The clients contacted HGTV's "Designer's Challenge" program because of the difficulty they were having designing their family's Game Room. They had purchased a multi-functioning game table for their three children, but once they placed it in the room, the table impeded movement and blocked the view of the TV from the seating area. The family also wanted to increase the amount of storage for the kids' games and toys, as well as to provide them a dedicated study space.

My former employer and I were contacted by the "Designer's Challenge" staff to participate in the competition against two other professional interior designers. We decided it would be a challenging and fun project, and accepted the invitation.

After meeting with the family, we put together a design concept and a color board which incorporated several new storage pieces to meet their needs.

After presenting our ideas to the couple on the air, we won the Challenge when our design was selected! When asked why we were chosen, the clients responded "It was a really hard decision for us to make in selecting one of these designers, but we selected Jan and Julia because they really paid a lot of attention and met each of the needs that we had for that room."

Our design replaced the dated love seat with a larger, wraparound sofa which could seat more people comfortably, and allow for reclining without taking up too much room. We also suggested an ottoman with storage inside, and a storage cabinet that doubled as an end table.

We proposed a single, tall bookcase to replace their multiple low bookcases, in order to provide more room for books and toys while taking up significantly less floor space. We then designed a built-in desk with overhead cabinetry and a matching entertainment unit to house the TV, stereo and video game units the kids used.

Finally, we painted the walls and used warm, green window shades to tie the whole design together.