Valley View Grad Finds Success as Author, TV Host

Romeoville High School graduate Kelly Edwards always dreamed of working on some sort of home design show. Little did she know her dream would not only lead to her becoming a TV show host, but also lead to a career as an author. Edwards, co-host and design coordinator for HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” and Style Network’s “Tacky House,” just published her first book, “The Design Cookbook—Recipes for a Stylish Home.”

“Kelly has always had a good eye for design,” said her mom, Cherie Edwards, who is the school nurse at Wood View Elementary School in Bolingbrook.  “When she was in high school, she convinced her brother to help her garbage-pick a large living room table that had been formed out of a large tree. She still has the table to this day and it is worth over $5,000. You can see the table on her website with her sitting in front of it.”

Edwards, who was Miss Romeoville a year before she graduated from RHS in 1994, moved to Los Angeles after she received her business degree from the University of St. Francis.  In L.A., she diligently watched design shows and decided to send her resume to production companies listed on the credits of some of the shows.  Persistence paid off when one of the production companies called and said “are you the one who’s been sending everybody your resume? “ Kelly answered “yes” and the rest is history.

Among credits for the “MacGyver of Design,” as she is sometimes called,  is an appearance on the "Tyra Banks Show" and the "Rachael Ray Show," appearances on “Shelter Pop;” and segments on ABC 7 Chicago; articles in Cosmopolitan, Life & Style and Midwest Living; and infomercials for Oreck and Circuit. She has also been a spokesperson for Clorox, eBay and other lifestyle brands and recently became a spokesperson for both Waterpik and La-Z-Boy.

Edwards admits she has always wanted to do things bigger and better.  When she shared with her father that writing a step-by-step room design book was on her “bucket list,” he encouraged her to “do one that looks like a cook book.” And that’s what she did.

“Even if no one ever buys the book at least I did it,” she said.

“When I think of the accomplishments our daughter has made it feels surreal,” mom Cherie Edwards said. “My husband and I are so proud of her.”