Affordable-design magician Sabrina Soto has even more reveals up her sleeve
Design trickery is Sabrina Soto’s stock in trade as host of HGTV’s “The High Low Project.” She’ll also appear as a designer on TLC’s “Trading Spaces” early next year.
Both shows use pared budgets to create winning looks. The “High Low Project” is built around two reveals: Homeowners drool upon seeing Soto’s $20,000-$30,000 redesign of a chosen room. The high-end look is then replicated using replacements costing less than $5,000.
You guessed it: Few can tell the difference.
“Trading Spaces” has a race-against-the-clock premise, with neighbors redecorating a room in each other’s homes using a designer and carpenter saddled with meager budgets. The redesign must be accomplished in 48 hours.
Interior designer and lifestyle expert Soto, 41 — a self-described “clean freak” — lives in Studio City with her toddler, Olivia, and labradoodle Harper.
You’re just too good at this — something must occasionally stump you.
Finding great wall art is a little difficult. Big-scale pieces are usually really expensive. Swap meets are awesome, but sometimes you go and it’s nothing but junk. I find a lot of amazing pieces on Etsy that are coming out of Europe — pieces on paper, like charcoal drawings on paper. I have them framed locally.
What’s design-trending in Los Angeles?
I’m seeing a lot of natural-wood elements coming back into play. Live-edge tables and things like that paired with monochromatic looks of whites, grays and ivories, but with lots of texture. And a little hint of ethnic print — like mud cloth.
We hear that you’re addicted to Windex.
I use Windex a lot, but I also use 70% rubbing alcohol in a sprayer to clean my windows, glass and mirrors. It leaves them streak-free. Watch — you’re going to try it and you’re going to thank me.
What’s the latest word on sanitizing sponges? Dishwasher? Microwave? Soak them in a bleach solution?
I don’t use sponges, because I find them to be super gross. The only sponge I have is a silicone brush sponge. It doesn’t keep all the germs like a typical sponge does.
Name your favorite Ikea hack.
I had closet manufacturers come in, and they were bidding from $10,000 to $16,000 to do my closet. I built my entire closet with a vanity — I just took two [Ikea] file cabinets and a desktop to make my vanity desk area, all outfitted with an Ikea closet system — for less than $2,000. And I did it myself, and I was seven months pregnant.
Kitchens are known to bust some budgets.
The kitchen should be the space where you splurge: higher-end appliances and countertop materials like quartz and marble. Ceramic tile that mimics the look of wood is beautiful, and I love the black matte appliances on the market. If you have wood cabinets, you can save by repainting them yourself.
What’s up with out-of-control dogs at home dinner parties?
Dogs and sometimes small children! [Our dog] is super needy and loves to get up in everybody’s grill. If we have a big dinner party and she’s acting out of control, we put her in another room. Listen, you’re speaking to somebody with a toddler and a dog, so I’m sure people come to our house and they think it’s sometimes chaotic, but, hey, that’s my life.
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