Top 30 Candice Olson Quotes

I love doing kitchen renovations where we’re opening up the kitchen and creating open-concept main floors. I think that’s one renovation that really changes the way people live in their homes.

One of the most common reasons people renovate their homes is a change in their lifestyle – an upcoming wedding, a new baby, or grown children moving away.

I simply adore getting dressed up for a special occasion. I feel incredible stepping out in luxurious fabrics and a bit of bling. That’s also how I feel about special-occasion dining rooms. Because these aren’t everyday spaces, they contain all sorts of drama for that once-in-a-while ‘wow’ event.

Paint goes a long way in making old look like new.

I credit my mom with inspiring in me a love of design, matched by her creative problem-solving abilities. This is a woman who could find an old, discarded piece of furniture, bring it home and turn it into something fabulous.

Now that our kids are getting older, they need their space. We dug out the basement so they will have a place to go crazy in the wintertime. My son is already talking about how he’s going to make a skateboard ramp. It’s just a mosh pit down there, so they can do whatever they want. We’re not even going to finish it.

Bathrooms are, on a square foot basis, the most expensive room in the house to renovate. If you want to test your heart’s fitness, try shopping for simple bathroom faucets. Add in the cost of the required valves, mixers and trims, and you may need reviving when you see the tally!

Sometimes living in a room that’s badly designed isn’t the worst thing in the world. Trust me – this is a fact! Living in a room that has no design whatsoever is even worse. I’ve learned this from my many clients over the years that have moved into new houses and just can’t figure out where to begin.

I tell people marriage is a compromise, and so are renovations.

Why do guests always end up in the kitchen at parties? Is it a social phenomenon? Some strange gravitational pull? I don’t know, but one thing is for sure: If your friends are going to congregate in your kitchen, you’d better make it as nice as possible.

Ask any teenage girl to describe her perfect bedroom, and you’ll get answers like ‘a room with a private phone line, a place to hang out with friends, and for it to be way-cool and funky.’ Ask parents the same question, and ‘a locked door that opens on their 21st birthday’ might top the list!

Spaces I love to do – the uglier the better – tend to be really old, dated basements – especially from the ’60s to the ’80s. I love those.

In tight quarters, it’s important to choose small-scale items.

We don’t have one of those houses where there’s a rope that separates the kids’ area from the adult area. There’s a happy medium. It’s all about fabric choices, accessories.

I firmly believe that if your environment works for you and your family, it translates into a better life.

I know it can be difficult for parents, but I really do believe that kids need to play the predominant role in the choices that go into their own space.

We’re a very active family, and I like everything in its place. I’m all about designing every little space. It will help me in the business of being a mom. Every single day is so crazy with my work that I just need to be able to come home and do that business as efficiently as I try to do my professional work.

I’m an interior designer, first and foremost. I can do one thing really well, and I’m going to stay in my little niche.

I sort of went into the TV thing kicking and screaming.

Dining rooms are really all about the table and the chairs.

Why have one chandelier when you can have two?

It’s great to design a beautiful, modern, sleek home like you’d see in a magazine. But if it doesn’t suit your lifestyle, it’s really wasted.

I think people underestimate the importance of lighting – layers of lighting, not just one light. I do a lighting seminar where I take a $300-a-yard fabric and a $3-a-yard fabric. I show what lighting can do to either one.

I never try to be the poster child for the perfect mother/wife… You prioritize, you do the best you can possibly do, and you don’t beat yourself up.

With every bathroom renovation, there are three areas that I focus on: budget, function and style.

There are no more white linen sofas in my house. We have a rule here: Anything below 36 inches has to be brown or black – the color of chocolate or peanut butter!

The type of renovation I do most often is opening a kitchen to the family room.

Clients usually come to me when they want to update the look of an existing room.

There are designers who say, ‘Oh! I see wallpaper and blue carpet.’ I usually start by knocking down walls. ‘You thought you just needed some new drapes? Well, guess what: That wall’s gotta go.’

A common mistake people make regarding dining rooms is to buy a matching set of table and chairs, which can be monotonous. I like to mix guest chairs in one style and head chairs in another for a more interesting, dynamic look.