Carter Oosterhouse Biography
Carter Oosterhouse born Carter Nicholas Oosterhouse is an American television personality, lifestyle expert, philanthropist, author, and model. He first gained national fame as a carpenter on the TLC series Trading Spaces and has hosted other home improvement and how-to television shows.
He has been the host of three programs on the HGTV network: Carter Can, Red Hot & Green, and Million Dollar Room. Carter has also played host to FYI’s Rowhouse Showdown and co-hosting ABC’s hit primetime series, The Great Christmas Light Fight.
Carter’s career as a carpenter began at the age of 12. This is when he began learning carpentry as an apprentice to his neighbor, a carpenter. Oosterhouse continued to work in carpentry and construction throughout school following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Todd and Tyler, who are also carpenters. He attended the Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools for formal education. He has a B.A. in nutrition and communication from Central Michigan University.
Carter Oosterhouse Age | How Old Is Carter Oosterhouse?
Carter Nicholas Oosterhouse was born on September 19, 1976 in Traverse City, Michigan, U.S. He is 42 years old as of 2018.
Carter Oosterhouse Family
The youngest of four children, he was born and raised in Traverse City, Michigan to Roland Oosterhouse and Mary Lopez. His parents were advocates of nutrition and wellness long before the environmental movement. They infused the value of taking care of oneself which naturally grew into a respect for the environment.
Carter Oosterhouse Siblings | Carter Oosterhouse Brother
He has two elder brothers and one sister, Todd Oosterhouse, Tyler Todd Oosterhouse, and Sienna Penick.
Amy Smart Carter Oosterhouse | Carter Oosterhouse Wife | Carter Oosterhouse Married | Carter Oosterhouse Spouse
Who Is Carter Oosterhouse Married To? Oosterhouse got married to actress Amy Smart on September 10, 2011, in Traverse City, Michigan. They have one child together.
Carter Oosterhouse Children | Carter Oosterhouse Baby
Oosterhouse became a father for the 1st time at age 40, when his wife Amy Smart gave birth to their daughter Flona Oosterhouse on December 31, 2016.
Carter Oosterhouse Career
After college, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. There, he worked behind-the-scenes for the Project Greenlight as a production assistant and tape coordinator.
When he went for an audition for a new show on TLC, he ended up landing a part on the show Trading Spaces, he joined the cast in their fourth season.
Carter Oosterhouse Trading Spaces
In 2003, he joined TLC’s series Trading Spaces in its fourth season. In the same year, TLC added the spin-offs Trading Spaces: Family and Trading Spaces: Boys V. Girls to their programs. This gave him the opportunity to work with children.
Carter Oosterhouse Sunday Morning
Oosterhouse did an episode of CBS Sunday Morning in New York in 2004. He remodeled the office of correspondent Bill Geist with the help of commentator Andy Rooney.
Carter Oosterhouse Three Wishes
He was a contributor to NBC’s show Three Wishes in 2005. It was a primetime unscripted series with Amy Grant, in which he visited small towns across America to help wishes come true. He has also been featured as an expert for programs including: Rachael Ray, The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The View, CNN, Entertainment Tonight and Extra.
Carter Oosterhouse HGTV
In Fall 2007, Carter began two new shows, Carter Can was a home improvement show premiering on October 4 on HGTV. The Inside Job is a behind-the-scenes view of Carter Can, it will offer homeowners take away information, on the DIY Network.
A second show was added on the HGTV network in early 2008 , Red Hot & Green, with Nicole Facciuto, on which cater promotes eco-friendly materials for earth-friendly living.
He is also the host of the new HGTV network show “Million Dollar Rooms”, which showcases over the top and extravagant features of some of the most elaborately built homes.
Since 2015, Cater hosts the ABC reality show “The Great Christmas Light Fight” along with Taniya Nayak.
Carter Oosterhouse Winery
Bonobo Winery was founded by brothers, Todd and Carter Oosterhouse who are also longtime Traverse City natives. Their objective was to offer world-class wines in a rustic, yet elegant atmosphere with a breathtaking view. They also wanted a business model inspired by the close harmony of the traditions,ecological integrities , and philosophies of the region.
The Winery hopes to bring a sense of approachability to the Michigan wine and vineyard scene. This is by removing any pretenses and allowing for the ultimate educational and enjoyable experience.
Carter Oosterhouse Nautica
CaRter is the face of the men’s fragrance Voyage by Nautica.
Carter Oosterhouse Net Worth
The American lifestyle expert has a net worth of $2 million.
Carter Oosterhouse Philantropy
He established Carter’s Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and promoting awareness of fitness and self-esteem for America’s youth. Its purpose is to increase the activity level of kids by building and developing community parks and playgrounds within their neighborhoods. The little ones then have the opportunity to take an active part in building up their community by sharing, using, and caring for these public spaces. Carter’s Kids partnered with Rebuilding Together to build six playgrounds promoting the health and welfare of children in low income communities in 2011.
Carter Oosterhouse Height | How Tall Is Carter Oosterhouse?
The Trading Spaces cast stands at a height of 1.87m.
Is Carter Oosterhouse Gay?
Carter Oosterhouse is not gay, he is married to Amy Smart.
Where Does Carter Oosterhouse Live?
Carter lives in Traverse City, Michigan.
Carter Oosterhouse Wedding | Carter Oosterhouse Traverse City House
Carter Oosterhouse Facebook
Carter Oosterhouse Twitter
Carter Oosterhouse Instagram
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Carter Oosterhouse Creates A Relaxing Retreat In His Own Backyard
Carter Oosterhouse Interview
HGTV Hunk Carter Oosterhouse Talks Green
Q: How did you get into carpentry?
Carter Oosterhouse: It started out as a summer job in the town I grew up in, Traverse City, Michigan. It was just something to do to make some money. My two older brothers taught me, and a neighbor took me as his apprentice. I would have never guessed that what started as a summer job would take me so far.
Q: What made you an environmentalist?
Carter Oosterhouse: I blame my dad. He was always preaching. Whenever we’d have to wash a car or boat, we had to use biodegradable soap. In Michigan we have such big bodies of freshwater—they’re among the richest commodities we have—so that’s why my dad was so adamant. We didn’t realize that it would, but stuff like that got stuck in our heads.
Q: What’s the greenest thing people can do when remodeling a house?
Carter Oosterhouse: Going to a secondhand store and repurposing something. People toss things out without a second thought, and there are so many great items at secondhand stores. It’s easy and fun and helps keep the cycle of life for inanimate objects going. Think about all the objects filling up our landfills—granite, for example. It takes a little more effort to get from a secondhand store, but we would save a ton on landfill consumption by using it secondhand, as well as a good amount of money.
Q: What do you tell people who say that eco-remodeling is too expensive?
Carter Oosterhouse: I tell them that, yes, they may pay a bit more up front, but they’ll save a bundle down the road. That’s true with lighting and solar panels and anything that saves energy. As builders, we have a moral responsibility to at least showcase the products that are out there. With climate change the way it is, it’s about being aware of what we’re putting in the atmosphere and knowing what we’re using. We don’t have to sacrifice style to have eco-friendly materials. There are so many more now than there were even two years ago—stuff that’s really stylish, cool, hip. I get excited when I see these new materials, I want to show them off. It’s important to me to see the change that occurs in people when they decide to go green.
Q: What’s your favorite place outdoors?
Carter Oosterhouse: Definitely on the bay in Traverse City. And the Great Lakes in general. I grew up on them. As a kid, it was such a great American experience of being on the water, learning to swim, to sail. All of that really helped me grow up and be the person I am today. If I can get on the water, I’m happy. But there have been huge drops in the levels of the Great Lakes, which concerns me. Fresh water is one of our biggest resources; if we were to ever lose that, it would be a real struggle to how we as a society function.
Q: How did you meet your wife, Amy Smart?
Carter Oosterhouse: We literally met in a garden. We’re both on the board of the Environmental Media Association, and through that nonprofit, we’d been planting school gardens in L.A. Amy and I were paired on one of those projects, and that’s how we met. We both believe that change occurs on a local level, especially with students. We know we’re not going to change things overnight, but if school cafeterias can get their lettuce from their own gardens rather than from hundreds of miles away, that’s a start.
Q: Was the wedding green?
Carter Oosterhouse: Super green. We had 220 guests and just one bag of trash. We composted as much as possible.
Q: Do you two plan to have kids?
Carter Oosterhouse: Eventually, yes. Nothing in the works yet, but we’d love to do that someday. Teaching them about being green will be a no-brainer, since both of us were raised in the eco-friendly fabric. But then again, kids nowadays are much better at understanding how to be eco-friendly. They’re on a quicker learning curve than most adults with sustainability. We’re going to be teaching them but they’re also going to be teaching us.
Q: How did Carter’s Kids get started?
Carter Oosterhouse: In 2007, I wanted to build something and work with kids. Playgrounds seemed like the obvious choice. The original goal was to fight childhood obesity by letting kids be kids. One study showed that kids are 400% more likely to be physically active if they have something attractive to play on, so I wanted to give them updated playground equipment. It’s hard to compete with computers and phones, so we’re trying to create playgrounds that are flashy and fun to get kids outside. Playgrounds help with physical and cognitive development, so we’re seeing all these huge, amazing achievements and markers in the kids. We’re seeing their stress levels and obesity rates go down. Now we build at least one playground a month, and they go up all over the United States.
Q: Why build parks in inner-city neighborhoods?
Carter Oosterhouse: When we’re able to go into a minority area, it’s like everybody’s on top of each other in a concrete jungle. They just don’t have up-to-date playground equipment, especially with all the school cuts going on. When you give these kids beautiful playgrounds, even just a shiny new swing set, they literally act like they’re at Disney World. It’s so amazing to see. You’re changing their lives. You realize that these kids don’t have the luxuries that lots of other kids do have.
Q: You’re half Mexican. Are environmental issues are disproportionately affecting Latinos and other minorities?
Carter Oosterhouse: That’s sort of a loaded question. But yes. They are more affected by it, simply by being unable to have the benefits that other people have in the face of needing to prepare for these new crazy weather patterns. In Michigan, it’ll be 75 degrees and sunny one weekend, and it’ll snow the next. And this is in late May. You have to be prepared, and lower-income families don’t have the financing to adequately prepare for the more drastic weather events we’re going to be seeing now that we’ve reached that climate tipping point.
Q: Do you have a favorite thing that has a connection to the environment?
Carter Oosterhouse: My running shoes. I love to run. I travel quite a bit for work, so it’s nice to get outside and explore new places that way. But also my stand-up paddleboard. It’s such a great workout, and a really fun way to experience our beautiful waters.
Q: I heard you’re starting a winery?
Carter Oosterhouse: Yes! It’s opening in a year. I started it with my brother. We planted vines four years ago and just had our first harvest. We’ll have six varietals next year, a couple of which have done award-winningly well. It’ll be called Bonobo Winery, and we just want people to come and enjoy. Of course, our practices are very sustainable: Instead of fertilizer or pesticides, we use compost, which a lot of wineries do because it’s a much more eco way to grow.
Q: Final question: What’s the best DIY or free thing people can do to green their home?
Carter Oosterhouse: Composting is huge. A lot of people don’t realize how many food scraps they throw away, sending so much garbage into landfills when it could be going to work improving their soil. That’s a really easy one.