Sutton Foster calls HomeGoods her 'go-to happy place'

By Cristina Corvino

As a two-time Tony winner (she's heading Off-Broadway in November, headlining "Sweet Charity") and the star of TV Land's "Younger," Sutton Foster spends more time in dressing rooms than in her own home.

To ensure that her "home away from home" feels as welcoming and cozy as possible, Foster teamed up with HomeGoods and Julien Havard (her BFF and one-time dresser) to hit a design home run.

If you ask us, they hit it out of the park (can we hang out in there?). Get a behind-the-scenes look at the transformation below:

We chatted with Sutton about the gorgeous makeover, her love for HomeGoods and her very, very full plate. Check it out!

Talk to us a little bit about how important it is to you that your dressing room feel like a home -- and how did HomeGoods help you achieve that?

HomeGoods is like my favorite store ever -- and I'm not just saying that! It really is. It's like my go-to place, my go-to happy place. It's eclectic, and it's sort of the place I go to do any type of finishing touches. It just sort of has a little bit of everything you'd ever need.

It was really easy actually, that's what's so cool about it. You can really find everything -- it has all the components. And working on the dressing room, I spend so much time in the dressing room. I realized I probably sometimes spend more time there than I do at home -- especially when I'm doing a show. It's really important for me that it feels super personal, cozy and comfortable. Because so often, especially when you're doing a show eight times a week, the demands of performing live and being on stage are really great, so you want your surroundings to feel as supportive as possible, as opposed to cold or impersonal.

That was what was great about working with HomeGoods. I was able to find things that reminded me of my home and made me feel comfortable. I struggle with nerves, so it was really, really important for me that it felt cozy and comfortable.

Honestly, when we were working on it -- both Julien and I were like, "Okay, everyone needs to leave, because we need to hang out here!" (Laughs).

It turned out better than I could've ever imagined. It really turned out great.

What is something you've come across in HomeGoods that you never expected to find there -- or something you never knew you needed?

Oh my gosh. One of my favorite personal HomeGoods finds is this blue balloon dog figurine. There was only one of them, and it was on a shelf -- and I made a beeline for it. I never in my life knew that I needed a blue balloon dog.

And it's one of my favorite things that I own. It's currently living in L.A. When I moved to L.A., it traveled out there with me, and it has a prominent spot in my house in L.A. It's one of my favorite possessions -- and I got it from HomeGoods.

The thing that I love about HomeGoods is that you may go in to get one thing, like some new plates, glassware, new dish towels -- or you're looking at furniture. And then there's always the unexpected find.

And every HomeGoods is different. They all have slightly different inventory -- and it's always changing. I look forward to it every single time, and I'm constantly delighted.

Rumor has it you have a fake chicken that travels with you to every show?

Yes, I have a chicken and a lobster -- they're like little stuffed animals. The chicken makes noise, the lobster's just a stuffed lobster.

Julien and I have a couple things that have traveled from dressing room to dressing room from the very, very beginning. We met doing "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 2002, and we've done seven Broadway shows together. We also have this little treasure box. Julien is an artist -- he actually painted the box, and inside are all of these little mementos and things from show to show to show that he's collected and put in this little box. It's like this little time capsule, and it's crazy to open it up. It's really, really cool.

Julien is one of my best friends, and he's a brilliant visual artist. Our dressing rooms are always full of a lot of color and a lot of fun. Both of us try not to take life too seriously, so the more whimsical and crazy, the better.

Speaking of a place feeling like home, we're huge "Gilmore Girls" fans! Can you tell us a little bit about your role in the revival and what it was like becoming part of a cast that was already like a family?

I was a super fan, too. It was amazing to be asked to be a part of it. I shot for four days. Lauren Graham and I knew each other a bit beforehand. My character is part of the town musical -- they do a musical for tourism. It's basically the story of Stars Hollow, and I'm part of the musical. And there are four original songs that were written by Jeanine Tesori, a Tony-award winning Broadway composer. It was just wild. It's really, really cool.

I haven't seen it, so I have no idea what the final product is. But honestly, I'm so excited to watch the whole thing. I can't wait to watch the whole thing. I'm super excited to be a part of it, even in the smallest way.

I've been re-watching the original on Netflix, and it's just a world I think we all want to live in. We all want Lorelai as a mom. We want to live in that town and have all of these crazy characters surround us. It's just this crazy idyllic, fabulous fantasy world -- and I'm so thrilled it's coming back.

What's your favorite part of Stars Hollow?

We filmed at Patty's Dance Studio -- that's where the musical's at. But our cast chairs were in Luke's Diner, so in between takes, I was hanging out in Luke's Diner! That's probably my favorite place in Stars Hollow. I love that place.

We're so excited that "Younger" is back! What trend or outfit that you wore in your 20s do you maybe regret or want to bring back?

I wore overalls, I was an overalls freak. And now overalls are coming back! I was surprised by that. I also wore a lot of flannel. Flannel was very in -- it was sort of that '90s grunge. And Doc Martens. Again, those are kind of coming back around. My high school and 20s -- it's like they're coming back! It's freaking me out!

Watch the cast of "Younger" at AOL BUILD below:

You'll also be headlining "Sweet Charity" in the fall. When you're working in New York ("Younger" is filmed in Queens), what's your favorite part of working there?

Gosh, it's pretty awesome to live and work in New York. I mean, New York can be hard -- it's a hard place to live at times, especially now that it's going to get cold. Honestly, filming in New York is really, really exciting. I get to see parts of the city I've never seen. Our show shoots in some really, really cool places, and that's been amazing. We shot on this rooftop pool, and it was a night shoot -- and you got amazing views of the Freedom Tower and the Hudson River. And you're like, "This is my job!" We shot four days in Montauk, out in the Hamptons. It was like, "Okay, I'm getting paid to do this. This is really, really cool." That's the best part. You get to see a lot of really cool things.

And being on Broadway, I get to be a working actor in New York. I get to walk down the street and walk into a stage door and perform in New York City. It's a little girl's dream, it was my dream as a kid -- and I still feel so grateful for it. I try not to take it for granted, even when I'm tired and exhausted and overwhelmed, it's the best job ever.