"How To Build a Sex Room" Host Melanie Rose Shares Insight Into Her Design Process
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When building a kitchen, designers need to know how the homeowner hopes to use the space. Do they like to cook? Do they need ample storage? When building a sex room, interior designer Melanie Rose takes a similar approach to understand her clients' needs... but the overall process isn't so straightforward. “It's a little bit different because you're thinking outside the box—you're not confined in any way,” the host of Netflix’s aptly-titled How To Build a Sex Room tells House Beautiful. She explains: “For a kitchen, you know you're gonna need a sink, fridge, freezer, and things like that. But when you're designing a sex room, there are going to be other added elements that perhaps you hadn't thought of before, or your clients are perhaps wanting for you to install.”
That could be anything from a piece of furniture like a pony bench to tile flooring with drainage for easy clean-up. Not to mention, the Los Angeles-based designer has been asked to transform a range of spaces—including a basement area that’s accessible by a trapdoor and a small van—for her clients on the show. After specializing in sex rooms for a decade now, with most of her clients based in L.A., she's been met with all sorts of varying factors. “It gets even more exciting as it goes along,” Rose gushes.
In any space Rose tackles, the designer always loves to add hard points. Essentially, these sturdy structural parts of a room, like a backing or ceiling joist, are ideal for suspension. So, she can easily install hardware to them. “It's also good for shackling ankles and wrists and things like that,” she explains. “I always like to put those in because I can use them as decorative items as well as being, you know, useful.”
As far as sex room decor and furnishings go, one of Rose’s go-tos is Jonathan Adler. “There are lots of things that just speak to me about sexuality and being sexy in the movement of his art, especially in his pottery, and his furniture pieces as well,” she says. She personally owns the brand’s tall, breast-covered vase made of porcelain. Other go-to stores for linens include RH and Between The Sheets.
As with any room, the costs and timeframe for building a sex room can vary based on size, construction needs, and how much the client hopes to spend. Budgets range from $35,000 and $40,000 up to $190,000 plus, Rose shares. “I can get you a lovely pony chair for something like $2,500, or I can get you one that’s very high end at $25,000,” she says.
If you’ve already enjoyed the entirety of How To Build a Sex Room and are eager for more, make sure to check out Rose’s recently unveiled secret Pinterest board for “some [material] that perhaps people might not have seen,” the designer reveals. And keep your fingers crossed for another season!
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