Actress Kimberlin Brown Interview with Fine Magazine

Article Updated: June 2015: Kimberlin Brown will be reprising her role as Sheila on The Young and the Restless

You know her best from daytime dramas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. What you may not know is that Kimberlin Brown also has a passion for design. She currently stars in Dramatic Designs with Kimberlin Brown. The show premiered last October on The Design Network—a crowd-sourced, video-sharing online network for home interior design, style and fashion.

Each episode of Dramatic Designs takes viewers on start-to-finish journeys from creating beautiful beachfront properties in Cabo San Lucas to transforming a historic building into an industrial chic hair salon.

"I had the opportunity to work alongside some of the best designers in the business while filming The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful," Brown said. "While the other actors were hanging out on set, I spent my time with the designers and would pick their brains between takes."

These gorgeous sets were what sparked Brown to attend the Interior Design Institute. 

Brown got her start in design after teaming up with architect Jan Luccini. Brown was originally assisting with custom lighting, but it wasn’t long before clients started taking notice of her work and hiring her for projects.

Dramatic Designs didn’t immediately follow the start of her design career. The idea to film her projects actually came from a company rep from whom she purchased a lot of her products.

"Given my acting background, I thought this was a great opportunity to show people another side of me and let them get to know Kimberlin," said Brown.

Brown got a chance to speak with Olivia Wilder on BlogTalkRadio about Dramatic Designs and listeners called in to request design advice.

"I love that I can give design help when needed," said Brown, who will be focusing Dramatic Designs Season 3 on a complete self-help project. "I listen to my clients. I can try to guide them as best I can with a refined edge, but at the end of the day, if you don’t listen, the clients won’t get what they want."

If you’re in the process of designing your home or workspace, check out some of Kimberlin’s tips.

Kimberlin’s tips

Tip #1

Spacing plans are an integral part of the interior design process. Make sure you have plans drawn to scale. It will save you a lot of heartache later. A big mistake people make is that they buy furniture and then find out that it doesn’t fit.

Tip #2

If you’re designing on a dime, look for that "wow" factor and simply decorate around it. A standout piece can really bring the room up a notch. People won’t even notice if the other pieces aren’t as costly.

Tip #3

Don’t purchase furniture just to fill the space because you’ll have to live with it. Even if you need to wait awhile to save up, it’s better to invest in items that you love and that will last.

"Interior design is such a long-lasting gift. What I truly love is seeing the looks on my clients’ faces when a job is completed," said Brown. "It’s a wonderful source of fulfillment to know that these designs will be enjoyed by them and their families for years to come."

Stay tuned for the Season 2 finale of Dramatic Designs and for surprise celebrity guest appearances in Season 3.