cameras, especially since it ended without injury or lawsuits:
Kressley said while driving around a particularly beautiful neighborhood for the show he hopped out of the car to take an aspirational selfie. “I heard some screaming,” said Kressley, “and by the time I finished my selfie I realized I hadn’t put the car in park, so it was rolling downhill with Thom buckled in …”
Bonnie McCarthy contributes to the Los Angeles Times as a home and lifestyle design writer. She enjoys scouting for directional trends and reporting on what’s new and next. Follow her on Twitter @ThsAmericanHome
ALSO
How designer Nate Berkus blended old and new in his L.A. kitchen remodel
They found a real estate unicorn: A house with great ‘bones,’ ready for decorating
You’ve never seen a kitchen island sink like this
How online art galleries are serving up talent — and sales — without the ‘tude
