Quotes from Candice Olson

Ask any teenage girl to describe her perfect bedroom, and you'll get answers like 'a room with a private phone line, a place to hang out with friends, and for it to be way-cool and funky.' Ask parents the same question, and 'a locked door that opens on their 21st birthday' might top the list!

I never want to hold myself up as the poster child of the successful mother-businesswoman. It's a total 'Gong Show.' I won't pretend. When you do so many things, something always suffers. You just can't be great at everything.

I simply adore getting dressed up for a special occasion. I feel incredible stepping out in luxurious fabrics and a bit of bling. That's also how I feel about special-occasion dining rooms. Because these aren't everyday spaces, they contain all sorts of drama for that once-in-a-while 'wow' event.

We're a very active family, and I like everything in its place. I'm all about designing every little space. It will help me in the business of being a mom. Every single day is so crazy with my work that I just need to be able to come home and do that business as efficiently as I try to do my professional work.

I sort of went into the TV thing kicking and screaming.

There has been a major shift in how we live in our homes. Everyone knows the kitchen is the soul of the house. It's more of an open-concept approach.

Clients usually come to me when they want to update the look of an existing room.

Today's kitchen is all about a well-planned space that makes cooking a completely interactive experience among family and friends.

The type of renovation I do most often is opening a kitchen to the family room.

Spaces I love to do - the uglier the better - tend to be really old, dated basements - especially from the '60s to the '80s. I love those.

I tell people marriage is a compromise, and so are renovations.

I think people underestimate the importance of lighting - layers of lighting, not just one light. I do a lighting seminar where I take a $300-a-yard fabric and a $3-a-yard fabric. I show what lighting can do to either one.

There are a million studies that say the money you put into a kitchen and bath update you get back. That's one of those places you can't go wrong. It can be as simple as updating counters and a backsplash.

Why do guests always end up in the kitchen at parties? Is it a social phenomenon? Some strange gravitational pull? I don't know, but one thing is for sure: If your friends are going to congregate in your kitchen, you'd better make it as nice as possible.

I'm an interior designer, first and foremost. I can do one thing really well, and I'm going to stay in my little niche.

I love doing kitchen renovations where we're opening up the kitchen and creating open-concept main floors. I think that's one renovation that really changes the way people live in their homes.

Strip makeup lights just don't give you a fighting chance no matter how good looking you are. Light sconces that flank the mirror illuminate your entire face evenly.