DREAMING BIG
FINDING THAT PERFECT FIT
~ by joel martens ~
What can you say about HGTV’s David Bromstad? This host/designer/home expert, is unendingly energetic, completely disarming, downright charming and last but not least has a wicked sense of humor. His oft-donned smile and that quick humor has endeared him to HGTV audiences since he won the debut season of Design Star back in 2006 and hasn’t gotten off the network’s fast track since.
The youngest of four, Bromstad grew up in Cokato, Minnesota, a small town, which as he said, “Most people haven’t heard of, there’s 2,600 people, so it’s pretty small.” Located not far (at least by Midwestern terms) from the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He said of growing up gay there, “The Midwest was definitely unlike other places, though I have to say Minnesota is so weird, because it always votes liberal and is Democratic, yet it’s not that way in so many other ways. It’s weird and wasn’t the most friendly place to grow up gay, there’s definitely a bible belt sensibility still thumping up there.”
Like many, it was a place he would eventually, as he said “Run away from.” Steps that would eventually lead him to Florida and then a place on HGTV, the most popular home improvement channel on television. Now, 11 years and several popular shows later, Bromstad is still dishing out advice to America’s households as he only can. Smiling that infectious smile, using his genuine, fun-loving personality as he shares his unique signature style, as he charms audiences across the nation.
The latest embodiment on that journey, My Lottery Dream Home, has him helping recent lotto jackpot winners spend their winnings as they find their perfect dream home. Using that signature effervescence and enthusiasm, he gets into his charges heads, helps them to recover their senses after winning their millions and does what he does best, finds them a perfect, beautiful place to land.
This guy is all about creating a sense of home, finding a nest and making it your own…
Let’s hear a little more about how he got there and how he makes the magic happen.
I’m curious to know how you got from Cokato to a spot on Design Star. Can you give me a little synopsis on what that journey was?
I grew up in Cokato, up until I was 14 and right before my 15th birthday we moved to a suburb of Minneapolis called Plymouth and I Wayzata High School.
I love it, I have friends with kids there. (Laughs)
I know, 90210 [It’s where Brandon and Brenda Walsh moved from on Beverly Hills 90210], though on the show they pronounced it Waysayta, they never got that right. (Laughs) So anyway, that’s where I finished off my high school years. I went to art school in Sarasota, Florida at the Wringling Brother’s College of Art & Design, because I wanted to be a Disney animator. That was back in the day when the still did hand-drawn animation.
After I was there for a few months I realized I really did not want to do animation, because it was kind of boring for me. After I took it up and realized that drawing a broomstick over and over and over again in order just make it move for five seconds was going to take me weeks. It was awful and I was like, “I just can’t.” (Laughs) So I abandoned what literally was a dream of mine for years and years, so I was a little like what they heck am I going to do now? I finished my education and moved to Orlando, then ended up working at Disney, though not in any sort of animation capacity. From there I slowly made my way artistically from there. I was always doing something creative in my work and I stayed in my field. Disney was a client of mine, I did windows and visual merchandising for quite a while.
I basically had my own business and then started doing kids fantasy bedrooms and model homes around the southeast. I was barely scrubbing two pennies together, but I was doing what I wanted to do. I was being creative, making my own hours, having my own clients. Did I struggle? Yes. Did I nearly go bankrupt doing it? Yes. (Laughs) It was a definite struggle and it definitely had that “starving artist” quality to it. There were high, highs and super, super lows, but it all ended up working out. I loved what I was doing, I was making furniture, making props and murals and designing interiors, I mean it was a lot of fun. I was proud of them.
One of my friends who was an interior designer told me that I should do a television show that she had heard of called, Design Star on HGTV. I thought she was nuts, but she convinced me to apply and got on. I had no intention of winning, I didn’t think of myself as an interior designer at the time, but I thought, “What the hell.” (Laughs) And then, I ended up winning the thing.
I’m pretty obsessed with DIY and design shows. I actually remember watching Design Star and you winning the competition. Were you having as much fun as it looked?
Yes. I had so much fun doing that, but I really wasn’t prepared to win. Even the executives for the show told me later, “We did not peg you to be the winner.” They sort of had me on the show as their token gay guy. I sent my audition tape and sort of messed it up and they cut it in a particular way, then used it to make me look sort of bitchy. It kind of upset me that they cast me to be sort of the snotty gay guy, but then I figured I would go on and charm them by just being myself. In the end that’s what I did…And of course with my talent. (Laughs)
Would you do another reality show like it again?
Oh my gosh, in a second. I loved doing Design Star so much, I love competition and I wish there was more of it available to do. Once I’m in a competition, it is no-holds-barred. I love my career, I love where it’s been and where it’s gone. After Design Star it all changed, it became a totally different animal and I’m grateful for that. I love where it’s going and that things will continue to change and that’s okay. Though in television, things tend to change a little more rapidly. (Laughs)
You’ve been on so many different shows over the course of your HGTV career, that seems to be the natural course for design shows.
Yes, I jumped from a competition show, to hosting it, then hosting other shows and then mentoring people, it’s been pretty amazing. Once the shows went away, I was like, “Thank you HGTV,” I’m ready for the next challenge after six years!” I had reached all of my goals there. Then they said, “Hey, ever thought about doing a real estate show?” [Which ended up being his current hosting gig on My Lottery Dream Home.] I thought, why not? (Laughs)
I have to admit at first it was a little frustrating, because there were these big beautiful homes and I thought it would be so much fun to do renovations. I had to get used to the fact that I wasn’t going to get to be as creative as I usually am, so it took me a little time. I just adjusted and now I channel all of that energy into being a great host.
People ask me a lot if I miss design and of course, I miss that aspect. But as of right now, it’s a wonderful, lovely job. I get to travel and I get to meet people who have had their lives changed by winning millions of dollars. It’s really super wonderful to be a part of that every week.
It’s such an interesting phenomenon, winning the lottery. To interact with people whose lives have been altered so radically, it must be fascinating.
It’s huge and really, really fascinating. I love to understand where they were and what their lives were like before. It’s interesting to look at how much of a financial risk they were taking and how much money they were actually putting towards the lottery every week. The ones who win, are always the ones that tended to take the greatest amount of risk. It’s scary in some ways, but it’s always those risk-takers that make it: In business, in life and it turns out it’s the same for the lottery.
Do you find there is a thread that runs through the people you help find these homes? Something that they all share in common?
The one common thread is that they want to stay close to home, move back home or be by family. It’s really incredible because it’s true for pretty much every single one of them. It’s pretty inspiring to see that there are great family values out there still, it’s really lovely. The people and cultures are very different, but it’s definitely the single commonality with all of them… It’s one of the coolest things about this job.
How has your sense of design and how you create spaces for people changed since you began?
That’s a very good and relevant question. I’ve become educated as a designer, so my style has definitely evolved…let’s call it farmhouse chic, with a little storybook thrown in. Back when I started, I was very much influenced by other designer’s aesthetics. Everything was very contemporary and sleek. These days, my design aesthetic really goes every which way. I love pretty much every single style, country, shabby chic and even contemporary. Though the two things I probably like the least are contemporary and modern, which is so funny, because that’s what most people describe my style as. And that could not be farther from the truth.
There really aren’t any rules in design, it’s only about suggestions and I love telling a story with my work. You want to follow your own personal style, it’s all about creating something that is uniquely yours. You add things that make you happy, because if they bring a smile to your face on a daily basis, that’s a wonderful thing. You should live for everything that is in your house, for sure. Having a passion behind it makes it fun and lasting. I love it when that happens, it’s super fun.
I had a furniture store for ten years and I had a very similar thought process in that I liked bits and pieces from so many different design styles. I never wanted to be stuck in one aesthetic and loved pulling together unique pieces that had a story. I would revamp a concept and modernize it.
That’s very hard to do sometimes. There really aren’t any rules in design, it’s only about suggestions and that’s the most fun. You want to follow your own personal style, yes, there are trends and movements, but it’s about creating something that is uniquely yours. You put in things that make you happy, because if they bring a smile to your face on a daily basis, that’s a wonderful thing.
Are there ways to set up a room that is tidy and cool, clean and looking the best as possible, absolutely. Placement and how to put things in a room are certainly things people sometimes need help with, but not what they like. If you love something, it’s going to work somehow, or you’ll find a place for it.
That was our mantra at the store, “Buy the things that you love, not the things that works. Because, if you buy the thing that works, I can almost guarantee you’ll end up hating it in a year or two.”
I’ve done that myself, thinking something would work, but not really loving it and I have to get rid of it eventually. You should live for everything that is in your house, for sure. Having a passion behind it makes it super fun and lasting. I love it when that happens, it’s super fun.
That’s something I’ve enjoyed about you over the years, you are not afraid of color. Do you have a philosophy around the use of color?
Getting to know more designers who do this on a regular basis, even friends, they do not touch color… Ever. They’re terrified of color and I’m like, “What are you talking about?” It so does not go with who I am. I get so turned on by every single color out there, it’s not just one color, it’s all of them and they run away from it. (Laughs) I really don’t understand it, but I do understand that it’s kind of a rarity. Color is good.
Look, I love color, but I can’t live with it a whole bunch of it all the time, no one can. But a little pop of color here and a little more there, that’s a really good thing. Living inside a rainbow wouldn’t work for me, unless maybe I had five different houses: a red one, a white one, maybe somtheing like that could work. (Laughs) I do get why people are afraid of it, but that’s never been the case for me.
So what’s next for you?
Well, the show has been picked up for a fourth season so that’s what’s in the cards for now. I have a furniture and home line coming out in September, I can’t announce it yet, but keep your eye peeled for it. It will be announced on my social media accounts: My Instagram, facebook and twitter feeds. It should be coming out in the next couple weeks. It’s very affordable and really unique: Fabulous finds by David Bromstad!
Happy to do it David, thanks for the great conversation.
Thank you, Joel. It’s been fun!
To connect with David, check out his Facebook feed at facebook.com/DavidBromstadTV, follow him on Instagram at instagram.com/bromco, on Twitter @bromco or via Pinterest at pinterest.com/davidbromstad.
My Lottery Dream Home is on HGTV, for more information go to hgtv.com/shows/my-lottery-dream-home.
David’s Seven Sure Fire Ways To Help You Design Your Room:
1. Be realistic with your budget and stick to it. Being on a budget doesn’t mean the design has to suffer. I found my most strict budgets produce the most creative outcomes.
2. Create a design board. Whether it’s on Pinterest or in a binder, gives a clear vision of your space and the elements you are inspired by at your fingertips.
3. Do a space plan before you go out shopping! This is a crucial thing to do before you head out the door looking for that perfect piece. Take measurements of your space and figure out how big the furniture should be. You don’t want to come home with a sofa that completely over takes the room or one that is far too small. It takes the guess work out of, “I wonder if it will fit…”
4. Take measurements of your doorways, halls and stairways to determine if you can fit that piece into the room easily. Again, I’ve been there, I custom made a headboard for a very large bedroom, it was perfect! But then I tried to bring it up the stairs and it wouldn’t fit. #lessonlearned
5. Always start the design with your most expensive pieces. (I.e sofa, bed, rugs, etc.) When your shopping online or out in the stores, this helps you keep focused on the core pieces. Also, if you want your room to stand the test of time, pick pieces that are timeless.
6. Always pick your paint color last! This is the most important rule of all and the one that’s the most broken. Picking the paint color and painting the entire room before you buy your core pieces seems like a great idea but it’s not. Here’s why: There are literally thousands of paint colors to choose from, right? Furniture and accessory selections are much more limited. Buy most everything and choose that perfect shade of wall color last to ensure that you’re not repainting your room over and over.
7. Love everything you put into the room. If you are buying something and just think it’s “fine” or “will look okay” then you’re probably going to hate it. Buy things you love, things that make you happy and bring a smile to your face.