Karen McAloon has been a professional designer for more than 13 years, enjoying success in both interior and landscape design. Self-taught, her theory is "Anyone can be a designer. Write your own rules."
Born and raised in Redondo Beach, a suburb of Los Angeles, she grew up wanting to do two things: travel the world and design everything. From redecorating her bedroom at 10 with just paint, curtains and a little molding to sewing her own wardrobe throughout high school, design has always been the spark that drives McAloon’s life.
After high school, she moved to seven different cities around the country, including Santa Barbara, Chicago, San Diego, New Hampshire, New York and Boston. Finally, at age 25, she left her heart in San Francisco and has made it her home ever since.
A 1930s farmhouse cottage began her professional design career, when McAloon and her husband bought the classic fixer-upper on a half an acre. After 25 years of neglect, she brought back the house and grounds to their original charm, setting off a wave of requests for her designs. Word of mouth led to private and commercial design jobs, culminating in her being chosen to host and design for HGTV's groundbreaking show, Design Remix. Faced with only $50 and paint, she led homeowners over seven seasons to realize that "Design is not about what you have; it’s about what you do with what you have."
Fulfilling her second childhood dream, she has been lucky to travel extensively throughout both Europe and Asia. One of the highlights is the nearly two years spent traveling throughout Australia, Southeast Asia, India, China and Nepal. "Travel has always been such a huge source of inspiration for me, not for the expected, but rather how a foreign place makes me feel. Only after you are out of your comfort zone can you truly begin to see everything around you with fresh eyes. I love the jolt that travel brings."
In her new show, Find Your Style, she helps people first identify their design style and then gives them the tools and encouragement to put together their dream room on their own. Her goal is to empower people to be their own designers and follow their own rules. Since "individuality is the soul of design," there are no right or wrongs on her show, only how to Find Your Style!
