Join Tan France and Architectural Digest for a new series, Home at Last. After buying a plot of land in Salt Lake City, the Queer Eye star documented the process of designing a dream home for himself and his family–so sit back, relax, and watch Tan’s home come to life room by room. In today's episode, Tan designs his dream primary bedroom.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Hello everyone, my name is Tam France. You may know me from the likes of Next In Fashion or Queer Eye,
00:05 but today I'm letting you in on my most personal project yet. The build of my dream home right here
00:11 in Salt Lake City. I'm going to take you through to the likes of my spice kitchen, my cottage,
00:15 my closet, the exterior, interior, and pretty much everything in between. You are going to love it.
00:20 Join me, won't you?
00:21 [Music]
00:36 Rob and I have been together for 15 years. Maybe at 16. We can't ever keep track. We don't want
00:43 to lose what makes us us. And so when it came to planning the primary suite, the main goal for us
00:51 was to have our own space. We want to at least feel like if we can't go out for date night,
00:56 we've got our own space in this house that's just about me and him.
01:00 [Music]
01:09 I'm Tom Fox with the Fox Group. And I'm Cara Fox. Welcome to our office.
01:14 We are helping Tan and Rob build their dream home.
01:17 Yay, welcome! Hello, I'm Rob Cameron. Hi, thank you for having us.
01:21 Tan and Rob, they both have such creative minds.
01:24 We have both of their backgrounds coming together in all these beautiful details.
01:28 Our job is the fun part. We just get to take all this great information and just
01:32 roll it out into the home. I'd been stalking the Fox Group Instagram for a really long time. And so
01:37 we knew that they were going to be able to execute what we wanted. We sat down with Tom and Cara last
01:43 year to talk through every one of the designs that Rob and I had come up with, and then to see how
01:48 that would work in real life. Because Rob and I are not professionals. Just really passionate and
01:55 really particular. [Music]
02:00 So we talk about primary bedroom, bathroom, how this is all going to flow. Look, every bedroom
02:06 is really important, but this is our space. I want to really make sure the detail is perfect.
02:11 But I want a section where we can just kind of close off. A little retreat in the house that
02:16 feels like you're out in the country. But cozy. But cozy. I don't want a large space. So I would
02:21 love to talk about the fireplace. I like the character of something that feels a little more
02:25 charming. Charming and not so cumbersome. It's not like a feature on the wall. Is there a way
02:31 to do a custom like curved stone surround? We don't want a mantle. So this for the bed,
02:37 what if that whole piece at the back were wood? Like connected to the wall, so it's like a built-in.
02:41 And then the nightstand are actually part of that back piece. So built onto it. Built onto it. If we
02:48 have the middle section a little higher, so it separates out the shape of the bed. Then when it
02:53 comes to flooring, something comfortable. Carpet for sure. English carpet is dense like this.
02:58 Tighter. Okay. From the bedroom, obviously, then leads to the bathroom. In the middle,
03:03 he's always wanted a bathtub in an alcove. I don't know if it's 50s or something like that,
03:07 but it almost seemed like there were three pieces. Rarely one wooden floors. Are you a messy bather?
03:12 No, we're not. We're not messy. And for ultimate luxury, two sinks. PSA, for you kids at home,
03:18 happy marriage means that certain things have got to be separate. If we are sharing a space
03:22 when we're away in a hotel. Tan loves his stuff to be arranged just so. And he knows if they're
03:28 moved. So I can't move any of his stuff. I'm a little more haphazard. I'm not saying that it's
03:34 messy. Separate sinks has always worked for us. That's how we've stayed married for 15 years.
03:40 And that's why we need this bathroom. Yes. Perfect. We will create that retreat.
03:44 Basically, if we end up divorced, it's because you screwed up that there was too much crossover.
03:49 That's too much pressure. Thanks for the pressure.
03:51 You're welcome.
03:53 [music]
04:05 We broke ground last fall. I got to see it dug, frame in. And it was the best feeling. It finally
04:16 felt real after all those months of planning, all those months of permits. We finally saw
04:21 something real tangible. Okay, we are now going to show you the primary suite that I think is
04:26 perfection. We wanted something cozy, right? Cozy, definitely. I don't like a wide open bedroom
04:34 because then I feel far too exposed. We don't like a big bed. We want to sleep close to each
04:38 other. I still love my husband all these years. We're corner sleepers. So if it's a king bed,
04:42 we're just too far away. And now I want to show you this primary bathroom space. We have our own
04:49 separate vanities, which we've never had before. The space behind you is Rob's closet. This is my
04:56 closet in quotes. I'll take up a quarter of it and then it'll be Tan's ready to wear everyday
05:00 closet, I'm sure. He says it as if... Whatever. You can't tell me that you're going to go all
05:04 the way downstairs after you shower to change your clothes. Watch me. And then come back upstairs.
05:08 You know how stubborn I am. I'm going to do that just to prove a point. I should also make it
05:12 clear. He doesn't have enough clothes to fill this closet. So we may as well fill the rest of it with
05:17 myself. Anyway, I'm going to bring in the lovely Cara and Tom Fox, who are going to articulate just
05:22 how the design is going to go in here. As you guys can see, the framing just finished. And so all
05:26 kind of the fun parts start to come in. The plumbing, the electrical, all the mechanical,
05:31 and the windows and different things like that. I love that you consider that fun parts. Well,
05:34 it's fun for me. Sorry, I'm a little geeky about that. It's just all the behind the scenes that
05:38 start to create the fun. But the bathroom, the layout, as we've talked about the tub,
05:42 it's central. It just fits seamlessly and it's really balanced. And you love symmetry more than
05:48 anyone I know. I love symmetry, but I love more than symmetry is I love balance. So when you walk
05:52 in a space, one side isn't too heavy or there's a rhyme and reason to that. I can't remember how
05:58 you articulated it, but whenever you look through a room, you want to see something. He calls it his
06:02 sight line. It's his sight line. Yeah. So when you turn into the bathroom, you're perfectly
06:07 like symmetrical on this double door right here. But then also when you're sitting here,
06:11 you feel that sight line as well. This Degonay paper I know is going to go on those walls
06:17 outside of the closet. But is that also going to happen over the vanity? We'll have the mirror
06:23 built in and then we'll have space on the sides for the Degonay. That wall will be full mirror.
06:27 Okay. Kind of a casing around it. Gorgeous. Okay. How do you like the paper? Only issue with is
06:33 I love Degonay paper. You know, always. I'm not the biggest fan of the sheen. Yeah, I agree. Like
06:39 the metallic, the pearlescent sheen. It's beautiful. Absolutely. Beautiful, but it feels a little too
06:43 modern. It's not what we're going for. We can definitely take that down to a matte. Maybe a
06:47 little lighter on the color. Like a creamier color? Like a creamier color for the back. Okay. I'll
06:52 make note of that. Okay. Should we talk about the decor in the primary suite? Let's do it.
06:56 You enter the primary suite on this amazing view. I think it's pretty special. When he talks about
07:02 the view, he's talking about that view. Like that view, possibly the most beautiful view you'll
07:08 ever see. It's completely unstructured. Off to the side, we'll have this built-in bed. You'll have
07:11 the side tables built into the bed, just like you were talking. And then perfectly centered on the
07:16 bed will be this really unique, quaint little fireplace. We're going to bring in a really
07:20 beautiful green marble stone that kind of ties in with the wall covering. Yeah. I'm desperate to see
07:26 that fireplace in real life. I think it's going to be absolutely beautiful. Yeah. And then this is
07:30 one of my favorite parts of this room. This was my idea. Yeah. Excuse me? What? Come on. Tell me,
07:39 I don't know what you were going to say. No, I thought you were laughing about the beam sticking
07:43 out. Oh, the beam. I was talking about the balcony. That's mine. No, the balcony was your
07:49 idea. I always wanted a balcony. I wanted a balcony from a house. I'm trying to steal that one.
07:54 I was like, "Don't come for me." That's so good. Although I know again and again we were talking
07:59 about symmetry. I love that it's not symmetrical, that we now have a balcony on one side of the
08:03 house. The fact that we will get to walk out of this every morning and have coffee on that balcony
08:12 is just a dream. We've worked so hard on the design of this space. I cannot wait to see it
08:18 brought to life. We could not be more excited. I'm thrilled. It's going to be amazing. It's going to
08:21 be spectacular. Can't wait to see that come to life. I can't. Let's get to it, Cara. Let's do it.
08:28 To work.
08:56 So I am on my way to the property, the build. I've not seen the house within the last couple
09:03 of months. Really want to see the bathroom, which has three arches for the shower, bath,
09:10 and toilet closet. And I also really want to see the flooring. Timeline has always been an issue
09:17 with this build. I need to be in for the holidays. I've got family coming from the UK. I've got
09:23 friends coming. Everyone's already planning on being here. I need to meet this deadline.
09:29 The deadline, we're going to be great. But I just don't want to bring it up and get it done.
09:34 I want to get it done the right way.
09:51 OK. Primary suite. Amazing progress. It looks incredible, incredible. So much better than I
09:57 thought we were going to be. But my concern is this. No, you didn't let me finish. Let's do it.
10:02 Let's hear it. We're still like a long way away. I call it the bland to beauty stage,
10:08 where we're at. Very bland right now. Wait for a few weeks. Beauty. So the gorgeous stuff's
10:13 almost here. Now it's going to go up. Yes. I don't need to panic. You don't need to panic.
10:17 We've got it. We've got it. This is perfect. It just looks like a little thing we found in
10:23 England. I know it's not antique, but it looks it. It looks antique. It's so charming. We're
10:27 still doing the surround. You'll see just a little bit of the black metal trim, but it'll be marble.
10:34 Great. How's the paper coming along? It's on its way. And there is a lot of paper. Are we worried
10:39 about the timeline? We are a little stressed about it, but I think once we get it here,
10:43 then I think our crews will get it up and it's going to look gorgeous. This looks a little more
10:47 finished than one of the space I want to talk about real quick. Let's go. Should we go through
10:51 the primary? Let's do it. My worry is this, Thomas. It's what my mom says when I'm in trouble.
11:00 Well, that's you're in trouble. The floors not even done. Well, I'm actually glad you asked.
11:05 Let me show you what we did while you were gone. Okay. He's a beau. He's a beauty.
11:12 We have this custom white oak. They're each cut specifically 18 inches for this herringbone. And
11:17 see the little arrow we call it? Perfectly centered right on your top. This makes me feel
11:23 better because this I knew was going to take a while. And it did. All we need to do is just do
11:28 a sand and a stain. That comes at the very, very end. We obviously don't want to finish the floors
11:33 while we're still working through the house. Are you consent about this space? Getting finished?
11:39 Don't get me wrong. It's going to be like a buzzing beehive with a million people working
11:43 through this. The most important thing for us is we want to get it done right for you guys.
11:46 We want you happy. That makes me happy. There is so much custom work in this house.
11:52 I went to Chris's workshop to see just what the progress was of this millwork.
11:59 Okay. We're showing me what? This is the nightstands for your bedroom suite. We have two
12:06 of them flanking the bed. Okay. Love. This is the scalp detail that goes across the top. And this
12:12 gets blended into the background of the wall, which has wall paneling that's going to be the
12:16 same color, same stain, same wood. Can we talk about the hardware? This was the first iteration
12:22 of the mesh hardware that you drew up. Yeah. Which we love. And we tweaked it a little bit
12:26 in real brass. It had a little bit of a failure there, but it's killer though. It's a little bit
12:31 smaller scale. Yeah. So it doesn't look comical. It looks really chic. And it has the hexagon and
12:37 star pattern that's going to be common in throughout the house. It's gorgeous. I wasn't
12:42 expecting this at all. This was just to add some interest to the front to give a little bit of a
12:47 detail. So it wasn't just flat. Exactly. So we wanted to do something more decorative,
12:51 add some texture to it. Is this going to be carried through to the anywhere else on the bed? No.
12:56 Okay. It can. Yeah. Still not too late for that, but that's not the plan. This is the rendering
13:02 and you can see where that detail. Oh yeah. I don't think it needs to be repeated anywhere else.
13:06 I like how clean that is. And this gives it, makes it look a little more classic. It could
13:10 look too modern without it. And one little secret here is this will actually be a hidden drawer.
13:15 That's looking like a detail, but it will actually pop out. You swipe it to the sides. There are
13:21 sensors in there that if you do that at the right timing, the right sequence, the drawer will pop
13:26 open. So I can put diamonds in there, but you've given away the secret and the audience now knows.
13:31 But here's the thing, you know, I do actually hate tech. Is there a way to open it without
13:37 a dramatic dance? There is a manual override. You have to open the drawer and reach underneath and
13:41 you click two little paddles and it will pop open. That's probably what I'm going to do.
13:45 Here's my biggest issue with tech. This eventually is going to age out or malfunction after a few
13:50 years. That just happens. That's my issue. Well, luckily this is such a small drawer. If it does,
13:54 you can just look at it. You don't have to use it. And if it does conk out, at least there's
13:58 another way of getting in. Correct. I just don't want the only option to be tech. Right, right.
14:02 Great. Okay. More than happy. What else are you going to show me? So this is the reveal of the
14:08 primary vanity. Oh, very art deco-ish, right? It's art deco and it's wicked. That is so good.
14:22 Two-tone paint to mix it up a little bit, to emphasize the panel shapes. And I even went
14:27 through the effort to 3D print you a couple of the preliminary designs of the hardware.
14:31 Look how good they are. That mate is damn good. Imagine the stone in it,
14:37 the background, the mirror, all that. Gosh, that's nice.
14:48 [Music]
15:00 So I'm going to be going shopping with Tan to find some additional pieces,
15:03 things that make it feel like home. I'm really excited for that. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Should
15:11 we talk styling? Yes. I want it to feel like we took over grandma's house. Yeah. And we left what
15:17 she had up on the walls because she was so chic. Yes. But then we made it more modern with the
15:21 furniture. Is there anything here on this art wall that you're drawn to? I mean, I've seen your art
15:27 wall 73,000 times on my feed. So I know a lot of what you do, which is why I wanted to come and
15:33 select the work. Because that paper is relatively muted. It's so detailed, but it's muted. I kind
15:40 of love the pop of that because it's more saturated. I think this is one of the most
15:44 unique pieces we actually have in the shop right now. It's vintage. I feel like it's the right
15:49 size. The Degone just needs a pop. I will set that one aside for you. Thank you. Am I right
15:53 in thinking we're seeing something downstairs? Yes. Your primary bed is being made. Downstairs?
15:59 Downstairs. The upholstery of it. Can we? Yes. This is the actual headboard that will have the
16:05 batting. Oh. And then the pad. So this is the size. This fits right into the custom wood bed.
16:12 Okay. Awesome. This is freaking me out. So this looks a lot lighter than the sample that we
16:21 selected. What a funny way of saying that this is completely not the colour. This is not the colour.
16:27 The headboard was going to be this persimmon colour. It was like this rusty... It's a lot
16:31 like your vest. It's like an in-between of these two colours. It was kind of orangey, rusty. At
16:37 least you can feel the texture and how soft it's going to be. It feels gorgeous. Then we're good.
16:42 We'll just have them send the other colour away and problem fixed. No, I'm actually not worried.
16:47 They have it in stock. They'll send it quick. Okay, great. Problem solved. I'm going to quickly
16:53 run away from that fabric because that is worrying me a lot.
17:10 I'm just thrilled with how cosy it feels. We have the velvet, we have the linen. I think it's just
17:15 important to have some brass or something that warms up the room. I think the warmth that this
17:20 room has is just so cosy and inviting. At the end of the day, this is really Tan and Rob's bathroom.
17:25 The kids have their own bathroom. This is their space. So we wanted to make it extra special.
17:30 [Music]
17:47 Well, here it is. Your face says it all.
17:49 Do you remember when we decided we wanted to do a built-in? I know we went back and forth
18:00 on whether this colour would work for this space. When you pulled out the orange, I was concerned.
18:04 You were already concerned. You question colour a lot. Yeah, that's true. But it's perfect. It
18:09 looks absolutely beautiful. I wish you would trust me. I know. I don't know if you remember,
18:15 but Chris was going to put in a secret drawer. Okay. He was going to do this thing where you
18:20 kind of do that and it opens. I hate tech. I would be screaming and swearing as I was digging through
18:26 the drawer for something and this kept popping open. Yeah, that's what would happen. That sounds
18:30 like my husband. And then, you know I love me some jewellery. That bad boy. It was a perfect
18:35 decision. I know. Once again, I saw it all and I thought, I don't know, this seems like it might
18:39 be too much. I know you said it was really gaudy. I think it's perfect. I think it's perfect. Okay,
18:45 so. Upside. Beautiful. Gorgeous. I can't wait for you to be there, me to be here and just gossip.
19:02 Now, there's something I haven't told you. So, when we came up with the design, so in the movie,
19:06 The Shining, one of the most terrifying scenes of all time is in a bathroom. The Lost Other. And
19:13 the bathroom has a similar setup. That's where I saw that and I thought, that is the chicest bathroom
19:18 I've ever seen. I'm not feeling red rum in this at all. No, not at all. I feel great. Yeah, I think
19:23 it's absolutely gorgeous. The tile work, unmatched. I mean, the work, Rob, that they put into that,
19:29 it's bananas. And the waterworks, faucets and stuff, just gorgeous. Gorgeous. Someone was
19:35 asking me whose vanity is whose a couple of days ago. And we haven't established. And we haven't
19:38 established. You know what? No, wait, wait, wait. You know what? I'm not even kidding when I say
19:42 this. You can choose whatever vanity you want. No, I want you to point to the one that you've
19:45 imagined yourself at and we'll see what happens. No, silly. I want, because I'll influence. I
19:48 know you're too nice. Oh, no, it's okay. I already know which one I want to take. I just want to
19:52 know if you also want that one. You won't care if I say that I want that one. Okay, I wanted that one.
19:57 Oh, yay. You may remember that when we were at the CS cabinetry studio, we saw this.
20:07 And I liked it, but the contrast was just too high. And so we got them to change it to this
20:13 color. I love this. It's just barely there. Do you remember the issues we were having with the
20:17 original of this Degonay? Almost like a metallic sheen. I mean, it was like this pearlescent color.
20:23 It wasn't the right look for this bathroom. So I'm so glad I went with that. And we've got so
20:27 much green, so much green. I love this accent of purple. Again, I've talked about wooden floors
20:33 and bathrooms a lot, and I know that it's not right for everyone. But if it's an adult bathroom
20:39 only, why can't we have a wooden floor? It's so much warmer. I want to be able to go from our
20:42 bedroom to the bathroom without stepping from carpet onto cold tile. And I love the color.
20:49 And the herringbone. It's so extra. Yeah. Which is so not like me. Tom, Cara. Hi.
20:55 Should we talk about how this bathroom came to be? Yes, please. When it comes to the construction,
21:02 was it shockingly complicated? No. That wasn't shockingly complicated? Well, I mean,
21:08 there was just a lot of detail that went into so many different things, right? Look at the
21:12 cabinets, look at the arches, look at the fluting, right? The two-tone coloring on the vanities. It
21:16 just takes so much time. And look at every little piece to create an arch. I mean, they're such
21:21 great craftsmen, right? They're in here just cutting, cutting, cutting, measuring, measuring,
21:24 measuring back and forth to make sure that it's just extremely precise. Primary bedroom. Let's
21:29 do it. Shall we? Okay. Heaven. The dream of my dreams. So when we drew this, remember, we talked
21:38 about how we wanted stones around. And we just drew this up as if anything were possible. If
21:43 the sky was the limit, what could we do? I'm dying to know how that mantle was made. How did you
21:48 curve the top part? Just really carefully. It's a big slab of stone. It has to be cut to precision.
21:54 It has to be measured to precision. I think if we had a very large bedroom, absolutely a big
21:59 mantle makes sense. I think that is gorgeous and the perfect fit in a room like this. Yeah.
22:06 Well, and you really wanted an open fireplace too, which was tricky just by code. And so I feel like
22:12 this compromise was great because it looks old and antique, even though it's new. That is so
22:18 English. I used to have something like that in my first apartment in England. It's simple enough,
22:21 not overbearing. But still impactful, like really impactful. Tom, I need to compliment you because,
22:27 look, we had very strong opinions about every little thing, but there's certain things we
22:32 wouldn't have had the foresight to figure out. And that sight line is a star. I mean, you really have
22:36 four, right? When you enter the master suite, you have the perfect one centered on the mirror. When
22:40 you turn to the right, centered on this incredible bank of windows out to the valley. When you're in
22:46 the bed, centered on perfectly on the fireplace and your last one to your bathroom. So every place
22:51 you go and look, there should be a really great ending to the story. And it's achieved exactly
22:56 what we wanted in the house, which was to have smaller, cozier spaces without feeling closed in.
23:02 So it makes it feel large, but in small spaces. We could not be happier with this space. You guys
23:08 crushed it. Thank you. Thank you. We're obsessed. Like you can tell. Thank you. We feel so blessed
23:16 to be able to have done this. So thank you. At some point within the next few years, we'll start
23:21 to establish that this is our home. We keep walking into spaces thinking, gosh, this is gorgeous.
23:29 And then reminding ourselves, oh, wait, we can do whatever we want in this space.
23:32 Yeah. He asked the team yesterday, can I wear my shoes? It's your house.
23:43 I can't wait to wake up here. I can't wait either. That view.
23:46 Oh yeah. 10 out of 10. Our first morning. Open that bad boy. Yeah. Coffee on our white carpet.
23:54 Yeah. It'll be great. I will. That'll be me. I know it'll be you.
23:58 My marriage to Rob, France, is the most important thing in my life. And it has been for the last
24:11 15 and a half years. This home, this space, feels freeing for both of us and feels like the start
24:18 of the rest of our lives. So we hope that what we've built here together, not just physically,
24:23 what we've built here emotionally as a family, will continue on for decades to come and generations
24:28 to come.
24:30 [Music]
24:33 [Music]
24:35 [Music]