At Home with...Angelo Surmelis

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If you've ever gutted your kitchen, living room or bedroom, somewhere along the line you've had your doubts about the outcome. Now, magnify that threefold and you know what Angelo Surmelis, designer and television host of the hugely successful HGTV show Rate My Space, faced when he took his own home down to the studs. From near urban teardown to comfortable living space, the remodel was a major undertaking. But the success of his show is evidence that Surmelis can make big things happen. Started as a unique online community where design devotees test their style sensibilities, the popular Web site is one of the most trafficked pages on HGTV.com with 80 million hits a year. Its popularity pushed it toward television, and Rate My Space premiered June 15, 2008 on HGTV, where it is now a top five show for the channel. On the show, Surmelis takes one of the lowest rated rooms from the Web site for a makeover while three rooms from photos posted on the site are selected as inspiration. Once the makeover room is complete, photographs are posted online and the viewers re-rate the original room. His own home makeover would surely gather high ratings from viewers for its massive transformation and beautiful finished design. The star-shaped light is a treasured gift from a friend. Photo by Angelo Surmelis. Located in the historic section of Los Angeles known as Echo Park, Surmelis’s early 1920s cottage/bungalow style home demanded attention. Purchased five years ago, the 1,200-square-foot house suffered from years of neglect from a long line of homeowners. Both the interior and exterior needed attention to save the structure and grounds from being just another urban teardown. "After I moved in and for the next two years there wasn't a single day, evening or weekend that I wasn't working on the house," Surmelis says. In truth, the only items that didn't get demolished included the exterior siding, the stairs, the enclosed front patio and the interior hardwood flooring. Surmelis did most of the remodel work himself. The kitchen, however, turned out to be a different story. HGTV wanted to shoot a holiday special at his home. With only three weeks to go before the special, he hired subcontractors and a decorator friend to oversee the kitchen project so that he could be on the set to shoot new episodes of Rate My Space.

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