Former Pleasanton resident hosts Home and Garden TV show
by Julie NostrandMost Thursday mornings, former Pleasanton resident Shannon Kaye loads her silver Jeep sports utility vehicle with ladders, buckets, brushes, drop cloths and paints. One of the top decorative painters in the Bay Area is heading out to work.
For the next 48 hours, Kaye will combine her creative talents, painting skills and mentoring abilities to help homeowners transform a room in their home using only paints and different application techniques. On a given project, she will paint anything from fabric to furniture. If it’s an easy day, maybe she will put a coat on a couple of walls. She uses a variety of techniques, tools and products to complete each project. And her every move will be followed by a camera.
Kaye’s latest job is different than any of her previous projects. She is designing and delivering top-notch decorative painting while hosting the DIY Network’s show, “Fresh Coat.” The pace is challenging, the timelines are impossible, the pressure is intense and she loves every minute of it.
Kaye called Pleasanton home for most of her youth and still has family in the area. She grew up in the gaslight area of town. One of seven children from a very creative family, Kaye’s youth was filled with artistic endeavors. Her mom always spent a lot of time decorating their house on a budget and Kaye remembers thinking it was fun to paint walls, but she had no idea it would be her future.
After graduating from Amador Valley High School in 1986, the future painter-turned-television-host tried the traditional life path. She attended three different colleges, struggled to find a fit in the corporate world and stifled her creative energy.
Finally, in her mid-20s, after a number of personal losses, a friend encouraged her to look into the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She didn’t take his suggestion seriously, but, being persistent, he signed her up for an orientation class anyway. According to Kaye, she only went because she didn’t have anything better to do that night.
The minute she walked through the doors her life changed. She found her fit. While the idea of creating things from her mind with her hands was scary, it was also exciting.
“Even then I didn’t know that I was going to be a decorative painter,” said Kaye of the various program classes she took at the Academy of Art, “I just knew something there was right for me.”
While she was attending classes, she supported herself in a variety of odd jobs. One of those jobs was in a small, upscale furniture boutique in San Francisco, Shabby Chic. It was there that she met Marin decorative painter Paige Kelleher. When Kaye approached Kelleher about apprenticing with her, Kelleher told her no. But Kaye kept asking and when Kelleher had an opening, she gave Kaye a shot.
“She was the greatest mentor,” said Kaye of Kelleher, “in terms of art, decorative painting and running a small business.”
After a couple of years with Kelleher, Kaye took another office job and resigned herself to painting and attending workshops at the Seattle Architectural Finishing Studio on the weekends. But when she realized she was turning away business, she quit her day job and pursued her passion fulltime.
“The first year was rough, scary and frustrating,” said Kaye. “I had no money.” But she did have a growing list of happy customers that propelled her career and helped her garner a reputation as an artist painter.
For marketing purposes, Kaye began sending would be clients and top advertising agencies postcards featuring her work. That buzz caught the attention of larger media outlets and she was hired to paint sets for the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Other pieces of Kaye’s work have appeared in Mary Engelbright’s Home Companion.
But her big break in television came when her sister, Shelley Kukuk, was selected for a Home and Garden Network show, “Designer Finals.” On this show, a homeowner has a room in their house redecorated by a design student. The catch: The homeowner needs to provide their own labor.
Kukuk knew her mom could sew and her sister was a talented decorative painter, so she figured her project would turn out OK. When her sister called, Kaye cleared her calendar to help on the show.
That proved to be an excellent decision. Both sisters benefited tremendously: Kukuk had her room redecorated and Kaye’s work received some valuable exposure. The painter’s appearance on “Designer Finals” led producers to approach her about auditioning for a new show, “Fresh Coat.” She pursued the opportunity, went to a few auditions, but lost the job to another more experienced host.
With her business booming, Kaye didn’t give the missed opportunity a second thought until the phone rang a year after her audition. The show was seeking a replacement host and Kaye was their pick.
That phone call was more than a year ago. Kaye has been busy splitting her time between hosting and designing duties. She spends part of each week scouting locations, designing rooms, recording voiceovers and painting. The production company, Edelman Productions of Marin, is pleased with the painter’s work.
“Shannon is an amazing decorative painter,” said Kelly Gavin, a production coordinator for the show. “Show hosting takes a lot of patience and talent and she blends it well.”
According to Gavin, the homeowners featured on each show have been delighted with Kaye’s designs, too.
“Shannon gets a sense of the homeowners and creates designs surrounding their personalities,” Gavin added.
For Kaye the future is wide open. She is busy filming her second season as host of “Fresh Coat” and has time for little else. At this point, all she wants to do is dive into every show with 100 percent, make it fun and leave every homeowner loving their rooms.
“I’ll commit to that for the near future and let the doors open where they may after that,” Kaye said.
Watch ‘Fresh Coat
The second season of “Fresh Coat” with Shannon Kaye as host begins airing on the DIY Network this summer. For show times, consult local listings. Visit www.diy.com for more information.Tips to Paint Like a Pro
While Kaye has spent years perfecting her craft, she knows that homeowners often only have a weekend to get a job done. She offers those weekend warriors some advice so they too can paint like a pro.* Before selecting a color, brush the paint on every single wall so it can be seen in many different lights. According to Kaye, it’s the only way to get a good feel for any color being considered.
* When painting with strong colors use a primer that is tinted to your color. It improves the coverage of the first coat considerably. “Fifty percent strength primer may be a crazy shade of pink, but it won’t show through your main color,” said Kaye.
* Always paint the edges first, then roll close to the edges to cover big, sloppy brush marks. “I prefer to use an angle brush and I look just ahead of my brush, not at my hand while applying paint,” said Kaye. “Looking ahead will make your lines straighter.”
