At Home With...
Tour Of Tara's Kiawah Home
Transcript by Jeanne Yenchochic

Joy Philbin: On South Carolina Kiawah Island is her reward for time spent on much colder conditions.

Tara: What I have always wanted was a beach home. My mom and I love the ocean. And, I kind of promised myself that if I ever did well in skating that that’s what I would do.

Joy Philbin: And that’s what she did and today we’re at home with figure skater and Olympic gold medallist Tara Lipinski. Welcome to At Home With Tara Lipinski. I’m Joy Philbin. Tara Lipinski has traveled the world as one of figure skaters top stars. So, when it was time to chose a spot for her first home, she had seen so many great cities that is was hard to decide exactly where to live. Tara knew one thing; she wanted to be near the ocean. So when she discovered Kiawah Island, South Carolina she was certain the tranquil and beautiful area would be the perfect location to build the home of her dreams. Tara Lipinski’s 1998 victory at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan was one for the record books. At 15, Tara became the youngest person to win an individual gold medal not just in figure skating but also in any other winter Olympic sport. Now dividing her time between professional skating and acting, Tara looks forward to a break in her schedule and an opportunity to trade her skates for a barefoot walk to the beach. At Tara Lipinski’s Kiawah Island home, ice arenas give way to sun and surf and her decorating style gets a perfect score. Quiet and secluded, the beaches of Kiawah Island provided the perfect location for Tara Lipinski’s first home.

Tara: We looked up and down the coast of Florida and California and I don’t know everything was just too touristy. I wanted a place where I could just relax but also be close enough to a city like Charleston to have fun and do sort of teeny things.

Joy Philbin: Tara choreographed the building process just like one of her routines, choosing design elements in detail and arranging them with stylish results. She moved in in 2002 after 4 years of construction.

Tara: Well, I love the Victorian beach look but then with the little courtyard I thought it was very French and cute but then you know the big stairs going up with the spread out porches and the shutters it has a very Charleston look but at the same time a Victorian look.

Joy Philbin: Tara wanted her home entrance hallway to make a grand statement. Two stories high it sets the mood for the 9,600 square-foot home.

Tara: When you walk in the house it’s your first you know look of what it’s like. I love the big, sprawling staircases.

Joy Philbin: Tara decorated her home without help from a designer because she knew the look she wanted. Because of the large staircase, Tara had to consider scale when decorating the entryway. She chose a large Alabaster chandelier and the marble table is the perfect mix of elegance and causal design.

Tara: I love that big table we got. It looks like waves around the edges. To me, that looks kind of sea-shelly and formal but not too formal. So, it’s not stuffy. I don’t want a stuffy house. I want people to come in and feel relaxes and causal.

Joy Philbin: At the top of the grand staircase, the foyer leading to the living room is lined with columns. Tara says that before anyone even notices her furnishings they comment on the view.

Tara: When you look in that room you see so much water and the windows are so wide it’s like your standing there looking right at the ocean.

Joy Philbin: Tara wanted the living room to be a bit more formal than the rest of her home. But still have a youthful and causal atmosphere so she relied on the color palette to create the mood.

Tara: Colors are soothing to me you know the blues and the yellows, they they really affect my mood. And, um, that was one of the most important things when doing this house. I think the rug, is one of my favorite pieces in the house just because it has that French look and I found the material that I just adored on the couch and after that that’s when we kind of moved on to the chair and got the feel of what we wanted. We picked out all different colors to have more of a formal effect but you know with little angels so it’s very French.

Joy Philbin: While she may admit that her fingers don’t glide across the keys as easily as she glides across the ice, Tara thought a piano would add a nice touch to the room. After spending so much time on the ice, Tara says she loves the warmth that a fireplace adds in a room. And on the mantle she has engraved a sentimental reminder of her 1998 Olympic victory. While the formal living room may not get used as much as other rooms, its great design and elegant style are a winning combination. Just of the living room is the kitchen. Here, soft butter cream cabinets create a room with a French-country theme.

Tara: So, this is my kitchen, which I absolutely adore and I have industrial ovens, which is pretty cool because it has all the burners and griddles and grills. I have a lot of fun with that. Cooking is one of my new little hobbies that I absolutely have so much fun with you know doing deserts and dinners. My friends and I just have a blast. So we have this big island, which I love, and it has all the chairs so we’re always watching TV and relaxing, eating. I don’t want to mess this up so I have the pull out cutting board. So, I chop all of my vegetables here. And then this is really cool. It’s a refrigerator drawer where I keep all my vegetables and salad stuff and um, so I don’t have to go the way to the other refrigerator. And then I have a really cool sink, which is just for the vegetables, and it’s kind of cute cause it has like that farm county look. This is where we always are out of the entire house this is where we conjugate. And um, talking about it just makes me hungry.

Joy Philbin: The island is one popular place to gather but there is also a vintage breakfast table with an ocean view.

Tara: It’s an old French table that I got. The chairs are really comfortable but anybody who sits on the little bench, very uncomfortable but it looks good.

Joy Philbin: Her ultra comfortable theme Tara added rockers. Her love of cooking and well thought out design makes this French-country kitchen a place where Tara stirs up a lot of activity. Building her home was a 4-year process of constant decision making, whether Tara was choosing paint color, fabric or the location of a doorway. Another big decision she had to make was what to do with all the awards she’s won in her figure skating career.

Tara: Well, all my trophies and medals are back in Texas so we have a big room. That’s where mom and dad’s kind of proud parent thing. Here I have a few meaningful things um, like the gates when you come into the driveway have the Nagano flower, which is my symbol of the Olympics. And then like on the a fireplace I have the Olympic rings and the Nagano flower in the floor. But it’s not a skating house it’s a relaxation.

Joy Philbin: Up next, the favorite movie provided inspiration when it was time to decorate the home theater. And still ahead, it has the mood of a sidewalk café in Paris. There’s more to see at home with Tara Lipinski. It took 4 years to complete the building and decorating of her 9,600 square foot home because of her busy touring schedule. And while the home is meant to be a place for taking her mind off work, she does have a small library that she uses for business. But don’t be fooled, the theater and family room will convince you that this house is all about relaxing and having fun. Tara and her choreographer often spend hours in the library listening and selecting music for her performances. So, Tara shopped around for a sofa that was just right.

Tara: You should see me going through every place sitting on the leather going, “nope not right it has to be softer.” I like it because it does have a cozy darker feel but it’s still not cold and I love the soft leather.

Joy Philbin: Once she found the perfect sofa she added a rug to complete the look.

Tara: To me, it looks like a stained glass mirror. It’s umm incredible the colors.

Joy Philbin: Next door business is, well, gone with the wind.

Tara: So this is my gone with the wind theater room, one of my favorites. Um, you see my mom’s favorite movie was gone with the wind so I was named after the plantation. So, of course we had to decorate it with green velvet and gold tossels just like her dress in the movie. I just like to come in and hang out with my friends and watch movies all night and it’s pretty simple. All I have to do is press Showtime, recline of course.

Joy Philbin: And when the movie is over, the party continues in the family room with comfortable seating, a pool table, and a kitchenette. It’s a great spot to entertain. The mood here is causal and the décor well it’s a nod to its beachfront location. Keeping with the ocean theme, Tara covered to pool table with blue felt.

Tara: I did all the yellow and the blue because I love the pastels. We did more of a nautical feel, just more causal not so formal.

Joy Philbin: Her coffee table is a tribute to one of her favorite ocean inhabitants.

Tara: My dolphin coffee table I bought in Hawaii. And I thought it was just so beautiful just to the clear glass and you see the porcelain dolphin underneath.

Joy Philbin: Comfortable and causal. The family room provides a space for seaside fun. And Tara is happiest when her home is filled with close friends. Tara says that rugs were one of the hardest things for her to find for the home. She would see a design she liked but then the colors were all wrong. Well Tara didn’t let that discourage her. She says that in both the family room and the living room she chose the design she liked and then had them customed made in the colors that she wanted. Coming up, Tara has three guest bedrooms at her seaside home and she’s decorated each one with a completely different look. And later, we’ll see the style Tara chose to decorate he own master bedroom. Welcome back. We’re at home with figure skater Tara Lipinski. Everyone loves having a friend with a great beach house. And at Tara’s Kiawah Island South, Carolina home, she’s very prepared for a visitor or two or even more. Tara wanted each guest bedroom to have a different feel. But she didn’t stop there; each guest bathroom also has a style all it’s own. Comfort French antique, the guest room Tara decorated for her parents, is sophisticated and elegant. The head and foot bed of the antique are adorned with carved wooden cherubim.

Tara: That’s a little more sophisticated for my mom and my dad but I love the colors, the pinks and the greens.

Joy Philbin: And tucked under a picture window a cozy sofa that mixes fabric for a lush Victorian look. Carefully selected furnishings come together to create a look with a peaceful atmosphere. Her parent’s master bath is spacious with his and hers vanities on opposite walls and a claw footed tub under a bay window.

Tara: We have the a old fashioned tub which I just love. That bathroom is like spacious but it’s just very antiquity.

Joy Philbin: And providing seating the center of the room a comfortable ottoman completes the elegant look. Twin beds create a comfy place for sweet dreams in this charming Victorian guest room.

Tara: I love this room. It reminds me more of a kid’s room. And, um it has these two antique twin beds and then we have the seaside fabric for everything for the chairs with the kids playing in the ocean and I just love it. It reminds me of if I was younger and I was at you vacation at the beach and I just love the room.

JJoy Philbin: Decorating the guest bath for this room, Tara chose twall accents.

Tara: I love twall. I love the black and white. I think it looks great, classy. We didn’t get one thing from the same place. We got one thing here and one thing there and they all matched and I was so excited when I saw the little basket to match. I was really excited about that room when I found all the things to go with it.

Joy Philbin: But some of Tara’s favorite furnishings are in this guestroom.

Tara: When I saw the furniture it was like oh my gosh I love it so much I want it in my own room. The wicker paneling with gold and drapes but it’s still that look of you know beady effect and flowery.

Joy Philbin: A sea foam green chest is a stylish compliment to a pale color scheme of the room. This fairytale bathroom is a favorite of Tara’s because of its woodsy feel.

Tara: It has the mural of the birds and the feeling of woodsy effect. I first found the sink. That’s how it all started. It has the story of Sleeping Beauty around it and it has all the twigs and everything intertwined; it was very cool. So we drop it into a very old antique piece that is pretty pretty cool and it is so old that when we found it I know that it was going to be perfect for a sink.

Joy Philbin: Although the décor may vary from room to room, one thing they share is a winning look. Tara says that it’s a time consuming process to decorate your first home. She chose not to use a designer. But, when she wanted a little design advice she did what a lot of us do, she turned to mom for a second opinion.

Tara: A lot of people use a designer and for you know a big home like this it’s you know takes a lot of time but I have to say my mom and I had so much fun doing it and it was really difficult to do. But, at least when I walk into a room each thing I remember that I picked out and that it’s mine and you remember stories to it and for me that’s important.

Joy Philbin: Tara says she enjoyed every minute spent decorating on her home and she loves shopping in antique stores when she travels. Up next, Tara’s master suite. She’s decorated the entire top floor in shabby but elegant chic. When Tara was designing her Kiawah Island South, Carolina home, she chose the top floor for her own suite. And for the décor well she decided that the master bedroom sitting area would be the perfect opportunity to go completely shabby chic. While Tara loves the shabby chic look, she was hesitant to decorate the entire 9600 square foot home in that style alone. But for the master suite it provides the perfect mood. And it’s the perfect compliment to her sidewalk café. The map says South Carolina but the atmosphere is definitely Paris.

Tara: This is my French hallway. Which was inspired by a trip I took last year in Paris when I was doing an independent film. And I went there with my friend Erin.

Erin: Hi.

Tara: And um, we had so much fun. Every night we could go to the little cafes and so when I came here I wanted to create that with with the cobblestones and the little cafes so it was almost like when you walk in you are like there and that’s why I have the little pastries because I remember looking in the windows and and seeing them. So every time I walk thru here I have all these great memories of Paris.

Joy Philbin: And she passes thru everyday since it leads into her master suite. Her third floor retreat is decorated entirely in shabby chic.

Tara: My sanctuary is definitely this floor. I feel like I’m in a spa when I’m in my sitting room and my room. I love white; I love all the pastels so it’s very beachy and causal.

Joy Philbin: Her large sitting room is separated into two seating areas. In the by the window it’s a light and airy feel. Wispy curtains are as gentle as the summer breeze and here you’ll find Tara’s favorite chair.

Tara: When I saw it I said this is for me cause I like to like spread out and um I can pretty much do anything in this chair and still feel comfortable.

Joy Philbin: Painted iron end tables get a custom look from Tara.

Tara: What we did is it had a glass top but if you look on top I got more material that I’d been using throughout this floor and put it in there so you can see it underneath which I thought was pretty creative.

Joy Philbin: Reflecting a different mood, the back seating area has a simple and sophisticated look. The white cotton sofa provides a place for Tara curl up. While a miniature chair is reserved for Tara’s dog. The location near the fireplace makes this the spot where they relax on chilly nights.

Tara: The fireplace for me is my favorite one because the marble has like the green and blue twirl to it so it looks like water and ocean.

Joy Philbin: Tara’s favorite feature here is the window that looks thru from the bedroom. It was a last minute design change by Tara from what the builder planned.

Tara: They had two doors next to each other and I was like that was really strange. I don’t like that. So what they did instead is built up half the wall and made it a little shutter so it’s cute and um, it has the big window you know I can put fresh flowers you know from the market on there. And um, that is one of my favorite things.

Joy Philbin: The centerpiece in the master bedroom is a 4-poster bed. Piled high with pillows, when Tara says she has to leap onto the bed she means it.

Tara: That was the first thing I bought shabby chic was my bed. And um, when I looked at it I knew it has the roses engraved in the front and um, I always wanted the flowing curtains coming off of it. So after that I went for the pillows, which like down pillows. I bought all different ones and mixed matched them but when you put on it’s kind of fun. I love like high beds like a landing feel you know I said I want a big bed where I could jump off of it and get lost in it.

Joy Philbin: The antique armwah provides stylish storage space.

Tara: I love it because the colors were muted and um, this is just so grand so it was one of my favorite things to put in my room and when you look at it with the mirror it just reflects off the light and the ocean and I think it really helps the room.

Joy Philbin: While the look of the bedroom is calm and soothing the look of the master bathroom is very dramatic.

Tara: I remember you know when I was younger and thinking oh gosh someday I’m gonna have these these great things like um a bathroom where you walk in and there’s steps going into your tub.

Joy Philbin: Decorative columns ala Gone With the Wind surround the tub. Tara had a floral design painted on the arches.

Tara: She painted all the purple hydraniums at the top. I just thought that it gave it a little something extra.

Joy Philbin: Tara chose a light marble for the sink and vanity. And keeping with the soft color palette, cabinets are painted a light butter cream. From the delightful and decorative master bathroom to the cozy seating area, Tara says she’s happy she decorated her floor entirely in shabby chic.

Tara: I just love the look of it because it had a girlish feel. I think my house is very girly but who cares. I love it.

Joy Philbin: And wherever her career takes her, Tara says she will always keep her Kiawah Island home as a special place to be with her family.

Tara: My home means everything to me. For for this house you know it took many years to build and I want it to last for generations. I want it to be in my family forever you know like when you read those books and you know your great, great grandchildren are coming back to the beach house. You know I named it “coute de late” because it means her little way in French. And that’s kind of been my motto in life you know you do it your own way and this is my place where it’s mine and the people that I love liver here with me and we can enjoy it and this is where memories are made.

Joy Philbin: Tara’s Kiawah Island home is much like her skating routine; it’s energetic and youthful with style and grace. We hope you’ve enjoyed being At Home With Tara Lipinski. I’m Joy Philbin, thanks for joining.

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