Miera Melba dishes on what it was like competing on HGTV’s “Design Star” and much more during a half-hour conversation with Boca Raton.
1) The Delray Beach interior designer was one of 14 contestants this summer, culled from thousands of entries, on the seventh season of HGTV’s “Design Star” series. Each week, she took on a different challenge, which she completed with partners over 12-hour days, sheltered from all other media. The season’s only baby boomer, Melba was the first grandmother in the show’s history, turning 64 during the taping of the series. “I certainly don’t act it or look it, as far as I’m concerned,” she says. “It’s not like I have a walker. Today’s 60 is the new 40.”
2) Melba was the fifth competitor eliminated from the series. While she loved the experience of being on the show, her ouster was less than cordial. Her downfall was a botched wall unit and a personality that came off as bossy and frustrated—an image, Melba says, that the show’s producers chose to convey through editing. “I love life, I love people, I live by the golden rule … I’m a much happier person than I came across,” she says. “[I was] actually brought to tears, and you don’t like to break down in front of the camera.”
3) She also had a partner with whom she did get along. “I don’t want to say anything too negative, but he was hard for me to bear,” Melba recalls. “He was like Roger Rabbit. You hear me saying, ‘If you could just shut up for a second.’ He kept going and going, constantly cutting me off or interrupting me. My kids wouldn’t do that; I brought them up right.”
To continue reading, pick up a copy of our November issue…
