‘Trading Spaces’ star brings charm, smile to meeting

One of America’s best-known interior designers made an appearance in Huntsville on Friday.

Christi Proctor, who fixes people’s home decorating blunders on the popular TLC show, “Trading Spaces,” was in town for the Alabama Association of Family & Consumer Sciences’ annual meeting.

The Waco, Texas, resident spent about an hour recounting her unlikely rise to stardom and answering questions about wallpaper (way out of style), the year’s hottest colors (cobalt blue, orange, red and terra cotta) and what to do if your husband insists on having a big-screen television (buy an even bigger TV cabinet with doors that can hide the set when it’s not being used). In 2003, Proctor was running a furniture and design store when she saw a classified ad about “Trading Spaces.” She said she applied on a lark, but the producers liked her portfolio and invited her to Hollywood to audition.

Proctor’s infectious smile and folksy charm helped her beat out 400 other designers for a spot on the hit TV show.

“You should never limit yourself to what you think you can and cannot do,” Proctor said. “It never hurts to step out.”

“Trading Spaces” is one of TLC’s most-watched shows. The premise: Friends redecorate a room in each others’ homes using $1,000 and the help of a professional designer such as Proctor.

The show’s viewers are fiercely loyal: Several people in the crowd gasped when Proctor said “Trading Spaces” may be nearing the end of its six-year run.

Proctor, 41, is already planning her next move: She and her husband, John, are writing a book about kitchens and working on a concept for a new design-related TV show, she said.

The daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher, Proctor said her design ideas are heavily influenced by her mother, who had a knack for decorating church parsonage houses where the family lived. She also borrows heavily from Texas’ large Hispanic community and calls her design style “rustic elegance.”

“I don’t want people to come in and say, ‘This is a magazine house,’ ” Proctor said. “I want them to come in and say, ‘It’s beautiful, but it feels good.’ ”

Proctor said many of today’s interior designers try to force their ideas on customers, but people won’t be truly happy unless the design fits their lifestyle.

Good design “incorporates the heart of the family,” she told the crowd, many of whom teach interior design at Alabama high schools and colleges.

In response to a question, Proctor said the most common mistake she sees is homeowners who don’t trust their decorating instincts. If you choose a color and it’s a stinker, there’s an easy cure: Paint over it.

“I have so many clients who scare themselves into not trying things,” Proctor said. “I think we all know our style.”

source : www.al.com