Douglas Wilson (interior designer)

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For other persons named Douglas Wilson, see Douglas Wilson (disambiguation).

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Douglas Wilson is best known for his controversial designs on Trading Spaces. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Wilson has created paint, plaster, furniture, and lighting for some of the most noteworthy homes in the United States, and has collaborated with such interior designers as Albert Hadley and Alexa Hampton. His work can be seen in the homes and offices of Brooke Astor, Michael Bloomberg, Barbara Walters, and others. Wilson appears frequently on the television program Trading Spaces on TLC, creating unique rooms on a budget. His work has been covered by many magazines and newspapers.

Wilson is well-known to Trading Spaces fans for his flamboyant and confrontational manner and for sometimes completely disregarding the homeowner's wishes. One memorable example: Wilson once redesigned a bedroom to literally resemble a prison cell, complete with a crude mural depicting some suffering prisoners. On several occasions, his designs have reduced the homeowners to tears. When questioned about some of his decisions by former Trading Spaces host Paige Davis, Wilson often said that he is there to make an interesting, entertaining show, and the homeowner's wishes are secondary.

In addition to Trading Spaces, Doug has hosted two other shows on TLC. Doug hosts Moving Up, a show where three couples move from one house to another, remodel the new spaces, then the old owners are invited back for reactions. He has also participated in an America's Ugliest Rooms series in which the winners of such a contest get the rooms made over by Doug. Probably the most dramatic transformation on that series was of the "Boom Boom Room", which resembled a wood-paneled, 1970s-era roller disco complete with nuagahyde-covered bar, which Doug turned into what resembled an elegant hotel suite.