Kitchen, & Patio & s with Leslie Ezelle HGTV s First Ever Design Star All Stars Winner Leslie Ezelle is an acclaimed interior designer and TV personality. Recently crowned as HGTV s first ever Design Star All Stars winner, Leslie incorporates simplicity, structure and function into her projects. She has also established her own interior design and home staging company, Leslie Christine Designs. being diagnosed and surviving a two-year battle with cancer, Leslie now enlists health and happiness as priorities. Her main design philosophy, Tame Your Domain, is about assembling a stress-free, organized home to what Leslie believes is the leading way toward a happy and healthy environment. In her spare time, the mother of six works as the Honorary Chairperson for Susan G Komen s Dallas Race for the Cure. Leslie Ezelle loves to share her less-is-more design philosophy with others and continues to pursue her design dreams of one day having her own reality TV show. When she isn t re-vamping and recreating spaces, she spends time with her loving family at home in Dallas, Texas. SPRING 2013 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE 19
Leslie s Kitchen & A long island is perfect for the family to gather around for quick snacks. The small island broke into the space, causing the area to feel way too cramped. MY OLD KITCHEN had a small island that broke into the space, causing the area to feel way too cramped. By relocating and revamping the middle cabinets, I created a long island that is perfect for the family to gather around for quick snacks or helping me when I cook. It is important to have a kitchen with a great work space, as it will be inviting for the whole family and make them eager to partake in the cooking experience. I have had my boys cook with me in the kitchen since they were 6 years old and now years later, they are quite the chefs. My girls love to bake with me and have recently ventured out to bake on their own, without their mommy! Organizing a kitchen set with the right equipment that entices someone to cook in is the BEST kind of kitchen to have. The benefits of making food at home is that #1, it is less expensive than eating out at restaurants of course, but most importantly, the experience creates a great bond with your family and promotes discussion between you and your loved ones! It is important to have a kitchen with a great work space, 20 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013 SPRING 2013 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE 21
Parker Kitchen & Adding candle lights, orchid and art work makes this kitchen feel warm and inviting. Dark rosewood finish makes this kitchen sparkle at night. ONE OF MY FAVORITE TYPES OF CLIENTS is bachelors who work in the oil and gas industry and live in high-rise condos in Downtown Dallas. Why, because they love everything I do for them AND they never tell me no! This particular kitchen needed to have a more sophisticated and expensive feeling to it, so I chose darker rosewood finish for the cabinets and updated all the appliances. The finished kitchen was a place made for entertaining. My client wanted it to feel warm and inviting, especially to women. With top of the line kitchen accessories, and the darker cabinets, this kitchen really sparkles at night, which was his main goal. I made sure to keep all the entertaining bar aroma handy and soften the kitchen by adding candle lights, orchid and art work. 22 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013
Parker Patio & THIS OUTDOOR PATIO was an extremely small space consisting of a very long and narrow set up. My client had been at a loss for a while on how he could possibly transform the area to hold parties out there on the 26th floor. The main goal was to create a nice cozy entertaining environment surrounding a fireplace that could easily accommodate a few couples enjoying the view. FIRST I MEASURED THE SPACE and bought the biggest sofa s that could possibly fit on this narrow patio. It may seem counterintuitive, but in order to maximize the seating area, I wanted the furniture to be comfortable and large enough to seat at least 6 adults comfortably. In addition to the oversized sofas, it was very important to have a coffee table that was functional enough to eat on. Please note that the height of the coffee table should never be any higher than the sofa. You want to be able to put your food out in front of you without having to reach too far out or too far up. Adding candle light to the glass top, along with succulents of color, is what gave this patio the functionality it needed in order to be the highlight of my client s parties. With a spectacular view from the 26th floor of Downtown Dallas, the patio became the focal point of his condo. I bought the biggest sofa s that could possibly fit on this narrow patio. 24 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013 The the height c shou offee ta of l any d neve ble r be high the er than sofa. SPRING 2013 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE 25
Leslie s Living Space & The light into the living room was blocked and linked not very well to my outdoor patio for entertaining. MY ORIGINAL LIVING ROOM LAYOUT was unconventional and much closed off. The back wall had inexpensive windows with two doors on each side of the glass. The light into the living room was blocked and it was not an area that linked well to my outdoor patio for entertaining. The wood floors were yellow and dated and the outdoor patio was constructed with the cheapest popcorn stone pour ever! The picture of my sweet kitty looking out the back window is a perfect example of how closed off my living room was. She was sitting on a bench that I made out of cowhide and cut into squares from an old console table that I shortened the legs of. Above her is a piece of art work that I created from one of my kids sea shore finds. It was dried seaweed that I painted the bottom of in gold and then double matted in a shadow box frame. Very easy to make at home and looks wonderful! I made the bench out of cowhide and cut into squares. 26 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013
Leslie s Living Space & The doors push open, leaving the corner without a beam or supporting wall that would block the view. THE NEW IDEA I HAD TO RENOVATE this area was to bust out the whole back wall and build an entire sliding glass door. I wanted the doors to push open, leaving the corner without a beam or supporting wall that would block the view, or the walkway to the outdoor patio. I also really wanted to use oversized stone floor tile that could be utilized inside or outside. I chose a Made In Italy slate grey porcelain stone that measures 36x24 and had them laid horizontally, continuing the tile right past the sliding glass wall unit. Now when I have parties I can set the table on the patio, seat 8 people, open up the doors completely and have the party flow nicely from inside to outside. Using fishing net as the table cloth, along with bright white and green table linens and daisies, as well as numerous candle light, is what truly gives this spread a fresh look for spring and summer. The bench that my kitty sat on under the original windows is now inside my living area to provide great seating. 28 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013
Leslie s Breakfast Nook & I created my own lighting fixture. MY BREAKFAST NOOK WAS SMALL and lacking pizzazz. The cabinets needed updating, to say the least, and the whole space needed a major face lift. I chose a 62 inch round table with a cement top and heavy wooden base, which can seat 6 people. What s great about a round table is that it s easy to squeeze in a few more seating s if needed. At my house we have some extra chairs available so that we can seat up to 8 people if my kids have friend over, or two. Something that was very important to me was to have a stand out light fixture in this space, but the pricing for a larger more unique hanging lamp can cost upwards of $500.00, on the low end. This is when I became inspired to create my own lighting fixture. I took a decorative sphere that I bought at Z Gallerie on sale for $24.00 and a $35.00 light that was on sale as a floor My breakfast nook was small and lacking pizzazz. sample from Lowe s. I deconstructed the light from Lowe s, folded the two bars that were originally supposed to be one horizontal piece into two vertical hanging pieces, and contacted them together. I did use the ascension that came with original light, but opted not to use the canopies. Instead, I used Edison bulbs to finish off the look. In the end, rather than spending a fortune, I spent $60.00 and ended up with a hanging lamp that looks like it costs $600.00. Combining the industrial look with a bit of traditional elegance, is what made this breakfast nook one of my most favorite areas to be in at my home. 30 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013
Leslie s Cork Project Remember the special night that you drank that particular bottle of wine. MY CORK PROJECT IS FOR PEOPLE who like to collect wine corks from special events. The idea is to display corks in an artistic manner and be able to remember the special night that you drank that particular bottle of wine. On the end of each cork, write down the date and/ or the event. A few years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and on the blessed day that I learned I was in the clear and starting to feel better, my family and I went out to dinner and had a nice bottle of wine to celebrate. I saved the cork and put on the end of it, BC free meaning Breast Cancer Free!!! I eventually had eight other corks that I did the same with, writing the special event on the end of it. Then I took all nine corks and made them into a square on a mat, securing each one with glue using a hot glue gun. I used a shadow box frame without the glass and secured the mat with the corks into the frame. This creates a wonderful piece which gives use to corks that are most likely just laying around the house collecting dust. If you have more corks, then create four or six of these individual pieces and hang them together in a grouping, making the piece even more of a statement. 32 CELEBRITY COOKING MAGAZINE SPRING 2013