Doug Wilson: Designer Profile
Better Homes and Gardens (Mar. 9, 2003)
Find out more about the Trading Spaces bad boy.
Job: Designer
Born: Douglas Wilson on November 4, 1964, in Champaign, IL
Personal: Divorced
Career Highlights:
- Doug originally pursued acting, studying at the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York City, before turning to painting and design.
- After making the switch from theatrical arts to interior arts, he built a reputation as a decorative painter, working with designers and specializing in old-world Venetian plastering.
- His work can be seen in homes and offices all over Manhattan, where he has worked for such well-known clients as Liza Minnelli, Brooke Astor, and Barbara Walters. He also contributed his talents to several showhouses.
- His artistic touches and designs have been showcased in several publications, including The New York Times and Better Homes and Gardens Window and Wall Ideas.
- He has been part of TLC's Trading Spaces crew since the first season. One of his most memorable episodes included a fireplace makeover that brought the homeowner to tears.
Did You Know?
- Doug is one of five boys and grew up on a farm in Illinois that has been in his family for over 100 years.
- Before turning his talents to design Doug starred in the musicals Grease and Annie Get Your Gun, as well as The Taming of the Shrew and Mass Appeal on the New York stage.
- He worked as a Manhattan window washer while in college.
- He is influenced by design from the 1930s and 1940s, particularly the work of Jean Michal Frank and his contemporaries.
- He admires the design style of fellow Trading Spaces designer Hildi Santo Tomas, calling it sexy and sophisticated.
- To raise money for college, he staged a theatrical revue in his hometown he called Road to New York.
- Doug's portfolio can be viewed on his official Web site.
The Basics
Born: November 4, 1964
Raised: Central Illinois
Adopted Hometown: New York City
Backup Career Skills: Good with a squeegee and power drill
Most Heartwarming Apology: "I love you; do you still love me?"
It's Not Easy Being Green
Warned that the neighbors were practical jokers, Doug decided to make a preemptive strike and pulled his own joke on them. The neighbor retaliated by swiping him with a roller filled with green paint.
Doug's Biggest Fan
Doug poses with his mother. Regarding her son's design abilities, she says, "Sure I'd let him make over a room in our house...though I don't know what his dad would say. As you know our Doug doesn't like to do things halfway."
Blowing Off Steam
Doug unwinds on the jungle gym.
Tool Time
Skill as a self-taught handyman and carpenter snagged him a spot on Trading Spaces. Doug adds, "Working with power tools is nothing new for us farm boys."
Smart Shopper
Doug rounds up all the required elements for his two-day room transformation.
Wilson's Wisdom:
Regarding homeowners who balk at his emphasis on a focal point, Doug says, "I can take it if that's what the neighbors want for their friends — if that's how they think they're friends should be living, versus what they know for sure their friends will like. But then, if they could see all the possibilities they'd be open to, I wouldn't be there. Would I?"
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