Q&A with John Gidding of HGTV

The star of HGTV’s Curb Appeal spruces up the Indianapolis Home Show January 29–30 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

What’s your favorite design trend right now?

Gold- and brass-tinted metals. We were so enamored with brushed steel. Now it’s the brassy things. You see them everywhere, from door handles to cutlery.

I think of designers’ homes as organized and beautiful. Is there a part of yours that isn’t so perfect?

My bathrooms. They look like they’re straight from the ’60s. They’re such a big investment that I just haven’t gotten around to remodeling them. You can’t half-ass a bathroom.

What will you do while you’re in town?

On my most fruitful trips, I meet a local craftsman who does something really cool. Hopefully, I develop a relationship with that person for future clients.

You studied architecture at Yale, and you spent time as a model. Were you the smartest model on the runway?

Maybe, but I certainly wasn’t the most successful. If I had been, I would have stayed at it longer. I did it for three or four years to help pay for graduate school. Ultimately, it led me to television. 

You posed for romance novel covers, right?

They would pay $150 each, and I would immediately go out and buy the books when they published. I still have copies; I send the covers out as Christmas cards sometimes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzUMM8k5Gaw