Last week I travelled to San Diego with LG for the home technology tradeshow, Cedia Expo. I don’t typically take part in tech tradeshows (although from now on I just might because I was definitely nerding out over the next big thing in televisions) but I was there to install the “urban living room” space I designed within the LG booth. I wasn’t planning to do a blog post on it because well, tradeshow lighting is reaaaally tough for photography, but I had such an enormous onslaught of questions about the space, while I was covering it in my IG stories, that I wanted to share all the resources in one place and share a bit more about the project.

I have loved working with LG on a couple projects now, they are pioneers in the tech field and it has been incredible to see how their products have evolved just over the last year even. They pioneered the OLED category, which as a designer that obsesses over colors I can truly appreciate all billion+ of them (and the perfect black) that only OLED TVs create. So when they asked me to design a space in their booth at Cedia I was thrilled to create a forward thinking urban-inspired living room to showcase one of their OLED tv’s (the 65″ OLED AI TV E8 to be exact, aka “the glass tv”). And we did it in less than a month, from design, to install and opening day of the tradeshow. PHEW!

If you have been to a tradeshow before then you can imagine what a home technology tradeshow typically looks like. The booths are basically like you’d see in a store display but with the latest and greatest, newly released, or soon to be released product. TVs are all lined up in a row in a plain jane display space.  For the first time LG wanted to create some home spaces within their booth so people walking the show would be able to see the products come to  life in a real-life inspired setting and that is when they turned to me for help.

My jumping off point for the room was their OLED E8 TV. It has a super slim glass design that appears to float in mid air. The pixels are actually painted right on the glass which I’m still not 100% sure I can grasp the idea of but it feels very of the future so that is what I went with as my inspiration for my design. I wanted to push the boundaries of what is expected in a living space a bit with the bold wallpaper but kept everything in a neutral palette so as to not compete with the TV once it is on. To keep a neutral space from being boring I layered on different patterns and textures like the rug, wallpaper, and the large artwork. I then added in a couple real statement pieces like the palm lamp and the sculptural vintage side chair for some serious (actually the opposite of serious) personality.

I also wanted to make sure to bring in some innovative furniture pieces to match all the tech innovation going on. I looked for pieces that served dual purpose or new ways to use everyday furniture . For example the coffee table pivots which is great for small space city living. You can have all the three sections stacked vertically on top of each other for when you need to save on space or pivot them outward for a larger table when entertaining. The floating credenza is an Ikea hack, featuring my Sarah Sherman Samuel line of doors for SemiHandmade! SemiHandmade just started making their doors to fit Ikea’s Besta units which make beautiful tv consoles and credenza’s (more on that soon!). The bench in the space is also multifunctional since it has the same seat hight as the sofa and you can pull it up to the edge to have it act as a chaise to get cozy on or move it back to the side for extra conversational seating.

I wanted the room to feel high end and highlight the TV but only having a month to design and execute, I had to rely on in stock items and big box stores. We had a last minute sofa and wallpaper swap, but we pulled it off. The result is a mix of high and low, vintage and new, and anything but boring! You know, my favorite kind of space.

Shop the Look: LG OLED AI TV E8  // Gold Palm Floor Lamp // Black Wall Sconce //  Sofa // Coffee Table // Pair of Cane Chairs // Vintage Accent Chair // IKEA Credenza with Semihandmade x Sarah Sherman Samuel Door Fronts // White Scalloped Side Table // White Leather Bench //Maxi – Champagne on Cream Wallpaper // Le Freak – Gunmetal on Cream Wallpaper // Rug – sold out but find similar here //  Quilt Wall Hanging // History Repeats Artwork // Last Tuesday Artwork 2 // Rattan Floor Poufs // Habitat: The Field Guide to Decorating Book // Tom Ford Book // Louis Vuitton Book // Throw Blanket // Wooden Ring Dish Bowl // Small Stoneware Vase // Tall Ceramic Vase // Wooden Chain Decor // Gold Tray // Mid-Century Ceramic Planter

My Jumpsuit is by Damaris Bailey