Designer Tips from Waters of Hidden Springs Model Home

We took a moment to chat with Regency Homebuilder’s in-house Designers, Cindy Carlson and Kristin Midgett, on their most recent project, the Designer Model Home of Waters of Hidden Springs in Oakland, TN. One can see that a great deal of care and consideration was used in planning and executing the fabulous and inspiring designs in each and every area of the house. One thing that was very important to the designers was accessibility, where “potential customers could walk in and feel as if they could move in tomorrow and feel right at home!”. They did this through choosing a mix of store-bought items, DIY pieces, and a combination of both, with repurposed and painted shelves in the “Game Room”.

What was the overall design theme of this home?

“We jokingly called our theme for this home casual awesome. We wanted to home to be casual and comfortable, yet beautiful and inviting. We wanted potential customers to walk in and feel as if they could move in tomorrow and feel right at home. We considered the neighborhood and families that might want to live there and plan the rooms accordingly. We also planned with a budget in mind, choosing pieces that were affordable and classic. We didn’t do anything too trendy or an extreme style (farmhouse, modern, traditional, etc…)”

Where did you go for inspiration?

“We use all kinds of inspiration! We use Pinterest, Houzz, Instagram, magazines, furniture catalogs and retailers. Once we find something that really catches our eye, we build the room around that. For example, we found a picture of a tent reading nook hanging from the ceiling in a picture on Instagram. We decided to do our own take on that and build a little girl’s room around this feature. We also found a fabric we loved at Premier Fabric, so we had euros made and found complimentary bedding.”

What was your favorite feature or room in the home?

“Our favorite feature is the primary barn doors, along with the primary bath window treatment. We found pictures online and had the trim carpenter build the barn doors. We loved how the design of the doors was different from other standard designs we had used in the past. The window treatment was based on a photo from Pinterest, and we really were thrilled by how the two features flowed together and created a “wow” moment in the Main Suite Retreat!”

What advice would you give to anyone looking to do a design overhaul in their home? Where should they start?

“We would advise going online or in magazines/catalogs and finding pictures that they love. When you have an idea of what you are wanting to do, and what you are looking for…shopping for all of the parts isn’t so overwhelming. We also keeps lots of pictures in our phones, organized by albums to keep each room/house straight, and a bag of fabric/bedding/pillows samples in our cars to use when shopping and making selections.”

What are your favorite local shops for furniture, antiques, etc?

"Warehouse 67, Sheffield’s Antique Mall, Something Special, Johnson’s Fabrics, Premier Fabrics, Homegoods, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Pier One…and many more!"

Can you share any DIY tricks that were used in this home design?

“Master bath window treatments: Our husbands had access to an old barn, and they literally went and cut the piece of wood off the barn and then cut it to our measurements. They were going to stain it, but it looked great with the barn doors as is! We ordered inexpensive tie-top panels from Wayfair and measured where we needed the hooks (which we got a Lowe’s.) Our builder installed the hooks and hung the board over the window. We tied the knots ,and it turned out beautifully!”

“For the shelves in the Game Room, we used shelves from an older model, but they weren’t the right color metal. So we removed the wood and spray painted them black to give the look of iron.”