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David Bromstad flexes his design muscles on the new HGTV show, ‘Color Splash.’ (Photo courtesy of HGTV)
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‘Color Splash’
Mondays at 9 p.m.
HGTV |
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HOME > SOVO SCENE > FEATURE
By: ZACH ROSEN
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An ironic phenomenon is taking place on television sets across America: A string of specifically gay channels such as Logo and Here!TV are sprouting up only to risk being out-queered by the content on more established, mainstream networks.
With shows like “Project Runway,” “Top Design” and the recently retired “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy,” Bravo is arguably the most flaming channel on the dial.
But with a prideful contingent that includes gay designer David Bromstad — whose new show “Color Splash” debuted this week — and gay homeowners featured regularly on its renovation shows, the Home & Garden Television network is proving that it deserves its occasional moniker, “H-GAY-TV.”
Bromstad rose from the ranks of struggling craftsmen to his own cable design show after winning HGTV’s “Design Star,” an elimination-style reality show where the last contender standing lands a TV show.
The Miami Beach-based designer boasts the ideal combination of expertise and showmanship that HGTV casting agents look for in on-air talent, says Michael Dingley, senior vice president for programming and content strategy at HGTV.
“We’re all about providing relevant entertainment, so besides having great creative talent, the designer really has to connect with people,” says Dingley, who adds that the station is committed to showcasing “all types of folks, all over the globe.”
“Whether it’s a homeowner, whether it’s a guest, whether it’s a host — to us it’s all about delivering a national product,” Dingley says.
The network has a glowing reputation of incorporating gay homeowners in its array of home-improvement programs, usually doing so without explicitly commenting or drawing attention to sexual orientation. The matter-of-fact presentation of gay lives on HGTV is a recognition of how gay men and lesbians are weaving themselves into the American fabric, Dingley says.
“It’s all about connecting with people, and having people [who viewers] can identify in themselves,” says Dingley, who adds that the station also occasionally catches flack for its gay-inclusiveness.
“When you’re out in 92 million households, you can’t make everybody happy,” he says. “But the vast majority of people are loving what we’re doing, and want us to continue.”
ONE PERSON SURELY HAPPY with HGTV’s programming choices is Bromstad, who had to adjust quickly to his newfound fame.
“It’s been a complete 180,” Bromstad says. “I went from being a starving artist who worked for himself and barely got by, and now I have my own TV show. I’m on billboards and in magazines. It’s strange and really fun.”
Art and design were always a passion for the Minnesota-born Bromstad. After attending the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Fla., Bromstad began doing design work for the Disney theme parks in Orlando. After being let go in a round of post-Sept. 11 budget cuts, an old friend found Bromstad’s portfolio and led him to a career designing fantasy-themed children’s bedrooms. During that time, the artist created his own company, Bromstad Studios.
His passion for other kinds of art, including sculptural painting, wall-boxes and glass work, helped to inform his sense of interior design.
“I approach each room like a piece of art,” he says. “Since I’m not an interior designer [by training], I’m not bound by those laws. I push things a little bit if [the clients] can handle it. It’s like a giant sculpture, and that’s how I approach it.”
Bromstad brings this individual approach to the homes he visits on “Color Splash,” along with his friend and assistant Danielle Hirsch. The pair completed filming the first 13-episode season of the show and have already been picked up for another season.
THIS QUICK RISE TO TV success created a hectic schedule for Bromstad. After completing “Design Star,” he took one week off before filming “The Making of Design Star,” during which he also shot the pilot for “Color Splash.” After another three weeks off, the remaining 12 episodes of the first season were shot.
And even though “Color Splash” is still in its infancy, Bromstad is already building a fan base.
“I’m recognized everywhere,” he says. “I’m not mobbed or anything, but there’s always one or two people that know who I am. It shows that people have really watched and are really excited. The second I stop getting noticed, I know that my career is over.”
He hopes to use his visibility to spread his own gospel ...
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