If you’ve ever watched Libby Langdon’s television shows—Daykeover with Libby Langdon, Design Invasion, or her segments on NBC’s Open House, The Rachel Ray Show, The Today Show, The View, or HGTV’s Small Space, Big Style—then you know Libby has lots of energy; a characteristic that’s served her well. Early in her career she was an actress who worked in everything from soap operas and television commercials, to voiceovers and movies. Her best training ground may have been the television and movie production company she and her ex-husband ran.
“I MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY BY MYSELF AT 15.”
“I learned to really take control of my destiny. It was an empowering time for me. When you’re out there raising money and hiring trucks to pull movie and TV cameras around… It was a great experience.” Libby Langdon didn’t know it then, but when her ex-husband left her, for someone else, on their 11th wedding anniversary, it may have been one of the best things to happen to her.
“At that point, I decided I didn’t want to have anything to do with movies anymore. I looked at my options and decided to figure out what the rest of my life was going to look like. It was time for me to reinvent myself.” Like many successful people, Libby didn’t sit back and wait for the next opportunity to come along. She reached out and made it happen.
“I loved cooking and entertaining, so I went to my agent and said, I’d like to host some kind of cooking show. He said, ’If you want to host a cooking show, you’ll either have to have a cookbook or a restaurant,’ so I said, drats! I don’t have either. Then he said, ‘If you want to host an interior design show, we could probably get you a show tomorrow.’
“After going through a divorce and a complete life change, I was feeling very fearless. I thought, what’s the worst thing that could happen? The worst thing had just happened, so take chances… get out there, and it was really amazing.
“Over the next eight months, I travelled to a different city each week and made over a room, I’d never seen before, in 12 hours with $6,000. That was my interior design school. It was fabulous, fun, exciting and after I shot the pilot, I cried. I loved playing me on TV, not another character. I liked working with real people, in real homes across the country. It was without a doubt the thing I was put on the planet to do.”
Whether it’s her book, Libby Langdon’s Small Space Solutions; her interior design clients; creating her upholstery furniture line for Braxton Culler; Libby Langdon Lighting Collection for Crystorama, or her Tiger Rug and Casart wall covering collections, Libby is busy building her brand.
This summer Walmart.com launched her affordable, sophisticated line, Warm & Inviting, by Libby Langdon, and this September, Libby will have a monthly column, “Libby’s Makeover,” in HOUSE BEAUTIFUL Magazine. “It will be very tip driven: how to fix up your foyer, what to do with your dining room, working with neutral palettes. I’m having so much fun!”
