TV star interior designer Nadia Geller is giving the Auburn Home Show some celebrity glitz this weekend.

And her fans from hit TLC shows “While You Were Out,” “Trading Spaces,” “Home Made Simple,” and the newly unveiled “Date My House,” were turning out to see the high-wattage dispenser of advice in a live setting.

During a morning seminar on the outdoor Gold Country Stage at the Auburn fairgrounds, Geller dispensed advice on how to get an interior look for less money – a winning combination in an economy that is putting more emphasis on the value of the dollar.

She’ll repeat that seminar during Sunday’s Home Show as well as another on staging a home for sale.

Auburn’s Gary and Renee Alenza stuck it out in the heat for the hour-long seminar and stuck around afterward to talk to Geller and get autographed pictures. They’re self-described big fans of Geller’s and while Gary stopped short of saying he had a crush on the interior design star, he admitted there were plans to frame the personally autographed photo.

But Gary added that his “main crush” – his wife, Renee, was right beside him.

During the seminar, Geller even provided advice on what to do with those cherished photos, matter-of-factly suggesting that frames placed on a hall wall are good if they’re all the same size, same style and same style.

“She’s so down to earth,” Renee said. “She can relate to people and has information for anybody and any application.”

The past four years has seen a tsunami of activity for Geller, who grew up in the Chicago-area community of Schaumburg, Ill. and completed her first room renovation at age 4. Moving to New York, she was discovered working as a designer at Manhattan landmark ABC Carpet and Home, where she created the store’s signature visual merchandising displays.

She and her husband, Keith, who is in TV production, relocated in Los Angeles, where Geller parlayed her work as TLC’s “While Your Were Out” on-air designer into guest appearances on “Trading Spaces,” a regular cast slot on “Home Made Simple,” and this year, as co-host with Bob Guiney, of “The Bachelor” on Saturday night’s “Date My House.”

The TV designer role has seen her on the road designing rooms and home interiors under time limits that would make the average homeowner cringe. She’s finished more than 200 projects in the past three years, including several where she’s been given two days to design a room.

The new celebrity status has also meant appearances at home shows like Auburn’s from West Palm Beach to Grand Rapids to Kansas City.

“It’s a wonderful way to say “hi” to people who watch the show,” Geller said. “I get so many e-mails so it’s good to see viewers in person too.”

Husband Keith, who hovered in the crowd helping distribute tickets for a prize raffle and hand off the microphone to audience members for questions, said he’s seen first-hand the buzz of a certain degree of stardom his wife has achieved in a short span of time.

“Nadia gets recognized quite a bit – especially outside of L.A.,” he said. “I see it especially in airports. People come up to her for autographs or advice.”

Keith, a TV producer, said Nadia’s personality and artistic ability shine through on TV. Her ability to talk and explain comes naturally. She comes from a family of teachers.

“She’s just a normal girl from Illinois and it was hard initially to imagine this happening,” Keith said.

At 31, Geller is a designer to watch. And the public has the opportunity every Saturday on TLC at 8:30 p.m. if they can’t make seminars Sunday slated for 11 a.m. (“Staging Your Home to Sell”) , 1:30 p.m. (“How to Get the Look for Less”) and 4:30 p.m. (“Staging Your Home”).

Geller calls her success “pseudo celebrity.”

“People seem to know who I am,” Geller said. “But I’m not a Kelly Ripa … not yet.”

The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.

--------

Auburn Home Show

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today

Where Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn

Cost: : $6 general, $1 for children ages 5-12, free for children under 5. Seniors 60 and older get in for $1. Parking is $4

For more information: Web site is auburnhomeshows.com