Talking with Kim Myles :: $100 HomeGoods Giveaway

Remember last week when I told you that I teamed up with Apartment Guide for their annual Your Pick. Your Place. Sweepstakes? (Thanks to all of you for your votes! They are greatly appreciated). You may also remember me mentioning that I was going to be talking to Kim Myles via a conference call that same day. Well, I did just that. It was a dream come true.

So, first, a little bit about Kim.

"Kim Myles believes that personal décor should be driven by creativity, self-expression and a sense of humor. Her imaginative and generous approach to design helped her win HGTV’s Design Star, and inspired her home makeover show ‘Myles of Style’ for three seasons. She continues to host and design for shows like HGTV’d and America’s Biggest Yard Sale. 

This spring she launched her first line of DIY Decorating tools: Kim Myles ‘Global Glam’ Stencil Collection with Cutting Edge Stencils. Inspired by cultures and traditions from across the globe, her easy-to-use/wallpaper-sized stencils help people completely transform their space or furniture in a single afternoon.

Her firm Kim Myles Design is dedicated to meeting clients wherever they are within the design process. Whether bringing focus to an existing design or creating a beautiful and welcoming space from scratch, her goal is always the same: to demystify the design process while helping people trust and celebrate their individuality. 

Kim is a contributing columnist for numerous shelter publications and websites, blogs regularly at www.kimmyles.com, and is a veteran public speaker. She lives in California with her husband, their giant dog Ollie and a kitty named Pig."

As a lot of you know a dream of mine is to become a 'real designer' some day. I'm not exactly sure when I will officially earn that title. I'm hoping I will just know when it happens. Talking to Kim renewed my spirit and reminded me of this dream.

Anyway, my conversation with this fab TV Host and Design & Decor Expert took place over the phone with the three other blogger participating in the Your Picks. Your Place. Sweepstakes. We all prepared questions to ask and ended up having about 45 minutes to do so.

Without typing out the entire conversation, I thought I'd share a few points from the conversation that I thought were pretty valuable.

I asked Kim about how she started her career. I was surprised (and happy) to find out that she has no formal degree in Interior Design. She actually went to school for theatre. Kim began her career by recreating her own spaces and rooms for friends and family. Winning the second second of HGTV's Design Star open the doors for her to share her vision, style, and talent with the world.

Not having a formal degree or training is one fear that holds me back from pursuing my own dreams of design. I was so glad to hear that it's possible to achieve such greatness without it.

She also talked about her thoughts on what design trends are going to be popular this year. She sees a return to nature and a trend towards a natural color palette with green and blues.

Do you want her secret tip for creating a successful and cohesive room? 

Color! She said "Color brings a space to life!" I had to laugh when she mentioned that she is not the designer to hire if you want an all white space. As much as I love and appreciate a neutral or all white color scheme, at the end of the day, I need color too!

My favorite piece of advice that Kim shared were her thoughts on people's perception of design. She feels that some design shows and magazines have lead people to be ashamed of their spaces. Instead of embracing the spaces we are creating, we are quick to make excuess for the things that aren't quite working or the things we'd like to change. Kim mentioned that design and decorating is not a life or death process, we learn along the away. We all make mistakes. We all have projects we look back on and wonder "What was I thinking?" She even admitted she had her fair share of mistakes. Though, she prefers to call it 'a process' rather than 'a mistake'. Love that! 

Finally all the bloggers wanted to know where Kim shopped. She mentioned she loved thrift stores and antique shoppes for unique pieces. She is also a fan of ZGallerie for fun and inexpensive accessories and World Market for great furniture pieces. But, her favorite spot for fun accessories .... HomeGoods!!

My favorite part about talking with Kim, was her passion. I could feel it through the phone. I sensed her smiling and her face lighting up as she spoke. It was contagious. She is clearly in her element and loving every minute of it. Talking with her was so surreal and inspiring. (Kim, if you are reading this, thank you a MILLION times over!)

All of the above images are from HGTV and were designed by Kim Myles.

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So, in celebration of Kim, her passion, brilliant work, and of course one of her favorite places to shop, I thought it would be only fitting to have a little Home Goods Giveaway!

*The Prize*

A $100 Gift Card for HomeGoods

*Enter to Win*
TWO chances to win:
1. Visit Your Picks. Your Place. and vote for your favorite Living Room Design Board. Feel free to vote for the Board you like best. Though, bonus points will be awarded to those voting for Board #3 - Rustic Retreat. (Hint - this is my board) Then leave a comment below telling me what you'd buy with your $100 HomeGoods Gift Card.

2. Share this giveaway with a tweet, a blog post, a PIN or spread the word on facebook. Then, come back here and leave an additional comment saying you did. 

This giveaway is open to everyone! Should you be a 'no reply' or 'anonymous' commenter, remember to include your email address in your comment so that I can contact you, should you win.

Enter now through 11 pm (EST) on Tuesday, July 3rd. I will announce the winner in a post of Wednesday, July 4th.

*I should note the Bonus Points don't actually count for anything. Things are just so much cooler when you can earn bonus points. Right? I really, really appreciate your votes. Thank you! 

Thank you again and Good Luck!!

Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Your Picks. Your Place.” Sweepstakes. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to select or write about my featured design boards, or what to write in my blog posts. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. The winner of any giveaways in this program will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Sweepstakes ends @ 9:00 PM on 8/14/12, subject to Entry Periods outlined in Official Rules. Must be a US legal resident of the 50 US or DC and 18 years of age or older. Sweepstakes subject to full Official Rules available at www.yourpicksyourplace.com. Void where prohibited.