Design on a Dime
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Design on a Dime (sometimes referred to as DoD) is a redesigning television series on HGTV. It features one or more people who want a room, etc. made better. The Design on a Dime team uses a $1000 budget to remake a room. There have been a few variations, with episodes for weddings and more.
Design on a Dime makes over a space for design-conscious home dwellers who want lots of style but may not have lots of money for the project. With a budget of $1,000, a design team tackles a problem area such as a boring bedroom, lackluster living room, cluttered dining room or outdated office space.
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[edit] Cast
[edit] Design Team
- Kristan Cunningham:(see below)
- Spencer Anderson:Spencer Anderson grew up in Houston, Texas, where he studied art and metal sculpture before moving to Tallahassee. At Florida State University, he continued to sculpt, but found a new interest in designing sets and building props for his friends' movies. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in fine arts, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began assistant art directing on small cable films. Now, as a member of the design team on Design on a Dime, he couldn't be happier. He has many opportunities to make new and exciting pieces that don't get destroyed after the show's over! His artistic background and talent for building are a perfect combination for the show's unique formula.
- Summer Baltzer : Summer Baltzer began her career more than 10 years ago, designing and decorating for community and equity theater productions in the Southern California area, while also running her own residential interior design business. She received her formal training at California State University-Northridge in the Family Environmental Sciences department, where she studied Architectural and Interior Design. Baltzer has many years of experience in designing interiors to suit all pocketbooks, but she particularly loves the challenge of designing a room on a dime.
- David Sheinkopf : For Dave Sheinkopf, growing up in New York city was a breeding ground for creativity. Starting at a young age, Sheinkopf found himself in the spotlight, working on big and small screens as an actor. At age 19, he moved across the country to his new home in Los Angeles. After years of focusing his talents on television and film, he discovered a love of building and designing. Eventually set design gave way to art direction on music videos and commercials, although his passion for acting and furniture-building never subsided. His new job on Design on a Dime not only feeds his creative side but has given him a great team of players to work with who are dedicated to inventing solutions for challenging decor dilemmas.
- Charles Burbridge : Los Angeles native Charles Burbridge left his growing decorative painting and interiors business to join the HGTV family. Though this is his first foray into broadcast television, Burbridge has been a working actor for the past decade and is a founding member of the popular Bay Area improvisational sketch comedy troupe Big Boned Theatre. Dividing his time between his numerous creative pursuits has always been a challenge, but at last he has found the perfect blending of his many interests and artistic abilities as a part of the Design on a Dime team.
- Ali Azhar : Ali Azhar's philosophy of design is that lighting, color and texture make a room. As a contractor, he does it all from lighting to building to tiling, working from the ground up. He likes to say his approach is to make $1 out of 15 cents. It's a philosophy that will serve him well in his new role as design coordinator on Design on a Dime. When he's not working on the show, Azhar's restoring his own home in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.
- Kelly Edwards : A native of Chicago, design coordinator Kelly Edwards has returned home after spending the past three years in Los Angeles working as the design assistant for one of the original Design on a Dime design teams. She feels it was a job that served as the basis for learning how to incorporate high-end design principles with designing on a budget to create a room that homeowners can enjoy and find functional at the same time. She wants to show viewers that with a little ingenuity, they can transform everyday purchases into amazing designs.
- Abraham Hopkins : Abraham Hopkins is on a mission to make green homes and eco-developments a reality for us all. Coming to Design on a Dime fulfills his passion to teach millions of Americans about green design on a budget and the positive impact it can have. Hopkins is the owner of Paradigm Building, a construction company specializing in green building. Before life as a business owner, he worked for 10 years as a carpenter in every aspect of construction — from concrete work, framing and drywall to tile, electrical, plumbing and roofing. He received a bachelor's degree in construction management from Cal Poly. He went on to earn his contractors license following that, and with five years' experience, he was certified as a Green Builder.
[edit] Hosts
- Lee Snijders : Lee Snijders’ former career as a Walt Disney Imagineer taught him an important lesson: as long as you have imagination, your creativity is limitless. He'll be the first to tell you he’s not your stereotypical designer; his approach to design comes from his diverse creative background. His inviting and sophisticated interiors range from classic mid-century modern and contemporary styles to his own unique tropical environments.Snijders' passion for entertaining and design began at an early age. In 1990 he created Lee Snijders Designs, which encompassed his love of interior and furniture design. In 1995 he was given the opportunity to work with Walt Disney Imagineering as a dimensional designer, where he became part of the WDI creative team. For four years he helped create numerous theme parks and attractions. While continuing his residential interior business, Snijders’ new dream was to be a part of the growing home decorating television market. In 2001 he was asked to be the designer spokesperson for House to Home and then appeared on numerous television design shows. His newest career endeavor as host and designer for Design on a Dime has brought him back full circle, encompassing both his love of entertaining and interior design. (For more information about Lee Snijders, visit [1].)
- Kristan Cunningham : Kristan Cunningham knew from a young age that her passion for the arts would become her career. Hailing from West Virginia, she studied interior design at the University of Charleston, and in 1997 decided to introduce herself to Los Angeles and the city's cutting edge world of design.Having seen much success in furniture design and with her own projects, Cunningham joined a small, edgy firm, where she could hone her skills. The studio environment gave her the opportunity to exploreboth the structural and technical end of design, providing her with an even more well-rounded design sensibility. As host and designer on Design on a Dime, Cunningham relishes the opportunity to "get back to the basics." Viewers and clients alike will reap the benefits of her fresh approach to budget-conscious design. She lives in Pasadena with her fiance, Scott, and Floyd, their Yorkshire terrier. (For more information, please visit [2].)
- Brice Cooper : Brice Cooper was headed for a career in design at an early age. His mother, a costume designer, gave him an eye for detail. His father, a carpenter, taught him how to build. But Cooper's unique, off-the-cuff approach to design is all his own. To him, design is all about bringing personality and comfort to a room. He thinks a person's environment should reflect who they are. He's part designer, part artist and part carpenter. When he was 17, his fine art skills earned him acceptance into the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago but he decided to take a more entrepreneurial path, starting his own company, Kustom Craft Papers Inc., to create one-of-a-kind handcrafted wall coverings instead. His career has led him to a variety of projects including restoring his family's Victorian home, painting murals for children's rooms, restaurants and offices, and crafting one-of-a-kind waterfalls. In 2004, his talents were showcased as a host on Fox's Design Invasion, where he shot a season redesigning homes across the country. As host and lead designer on Design on a Dime, Cooper wants to show people that a $1,000 budget doesn't necessarily have to look that way. The devil, he says, is in the details. When he's not filming, he can be found in the garage restoring vintage motorcycles and automobiles or just hanging out at the racetrack.
- Sam Kivett : Sam Kivett has a long history with Home & Garden Television. After rising from design assistant to design director for the hit series Designing for the Sexes, he appeared as a featured designer on Designers' Challenge. His latest endeavor is on Design on a Dime. Formally trained at the UCLA Department of Environmental Art and Design, he worked his way into the design industry at a notable Los Angeles design firm. Kivett resides in Los Angeles and enjoys hiking and sailing to Catalina with his friends and two dogs, Scout and Dakota.
