How did you get on the show?
After finding that they were having a casting call on your site (thanks Jennifer!!), I filled out the application and submitted the required photos. The questions were pretty simple about my husband, Jerry, and me (what we do, our age, etc.) and where we live (city, detached/semi/condo, etc.", "what do you like/dislike about the room?", "what's your design style?", "how will you be using the room and what's your desired style, colour palette, and wish list?", "what would you splurge on?", "what makes this room an interesting episode?", "what's your budget?", "what are the dimensions of the room and what's its exposure?".
We filled out the application at the end of October 2009 (I think ?), and the Producer and Lindsay (the Design Inc. intern!) came to our house in mid-November. Funny enough, we put in the application for our living room (our entire house was a mess as we had only taken possession of it for a couple of months then, so really any room being done by Sarah would have been a blessing!) but as we gave them a tour of the house they asked us if we were willing to have our dining room instead of the living room as they received a bunch of other applications for living rooms and wanted to do something different, and our answer was "of course!!". In December 2009 they said we were one of the 12 rooms to be chosen but we would have to do an on-screen interview with mostly the same questions from the application/house tour to make sure we don't freeze on camera, and as long as we didn't freeze, we would be in the show...so much pressure...poor Jerry was super nervous, especially since he had to wear make-up for the first time too - LOL! :)
We filled out the application at the end of October 2009 (I think ?), and the Producer and Lindsay (the Design Inc. intern!) came to our house in mid-November. Funny enough, we put in the application for our living room (our entire house was a mess as we had only taken possession of it for a couple of months then, so really any room being done by Sarah would have been a blessing!) but as we gave them a tour of the house they asked us if we were willing to have our dining room instead of the living room as they received a bunch of other applications for living rooms and wanted to do something different, and our answer was "of course!!". In December 2009 they said we were one of the 12 rooms to be chosen but we would have to do an on-screen interview with mostly the same questions from the application/house tour to make sure we don't freeze on camera, and as long as we didn't freeze, we would be in the show...so much pressure...poor Jerry was super nervous, especially since he had to wear make-up for the first time too - LOL! :)
How much input did you have into the design?
Not much. Other than what we said our style was like in the application and when we meet with the Producer in December and November, we didn't really know what was going on. In the middle of them taping the show, they showed us the wallpaper (which I LOVED) and the china (which I said was okay, but looked kind of granny-ish...Sarah wrote back and said she agreed and it was just going to be a prop)
Were you happy with the finished product? Did you keep everything as is, or did you change some things?
I am THRILLED with the room...as it looks now, but maybe not as much then. I love, love, LOVE the wainscotting, paint colours, floor treatment, dining table, and LOVE the sideboard table. I wasn't very happy with all the floral fabric on the chairs and the floral artwork, but those were easy to change. In fact, we gave back all the props (china, glassware, cutlery, etc.) and gave back the art and chairs too, and Sarah personally helped us find chairs from her own line (specifically, the Cole dining chair which you can see on her website, www.sarahrichardsondesign.com), helped us pick fabrics that both parties liked and thought would go well with the room, and lowered the price so we could get it in our budget. She was AMAZING! We also just bought a painting from etsy to go in the room (it should arrive in a day or two), that I'm hoping will work really well in the room (http://www.etsy.com/transaction/42469522). Now when I walk by/in the room I always have a smile on my face since I love it (& I'm hoping that love will grow more once I get this painting on the wall!)..I'll take a pic of the room when it's up so you can see the finished result!
Did you have to pay for any of the design?
They put in 10K and we put in 3K. After doing some of the ground work (wall and floor treatments) and buying the dining table and sideboard, they said they pretty much used up the budget and asked if we could contribute more. We said we would be willing to put in another 3K, if what they bought was good value for that money and if we liked it. As we didn't like the dining chairs, which they said were almost the entire 3K budget, we returned those, and instead bought Sarah's Cole chairs with a fabric we liked instead later on.
What are Sarah & Tommy really like?
We never met Sarah once!!! It was my biggest regret since they always came to the house in the middle of a work day, and I was going to stay behind one day to meet her, but the producer said that there would be plenty of times that I would meet her, but it never happened :( However, Sarah and I emailed many times this year and I found her to be very helpful and charming! Tommy, I only met once when we were being taped about what we thought of the finished room, but it was very brief, just a simple handshake and a "it's so nice to meet you!" I really wish I could have spent more time with them, but I know how busy they are and just really appreciated the interaction that they had with us and what they did for us in the dining room.
Thanks again for telling us all about the casting call...I'm stilling pinching myself over having a Sarah dining room!! :)
Geeta
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Thanks for filling us in on the back story Geeta! How wonderful that you ended up with a room you love. We should all be so lucky to have a Sarah dining room! And if any of you have any more questions, just ask in the comments and I'm sure Geeta will chime in.