Checking CARTER in with
Go online and one can find communities of enthusiasts that run the gamut from the conventional (quilting, coin collecting) and the unconventional (free cosmetic surgery, step counting) to the downright weird (airport carpeting, zombie preparedness).
And then there are those who like to put their all into their outdoor holiday displays.
Carter Oosterhouse knows these folks well. As a judge (alongside Taniya Nayak) on “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” which has its Season 8 finale Wednesday, Dec. 23, on ABC, he sees them as a savvy group whose members often turn up on the show. And they know what he’s looking for in a display design.
“You know, there’s this whole world that exists,” Oosterhouse explains, “this subculture that exists of these people who talk online and they know whose light show and what they’re doing and what type of light elements that they’re using that they’re bringing to their display, and what are the new products.
“And that’s really kind of interesting,” he continues, “because I’ll be at a display one year and they will have referenced a display that we did two years ago and how they’re still friends and they talk online. There’s this whole group that exists as light fighters that are trying to create the biggest, best light show ever.”
As for what blows him away, the 44-year-old native Michigander says it’s all about the DIY aspect. “I’m a carpenter originally ...,” he says, “so when I can see people create stuff that otherwise would be tossed out or thrown away or wouldn’t be used in a light display and it’s seamlessly integrated within the space and then you dive into it and you see all the mechanics of it, I love seeing that.
“I love seeing items that are not store-bought that are custom-made.”
Full name: Carter Nicholas Oosterhouse
Birth date: Sept. 19, 1976
Birthplace: Traverse City, Mich.
Alma mater: Central Michigan University, B.A. in nutrition
Family ties: With his wife, actress Amy Smart, has a three-year-old daughter, Flora
TV credits include: “Three Wishes,” “The Inside Job,” “HGTV Green Home 2008,” “HGTV Green Home Giveaway 2009,” “Change the World: American Heroes,” “Surprise Vacations: Disney Parks Edition,” “Carter Can,” “Celebrity Motor Homes,” “Million Dollar Rooms,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “The Doctors,” “Rowhouse Showdown,” “Trading Spaces,” “Rachael Ray”
Did you know?: kayaker
Favorite book: “I’m reading a lot right now because I’m on the road. Probably ‘Shantaram’ is one of my favorites. And then right now I’m reading ‘The Underground Railroad.’ I feel like Colson (Whitehead) is a great author. But I always end up going back to ‘Shantaram,’ which I know I shouldn’t because I think I’ve been saying that for the last three years and I think I’ve read it like three times. So it is a fun one.”
Favorite movie: “‘Midnight Run’ is a fantastic movie. I feel like it doesn’t get its due. ‘Outlaw Josey Wales’ is a great movie, especially while I’m down south right now (laughs). And still ‘Big’ is one of my all-time favorites. I think probably those three.”
Favorite musical artist: “LCD Soundsystem is one of my favorites. ... I’m more into jam bands, I think, and Grateful Dead – even though this is much different from the jam band style but LCD Soundsystem right now is one of my favorites.”
Oosterhouse played rugby in college and is also an expert sailer and