Pegged early on as the ditzy SoCal beauty, Felicia's talent and sophistication ultimately overshadowed Bravo's attempts to brand her. As we learn in this revealing interview, there is much more to Felicia than what meets the eye:
BTD: Felicia, we were surprised once again by the elimination decision last week. Was it a harder experience living through it or watching it again on TV?FB: Completely surprised. I thought I was completely safe up against Ryan whose room was a disaster and who proved himself incompetent week after week. He had been in the bottom three each week and I hadn’t been even close. I mean, how could you compare the two of us?? Sure he’s a talented artist but he is far from an interior designer. None of his rooms even functioned properly! Going into his room I felt like I was walking into a prison cell or worse, HELL! God only knows what my client would have done to herself if she had of had to live in THAT room! I might have saved her from a worse fate than just shooting herself! ;-)
Seriously, I didn’t think my room was the best that week, I will be the first to admit that garage sale hunting is not my forte but my room was certainly not the worst!
BTD: You knew you wanted to be an interior designer since the age 7. What was your childhood bedroom like?
FB: I was raised by a single mother who worked at home and struggled to make ends meet. She was an artist and quite clever with space herself. When she had to get a roommate to help cover the cost of rent, I lost my room. She managed to create an adorable “fortress” for me out of the closet that was under the staircase. I LOVED that room, she built a bed for me, wired a wall sconce, painted it my favorite color of pale pink, I was in heaven, it was my really cool cubby. I’m telling you, she would have done much better in that garage sale, college dorm room challenge than I did!
BTD: You are an experienced marathon and triathlon athlete. How does your fitness philosophy influence your design aesthetic?
FB: Athletic challenges are just like design challenges. When you are designing and building a space you have to be in it for the long haul. You can’t just entertain the idea, you really have to follow through. I can never quit during a race just as I can never leave a project unfinished or a client unsatisfied, it’s the same mentality.
Click here to read the rest of our fascinating interview with Felicia as we touch on Tom and Nicole, Prada, Jerry Seinfeld and even Three 6 Mafia!
