TV Home Expert Martin Amado Offers Spring Design Tips

MIAMI, FL — When the typical homeowner hears the term, interior design, they often feel threatened, concedes Martin Amado, host of Miami’s popular “SoFlo HomeProject” TV show.

“As long as you know where to shop, and how to really spend the budget accordingly, you can get that designer look for less, which is one of the many reasons I love the partnership that I have with HomeGoods,” the affable Amado assures.

Even if he didn’t have a partnership with the budget-conscious retailer, he’d still advise his clients to shop there or some place like it to stretch their home improvement dollars.

“Every time I go it’s a treasure hunt,” Amado concedes. “You never know what you are going to find, and they have so many great things at incredible prices, that for me, it’s such a great source of inspiration every time I go.”

Each episode of “SoFlo HomeProject” has a budget of $1,000 to perform a 24-hour makeover of one room, but homeowners are free to kick in extra money if they want something extra.

“I try to also let the decorating process be easy for the average homeowner so that they don’t get overwhelmed and they don’t think that I have to knock down walls and do complete remodeling … to have a beautiful space,” he said.

Amado, who is also the author of “One-Day Room Makeovers: How to Get the Designer Look for Less with Three Easy Step,” says just about anyone can pull off a one-day makeover for almost any room in their home with the exception of kitchens and bathrooms.

“The first step is always addressing the walls first because that literally becomes the canvas for your design,” he explained. “If the room requires painting, then absolutely let’s go ahead and paint because that’s going to be an easy fix that for the most part, the homeowner can do for themselves.”

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Homeowners can get a sense of trends simply by walking around a home store and paying attention to themes.

“When you start seeing a repetitive element throughout all the stores it’s sort of a clue that this is what’s going to be on trend for spring,” he said.

“From there, my second step is addressing the furniture in the room and then the third step is addressing the decorative accessories which for me is like the final layer that brings that entire room together.”

The decorating process should be personal.

“For me, the decorating process at the end of the day remains the same because I always say that your home should be a reflection of who you are,” Amado said.

His most ambitious makeover to date involved a homeowner who wanted to dress up a large, metal storage shed in her backyard.

“I literally turned it into a beautiful cottage,” he said. “We ended up adding shutters. We ended up adding like a beautiful portico to the entrance, pavers with artificial grass, outdoor patio furniture with an umbrella and loungers. So, when you’re in the backyard, you would never think that that originally was a storage shed.”

This year’s hot color for spring is called “Living Coral.”

“Very flamingo-ish if you will,” explained Amado. “That can inspire you to indeed refurbish the look of your home. So, you can get beautiful decorative pillows. You can change out the window treatments in a new color scheme. You can add new bedding to the bedroom.

“It just depends on what room you want to update now for the spring. You see a lot of black industrial finishes too. That’s one of the trends that we’re seeing now for spring, a lot of head beams, distressed weathered elements.”

He said there’s no right or wrong design.

Design Project airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. in the Miami area on ABC affiliate WPLG TV. Some people may also remember Amado from the home makeover segment “Room for Improvement” that aired on Fox affiliate WSVN TV for more than 11 years. In addition to his local work, he has been featured on numerous Spanish-language media platforms airing nationally in the United States and throughout Latin America.

He also hosts branded content on the ION@Home segments seen on ION Television and is a home décor contributor to Un Nuevo Día, Telemundo’s national morning program.

With Home Project now in its third year, Amado has completed about 150 shows thus far. Episodes can be viewed at soflohomeproject.com for people outside the Miami area.

As you might expect, there’s no shortage of volunteers wanting a makeover. Amado scouts each location under consideration before choosing a home or apartment for his shows. Sometimes he picks a different room than the ones suggested by homeowners.

He usually locks in his makeover plans based on what he finds in stores.

“Until I go shopping, I don’t know exactly what I’m going to buy for that space,” he said. “I base the color scheme on what I consider to be an inspiration piece. That inspiration piece can be the area rug. It can be a beautiful piece of artwork. It can be the fabric of a decorator pillow that I buy at HomeGoods, and that’s basically what I build my design on.”

Here are indoor design tips from Amado:

1. Rearrange the room - My favorite way to refresh for spring is to rearrange existing furniture, swap out an area rug and update decorative accessories. HomeGoods is an area rug heaven for me. The selection is so vast, I can find sizes ranging from as big as 12x15 to as small as 3X5 – and the prices are unbeatable, most under $300. While you’re there, grab accent pieces that are tropical-inspired such as a ceramic pineapple for a pop of color on the dining table or style nautical blue vases of different heights on the coffee table in the living room.

2. Replace pillows – An easy update for any season is replacing throw pillows on your sofa, chairs, bed, etc. Mix the neutral pillows that you use all year long with bold and bright prints. One of my favorite patterns right now is tropical green palm leaves. Palm prints and pineapples are super trendy everywhere now, but also a staple for Florida living. For throw pillows go straight to HomeGoods, where you can browse a variety of different colors, textures and patterns that are at a great price, so you won’t have to hold back from grabbing them all.

3. Make lighting eye-catching - Lighting is a key element to every room from floor lamps in the living room to lanterns on the outside patio. When I explore the aisles at HomeGoods, I always come across an unexpected find, most recently that was a floor lamp with a shade made of hanging shell pieces, it adds a glamourous touch to the bedroom. I also suggest mixing and matching the shades and bases of the lamps to fit the surrounding décor of the room.

Outdoor Design Tips:

1. Switch furniture often- in Florida, outdoor furniture can become easily faded from the sun and I’m always thrilled to find durable, outdoor pieces from HomeGoods that I can switch out as often as I need. For example, I recently picked up a five-piece dining set that included a round table and cushioned chairs for under $1,000!

2. Let the inside influence the outside - treat your outdoor space like an extension of your indoor living space letting your personal style influence to feel as stylish and comfortable as your indoor space. Achieve this by adding design elements big and small, like an outdoor rug to set the environment or large vases that also can serve as planters. Build in smaller accessories like melamine tableware for eating al fresco or line lanterns along the pool for a warm glow during a nighttime swim.

Martin Amado, host of Miami’s popular “SoFlo HomeProject” poses in an outdoor setting he pulled together from products at HomeGoods. Other photos also feature products from Homegoods. Photos by Venjhamin Reyes for HomeGoods.