Host, America's Ugliest and Moving Up
Designer, Trading Spaces
Doug Wilson is a quintessential showman and host of Moving Up and America's Ugliest on TLC. Armed with expertise gleaned from years of working with such luminary clients as Barbara Walters and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Doug joined the cast of TLC's series Trading Spaces in 2000 and quickly gained a reputation for design choices that purposefully push the edge of creativity. Unconventionally stylish and urbane, Doug applies a bold hand to his creations while using classic fabrics and colors to fuse the two into powerful 21st-century design. A master of intricate wall treatments and decorative painting techniques, Doug often showcases his talents with grand ideas that leave homeowners surprisingly inspired.
From a table suspended in mid-air in an elegant yellow and black dining room to a space created as an exact replica of a Pullman car, Doug is not afraid to tackle big challenges — including Moving Up! Doug's fearless approach to design has resulted in tossed furniture (literally out of a three-story-high window), tears (the infamous fireplace episode of Trading Spaces), and even an unexpected kiss (from an enthused homeowner).
As a student at the University of Illinois, Doug studied voice and theater. He starred in numerous college and professional productions, including Annie Get Your Gun and Grease. Broadway soon called, and Doug departed from his studies to launch his own part-magic, part-musical benefit variety show, The Road to New York. He then opened a decorative painting boutique and worked steadily for decorating icons Albert Hadley and Mark Hampton Inc. His work was often cited in trade publications, which brought him to the attention of a Trading Spaces producer.
Doug's engaging television persona has since garnered him a place in the hearts of fans across the country. He writes a weekly "At Home" column for the entertainment glossy InTouch Weekly and is a frequent guest on the talk show circuit, including appearances on The Today Show, The View, The Wayne Brady Show and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, among others. He is an oft-quoted expert on design and released his first book, Doug's Rooms, published by Clarkson Potter, in Fall 2004.
Doug's latest endeavor is Moving Up, a new series on TLC where Doug guides three sets of families through the process of a major move. Premiering in January 2005, the 15-part series follows a chain of new homeowners who move into one another's homes and begin the design and renovation process that occurs during the first six months of adjusting to their new digs. The new homeowners — young and old, families, couples and other roommate combinations — have plenty to say about their new environs (and their old!), many decisions to make, and numerous design choices and renovations to implement. Taste is tested in Moving Up, and host Doug Wilson is there to invoke fond memories, humorous observations and cantankerous commentary.
Despite living in New York and being on TV, Doug couldn't have come from a less show-biz background. The Wilson family resides outside the town limits of Broadlands, Ill., population 350. Doug was raised on a farm that has been in his family for 150 years, giving him a strong foundation for his self-made success. Doug maintains strong family ties and his Midwestern roots; after the loss last year of his 2-year-old nephew Tyler to rhabdoid cancer, Doug committed himself to the cause of raising awareness for children with life-threatening illnesses. In 2004, he conducted a makeover of the family room at the Ronald McDonald House in Grand Rapids, Mich.
