Colorado native Kari Whitman has the looks of a model and the charm of a movie star, which might account for why she's so comfortable around Hollywood celebs. She's parlayed that rapport into a thriving Los Angeles business, Kari Whitman Interiors, where she does design for the rich and famous. And that success in turn has led to her own reality show. The 42-year-old co-created, produces and stars in Designer to the Stars: Kari Whitman for the We network (7 p.m. Saturday). She's completed eight 30-minute episodes, with plans for more in the works.

"Viewers get to peek into the celebrity's home, which is fun," says Whitman, born in Colorado Springs and raised in Boulder. "You get to see their taste, and you get design tips."

Whitman talked with assistant lifestyles editor Jay Dedrick during a quick trip to Denver last weekend before heading to Aspen.

1. On your series, you're seen doing work for Jessica Alba, Virginia Madsen and others. How did you wind up redoing the homes of so many celebrities?

I used to be an actress, so I fell into that clique, for lack of a better word. And I was always doing cool design things in my house. Emilio Estevez, one of my friends, gave me one of my first acting jobs. He saw my house and said, "Wow, would you do something in my house?" I thought, sure, I'm not a designer, but . . .

2. You acted in TV for over 15 years. Was it difficult to switch to interior design?

I really hated being an actress. I didn't feel empowered by it at all. You're either waiting for the phone to ring or waiting on the set for your shot. I was working and supporting myself, but I just wasn't stimulated enough. I felt like I had so much going on in my mind, so much I wanted to do. So I started doing fun projects for my friends.

I never went to school to be a designer. I'm one of the very few members of the American Society of Interior Designers who was accepted without going to design school.

3. Most of your projects have budgets between $250,000 and $500,000. Can you recommend any inexpensive ways of transforming a room?

Spring is here, so the best way to change a room is to repaint the walls, repaint the ceiling in a different color from the walls and get a bunch of great flowers.

If you want to go a little beyond that, go to some antique swap meets and find a couple of new pieces. If you have to paint them or refinish them, do it yourself. It's fun. For $1,000, you can change your room drastically.

You could also go to a carpet store and ask to see their scraps. You can pick one, ask them to bind them on the corners - it'll probably cost 200 bucks - and you'll have a great new area rug.

And you can always top your house off with a rescue dog! I give at least 50 percent of my income and 50 percent of my time to my nonprofit dog-rescue foundation, Ace of Hearts. I'll tell a client:You've got your house, everything's great, you just need a little more energy in there. Want to adopt a dog? That's always the best way to top it off.

4. Like Anna Nicole Smith, you were a Playboy Playmate. Do you ever think about how and why the careers and lives of two women with something in common take such different directions?

This Anna Nicole thing hit me harder than I could have expected. I'd met her a few times, and she was always a lovely person. Obviously, she had her demons.

I used Playboy at the time to get through college. It was just a big chunk of money. I didn't use it in a way a lot of the other girls in Playboy have used it - to me it was just to get over the hump into something else.

I'm a very grounded person. I don't do drugs, I don't really drink that much. I'm not going to end up like an Anna Nicole.

If I could do it all over again, no, I probably wouldn't do Playboy. It's not me. But I don't even know if I totally regret the Playboy thing, because it got me to where I am now.

5. You lived in Boulder till you were 18, and your parents still live in the state. How often do you visit?

At least six times a year. I love it here. My parents think I'm crazy because I'm kind of a workaholic, but they're happy for me. Coming home really helps me get that childhood vitality back. I'm a Colorado girl at heart. Eventually, I think, I'll wind up back here.

dedrickj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5484