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Posted on: February 13, 2008

All Smiles

Kim Myles, HGTV's newly christened Design Star, embraces her new show with creative know-how and bubbly enthusiasm

By Dave Waldon
CTW Features

Image courtesy Seiji Photography

An empty room - that would seem to be the dream scenario for any interior designer. That's how Kim Myles sees her situation as she surveys her new Los Angeles apartment, a barren space awaiting the arrival of her husband, their belongings and one of their two cats from their former home in New York.

But the dreams of the bubbly Myles have gone through an adjustment in the months since she won HGTV's "Design Star," the annual design-competition series that rewards the top designer with the opportunity to host a new program on the cable network. So as she prepares for her primetime debut, the former hairdresser who used to redo her living room in Queens every three months, sees her white box as ... a white box.

"As far as design is concerned, I get to work it out with real people now," says the oft-smiling Myles. "So I think having a space that I don't paint that I live in - that is absolutely simple and pure - is going to serve as a real palate cleanser for me. With this apartment, I haven't done a thing to it, and I don't know how much I'm going to do with it. We've found something that is really beautiful just on its own, and I think I might be a purist in my own house for a little while - until I get my sea legs under me, at least."

There hasn't been a lot of time for Myles to get used to her new reality since America chose her over 10 other candidates on the "Design Star" finale last fall. Within days of her triumph, she was in Los Angeles for the first time to begin the development of her own signature series, the creatively titled "Myles of Style." And before Myles knew it, the first episode was being shot and an eager couple had invited her into their abode to do not simply what she willed but what all three of them wanted. That's a key component of the show for Myles, a HGTV junkie who describes herself as "one of those crazy people who watches all day long." She wants the homeowners to have an active role in whatever look results from her time in their presence.

"It's going to be a real collaborative venture and a partnership," Myles says. "They're going to be with me side-by-side, and they're going to have a vested interest in building the space that is their space at the end of the day." Not only does Myles feel the interaction equals great entertainment value, she also sees it as practical.

"We're dealing with homeowners. These are people for whom their homes are the biggest financial commitment they've ever made or will ever make."

Another point Myles stresses when it comes to her work: Most interior designing is not set in stone. "We all have those moments when we throw color on the wall, and you stand back later and go, 'God, really? It doesn't look the way I thought it would.' But what do you do? You pick another color, and you paint over it. It's not the end of the world. Nothing's permanent. It's not like we're tattooing."

Basic tenets of Myles' philosophy of design are color, affordability and, perhaps above all, comfort. "My home is not a museum for other people to visit," she says. "It's a place that says, 'Hey, welcome to my world. When you come through these doors, this is what I'm like, this is what I am.'

"Me, I'm definitely a 'feet-on-the-furniture' type of girl. My personal spaces are not spaces where things are untouchable, where kids can't be there, pets can't be there. I like my spaces to be a place where if friends and family walk in the door, they're instantly at home - they feel chill, and they feel like they're happy to be there, and they want to sit down, and they want to stay a while."

Myles hopes that the audience that catapulted her to "Design Star" victory will be happy to tune to her show. It's all fun and games, but it's also serious business for any network to invest in a regular series, and Myles feels honor-bound not only to the families she will work with on "Myles of Style," but also to HGTV and those who voted for her. "My dream has been handed to me - not just on a silver platter but on a platinum platter," she says. "I think this is a huge responsibility for me, and it's something that I feel really honored to do."

So is there any celebrity to whom she would love to give design tips? Of course. Though, ironically, it would require a return trip. "The quintessential New Yorker, Sarah Jessica Parker," Myles replies confidently. Well, there's always next season.

Style on a Budget

Edit

It's something that Myles is living out as part of her move to Los Angeles. "I think everyone benefits from an editing process," she says. From time to time, survey your space and determine what you can keep and what you can lose. Even clearing out a room entirely can be useful: "You see the wall-to-wall expanse of space, and it clears your head and kind of reopens your eyes as to what the place can be and what the possibilities are."

Color

"I'm a crazy, fearless color person," Myles says. She believes in the power of different hues and shades as a way of being creative, experimental and playful. Painting your walls, she says, is an inexpensive way to change the complexion of a room entirely. And even though Myles is looking forward to being surrounded by white space, "you'd better believe that with [my furniture] and the accents around the room, I will surround myself with color."

Paper

Sheets of high-end paper, even of the wrapping variety, can be found reasonable priced at paper stores, arts-and-crafts retailers and big-box merchants. "There are beautiful papers out there with beautiful patterns, and my thing is to say, 'Treat them like a piece of art.' Get a beautiful paper, and frame it and matte it beautifully." You can even swap out different papers as a way to "change with your mood without huge amounts of commitment," Myles says.

Flowers

And not those of the silk variety. Cut flowers of all varieties can be purchased cheaply at most supermarkets, Myles points out, and they need not be fancy. Even a batch of carnations in a cereal bowl gives a room a living presence. And so what if the flowers eventually wither and die? "That's part of the beauty," Myles says. "I think that's part of what adds something special to the space - that they're impermanent. They're something that never lasts, so you enjoy it while you have it."