HGTV's David Bromstad shines on Color Splash

In a press release, James Bolosh, vice president of event programming for HGTV, said: "HGTV Design Star ended its first season as the highest-rated series in the network's history, so we are sure that viewers will embrace this new opportunity to weigh in on who should win their own show on HGTV. Last year we discovered David Bromstad — that one special talent who had the potential to be a 'break out' star. He's a star. We're ready to do it again."

Will Bromstad be involved with the next season of the show that gave him his start? Absolutely, he said, but exactly how is a secret. "I have been involved in Design Star, that's all that I can tell you," he said. "But I must say — and I'll even say this without a question being asked — I'm going to have a little trouble giving up my crown. Just a little bit. I didn't realize, like another design star comes in, I'm not going to be the design star anymore. I'll be the first design star, but I'll have to hand [over] that crown."

He sighed, then laughed. "I'll gladly do it. I'm very excited for the next person. Their life is going to change in so many amazing ways."

Bromstad has nothing but praise for the people at HGTV, which is headquartered in Tennessee, for their acceptance of an out gay host for their newest show. "They had the opportunity of being very not gay-friendly," Bromstad pointed out. "They are. It's great. I love HGTV."

He continued: "They have treated me so well and have encouraged me to just continue to be myself. And they didn't edit me. I was very openly gay on the show, but they didn't edit me to be this big flaming queen, which they could have done. I think in anyone's environment, you just let down your hair and just act like a damn fool. And I did. There's the power of editing, I'm telling you, to make a nice person look mean, and a mean person look nice. They can do that. I appreciate that they didn't."

Although a number of HGTV shows regularly feature gay and lesbian guests, Color Splash hasn't exactly been a showcase of cultural diversity. All that's going to change, he promises: "HGTV is very much pushing for a much more diverse crew. We're not going to see a lot of diversity in the second season, but in the third and fourth season we're going to see a lot of diversity, whether that means a different race or that they're gay or that they're single, it's going to be more diverse."

How does the media treat him as an out gay man? Bromstad said that only the gay media asks him about being gay. "The straight media — they don't really care, which is great," he said. "They may ask a question every once in awhile, but they usually just ask if I'm dating somebody."

And is he? Bromstad laughed and answered, "I am dating somebody. Somebody that's very special. I have to be cryptic."

Bromstad's relationship is a long-distance one at the moment, as his boyfriend lives in Miami and Color Splash is filmed in San Francisco, where he's living. "Thank God that I was in the position that I could be in," he said. "Even though I was dating somebody, it was either going to make or break a relationship. That usually is how long distance goes, and it just made our relationship much stronger, which is so encouraging."

Is he enjoying living in the gayest place on earth? "San Francisco is a wonderful city," he said. "There's so many things I'm falling in love with. The more I'm here, the more I'm falling in love with it. There's definitely a lot of gay people … the whole city's gay. Everywhere you go you see gay people, and I love that."

It's been an amazing year for David Bromstad, from winning the Design Star crown, to having his own show, to moving across the country. Through it all, he's been grateful to his fans, especially his gay fans. "Everyone's been so supportive and so great, especially here in San Francisco," he said. "I really appreciate that. It's really nice. I just have felt a lot of love from the community, and I hope I make them proud."

Color Splash airs on HGTV on Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET.