CHAMPAIGN, IL – Doug Wilson, Broadlands native and designer from Trading Spaces, will be the featured guest at this year's WCIA 3 Home & Garden Show. Doug's appearance is sponsored by Border Magic. He will attend the show on Saturday, March 27 only and present on the Busey Bank Home Improvement Theatre at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Autograph sessions will immediately follow at Border Magic's booth.

From BROADLANDS to BROADWAY and BACK, Doug will reveal how he moved to New York City to tackle the Big Apple in hopes of finding success. His story of struggles and triumphs unveil his road through acting, design, and television acclaim, and you'll get an inside look into TLC's "Trading Spaces", "Moving Up" and the Hollywood buzz.

Doug Wilson is a modern day Renaissance man- a designer, author, television showman and philanthropist. While he is perhaps best known as the “colorful” designer for his daring, high-impact rooms on TLC's hit series “Trading Spaces,” this small-town boy turned design-phenom extends well beyond his television persona. Raised five miles outside the town limits of Broadlands, Illinois, population 350, Wilson uses the purity and serenity of his childhood home as inspiration for melding organic elements with a fresh, sophisticated and inherently American sense of style.

His designs are unconventionally stylish and urbane, and Wilson has packaged his expertise into a uniquely comprehensive portfolio. He has three television shows on TLC – “America's Ugliest,” “Moving Up” and “Trading Spaces.” He recently made his dynamic home design book, Doug's Rooms, and pens a regular design column in In Touch Weekly.

Wilson's unique design sensibility has caught the attention of New York's elite including Barbara Walters and Mayor Michael Bloomberg; renowned designers Jamie Drake, Albert Hadley and Alexa Hampton; and national media including the “TODAY Show,” The Rachel Ray Show,” “The View,” CNN and Fox News Channel as well as House Beautiful, House & Garden, InStyle Home, Elle Décor and The New York Times.

A master of intricate wall treatments and decorative painting techniques, Wilson often showcases his bold and powerful 21st century design sense. From a table suspended in mid-air in an elegant yellow and black dining room to a space created as an exact replica of a Pullman car, Wilson is not afraid to tackle big challenges in a remarkable way. His fearless approach to design has resulted in furniture literally tossed out of a three-story window, tears in an infamous “Trading Spaces” episode, and even an unexpected kiss from a grateful homeowner.

While Wilson is bringing unconventional design into the homes of viewers across the nation, he is also working to make “doable” design accessible to everyone – not just those lucky few who are chosen to appear on an interior design television show or who can afford a high-end decorator. In his highly anticipated debut book Doug's Rooms (Clarkson Potter), Wilson provides room design ideas, pictorial how-tos, and decorating advice encouraging readers to focus on a specific touchstone for each room – a swatch of fabric, a favorite knick-knack, or a thrift-shop treasure – to create their space.

Wilson also is a man with a big imagination and huge heart. Motivated by his nephew's personal experience with Rhabdoid cancer of the kidney – one of the most aggressive and lethal malignancies in pediatric oncology. Wilson is actively involved in the fight against this rare form of juvenile cancer. He became involved with the Ronald McDonald House through his nephew's stay during treatments and has taped a public service announcement for the organization based on his family's experiences.

Given Doug Wilson's comprehensive portfolio, this celebrity designer is well on his way to transforming America's homes...one room at a time.

The WCIA 3 Home & Garden Show Assembly Hall is March 27-28, 2010. Show hours are Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission and parking are free.

This year's event will host more than 150 exhibitors showcasing home improvement and landscaping products, pools and hot tubs, sunrooms, painting tools, pest control, windows, cabinets, lawn care and more. In addition, WCIA 3 personalities will be broadcasting live from Assembly Hall and offering the chance to win exclusive grand prize giveaways. Guests can enter to win $4,000 worth of landscaping courtesy of Country Arbors Nursery on E. Windsor Road or a $3,000 Furniture Shopping Spree from This Is It Furniture with two locations, 1615 W. Springfield, Champaign and 103 East Main in Danville, thisisitfurniturediscount.com.

Inside the arena, the Busey Bank Home Improvement Theatre will feature a variety of how-to seminars and, again this year, we will host the FAMILY FUN ZONE sponsored by MIX 94.5 and 92.5 The Chief, with fun activities for the whole family.

For more information about this event, visit www.uofiassemblyhall.com or contact the Assembly Hall Box Office at (217) 333-5000.

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