Admit it, you need help. Winter has you down and your home looks blah. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a design superstar by your side to help you spruce up the place for spring?

How about four superstars?

Interior designer Candice Olson is a whiz at turning dull spaces into exciting rooms on her HGTV program Divine Design.

Jonathan Adler is author of My Prescription for Anti- Depressive Living, an upbeat title if there ever was one.

And fashion designer Todd Oldham has extended his career into home fashion. He hosts Bravo's new reality show, Top Design.

Four different designers, four different approaches and more than a dozen tips are just what you need to kick your inspiration into overdrive for spring.

Candice Olson

• Age: 42

• Home base: Toronto

• Web site: www.divine design.tv

• Claim to fame: An interior designer for 20 years, Olson has turned her HGTV show, Divine Design, into an industry. She writes newspaper and magazine articles, offers interior design services and is creating lines for top manufacturers.

• Book: Candice Olson on Design, $19.95

Q: What makes a room great?

A: I love a space that looks asif it has grown and evolved, as if the clients have a history, a past, and have worked forward to something fresh.

Jonathan Adler

• Age: 40

• Home base: New York

• Web site: jonathanadler.com

• Claim to fame: Adler launched his interior design career while working as a potter. Today, he has eight stores with his name on them as well as a line of furnishings at HW Home stores in the metro area. Adler also has ventured into TV and is one of the judges on Todd Oldham's reality show.

• Book: Jonathan Adler - My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living, $34.95

Q: How did you start out?

A: I wanted to be a potter and that was the extent of my dream. I just wanted to find an audience for my work - attendees at craft fairs. As it happened, I was lucky to have gotten far beyond that. I found a workshop in Peru able to produce my designs, and that allowed me to get out from behind the potter's wheel.

Todd Oldham

• Age: 45

• Home bases: New York and Los Angeles

Web site: toddoldham studio.com

• Claim to fame: In addition to appearing on TV, Oldham has designed accessories for Target and hired La-Z-Boy to produce his line of home furnishings.

• Books: Numerous, including Handmade Modern: Mid- Century Inspired Projects for Your Home, $19.95

Q: Why did you get into design?

A: It was the handful of things in my DNA. From my very early memories, I was making and designing things. I wanted to make beautiful things, and fame and fortune came along with that.

Todd Oldham

1. Be aware of how you do things and set up your home to function for you. A room should beautifully reflect the person who inhabits it and function just as well. For instance, place the order of your clothes in your closet to accommodate the way you choose your ensembles.

2. When choosing pieces for your home, use the same tenets you use when picking out what you wear. You know your taste level and what looks best on you. A room is at its most successful when you look great in it.

3. Throw away your box springs. Doing so adds about one foot to your head space when you're in bed. It looks more modern and it's just as comfortable.

4. Good lighting can save even the saddest rooms. Adjust lighting tones in your room by switching lightbulbs or shades, or use a warm-colored wall to bounce the light off of.

5. Fine-tune your room. Take that extra time to properly press the fabrics that aren't changed often, like the curtains and pillow shams.

6. Paint your room well so there are no crazy drips. Or paint it so that there are lots of crazy drips.

Jonathan Adler

1. Name your house after an English country estate - Balmoral Arms, Sandringham, Blenheim - and have the name imprinted on matchbooks, napkins and stationery (sun-rise.com is a great source). This is especially good if you live in a studio apartment or a suburb.

2. Paint your floors white. You'll feel Emma Peel-ish. You'll feel carefree. You'll feel thinner than you actually are.

3. Paint your front door with orange lacquer, because it announces who you are - an important detail that most people forget about. Pique your neighbors' curiosity.

4. In the bathroom, stack your towels on a Louis XIV chair (cheapo is fine) upholstered in a Pucci terry-cloth toweling, even if your bath is tiny.

Barbara Barry

Superstar designer Barbara Barry is queen of today's classic look. She has designed furnishings for Henredon, crystal for Baccarat and china for Wedgwood. Her style is a crisp Hollywood look that embodies fuss-free luxury. Here are her tips for ways you can refresh your bedroom without spending a fortune:

1. Clean: Pull your bed out from the wall and your bedside tables. Vacuum and dust and you can feel the renewed energy immediately.

2. Purge: Get rid of what no longer serves you. Get a big bag and start going through your closet, your sheets and your towels. These are the things that touch our bodies and make us feel taken care of. They need to be replaced often.

3. Sage: Get a stick of American sage (order online), light it and blow the smoke into every corner of the room and the house, even behind doors and under beds. It clears out old energy and bad energy.

Candice Olson

1. Use the humble slipcover to play up nature-inspired fabrics that bring the outdoors inside. Choose from safe solids, trendy prints and a rainbow of modern hues. Whatever your choice, slipcovers guarantee you a big impact without the big commitment of new furniture.

2. Not all flooring warrants being sanded and polished. To give a lift to a dull wood floor, try painting it, then stenciling a pattern around the edge.

3. New accessories are like a breath of fresh spring air. Put away clunky picture frames and dark throw pillows. Hot this season are blown glass, airy pastels and sheer fabrics.

4. Go for harmony. Imagine a living room with an overstuffed, ornately carved sofa and an ultra-modern end table. They just wouldn't go together.

5. Replace beat-up outdoor furniture. But before you rush out to buy, think about your price range, comfort level, the table size you require and whether you need an umbrella. Also think about the various materials out there - teak, wicker, aluminum, plastic resin, cedar or wrought iron. Do you have room to store the furniture inside during the winter?

Back to Top