CELEBRITY DESIGNER KENNETH BROWN WANTS TO CHANGE THE WORLD…ONE ROOM AT A TIME

Kenneth Brown believes good design can change lives. Whether he’s creating a new dining room for a recently divorced mom so she can entertain on her own terms, or helping tormented teen sisters make peace with each other by redesigning their shared bedroom—he’s seen it happen. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a multimillion dollar project or a room renovation on a shoestring budget.

“It’s amazing to see how these positive changes in the home can also really transform the people within it,” says Brown, who will present “The Celebrity Designer Within Us All” as part of the High Point Market Fall 2007 seminar series on Wednesday, October 3rd at noon, in Ballroom B on the IHFC Club Level, Green Wing, in conjunction with the Carolinas Chapter of IFDA. (For reservations, call 336-888-3751 or email akelley@ihfc.com).

With his stylish mop of blond hair and winning smile, Brown radiates star appeal as host of the popular HGTV series “reDesign.” But it’s his keen sense of design and color combined with sincerity and enthusiasm that have made him one of Southern California’s most sought-after designers. Named one of the top 100 designers in America by both Western Interiors and House Beautiful, he’s also been featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “Live Your Best Life Tour.” Still, his career and success continue to amaze him, even now.

“The most liberating and humble part of my journey is I still can’t believe I found a career that allows me to focus on what I can do—what I’m really good at,” Brown says.

Finding his place in the world

A quiet, middle class kid with a rich imagination growing up in Baton Rouge, La., Brown had no idea becoming an interior designer was even a career option. He attended a private school that was devoted to math and science and set his sights on becoming a doctor. But there were clues along the way that he possessed untapped artistic and creative skills—like the fact that he could just step into a house at age 10 and be able to effortlessly recreate the floor plan on paper once he left. “I just thought everyone could do that. I had no idea it was a special skill!” he relates.

That all changed when Brown went to college and took his first art class. “I switched majors immediately and the time went by so fast. I soaked it all up like a sponge.”

Armed with a degree in interior design from Louisiana State University, he applied for a variety of jobs in the South and one position with a large design firm in Los Angeles. He ended up moving cross-country, bringing with him a dose of Southern gentility. “I know where I come from,” he says today. “I’m not allowed to have an ego. My mom would kill me.”

A new breed of designer

Brown freely admits he doesn’t fit the overbearing stereotype of what many people expect a designer to be. But this lack of ego should not be confused with a lack of confidence.

“It is a collaborative process, but in the end I do tell clients what we need to do to keep things going in the right direction,” he asserts. “As a designer you cannot flounder. Once you allow an ounce of uncertainty, you’ve lost the whole design plan. It’s being the voice of reason that gets you repeat customers.”

One of Brown’s greatest assets is his ability to clearly decipher his clients’ visions. “It’s about accessibility, and I’m like their conduit. It’s extracting information from them and interpreting what they want and need.”

The designer laughs as he notes that clients sometimes get nervous because he doesn’t always say much at the initial design meeting. “I say—I’m here to listen. I think what happens in the first meeting is important. If a designer does all the talking without asking any questions, then a client should be prepared to have little say in the project. But if they do want to be involved, it’s important to notice how often the designer asks specific questions.”

Sometimes, delving into the minds of clients can yield unexpected results. Once when designing a master bath for a well-known writer, Brown was asked to put a computer workstation alongside the water closet. “I guess inspiration can strike at any time,” Brown says with a smile.

As for himself, Brown’s inspirations are many. But one of his most constant muses is nature—he once created an entire color palette from the bark of a Sycamore tree.

“My sense of color is hugely influenced by the South. The way the sun hits the lush marsh landscape is my favorite color palette—everything from the green Spanish moss that grows on old oak trees, to the rich browns found in the early architecture of New Orleans.”

What a star wants…

Brown believes it’s important to make every client feel like a star. But there’s very little mystique left to celebrity these days thanks to TV, paparazzi cameras and the newest wave of insider gossip blogs. We know what the stars wear, what they eat, how much they weigh and why they’re going back to rehab. All that’s left is literally what’s behind the closed doors of their homes.

As someone who’s been invited inside many of these palatial pads as both guest and designer, Brown says for many of the uber-famous, it’s become all about luxury beyond expectation. “Many celebrities these days want to live larger-than-life and there’s not a single room in the house that’s left behind.”

That can mean designing dining rooms that comfortably seat 40 for an “intimate” dinner party, creating a closet that’s automated with wardrobe-tracking computers, or seeking out custom-designed, gem-laden chandeliers.

“People used to talk about the $10,000 sofa, but now it’s the $50,000 sofa,” Brown says. “It’s not a matter of keeping up with the Joneses. It’s keeping up with the Cruises and the Pitts.”

But since few clients can afford to request a diamond-encrusted coffee table, for designers, Brown says, the challenge becomes this: What can you do to treat every client like a star and bring a little painless pampering into their life?

Brown demonstrates this time and time again on his HGTV show “reDesign,” where he excels not only as a designer, but also as a soothing psychotherapist helping clients through what can be an emotionally unsettling experience. During the run of the show, Brown was sometimes working with 18 clients simultaneously—a feat that required organization, hard work and patience.

“Clients going through this process feel like their lives are being turned upside down. We have to be their safe cushion,” he says. “For me it’s not just about the result. It’s my job to maintain calm throughout and to create a sense of structure in the chaos that they can feel, see and put their trust in.”

All budgets deserve good design, says Brown, who’s working on a book series that illuminates his design process and is also creating a product line that will be available through a major retailer. And with an eye to the future, he continues on, calmly changing the world one room at a time.

“I don’t look at a calendar, but I always try to envision myself doing bigger things. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever have the feeling that my work is done.”