Is Design Star Finalist Karl Sponholtz the Next David Bromstad?

Karl Sponholtz

Team Gay's Karl Sponholtz is so close to being the next HGTV Design Star he can smell it – and he got a good whiff of first season winner David Bromstad along the way, too.

"David smells amazing," Sponholtz said about the reality competition show's official mentor. "He loves to hug, and he smells really good when he's doing it."

Sponholtz, a Chicago-based designer for an architecture firm and freelance interior designer, didn't expect to find himself in the final two. Nonetheless, tonight he'll square off against fellow Chicagoan Meg Caswell for the Season Six crown in front of judges Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder, and design queen Candice Olson.

"Like most people in this field, I was a victim of the recession," Sponholtz told AfterElton.com, "I had a lot of time on my hands, so I dropped off my application on the way to a party. I didn't think anything would come of it."

From the beginning, Sponholtz delivered both star-quality space planning and polished rooms. His weaknesses were an occasional time-management misstep and a bad case of nerves in front of the camera.

"I can talk to a thousand people in a live audience no problem," he said. "I did fine when we appeared on The Nate Berkus Show for one of the challenges, with the studio audience. But when it's just me and the camera, I freak out a little."

In last week's episode, each of the final three designers was given a one-room "tiny house" in Battery Park to decorate from top to bottom, including building a loft bedroom, storage and bathroom facilities. His design was dazzling – it was my personal favorite of all the challenges – and there was little sign of the nerves that had marred his earlier camera segments. That, combined with a failed art installation by Miami designer Mark Diaz, earned Sponholtz his spot in the final two.

"I was so sad to see Mark go," he said. "So were my friends. All the gay men I know are really into Mark, and when they found out we'd become friends, it was all, 'What kind of pajamas does he wear? What's he really like?' It was hysterical."

Sponholtz said all the final six were close, and by that stage of the competition it was hard to see anyone leave. "Kellie (Clements) was my closest friend on the show," he said. "But I love Meg, too. It's hard to compete with people you care about, but you just have to realize you do your best work and after that, it's out of all of our hands, and the cards are going to land where they land."

Armchair designers might wonder at some of the disasters that befall the contestants, but Sponholtz says he understands it better now. "For five seasons I sat on the sofa and watched that show, going, 'Why on earth would anyone put that lamp with that table?' But I understand it now. You have no money, no access to stores, and above all, no time."

Sponholtz said his least favorite challenge was the wedding reception – which was painful to watch, although the bride seemed happy – and his favorite guest judge was Curb Appeal's John Gidding. "He's so cute," he said. "Energetic, animated, and flirtatious. I loved him."

Coming out publicly wasn't a debate for Sponholtz. "I came out as soon as I realized I was gay, back in high school," he told me. "Living any other way feels like a form of deceit to me. And I don't think it's hurt me, as a designer or on the show."

It didn't hurt him in his personal life, either; he and partner Jeff Colgan have been together for more than a decade. "He's usually the one who makes all the plans, while I make the martinis," Sponholtz said, laughing. "So in a lot of ways, I think he's pretty amazed – and very proud – that I did this, and got where I am."

Sponholtz is the last gay standing this season, but he started out as one of four, including the show's first out lesbian contestant, Leslie Ezelle.

Which is great, but it also reminds me it's time to ask, yet again, whether we're ever going to get another out Design Star. After Bromstad took the prize in Season One and went on to star in one of the network's top-rated shows, Color Splash, many members of Team Gay have competed, and even made it to the final two, but none has won.

Spornholtz (left) walks David Bromstad through his "tiny house" design

I didn't ask Sponholtz about the show's "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" track record for queer contestants, mostly because I'm getting worn down with the wait. It's also a touchy subject, because he already knows if he won and I don't – which makes discussing that very issue kind of problematic, with the publicists on the watch for any hints of spoilerage.

The thing is, if this wasn't an interior design competition, one out gay winner in six seasons wouldn't annoy me; a Kinseyan 10 percent works just fine for a competition between, say, tech geeks or health care providers.

But I'm pretty sure the world of designers and decorators has a slightly higher concentration of our people than a lot of other fields. Am I wrong? Is there a brave new post-gay decorating world I'm not aware of?

Win or lose, Sponholtz says he's proud he did his best, and that he did it as an out gay man. "I can help my community by being out on Design Star, and if you can get the person you work next to comfortable being around a gay person because you're out and relaxed and comfortable with yourself, that changes the world, too.

"Whether you have a big stage or a small stage, the important thing is to remember to give back to the community. Because we're not there yet, and that's the only thing that will move us forward."

The season finale of Design Star airs tonight, Monday, Sept. 12, at 9 PM Eastern and Pacific/8 PM Central, on HGTV.