son show into their homes with uncer-
them, so she can bring that into their
tainty about what will actually happen.
home. Part of the premise of the show
Melch felt an immense amount of pres-
became how Mary Welch encourages
sure in that sense. She couldn’t even
clients to break the more “traditional”
show the clients her design boards, so
and “safe” design mold. She wants to
they put a lot of trust in her.
depart from what clients feel safe doing and think outside of the box. So the title
Originally, the show was going to be
changed from True Colors to Breaking
called True Colors. A lot of Mary Welch’s
Bland, which HGTV came up with.
design philosophy is to bring personality into a home. “I want you to walk into
Catch Mary Welch on Breaking Bland,
your home and feel yourself in it in a
airing on HGTV later this year.
stylish way that resonates with your heart.” Mary Welch wants to know what
Marrying Rock ‘n Roll
makes her clients happy, what inspires
Mary Welch met Ryan Stasik, the bass-
(left) Melch sits in the family’s living room which is accented with a fun leopard print rug. (opposite above) The family room is probably the most neutral room in the house — something Melch is planning on changing in the future, but for now it works for them.
138 • CH+D • Spring 2021