What colors are hot this spring?
I think brown is a great color because it looks great in a lot of combinations: brown and blue, brown and orange, brown and yellow. Its been hot for the last five years and will continue to be hot. Whites and blues are also big, and you can make a big impact with reds and oranges.During Design Star you were known for your custom furniture. Howd you get so handy?
Thats thanks to Disney again. I was working on site at the Disney parks doing murals, painting sculptures, and one of the managers of Animal Kingdom said, "Hey, can you do woodworking?" I said yes, even though I had never done it. I thought I could at least try, and I found that I excelled at it. I taught myself as I went along, and then the project kept getting bigger and bigger. It was great.
Are you one of those annoying people who can eyeball something and know exactly how much wood or fabric you need?
Well, yes. I do have a decent sense of whats needed by looking at it. But Ill tell you a secret: over buy! Its always better to have too much than too little! You can find something to do with the extra later.
And the painter in you always comes out somewhere, doesnt it?
Yes. I want to leave my clients with something thats unique and original that has a signature feeling to it. So for each project I do a special painting of some kind for them. A mural or small piece. It adds so much personality.