aboutmattandshari.pdf

They created the very first show to air on HGTV, the ever popular room by room.

They hold the record for the longest running decorating show in TV history, 12 years and over 350 episodes.

 
Having aired in over 90 million homes, they have taught literally millions their detailed process of step by step decorating, improving the lives and homes of many.  Add to the list 2 successful decorating books, a nationally syndicated newspaper column and a decorating website that has become an internet staple and you’d have to say that…….

….It seems Matt and Shari have been decorating forever! 

Their latest project is the creation of their third TV series called “around the house with Matt & Shari” debuting in mid December, 2010 on public television stations across the country.  Finally, their entertaining educational style will be available to anyone with a television!  Look out houses, homes, apartments and condos, people everywhere are going to want to “Matt & Shari” their spaces like never before!

For each of them it started many years ago.

Shari’s interest in design started as early as her first Barbie.  Making furniture and creating a Barbie house was number one on her list of favorite past times.  After that, she used her own bedroom as a training ground, changing the furniture around every week, developing her ideas about space planning, organization and focal points.  Some say this may be where her “patented angle” was born! 

Matt’s start was just as creative.  It was all about making things work.  Growing up in a single parent family, Matt had to help his Mom fix things around the house.  He discovered through trial and error, that there is more than one way to get something done.  Through years of tinkering, he’s become a self taught woodworker, electrician, plumber and all around handy man.

Formal education came in the way of college for both of them.  Although Matt is from Findlay, Ohio and Shari is from Avon Lake, Ohio, they both made their way to Kent State University.  There, they each earned their Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.  Shari’s degree is in interior design, Matt’s, in theater.  After graduation, they both went off to pursue their careers.  Shari stayed local, and practiced interior design in Cleveland area homes, offices, country clubs and restaurants.  Matt pursued a career in theater in the San Francisco area while teaching drama and painting houses during the summer.  By the late 80’s their careers lead them to Sherwin-Williams where Matt was a sales representative on the west coast and Shari was the Manager of Color Marketing at the company’s headquarters in Ohio.

Their paths crossed in 1991 at a sales meeting.  When Shari met Matt, she knew she had found the right person to take a leap of faith with her on an idea she’d been working on for years.  They put their heads together and in 1993 created one of the first decorating shows ever called “The Look of Home”. This live hour long program aired on public access television for about one year and gave Matt & Shari their on the job training.

It also allowed them to fine tune it into the first television show teaching the decorating process from start to finish, which became the well known HGTV hit, room by room!  Three years in development, twelve successful years on the network, seen in 90 million homes across the country, and Matt and Shari’s room by room is an icon in TV history!  

Half hour television shows are only part of the Matt and Shari story.  Over the years they have produced dozens of hour long specials covering the holidays, decorating for the seasons, and how traveling to great spots in the U.S. can be inspiring for your decorating!  These popular hour long specials have kept them on the air ever since. 

HGTV viewers have enjoyed “Matt & Shari’s Top 10 Countdown to Spring” and a similar seasonal “Countdown to Fall!” along with recent holiday specials covering Christmas and Halloween!

For those who can’t get enough of Matt and Shari, there are personal appearances.  Performing in over a dozen cities across the country each year, Matt and Shari’s entertaining style of decorating and wit captivates audiences of all ages. Today, Matt and Shari combine their clever, inexpensive decorating tips with a message about ways to reduce energy consumption and live green around the home. Another popular presentation reveals products that have become their favorites through years of use and re-use. And, if the timing is right, Shari and Matt present great craft, sewing and shop projects specifically for the holidays.

For many years, Shari and Matt wrote At Home with Matt and Shari, a syndicated newspaper column appearing in over 100 newspapers across the country.  You may have also seen them in a variety of popular publications such as USA Today and People Magazine.

An entertaining yet instructional method of writing brought Shari and Matt into the world of publishing.  They are the authors of two popular books:  Real Decorating for Real Peopleand Great Weekend Projects. 

S

o, what could be left for the dynamic decorating duo?  Well, all sorts of new ventures.  They have recently given a fresh new look and interactive style to their website, http://mattandshari.com/. Its new look has brought thousands swarming to see their instructional videos, monthly feature stories and special quick tips.  In essence, they are publishing and performing a monthly TV magazine.  It’s new every 15 days and it’s there whenever you want it!  Fans can sign up for their monthly newsletter to keep abreast of all the brand new projects and videos as they are added.

So we’re saving some room here at the bottom of our bio because there’s so much more to come.  We thrive on teaching, hard work, and having fun (eating is in there somewhere too)!  Look for us on facebook and twitter and whatever the newest method of getting information passed along becomes. Because, our mission is clear – to show people how to make their world an even better place while enjoying the process every step of the way!!

Shari and Matt