Face Time: Designer Jonathan Fong

A WOK TURNED into a table. Rosebuds frozen inside ice cubes. Walls decked with place mat "art." Such high-impact, low-cost design ideas fill decor guru Jonathan Fong's popular books and TV appearances. The energetic style guru headlines at the Remodeling & Home Decor Show Sept. 26-28 at Dulles Expo Center.

» EXPRESS: Describe your decorating style.
» FONG: One person nailed it when they said I was like Andy Warhol meets Martha Stewart. I go for high-impact and a wow factor. All of my rooms have to have a conversation piece in them. Like, I did a room in a show house recently where I hung a halo of flowers above the bed.

» EXPRESS: Your books all have the word "wow" in their titles. What does that mean in your decor projects?
» FONG: For me, "wow" means that it's really dramatic, simple to do and affordable.

» EXPRESS: What's the secret to cheap-chic decor?
» FONG: Doing it yourself. If you do things on your own, it's satisfying and simpler than hiring someone.

» EXPRESS: How do you get inspiration for your sometimes wacky projects?
» FONG: I'll go to atypical places, like the hardware store or the flea market. Then I walk the aisles looking at things that weren't meant for home decor and repurpose them.

» EXPRESS: What sort of projects result?
» FONG:;I covered a wall in aluminum lashing that I got at the hardware store for, like, $15 for a 25-foot roll. And I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought all these great place mats, then realized I didn't have enough dinner parties to warrant them. So, I drilled holes in them and hung them up on the wall.

» EXPRESS: You also throw stylish parties. What's your secret?
» FONG: For me, parties are an extension of decorating. Your dining room table is a great canvas to decorate with. But I'm not a great cook, so my parties aren't really about food. I serve food from Costco or Trader Joe's and then have a memorable table.

» EXPRESS: So, what does a memorable table look like?
» FONG: Last Thanksgiving, I did a French flea market party. I put old picture frames around the place settings and decorated within them, like scrapbooking. I used vintage postcards and mismatched plates. Then my place cards were on mini-easels from the art store.

» EXPRESS: What can lazier people do to improve the look of their bashes?
» FONG: Sometimes it's just about doing one thing to elevate your party. Like, have one coffee table filled with candles, or fill a vase with flowers. When people walk into your home for a party, it should look a little different than usual.

» EXPRESS: You're big on flowers, too?
» FONG: I think flowers are nature's paint. You can do anything with them. Thanks to floral foam, I can make different flower animals, like a carnation bunny for Easter or a spider out of mums for Halloween.

» EXPRESS: Any flower suggestions for Election Day?
» FONG: Take a box frame and make a flag using red, white and blue mums. It's nice, patriotic and bipartisan.

Written by Jennifer Barber for Express
Photo by Jessica Boone for Express