Like many of you probably did a few years ago, I watched Trading Spaces when it was all the rage (is it still on at ALL, or just reruns?) and Laurie Hickson-Smith was my favorite designer on that show. It was a riot to see what all those designers were going to come up with each show and I think the decorating boards were buzzing for days after some of the reveals were shown. Laurie had some fresh and wonderful ideas on how to transform those ho-hum spaces into something really unique and pretty. Ahemmm, unlike some of the others on that show.
I won’t name any names, but do any of you remember the unfortunate hideous silk flowers stapled to the walls incident in the masterbath of one of the homeowners?? And they claimed to love it! Kidding, right?! That really shocked me to no end. Oh my gosh, I think that one went down in history as the absolute worst design faux pas known to man (or woman, as it were) ever revealed on TV. But, we won’t dwell on the silk flower foible.
Back to Laurie, she has written a delightful book about the renovation of a mid-century modern home from the 1950’s that she and her hubby took on and this book chronicles all the details with lots of Before and After pics. Laurie explains all the reasons why she did what she did and wow, did the house turn out just stunning. And Laurie just seems like someone who would be fun to know, a down to earth Southern girl.
Laurie has wonderful taste and she tells about the historic bungalow they lived in previously, which was much more classic and traditional, so she had to completely rethink this more modern space.
And that rethinking involved taking out some traditional elements that previous homeowners had added to the house, but which after she pondered on it for a bit, realized that those classic moldings were not doing a thing for this house at all. So, they set about removing some of the mistakes (even though she adores classic moldings, they weren’t working here) and taking the home back to its roots, so to speak. And what a transformation it is. Right down to keeping the original parquet floors, which they originally turned up their noses at, but once they found out the floors were teak, refinished them and brought them back to their former glory.
Laurie has a lively mix of antiques and modern pieces and I love how she has mixed all the elements so successfully. She’s not afraid of color and uses it generously throughout the house, but it feels calm and not at all chaotic. I adore her choice of artwork. I’d love to add a little contemporary art in my house too. And see how she has kept the walls such a nice creamy white, to showcase her art? It works well!
These simple wooden pears from a trip to Provence are showcased on the antique farm table in the dining area, also found on that trip to France. Simple, but oh-so-pretty, as is the pottery collection on the shelves.
The book is full of beautiful photos of Laurie’s house and she goes into details on how she decided on her choices and achieved the look. A very fun read, if you get the chance to pick it up, I’d highly recommend it.
Thanks to the fine folks at Hoffman Media, I now have my own signed copy of Laurie’s book and I will treasure it, along with my other decorating books. It’s always fun to learn from the professionals and see things through their eyes and I always, always want to learn new things.
(All photos from Discovering Home with Laurie Smith, meredithbooks.com) This is not a paid post, but my own opinions of the book I received. I liked it so much, I wanted to share it with my readers.
Be sure and stop back tomorrow for a really fun beauty giveaway!
{ 1 trackback }
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Rhoda,
Thanks so much for sharing, the book looks very interesting.
Laurie and Vern were two of my favorites on the show.
Sandy
Hi Rhoda,
I agree Laurie had some nice ideas. I cringe when I remember some of the designs a certain “unamed somebody” came up with! Lucky you… to have a signed copy of the book, it looks like a good one.
Cathy
Oh I love Laurie, too!
Do you remember the episode where they glued hay to the walls? So many crazy things happened on that show, but Laurie’s designs always came out beautiful, clean and classic. On one episode Paige told a family “You can’t really worry when Laurie is doing your home.” She was so right!
I’m gonna have to look on Amazon for this book, thanks Rhoda!
She is one of my favorites & I’ll have to look for her book. It’s funny that you brought up the fake flower room because I was thinking about it when you mentioned Trading Spaces, and who can forget the sand room? I would have been furious if that was my house.
Oh Rhoda, I do remember the silk flower walls!! Unfortunately unforgettable!
I’m a fan of Laurie’s and will look for the book. The photos are gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing your review of this book, Rhoda. She was always one of my favorites too. The pictures are gorgeous!
Not having cable (gasp I know
I wasn’t a regular viewer of Trading Spaces. I know this post is about Laurie’s talents, but I just HAD to see the ugly silk flower faux pas. In case someone else missed that episode here is a link to the pic http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/tradingspaces/topten/oddmaterials/oddmaterials_07.html . Wow. That was horrible! Glad to see that the show was able to be redeemed with designers like Laurie!
I haven’t seen that show in ages, but I do remember the ocassional humorous…OK, hideous transformations that occured upon acassion! I did enjoy Laurie and her work. Her home looks absolutely stunning! The book looks as if it would be a fabulous addition to a decorator’s library.
Have a great Monday!
Jennifer
Hi Rhoda,
Laurie was always my favorite too, I think everyone loved her. I also love Candice Olsen, do you? I was going to remind you about the episode with the hay on the walls but I see Gina beat me to it, and I believe that was the same designer (and I use that word lightly) that did the silk flowers on the bathroom wall. What was she thinking? Enjoy your book.
Cheri
Laurie and Vern were always my favorites too. I thought about
the Hay on the walls was the worse too. These people at
little kids who were going to pull that hay off the walls. Or the
green live moss that was put on a wall and proably smelled!
Thanks for sharing, the book looks great.
I never saw the silk flower episode but I did see the hay…oh my word….I’d have killed someone. I don’t care if I was on national tv. And there were the episodes where the homeowners said “DO NOT USE ‘x’ color!” And what did the designers do, but use that color in like 50 shades, all over the place? Oh my….
I have to say, judging from the pictures, this will be a book I need ot pick up. If only so I can look at those bookshelves with the off-set square panes again. Or maybe they are diamonds? Either way, I love those…now, to figure out a way to keep twin 2 yr olds from having their way with them…hmmmm. I think I’ll have to wait on having some of those put into this house, lol.
Thanks for sharing, Rhoda!
Rhoda, first of all, I’m glad you got your dressing! LOL!
Second, I love Laurie Smith. She is cute as pie in addition to being so talented.
Third, that bathroom made me cringe to watch the destruction. It was painful to watch as they destroyed a perfectly lovely space. Can you imagine what it cost them to redo those walls? I would have sued over that. I guess there’s a clause in there about that, but I would have sued the show. LOL!
Anyhow, I love these spaces. She has beautiful taste, and she’s also a beautiful girl.
XO,
Sheila
I love Laurie! Always fresh and functional. Can’t wait to see the book for myself.
One of the worst “Trading Spaces” show I saw was the designer (cough) who pasted wine labels like wallpaper all over the home owner’s kitchen. The wine labels were ugly too and a dark color. The home owners hated it and made a comment they didn’t even drink wine. I read later that the home owners removed the awful wine labels. Laurie was my favorite designer on that show – she didn’t try to do “over-the-wall” stuff. It seems the worst designers would replace the home owners furniture with cheap plywood built units that didn’t look comfortable at all. I did like the first young lady that was the host (who they replaced and lost ratings until they bought her back).
Teacup Lane (Sandy)
Laurie was my very favorite too! Hilidi? Not so much!
Don’t forget the episode when they GLUED straw on the walls! That debacle was either Doug or Hildi! Bad, Bad, BAD designer!
I will have to get this book! Thanks for the heads up!
Lou Cinda
You sure brought some memories rushing back, Rhoda! I stopped watching the show because I couldn’t handle the pain of watching disappointment with the homeowners. Nothing wrong with putting a stylish twist on things (I do it all the time!) but to outright attempt to push the limits just for curious reality tv?!? No thanks. I remember the hay and records on the walls…
Vern and Laurie were my favs too. And Ty of course.
Oh, and the carpenters were always ‘fun to watch.’ 
Donna
I’ll say her name! I’m not afraid.
HILDY.
She was horrible … she also stapled records to someone’s walls one time and remember when she glued hay on to those other walls? If i EVER saw her in my house, I would just lay down and cry.
LOVED Frank, Doug, Vern and Laurie!
she was definitely my favorite in the glory days of Trading Spaces. I love that she gave the house what it needed, so many give a house what THEY need, and to me, it just doesn’t add up, you know?
These pictures are so beautiful. She has such an elegant style. Thanks for sharing this book with me-I will have to look out for it.
Best wishes, Natasha.
I totally remember that episode! I forgot the woman’s name who did that since it’s been awhile since I’ve watched the show, but really! Who would do such a thing?
Laurie has always been one of my favorites. She has such classic elegance.
I don’t remember the silk flowers but I do remember they hay being glued to the walls. Oh I would have been SO upset about that!
I loved Laurie on Trading Spaces. It’s been ages an ages since I watched that show, but I used to love it.
I don’t remember the flowers, but like Nichole, I remember the hay…it was awful!
You’re right, Laurie was one of the best. But I thought she was too into the gold sunburst. Vern was my favorite. Lisa~
Love Laurie. She’s from Mississippi, which is the state of my birth, so that makes her pretty special to me. LOL!
I’ll go ahead and say it. Hildi was the absolute worst designer. I actually stopped watching Trading Spaces because of her. I mean, why did they allow the innocent participants to have to go through such decorating horror? I always said that Hildi should be forced to take her own designs and put them in her own home. Flowers, hay, feathers, hub-caps… they should all go home with her. Whew! I’m actually glad that show is over. I felt sorry for the clients.
I loved Laurie on Trading Spaces! She and Vern Yip were my two favorite. I remember the silk flower bathroom. WOW!
I always want to learn new decorating tips too. I always seem to like other people’s decorating style so much better than my own.
My husband and I still talk about that silk flower monstrosity to this day! He was actually steaming mad when he happened to catch the reveal (just walking through the living room while I was watching). Unbelievable!
On another note…I wish more people appreciated parquet floors. I think they are gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE Laurie! I actually live in Jackson, MS…which is where she lives…and have met her once, seen her out a few times, though. When I met her we were both browsing through some fabrics at a local flea market…she was so down-to-earth and friendly!
My mom’s friend lives in Laurie’s neighborhood, so I’ve seen the outside of her house…but I’ve always wondered what the inside looked like. Guess I’m gonna have to go buy the book now! Thanks for a little review of it!