Former Miss Utah is competing for show on HGTV

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WOODS CROSS -- Tall, slender, beautiful and talented, Temple Taggart McDowell has the poise of someone used to the spotlight.

And she's funny, too.

It is a good combination. You'll be able to see for yourself as McDowell, the 1997 Miss Utah/Miss USA semifinalist, competes as one of 10 hard-charging finalists to become America's newest design darling in front of an invisible audience of thousands on HGTV's "Design Star" show beginning Sunday at 7 p.m.

The seven-episode adventure will conclude Sept. 10 with the winner getting her or his own design show.

"It is exciting. But it's much harder than any of us expected," she said. Home between shows, McDowell was sitting in the living room of the small Woods Cross rental house she shares with her sons, Brasher, 4, and Titan, 3, and a mini-schnauzer.

"Everything in this house was white, but the owners let me paint the walls in three colors. I have been collecting furniture for years. What I can't use, my mother lets me store in her garage," she added.

McDowell became a contestant on the design show pretty much the same way she entered the Miss USA pageant: Her sisters made her do it.

"It's funny. My older sister, Tally Tingey, said I should enter the beauty pageant. So I did. My younger sister, Tenille Taggart, e-mailed me the entry form for the design show.

"I didn't understand that the prize was your own 13-week design show. Tenille came to my house and we shot a really cheesy video, with background music and me draped in a throw blanket," McDowell said.

"Someone from the show called and asked if we could do another video, without music. We did. It still was kind of cheesy, but at the end I talked about my interior design ideas. I think that's what impressed them."

Home base for the competition is a narrow, three-story New York City townhouse. Arriving one by one, contestants walked in to find the house empty except for 10 cots in one of two bedrooms.

"That bothered some of the contestants. But I have three sisters and four brothers. I was kind of used to it," McDowell laughed.

Their assignment was to finish the interior - paint, furniture, floor coverings, lamps, art, tchotchkes - in 24 hours, with a budget of $7,500.

As an added stress, British-born host Clive Pearse kept dropping in to remind them, "Time is running out."

McDowell was undaunted. Although lacking formal training, she is creative and has done interesting interiors for family and friends.

"I never had much money to work with, but I am good at finding wonderful stuff at the D.I. [Deseret Industries]," she said, pointing to a black chest of drawers in her bedroom that her mother, Julie Taggart, bought for $12.

"There wasn't a D.I. in New York that I knew about, but the people on the show gave us a list of places to shop. We divided into teams and chose specific areas to design. Even though it didn't look like anything was done after about 16 hours, we had it all planned out.

"But it was stressful until the last minute," she recalled.

Moving into the house in Woods Cross wasn't a walk in the park, either.

"I had been renting a house and it was sold. But this little house was nicely redone with tile in the kitchen and two very small bedrooms made into one. They finished the attic and it makes a great playroom for the boys. Their beds are tucked under the eaves and there is a small, secret playroom they love.

"Of course, no one more than 6 feet tall can walk through here," McDowell said.

Six episodes of the show are in the can, but no one is talking.

"Sure, I know everything but who the winner will be. That part will be done by the television audience," said James Bolosh, vice president of HGTV original programming. He selected nine of the 10 contestants; one was selected by a television vote out of 100 candidates. (See "The Competition," above.)

And why did he select McDowell?

"She has a passion to do this, plus sparkle and energy and has a real feeling for basic design. She is the American dream coming true, making a better life for her family," he said.

As for himself, Bolosh loves the show.

"It is fun. It is tense. And they are great. My mother, Mary Hayes, wants to know if someone could come over and redo her place."

P.S. He said, "Sorry, Mom."

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Contact Judy Magid at magid@sltrib.com or 801-257-8608. Send comments to living editor@ sltrib.com.

l The "other Martha," Martha McCully is executive editor of InStyle and has been a contributing editor to Elle Décor magazine. As a founding editor and beauty director of Allure, McCully simplified beauty rules for readers in a column, "What Martha Would Do."

l Everybody knows Vern Yip, a favorite from TLC's "Trading Spaces" and NBC's "Home Intervention." Yip runs a design company in Atlanta, and has an MBA and master of architecture degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

l Cynthia Rowley is an award-winning apparel designer whose expertise in interior design has led to frequent television guest spots. An avid art collector, Rowley is co-author of Swell: A Girl's Guide to the Good Life, and Home Swell Home, and is a columnist for Glamour.

The Competition:

* David Bromstad, 32, Miami, Fla.: He attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla., and does custom art, furniture-building and interior design, primarily for children's rooms.

* Vanessa De Leon, 25, Fairfield, N.J.: The self-proclaimed trendsetter is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She runs a design firm and has little tolerance for people without serious design experience.

* Tym De Santo, 46, Fort Wayne, Ind.: An artist, designer and entrepreneur, he attributes success to his vision and energy. A sculptor, builder and designer of furniture, skate parks and Photoshop files.

* Twin brothers Teman Evans and Teran Evans, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y.: They graduated from the Harvard School of Architecture and share a lifetime of training, but will be working solo.

* Alice Fakier, 31, Temple, Texas: Fakier was selected by viewers and online users of HGTV's Web site. She has a degree from Louisiana Tech School of Architecture.

* Ramona Jan, 49, Damascus, Pa.: A self-described Renaissance woman, she depends upon inspiration for painting and loves turning trash to treasure.

* Joseph Kennard, 41, Boston.: An entrepreneur with 14 years of professional experience and a masters degree in architecture from Harvard, he likes items with multiple uses.

* Donna Moss, 49, Arlington, Texas: Moss is self-taught, and has owned a business for 20 years. She is a big fan of faux finishes, animal prints and decorative painting.

What they can teach you

Ten tips from HGTV "Design Star" wannabes:

* When paint spills, make art.

* No crying when designing.

* Appearance always matters.

* Think twice before you fire the help.

* Shut up and listen. You will learn something.

* One person's trash is, well, another person's trash.

* Passion is the fuel for stardom.

* Sleep whenever possible.

* Be "glam-i-listic!"