SmartFix, Kristin Wells hosts new remodeling show on HGTV, Smart Fix

My daughter, Kristin Wells, is host of a new HGTV remodeling show, SmartFix, that is scheduled for 2009. When Kristin was about 3 years old, I enclosed a screened in backporch and a photo was taken of Kristin leaning against a ladder with a hammer in her hand. This may have been a defining moment for Kristin.
From a November 20, 2008 Charlotte Observer article:

“Tool woman”

“In the family album is a picture of Kristin Wells, age 3, on a ladder and wearing a tool belt. Her path to a job on HGTV was being crafted even then, following in her dad’s footsteps.

“He was a do-it-yourselfer. Anything that went wrong around the house he would fix. I’m cursed with same thing – even if I have the money to pay somebody, I’ll try to do it myself. And sometimes it’s a curse.”

Anyone who tackles intimidating household projects knows what she means, but in Wells’ case, the curse has a magic side. The Charlotte resident is an up-and-coming celebrity in television’s home-improvement world.

Her latest project is for HGTV, a series called “Smart Fix” that is expected to debut in January.

With a budget of $3,000, Wells transforms a room in a house through design, decorating and construction. All 13 episodes of the first season were shot in Charlotte, where homeowners offered rooms in need of magic.

Mindful of some wretched makeovers she’s seen, Wells is careful to make sure her work appeals to the homeowners. One woman wept with joy when she got to see what Wells had done with her basement. “She told me, ‘I always wondered why people cry on these shows. I’m overwhelmed,’” Wells recalls.”

“Her TV career started while she was working for a Charlotte design company. She got a call – she was standing, appropriately enough, in the parking lot of Home Depot when it came in – asking if she’d like to audition for a home-improvement show for the now-defunct Turner South network. She got the part in “Homemakers,” which featured an all-woman cast and transformed a dilapidated 1905 home in NoDa.”

Read the entire article:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/471/story/301710.html

Kristin Wells dad, Kristin Wells Smart Fix host, HGTV, Dad and daughter team, Beach cottage addition, Youtube video

Years ago I enclosed the entire downstairs of my beach cottage. My daughter, Kristin Wells, host of the new HGTV show, Smart Fix, helped me. This video explains the general process that I went through and perhaps will provide some useful insights. Planning in most projects is crucial and dealing with municipal planning departments can be an ordeal.