What made me
successful...is that
I am like the anti-Martha
in that I want to empower
my students.... Failure is
acceptable if you are
happy while you are
making mistakes.
Ken Hoyt
empower my students. When 1 watch her
show I am oftentimes afraid to try what she’s
doing because everything is perfectly decorat
ed and— damn!— where’s the dust bunny.7”
Making necessary concessions for certain
events and parties is one thing, hut Hoyt
acknowledges that in daily life “failure is
acceptable if you are happy while you are mak
ing the mistakes.” For instance, he recently
dashed out to Whole Foods to buy ice cream to
cover up a “tart disaster." But as long as you’re
having fun, your guests will, too, he says. Keep
ing things relatively easy and not t(X) mysteri
ous is always the key. “We are in a recession, we
need to keep it real," Hoyt points out.
Which also illustrates what’s trendy about
P-town.
“Portland is almost the anti-chic place to
live— what seems cool about it is authentici
ty,” remarks Hoyt. “We have no clue about
how ax il the place we are in is. If you think of
Portland, Seattle and San Francisco as the
three sisters, I think Portland is the homely
one who stayed at home. But that girl can still
get a date because she has resources!”
And her local resources are her best assets
when it comes to the stylish and trendy. Hoyt
mentions Northwest-oriented restaurants like
Paley’s Place and Lucerne and asks: “Does it
really have to come from New York to he
gixxL71 think we are learning it doesn’t."
T
oday, Hoyt is also the host of Good Day
Ufestyles, a television show airing at
8 a.m. Saturdays on KPTV that focuses
on regional food, homes and gardens. In many
ways, it is geared toward helping the average
viewer with limited income make simple
home improvements with flair using basic
ingredients. As Hoyt says, the show is for
those “who do not have cable, a sort of local
replacement for HGTV,” referring to the
increasingly popular Home and Garden Tele
vision channel and its numerous series on gar
dening, home improvement and interior
design.
“ 1 was surprised that they gave a big queen
like me a job, but, hey, look at Christopher
Lowell!" teases Hoyt.
W
hen it comes to interior decorating,
making a home a haven is Hoyt’s
bottom line. So getting into a
client’s head and finding aesthetics and com
fort zones with colors are a big deal. Colors are
a beautiful extension of a client’s personality.
And a good way for a client to get to know his
or her colors, Hoyt recommends, is to look
inside their closet.
“ If I could help five people to adopt a per
sonal style that eluded a name brand, I would
be doing an OK job,” he says, adding that
“style should be seamless.”
And made of high-quality, practical mate
rials. Hoyt says he’s always suggesting that
clients cither reuse a piece of furniture that
they already own or to buy only one high-
quality piece if that’s all they can afford. Then
they can build around it in time.
Likewise, an inexpensive coat of paint
Ken Hoyt’s career is anything but static. A s a style and design entrepreneur, he says “ you must
be somewhat fearless...! think the learning curve is everything to me— life is like school.” Hoyt
is a frequent contributor to a variety of style and fashion periodicals, including a how-to article
on wrapping gifts for gay-owned Portland Bride and Qroom.
could be the only freshening up that a room
might need. Earthy warm tones, such as golds
and wheats, counterbalance the gray days of
the city while giving the skin a certain depth
that will makes one feel good.
Some designers feel they need to leave a sig
nature after having completed an interior, some
thing that says, “I was here.” Hoyt’s mantra, on
the other hand, is “I don’t live here. Let me help
you to get where you want to be.” And one
thing Hoyt specifically avoids is what he calls
“revenge decorating,” that is, when a couple
break up and one decides to redo the entire place
to clear the air. This, he says, is a “design don’t.”
W
hen asked what’s next in his career,
Hoyt says, “This is the last reinven
tion for me as 1 near 50.” (Which,
he reminds, is 150 in gay years.) But Hoyt
dreams about writing about homes and items
that people use in their daily lives.
“We are an adaptable species,” he notes.
“Otherwise we would have never lasted this
long." J H
For more decorating ideas, visit K en H oyt online
at UHvtu.kenhoytstyle.com.
TJ N orris is a Portland free-lance writer.
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