After 19 seasons on HGTV’s iconic renovation show “Love It or List It,” interior design star Hilary Farr is lending her talents to a remarkable new cause. To help mitigate landfill-bound furnishings from their warehouse, the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit launched a Furniture Flip Challenge. The 501(c) nonprofit sent out a call to local designers, artists, and more to transform these items into show-stopping statements. On Sept. 4, these reimagined masterpieces will be auctioned at the Furniture Flip Bash at The Village Club in Bloomfield Hills. Proceeds from the event will support the 56-year-old organization, and will feature celebrity guests like Farr who is selecting the grand prize winner.
“Every castoff item flipped through this challenge directly supports our mission to furnish hope for families overcoming homelessness, domestic violence, or loss from disasters. Together, we’re turning items that would have gone to a landfill into lifelines for those rebuilding their lives,” says Diane Charles, president and CEO of the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit. Detroit Design recently spoke with Farr on this inspiring challenge, a passion project in Italy, and so much more.
DD: You’re an icon of the interiors world. What first led you to become a designer?
Farr: I didn’t plan to be an interior designer. I grew up in England, and my mother had a huge flair for interior design. I would traipse around London with her, looking at fabrics and antiques. And I think that probably had an influence. I was in theater and involved with acting, and then I married and moved to Los Angeles, and by default, I had a lovely old house that needed work — and that was the beginning of my love for interior design. I gradually transformed it, which led me to work with some set designers. That was an invaluable (experience) for learning (about) depth and texture and lighting.
With all of that in my arsenal, it still didn’t cross my mind that it would be a career until I came to Toronto in the ’90s where, again, we bought an extraordinarily old house. I then decided that I would start learning the craft, and that’s really when I launched a complete pivot and entered the interior design world.
DD: Your ability to give homes new life and a second chance on HGTV’s “Love It or List It,” and “Tough Love” inspired so many. What was your most memorable renovation?
Farr: If we talk about the show “Love It or List It,” specifically, it was interesting, fun things that were memorable for me. I’ll give you one example. We had our couple, a husband and wife, whose home had to be transformed, but it had to comply with Feng Shui — which was difficult. When the moment came for them to tell us, live and in the moment, if they were going to love it or list it — even though every homeowner would know that question is coming — they answered with opposite answers, which was absolutely hilarious!
DD: We were so excited to hear you partnered with the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit’s Furniture Flip Challenge! Why did you choose to be a part of the remarkable cause?
Farr: I love the mission of the Furniture Bank of Metro Detroit. But what I loved about this idea was the passion that people put into these projects, knowing that they’re going to pass it on to be auctioned to help a mission. I find that admirable. Those are the people who are actually rethinking and repurposing old pieces. Keeping things out of the landfill is a huge part of how we should all be thinking right now. It checked every single box. One of the other elements that first appealed to me was that I love anything that brings a community together for a cause that is bigger than them.
DD: You’ll be choosing the Best in Show grand prize winner — How will you choose?
Farr: I have to say I think that’s going to be unbelievably difficult — truly! The imagination and the different degrees of skill and melding together the basic tenets of any good design, which is form and function, I suppose will (lead me to) the ultimate choice. It’s going to be hard. I just know it is.
DD: This event is giving these pieces an opportunity to be treasured again. Is there a piece in your own home that you treasure?
Farr: I’m doing what I considered a little refresh of my home in Toronto, which was just about painting, refinishing floors, and tweaking the kitchen — except it turns out never to be (just that). One of the biggest challenges was having to pack up and get everything out of the house, and that made me really focus: Do I really want to bring every single thing back? In the process, I had to distill what was important to me, and that piece is a beautiful, early Victorian walnut carved chaise that I’ve had reupholstered, but that holds the memory of my mother sitting there in London, reading the London Times and covered with a blanket. That’s the image that I have forever when I look at that piece, so it will go with me wherever I go.
DD: Now that you’ve exited “Love It or List It,” what can your fans expect next?
Farr: There are things bubbling away for next year, but the timing is up in the air until various elements are locked down, so I don’t want to say anything specific. But I will tell you that in 2023, I bought a little piece of property in Italy, on impulse. Who does that? It’s a house that’s unlivable and has rules and regulations that are absolutely inexplicable and endless. My next plan is to get back over there and really nail what that is going to be.
DD: Lastly, could you share with our readers your top tips on renovating a space?
Farr: Now that I’m renovating my own home, I would say this: really examine. Do you really need to do this? Never mind the want: why? A huge why. You need to have your checklist, because it’s expensive. It will always be more than you expect, and it will take longer. The other thing that should really be considered is to hire an interior designer who is very qualified and comes with all sorts of referrals that you can trust. It’s a very difficult thing to navigate on your own.
MORE INFO: For tickets to the Furniture Flip Bash fundraiser on Sept. 4, visit furniture-bank.org
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