Envy Man Magazine Online

by: jtravis

Let’s just be blunt when we are talking about HGTV’s newest star host David Bromstad. The word that best describes him, DELICIOUS! Body, brains, all wrapped up in an actually nice guy. I hate him already!

Bromstad has been pushed to the forefront of HGTV’s show in just a little over a year when he won the network’s Design Star competition. Now, he is host of his own show to debut this spring and is about to be thrust into the amorous eyes of straight women and gay men alike. So just how did this natural beauty become all that?

“I actually did start out as a designer and an artist,” Bromstad recounts. “I went to an art & design school in Sarasota, Florida and my first job out of college was working for Disney in Orlando painting murals and doing specialty sculptures. It was great training for what I do now.” Then fate stepped in when a friend asked David to design the bedrooms of his children. Always interested in a challenge, he jumped on it. That led to more and more work networking with friends. Eventually, one suggested he try out for HGTV’s new competition. “I tried out in April 2006 and we filmed in New York City,” said Bromstad. “It’s an amazing city, but it was almost like an overload creatively. I never thought I would win, and now having my own show is just amazing. This is just beyond what my dreams ever were. I am so blessed!”

Bromstad’s show, Color Splash, has a specific focus: to show people how to use color in an innovative way. Key to Bromstad’s approach is to get people comfortable with neutral-color furniture that can have color built around it. “I am a big opponent for purchasing a floral print couch or something bright red. A neutral piece is traditionally much more classic and for those on a tight budget, can be kept longer. The focus merely becomes the colors around it—curtains, throw pillows, carpeting, etc. You can breathe new life into furniture by changing the air around it.”

When it comes to being a gay man working in home design, Bromstad is aware of the stereotypes that people have, but he doesn’t care. “I have been out for years, why would I hide it? I am just me, a nice mid-western, boring guy!”

So to everyone reading this who hopes to rope in this new reality show star, Bromstad has simple requests: be comfortable in your own skin, take care of yourself, and be honest. You might get to share some personal plans with David. And what might they include?

“World Domination!” David shouts with a loud laugh. “I hope the series will continue for a few years and then maybe I can go into developing some furniture lines of my own and more. I want to bring great design to people who can’t afford it. I have big plans for the future!”

Despite the fast-break pace he is on now, Bromstad is not a social butterfly. “I am more of a homebody. I’m not one to go out socially for drinks. I am focused on my career and some charity work I do back in Orlando for Hope & Health, an AIDS charity in Orlando. In the next season we are doing a kids’ room for needy kids. It always comes back to where you start; these rooms are my specialty, an over-thetop fantasy environment that I know I do really well. There is just nothing like seeing a kid react to that for the first time.”

With the wisp of his voice starting to get emotional and crack, Bromstad admits he has no plans for a family right now, but won’t rule it out. “I am the last of four kids and I have ten nieces and nephews. They are all back home in Minneapolis and I could not ask for a bigger support group. A TV show, a supportive family, amazing friends... I am truly blessed.” And don’t forget that body. We’ll be tuning in to HGTV’s Color Splash to see David rip off his shirt just for us! (And to see his decorating techniques, of course.)