Dreaming Big: Designer Jonathan Fong’s can-do spirit and innovative design ideas help him – and others – live life like a movie

By Jeannie Matteucci
from House Beautiful Home Remodeling

When advertising-executive-turned-interior-designer Jonathan Fong dreams, he dreams big. “I want to be a brand name,” admits Fong, 44. “I want to have a magazine and a TV show. I want my name to stand for fun, whimsical, accessible design.” Full of energy – and always with a smile on his face – Fong is a big believer in the power of positive thinking. “You can’t be afraid of failure,” he says. “You need to visualize your success and write down what you want. And tell people what you want. By telling someone what you want, you’re sending it out into the universe – and it always come back to you.”

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Born in Hong Kong, Fong and his family moved to the United States when he was a baby. His family settled in the San Francisco Bay-area suburb of Redwood City. “I spent my childhood working in my family’s Chinese restaurant,” he recalls. “There were five kids in my family, and we all worked in the restaurant. I bused tables, washed silverware, and later waited tables. I think it gave me a strong work ethic. I was really working from the time I was 7 years old.” Learning to juggle his duties at the restaurant and his homework, Fong also found time to join student government and participate in school talent shows. “I always had a lot on my plate,” he admits. “I was very popular as a kid – I was a ham. In kindergarten, I couldn’t speak English. But when you’re that young, you adapt pretty easily.” While Fong has an easygoing personality, he also has a strong inner drive that comes from his family. “My parents worked so hard to achieve success and help our family make it. All five of us kids went to college. The belief was that hard work pays off, and that carried into adulthood.”

LEAVING HOME

At age 18, Fong left home to attend college at UCLA. During these years, he continued his multitasking personality, working on his studies, helping out at the library, and organizing homecoming events.  After graduation, he left California to pursue an MBA at Boston University. “I had never been on the East Coast before,” he says, “and I had never even seen snow before.” Before returning to California with his business degree, Fong won a role in a small independent film. “It was by a director who won an Academy Award for a short film. I answered an ad for an open casting call and got the part. The film was never released, but I loved the experience. My motto in life is to live life like a movie. I always resolve to try things and not be afraid to fail.”

THE BUSINESS WORLD

Back in Los Angeles, Fong found a job working market research for an advertising agency. “It was my first real job and it was very corporate,” he remembers. Feeling creatively stifled, he returned to school for some classes and put together a new portfolio. In 1989, he made the switch to copywriting and eventually became vice president and creative director at Dailey Advertising, creating campaigns for well-known companies like Acura, Jergens and Home Base home-improvement stores. For over 15 years, Fong was happy with his growing success in the business world – but his life took another interesting turn when he moved into his new Santa Monica home. “It was a really nice house and I didn’t have to do anything to it, but I got really tired of living with white walls,” he says. “I started making changes and decorating. The first thing I did was some aluminum flashing on the walls, making a basketweave effect. On the opposite wall I had red velvet drapes that really made an impact. And in my bedroom, I did a wall with white fabric panels. This was for myself, another form of creative expression for me. At work I was a writer, but this gave me a chance to experiment visually.”

A DESIGNER IS BORN

Fong’s inventive decorating techniques didn’t go unnoticed. One day, a friend of a friend who worked at HGTV saw Fong’s home and loved his creative ideas. The friend introduced Fong to HGTV host Kitty Bartholomew, who invited him to appear on her show. In 2001, Bartholomew did a segment on Fong’s house that led to the studio filming additional episodes. “I didn’t understand the power of TV,” admits Fong. “So many people were interested in my ideas. I got so many encouraging letters.  My style is very contemporary and whimsical and I didn’t know what the response would be.” Finally realizing what he had going for himself, he created a website (www.jonathanfongstyle.com) that gave his new fans a place to see all of his creative ideas and projects.

Because of his segments on HGTV and the website, a cult following grew. Soon, Fong expanded his appearances on HGTV and wrote a book about his creative solutions for walls titled Walls that Wow: Creative Wall Treatments Without Fancy-Schmancy Painting (Watson-Guptill Publications, $24.95). “The idea for the book originated from my ideas for my own house,” he says. “I had read other books on faux painting and finishing, but when I saw the instructions, I thought there was no way I could do that. So when I did my house, I worked with one square at a time, instead of the whole wall. This way if you screw up, you don’t ruin the entire room.”

The success of the book has inspired Fong to expand his design empire. In addition to speaking engagements at home-and-garden shows across the country, he has added new projects to his website and regularly volunteers his design services to various charity causes close to his heart. He has alo started work on a new book about floral arrangements to be released later this year. “I have some TV shows in development, too,” he says. “I just really love what I’m doing now. My advice to everyone else is don’t bottle up your dreams.”