Photo Credit: @ohzzela

Dylan Silver has a hobby for home decoration and DIY. This experience helps her take on the role as the host for the first Snapchat Original You Wish You Lived Here. This digital show is grounded on redecorating millennials dream space based on their favorite celebrity while shopping on a budget. Silver talks with us about her experience thus far.

ATM: As being a part of the first Snapchat Original, what expectations do you have for yourself?

DS: My expectations are that people will fall in love with the show. For the first time, millennials will be able to see themselves on an HGTV show. We all grew up with this channel. We love all of the different types of shows they have on it but have not yet seen one that reflects ourselves. There were always big renovations or fixer uppers. This is not totally feasible for the millennial generation. This show finally gives a voice to the possibilities of what millennials can do in their home.

ATM: What do you believe was the voice in the millennial home before?

DS: I am not sure we had one yet. We love Pinterest and Instagram. We are visually engaged with the things we want and desire, but it is often assumed that we don’t have the resources or means to implement them in our space. Millennials have smaller spaces sometimes and have to work with the circumstances they are in. In our digital, international show, audience’s see their desires can come true on a budget.

ATM: What skills will help you live out the title of being a host for this show?

DS: DIY has always been a hobby of mine. I’ve always been enamored with design and implementing it into my own space and friend’s spaces. Now I get to help people I’ve never even met yet! I’ve lived in a lot of apartments. I’ve lived in a partitioned living room, the smallest little space that felt like a closet, to having a really big space that I did not know what to do with. I did not have the money to do big things. I’ve had all the experiences that allowed me to empathize with all the amazing clients on the show. If you do have a small space, I can help

make it feel like it has more room. I can help take a big room and turn it into both your work-space and bedroom. How do you make it feel both public and private and personal to you? Personally, I really feel for all the amazing guys and girls who we have helped.

ATM: Would you say this show teaches the millennial generation how to live frugally as supposed to spending unnecessary amounts of money, which is a stereotype that is often put on them?

DS: Sure, but I believe there is ultimately no right or wrong way to create a space you love. Every individual, based on what they can spend and want to spend, can have the home they desire. The show serves to remind people they can feel more empowered to accomplish things on their own. Also, when they think this idea they have can only be obtained with a certain amount of wealth or level of expertise. Our show reminds you that you have the tools to make small changes that will seem huge and monumental in your home. I think that’s exciting for the individual.

ATM: Explain how this continues to put a notice on thrift shops and how useful they can be for home décor.

DS: Totally. What is cool about Los Angeles is that there are so many. Places like Saint Vincents, Revival Vintage, and the plethora of Salvation Army locations. Even in the Taylor Swift episode, we do a DIY with a thrift store find. Have you ever walked into a vintage store and seen old paintings and thought, “I think this is cool, but I don’t know what I would do with it?” Art can be very expensive. With this type of painting, we played with DIY ways to incorporate it into your home. We do a lot of recycling on the show. Go to a second-hand thrift spot, find an item, and know how to re-work it in a way anybody could but maybe hadn’t thought of yet. Hannah had a couple pieces of furniture from when she was a kid with sentimental value, so for those, we upcycled them. We thought, why not blend both worlds together and just change the handles and give it a paint job.

ATM: After sitting back and watching the episodes, do you say, “Wow, I am a very creative person?”

DS: It is not just me. We have an incredibly small team. We do renovations like a regular half hour show. We do not cut corners and do it for even a shorter time than most shows. A small team of creative minds comes together continuously to find out what the client is dreaming for, the aesthetics that they love, and how it can work in their space. I feel very proud of the team from the producers of HGTV to our team on set. I am proud of all of them.

ATM: What would happen if you received a client that was inspired by your designs? How would you go about your own designs to help them live?

DS: I’d be flattered, first off, then curious to know what about my personal taste they enjoy. When someone tells me, they love Cardi B, like Hayden, he loved her aesthetic, color palette, but even moreover, her personality. The qualities of Cardi’s playfulness and drive, I saw those qualities in Hayden himself. These were the aspects we focused on incorporating into his space. If someone was like, “I want Dylan’s space,” then maybe I would find out the things they like about me. It’s making sure what part of my vibe are they really into. I am looking at my apartment now. They would want to blend minimalism, wood, 70’s inspired vibe. But, also with a lot of colors. I would ask, “Are you sure you want this?” I feel they would want a functional space that feels very inviting and warm. That’s what I think of when I look at my place.