Nationally known decorator feels at home in W.Va.

Nationally known decorator feels at home in W.Va.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Even with a résumé that includes HGTV, the "Rachael Ray Show" and the Oprah Winfrey Network, decorator Kristan Cunningham can still relate to West Virginians with her designs that make a house feel like a home.

Cunningham is a 1995 graduate of Sherman High School in Seth. She attended the University of Charleston for a couple of years and then took off for Hollywood. But she's never severed her West Virginia ties.

Her journey began in south Florida, but when her mom remarried, she and her brother were given the option of moving to Southern West Virginia. It's a move Cunningham is glad she made.

"That's where my formative years were," Cunningham said recently in a telephone interview. "When I brag on West Virginia, and I try to as often as possible, I try to shine that bright light on the best things the state has to offer.

"I brag on Tamarack, of course The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, so many other places. I love to tell the world how wonderful West Virginians are!"

Oprah at one time had a shelter magazine, called O at Home, and they did a story on Cunningham.

"It was called 'Kristan Cunningham Heads to the Hills,'" she said, and it featured favorite places the young designer liked at home in West Virginia. "They eventually featured some really important people on that page, but we were the first one."

At the time, Cunningham was hosting HGTV's "Design on a Dime," an early show for the network. She called it "old-school HGTV."

"We carried our own chop saws, etc. We really did all of the work ourselves, without much of a crew."

When she says "we," she's referring to her longtime partner and fiancée, Scott Jarrell. They've been together for 15 years; he's from Madison and went to Scott High School. Although their paths almost crossed many times in their youth, they met at UC and have been collaborating ever since. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their dogs.

Five years ago, Cunningham left HGTV to become the go-to designer for the "Rachael Ray Show." Additionally, she was doing segments for a Los Angeles-based show, "The Talk."

Now she's looking forward to a new show debuting on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in May. While she can't disclose the show's premise, she can say that filming took her to small towns all over the country.

"We were in Iowa, Alabama. And we're not 'Gossip Girl,' only relating to big-city life. We like to help people in their own homes in their own towns. We make it a point that Kohl's or HomeGoods are the local places where people shop, not designer showrooms.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Even with a résumé that includes HGTV, the "Rachael Ray Show" and the Oprah Winfrey Network, decorator Kristan Cunningham can still relate to West Virginians with her designs that make a house feel like a home.

Cunningham is a 1995 graduate of Sherman High School in Seth. She attended the University of Charleston for a couple of years and then took off for Hollywood. But she's never severed her West Virginia ties.

Her journey began in south Florida, but when her mom remarried, she and her brother were given the option of moving to Southern West Virginia. It's a move Cunningham is glad she made.

"That's where my formative years were," Cunningham said recently in a telephone interview. "When I brag on West Virginia, and I try to as often as possible, I try to shine that bright light on the best things the state has to offer.

"I brag on Tamarack, of course The Greenbrier, Lewisburg, so many other places. I love to tell the world how wonderful West Virginians are!"

Oprah at one time had a shelter magazine, called O at Home, and they did a story on Cunningham.

"It was called 'Kristan Cunningham Heads to the Hills,'" she said, and it featured favorite places the young designer liked at home in West Virginia. "They eventually featured some really important people on that page, but we were the first one."

At the time, Cunningham was hosting HGTV's "Design on a Dime," an early show for the network. She called it "old-school HGTV."

"We carried our own chop saws, etc. We really did all of the work ourselves, without much of a crew."

When she says "we," she's referring to her longtime partner and fiancée, Scott Jarrell. They've been together for 15 years; he's from Madison and went to Scott High School. Although their paths almost crossed many times in their youth, they met at UC and have been collaborating ever since. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their dogs.

Five years ago, Cunningham left HGTV to become the go-to designer for the "Rachael Ray Show." Additionally, she was doing segments for a Los Angeles-based show, "The Talk."

Now she's looking forward to a new show debuting on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in May. While she can't disclose the show's premise, she can say that filming took her to small towns all over the country.

"We were in Iowa, Alabama. And we're not 'Gossip Girl,' only relating to big-city life. We like to help people in their own homes in their own towns. We make it a point that Kohl's or HomeGoods are the local places where people shop, not designer showrooms.

"It's not a great decorating tip if the viewer isn't able to use it," Cunningham said. Her producer, a product of the big city, was amazed by the generosity and hospitality of the people in the small towns they visited.

"Scott and I were in towns like we're from, so it wasn't unusual for us," Cunningham said.

She's in post-production for the show now, doing voiceovers and final editing, awaiting the May premiere.

Cunningham fondly remembers friends and neighbors in her hometown, including Paula Smith, who still lives there and who works in Charleston.

"She's like my second mom, and her husband, Fred, and my stepdad, Jeff, who's Boone County born and bred, were best friends," Cunningham said. "Paula and my mom, Susan, were good friends. I was more lucky than most as I have parents who think I put the stars in the sky -- Paula and Fred and others were like extra parents to my brother and me."

When Cunningham was at UC, she had a family member looking out for her there as well.

"My grandfather, Forrest Thomas, was a security guard at UC. He used to visit me at the design studio with soup his wife, Charlotte, had made. It was wonderful."

Cunningham works with a Northeastern furniture company, Raymour & Flanigan, creating design plans and product guides that can be used by salespeople when showing the furniture line.

When she talks of her years in West Virginia, she's less of a proud parent and more like an outsider who became an insider.

"It doesn't come from born-and-bred pride, like my husband, who was born and raised in West Virginia, who grew up next to his grandparents. My pride comes from someone who was taken in by an entire community."

She's as proud of her work as she is of her West Virginia roots.

"Young girls are writing to me instead of Britney Spears! When they run up to me in Target, I'm so thrilled. HGTV has done that for these girls. They watch me use power tools, do it myself, and they are interested in design.

"The average household now doesn't settle for a ho-hum home. They have access to good design, everybody now talks about a little bit about design."

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.

See more here:
Nationally known decorator feels at home in W.Va.