Amy Sklar of Design Star, Season 4

The game is on!  I don’t know about you but I am sure enjoying this season of  Design Star. Maybe it’s because the judges critiques are harsh, the tasks are ginormous, the time lines are tight or because one poor team never seems to finish a project.  Tonight I was particularly disappointed that Amy Sklar’s show was “canceled.”  I just had the opportunity to chat with Amy in an interview for Project Nursery and came to the conclusion that she’s one cool designer and mom!

Based in Los Angeles, Amy owns her own interior design business, Sklar Design.  With two little girls, Georgia (2)  and Daisy (4), she works from home and often finds herself accomplishing some of her best interior design work between the late hours of 9pm and 1am (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?). Amy’s a modern mom trying to balance a successful business with successful parenting. When asked about why she decided to audition for Design Star, Amy shared that it was important for her be a role model to her daughters. However, Amy’s biggest challenge going on the show wasn’t last night’s kitchen remodel but rather being sequestered from her family.

Amy’s most memorable experience from the reality TV show was the judging process. “The judges know what it takes to produce and perform. After hearing their comments, I came away with the realization that you are not ever done with learning. I’ve been in this field for a while and I realized that I still have so much to learn”.

We’ll, we’ve learned a bit from Amy’s style while getting to know her. She stresses the importance of editing and not making things too complicated. Injecting humor into a space is also key because it “keeps space from getting to precious. ” And as you can see from Amy’s own beautiful nurseries at home, her advice is spot on!

How was it designing for your own children’s spaces?

In the beginning there was a learning curve. I had tons of time with my first child to research and I wanted the best of everything. I quickly learned that some things you just don’t need to spend lots of money on like flooring for example. Make sure it’s easy to clean. I chose to go with FLOR tiles for my second daughter’s room and I love them! You can just replace them on an as needed basis.

What are your favorite items in the room?

The night light hardwired into the birdhouse! Kids love fantasy and something whimsical like the wallpaper tree and the night light bird house keeps the room fun. I also recently added a pink monkey swinging above my daughter’s new toddler bed for that humor element.

What are some practical design tips you can offer for first time parents?

Spend on the crib mattress. While it may be heavy, the better crib mattress is worth every penny. By the time you transition to a toddler bed you’ll want to cuddle with you child to read a bedtime story. The last thing you want is to sit on the mattress and have it teeter like a see-saw!

A big thank you to Amy for sharing photos of her family’s lovely home. Let’s hope her Design Star colleague Lonni Paul has better luck this week. We look forward to getting the scoop from Lonni in the coming days. To get in the on gossip, watch Design Star on Sundays, 10pm/9c.