Truly Julie with interior designer extraordinaire Hillary Thomas! Watch the segment here! 
Hi. For those of you still wondering who is that new girl on Good Day LA…I’m Julie! And I’ve been an Angeleno for, oh, 2 months or so. I am beyond thrilled for my new opportunity and since you allow me and the Good Day LA gang vicariously into your homes, I thought I’d return the favor here! For 9 years, I lived in a 600 sq ft apartment in NYC. I kept my shoes in the oven, seriously! So, when I made the 3000 mile leap to Southern California…I knew I needed one thing for sure: SPACE. Room that would allow me to have a real couch…and perhaps a view that screams CALIFORNIA! After 2 months of gruesome searching and the extremely kind hospitality of my dear family friend Cat, I found a place. I teamed up with interior designer Hillary Thomas to transform my new LA pad to fab in 2 weeks! Well, excluding the week everyone took off for the holidays. I wasn’t going to be the crazy lady/Scrooge who demands an ottoman on Christmas:) It was aggressive…but Hillary and her associates were fast, talented, and resourceful enough to work with my 
shoestring budget. Cheap turned to chic on their watch and this is how: a) Always work with a floor plan, i.e. picture on the right. Get one of those graph papers and measure out everything! (For ex: you can love a square coffee table, but if you see that it eats up 80% of your carpet space, you’ll opt for the rectangular) b) Ikea, CB2, Homes Goods, Cost Plus World Market, JossAndMain.com, BallardDesigns.com, OneKingsLane.com and flea markets are your wallet’s bff. c) Think bigger picture. Before Hillary, I would just get an item because it’s bold or cool. But does it 
work with everything else? You can’t have the table, the chairs, the artwork, the carpet, the shelves all be statement pieces. It’ll be overpowering and clash. d)Window treatments and lighting fixtures can upgrade a place like jewelry and hot heels can amp up an outfit. Ok..with these lessons in full play…here’s mi casa: before and after!
The Wild Horses of Sable Island prints by Roberto Dutesco, acoustic guitar, and my 
Celerie Kemble by Merida rugs (made in USA) were shipped from the East Coast. These pieces were the inspiration starting point for the rest of the place. Couch: Sofa U Love (made in LA) Coffee table: West Elm, Poufs: OneKingsLane.com Wooden accent chairs: flea market Dining table: Etsy.com Dining chairs: Cost Plus World Market Rope chandelier: flea market.
My absolute favorite part about the master bedroom is the paint color. It’s hard to find a hue that’s seductive yet serene…but Elephant Gray by Benjamin Moore is just that. It’s not quite gray…or purple…it’s just damn pretty and sexy. It pairs perfectly with the purplish-gray part of my Merida ombre carpet. And my favorite trick to turn cheap into chic? Change just the hardware on fixtures. For example, I ordered fancy mother-of-pearl knobsfrom Anthropologie to transform my Ikea dresser to uber fancy in all of 5 mins. No tools needed! In smilar fashion, I added a touch of luxury to my Lamps Plus lamps by adding finials (which is like fun jewelry for the top of your lamps!). Close up pics of both in the photo gallery below. The hardest part was 
choosing which one because Hillary designs dozens of finials…and they’re all divine. One thing I will not skimp on is bedding. I sleep about 5 hours a night, so each minute of sleep must feel like heaven. I got 400 thread count Charisma sheets and bedding, on sale at Bloomingdales. So glad I was moving right after Christmas…lots of clearance, including my upholstered bed from Gilthome.com.
Now for my dressing room! I turned my 2nd bedroom into what I call a “Fashion Nascar Pit”…a room where I can step into at 3AM and get TV ready in a jiffy. It’s still functional in a 
sense because the couch in there is a full size pullout sleeper, so it’s still a “guest room”.
However, the Cisco ottoman and Pottery Barn Teen disco ball lights are fun fun fun. And since I always viewed shoes as wearable art…I have them on display! I also painted the wall in thick pink stripes (Benjamin Moore in Powder Pink) because…well…I’m girly, damn it!
My sunroom is also a nice little sanctuary. The Stockholm style dining chairs were a steal from Overstock.com. The chaise is from Ikea…and the super chic garden stool is from
Cost Plus World Market. Below is the complete list of where Hillary and her teamfound all the items. As well as more photos of my new digs (watch the Good Day LA segment here!). Last but not least, a special thanks to Hillary’s associate, Lexi…who spent so much time and effort to make my home a special place. To be so young and so talented!
Living Room:
- rug – Merida
- paint – “Calm” by Benjamin Moore
- chairs – vintage
- sofa – Sofa U Love
- coffee table – West Elm
- sunburst mirror & basket – Homegoods
- TV console – Etsy shop House Candy L.A.
- candles/candleholders – World Market
- floor lamp – CB2
- poufs – One Kings Lane
- mirror on fireplace – vintage
- glasses/accessories – Hillary Thomas (vintage)
- bar paint – “Stormy Monday” by Benjamin Moore
Sun Room:
- bistro table – West Elm
- chairs – Overstock
- shades – The Woven Company
- runner – West Elm
- chaise – Ikea
- garden stool – World Market
- floor lamp – vintage
- lamp finial – “Careless Whisper” by Hillary Thomas
- candle – Saranac by Hillary Thomas
Dressing Room:
- paint – “Powder Pink” by Benjamin Moore
- sleeper sofa/clothes rack/bookshelves – Ikea
- ottoman – Cisco
- flokati rug - homedecorators.com
- mirrors – Target
- drapes – West Elm w/ custom trim
- chandelier – PB Teen
- chairs – Hillary Thomas (vintage)
Master Bedroom:
- paint – “Elephant Gray” by Benjamin Moore
- rug – Merida
- chandelier – Ballard Designs
- lamps – Lamps Plus
- lamp finials – “Dreamweaver” by Hillary Thomas
- nightstands – Etsy shop House Candy L.A.
- paint on nightstands – “Hale Navy” by Benjamin Moore
- dresser – Ikea
- dresser knobs – Anthropologie
- painting – vintage
- accessories – Hillary Thomas (vintage)
- shades – The Woven Company
As odd as it might sound I’m quite flattered being called, “that new b*%$ch on Channel 11, Good Day LA“, when it’s coming from Snoop Dogg/Snoop Lion and Suga Free. Yesterday, the two hip hop figures ranted about which ladies they would like to…ah ham…get to know “better” (it’s around 5:09 on the clip timeline). And much to my surprise…Taylor Swift made the cut as well as your’s truly. They cite Taylor’s “barn yard” innocence as sexy. Cray! I grew up blasting Snoop in my little Honda Civic in high school. I can feel the bass rattling my speakers just thinking about it! “1 for the money, 2 for the bi@$ches, 3 to get ready…” you know how it goes! So needless to say, Snoop encapsulates a special time in my life. And who knew…Snoop thinks I’m special, too! He says so himself on the YouTube Channel GGN (The Double G News Network. It’s basically CNN for the hip hop community–smile). Catch the clip and holla at your homegirl on twitter: @JulieChang or Instagram: @TrulyJulieChang
