Kerry
“Big
Daddy”
Howard’s
Road
to
“Top
Design”
started
years
ago
with
rides
along
Interstate
85
from
South
Carolina
to
Atlanta.
“I’m
From
Easley,
and
it’s
only
a
short
drive,
but
when
I
was
a
teenager
my
aunt
used
to
bring
me
into
Atlanta,”
Howard
says
as
his
eyes
light
up.
“For
a
kid,
it
was
like
‘wow.’
Every
time
I
would
come
into
Atlanta
and
see
the
skyline,
I
knew
I
had
to
be
here
one
day.
I
kept
telling
myself
that.”
Howard
seems
to
be
both
pleased
and
somewhat
mystified
by
the
attention
he’s
received
since
making
an
early
exit
from
Bravo’s
popular
design
competition.
Ousted
in
the
third
episode,
Howard
still
had
time
to
warm
audiences
to
his
open
personality
and
quick,
occasionally
self-deprecating
wit.
If
anything,
he
would
like
to
use
any
interest
he
can
generate
from
the
show
to
promote
design
in
Atlanta.
“This
city,
we
are
blessed
with
resources
for
design,
and
I
really
want
to
educate
designers
on
what
is
out
there
for
them,
and
to
have
them
realize
that
they
are
in
the
Mecca,”
Howard
says.
LIKE
MANY
SOUTHERN
GAY
MEN,
Howard
felt
a
magnetic
pull
toward
Atlanta
from
an
early
age.
He
hoped
to
move
to
the
city
right
after
college
in
1995,
but
was
forced
to
move
to
North
Carolina.
“Nothing
was
really
panning
out,
and
I
moved
to
North
Carolina
for
my
first
job,
and
I
was
so
sad,”
Howard
says.
He
took
a
job
with
Broyhill
Furniture
where
he
designed
showrooms
across
the
country.
Fed
up
with
living
in
a
small
town,
Howard
left
in
2003
and
moved
in
with
a
friend
in
Alpharetta.
He
started
his
own
company,
Howard
House
Designs,
and
began
finding
jobs
through
word
of
mouth.
“Atlanta
was
saturated
with
designers,
and
in
north
Atlanta,
there
was
so
much
new
construction,”
Howard
says.
His
friend
led
to
several
jobs,
and
as
newly
constructed
developments
opened
up,
one
job
for
Howard
often
led
to
recommendations
to
four
or
five
other
homeowners.
“I
didn’t
strategically
plan
it
that
way,
but
it’s
a
great
way
to
build
business,”
Howard
says.
“As
their
life
stages
change,
who
are
they
going
to
call?
Not
Ghost
Busters,
but
‘Big
Daddy.’”
HOWARD’S
PERSONALITY
RUNS
COUNTER
to
the
idea
of
a
high-strung
designer.
He’s
easy-going
and
carries
a
very
southern
casualness.
Unlike
many
reality
show
contestants,
he
didn’t
attempt
to
make
a
caricature
of
his
personality,
or
mug
for
screen
time.
Although
Howard
left
the
show
earlier
than
he
would
like,
he
sees
advantages
in
leaving
when
he
did.
“I
never
wanted
to
be
one
of
those
backstabbing
people
or
throw
someone
under
the
bus
to
get
ahead,”
he
says.
“So
in
a
way,
maybe
it’s
good
that
I
left
when
I
did,
because
you
look
at
what’s
going
on
now,
and
how
cutthroat
it’s
getting.”
Even
today,
months
removed
from
taping
the
show,
he
doesn’t
“Dish
Dirt”
about
his
fellow
contestants,
and
doesn’t
have
a
favorite.
“For
me,
it
would
be
all
about
design,
and
I
never
really
got
to
see
each
other’s
designs
because
all
we
had
was
group
challenges
or
teams,”
Howard
says.
He
does
say
that
based
on
his
off-screen
interactions,
he
wouldn’t
mind
if
Ondine
Karady,
Nathan
Thomas
or
Eddie
Ross
wins.
“It
would
have
been
one
of
those
three,
just
based
on
personality,”
Howard
says.
HOWARD’S
PROFESSIONAL
LIFE
and
personal
passion
mesh
so
well
that
it’s
sometimes
hard
to
see
the
difference.
One
of
the
questions
he
gets
a
lot
in
interviews
is
“What
would
your
perfect
day
be?”
His
answer
seems
to
blend
both
his
personality
and
his
job.
“I
love
the
Scott
Antique
Market.
It’s
held
the
second
weekend
of
every
month,”
he
says.
“I
can
just
put
on
a
baseball
cap
and
spend
all
day
there
going
through
both
buildings,”
Howard
says,
describing
how
he
“plunders”
the
monthly
market
for
rare
finds
he
can
make
into
one-of-a-kind
pieces.
“I
love
taking
old
things,
like
recycled
things,
like
old
windows,
anything,
and
make
it
new
again,
but
I
love
mixing,”
he
says.
“In
my
front
room,
I
have
these
windows
that
came
out
of
an
old
church,
they
still
have
this
Gothic
arch
to
them,
and
I
put
mirrors
in
them,
and
then
I
have
a
Barcelona
chair
right
beside
it.”
While
he
has
a
successful
business,
aided
by
a
reality-show-fueled
spotlight,
Howard
still
plans
to
stay
in
suburbs,
enjoying
his
small-town-esque
life.
“I
can
still
have
the
benefits
of
living
in
Atlanta
by
driving
down
here,”
he
says.
“I
work
down
here
two
or
three
days
a
week,
but
I
think
if
...
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