A new home renovation show set in Charlotte is back for another season.
‘Artfully Designed’ is a new series on Magnolia Network that showcases the work of local designer Natalie Papier, muralist Racheal Jackson and abstract artist Frankie Zombie as they take an “art-forward approach” to transform different rooms in homes around the Charlotte area.
The cable series, which originally aired in 2022, has been picked up for a second season and will be filmed starting next month.
Unlike most home renovation shows, this group of “design misfits” — as they call themselves — focus primarily on art and what they can do to revamp rooms of a home from the inside out. That could be painting a mural on the ceiling of a room or giving a bathroom a modern makeover.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a show that I’ve seen that has just this really huge focus on art and really considering not just art as the last thing you place on your wall,” Papier, the show’s lead designer, told CharlotteFive. “Everything can be art. The things that we paint or touch in the home are all things that are special to that home owner so we can redefine things by giving them a whole new life.”
From Plaza Midwood to SouthPark to Matthews, the trio works with clients in the Charlotte area to bring their vision to life, whether it be a bedroom, bathroom or pool house.
Aside from working with families in Charlotte, the team also partners with local businesses, contractors and artists for each home project.
“There are so many great Charlotte vendors and other people we can collaborate with, like contractors, lighting people, woodworking people, that we really bring in and make it part of a community effort,” Papier explained. “It’s not just about us three. We’re always bringing in other artists, other vendors, other craftsmen…it’s a community, not competition.”
A profession created from passion
Papier has a background in art and has had a passion for interior design for years. As a painter, she has an eye for seeing how unique designs and bright colors can bring life into any living space.
What started out as a way to affordably transform her own home slowly turned into helping out friends and eventually building her own interior design company, Home Ec.
“There was that fear of not being certified in interior design and kind of just organically growing and learning as I went,” Papier told Charlotte Five. “I asked for help when I needed it and people were very sweet and accepting and that was just kind of taken from there. I’m still learning and growing and still don’t always know 100 percent if I’m doing it the right way but it’s the way that works for me.”
The interior designer, whose show is set entirely in Charlotte, moved with her family to the area from Chicago two months before the pandemic hit. During a time when most of the world shut down, her talent and business took off.
“I was doing a lot of social media content but I wasn’t thinking I was at that place where I was going to start taking clients here in Charlotte just yet and that didn’t work out because I started getting inquiries pretty fast and it just spreads,” Papier explained. “I’m really grateful. The Charlotte community has just been awesome about being supportive and wonderful. The art community here is just so vibrant and it’s on the cusps of being and going to really big places. It’s exciting to be part of that.”
When settling into her new life in Charlotte, Papier said she’d been collaborating with artists and muralists from around the country on a project, which sparked her vision for the show’s art-forward concept.
“There was something that clicked. Interior design wasn’t just about the items you put in a room. It really was led by this idea of art-forward design first,” Papier said. “Bringing the art into the space and giving it soul, a lot of energy and color and then drawing the design out of it so it really becomes a focal point in the space.”
How to apply for a homemaker from the ‘Artfully Designed’ team
Papier said the show’s second season will be filmed from the end of June through the end of the year and applications are still open for residents interested in a renovation.
Similar to the first season, the Artfully Designed team will work with Charlotte families on design, renovation and furniture styling.
“What we did for those projects was really honest in on the clients’ needs, the space itself…where to spend money, where to save them money but make it feel really personal to them,” Papier told CharlotteFive. “So the space is really a reflection of the people who live in it and what their interests are and their hobbies, but also in this joyful way that I think art and color really brings to a space.”
If you’re interested in going on the show, applications can be filled out online at https://tinyurl.com/artdescastings2.
There’s not an air date set yet for the upcoming season of Artfully Design, but Papier says it’ll be available on Magnolia Network and other streaming platforms.