David Bromstad & Ty Pennington Have One Major Thing In Common

David Bromstad and Ty Pennington are two completely unique HGTV personalities. The former is loved for his unique style and friendly personality, while the latter is known for his high energy and fun-loving nature. Even so, the two TV stars share a major commonality in their backgrounds, as they both studied art in college. In fact, neither Bromstad or Pennington planned to go into interior design or renovation shows, yet they've become pillars of the TV genre over the years.

While Pennington has reminisced about his "Trading Spaces" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" days, his artistic background is something you might not have heard him talk about before. The Georgia native has had a lifelong relationship with carpentry, even building his own tree house at a young age, but he actually studied graphic design at the Art Institute of Atlanta. "I was dabbling in a lot of different careers, but I always wanted to be a fine artist," he told The Atlantic Journal Constitution.

Before becoming an HGTV star, Bromstad similarly pursued a career in art. "I dreamt of being a Disney animator," he told Tattoo Co., adding that he attended Ringling College of Art & Design in Florida. "I ended up majoring in illustration, where I could paint, draw, sculpt ... experiment with all types of art versus just one." While Bromstad and Pennington share an art background, their journeys to HGTV are all their own.

Before hosting HGTV shows like "Battle on the Beach" and "Rock the Block," Ty Pennington had a pretty varied career path, painting sets for films like "Leaving Las Vegas" and appearing in ads for brands such as Levi's and Diet Coke. Throughout his winding professional journey, though, art and design has always been important to him. "I've been playing around with graphics my entire life, as well as fine art," he told Ability Magazine. "I always went back to working with my hands, whether it be building and designing furniture, or designing logos for corporate identities."

In an interview with IndyStar, the Georgia native opened up about how his passion eventually led to his HGTV career. "Construction allowed me to go to art school at night, but I also ended up doing print modeling, getting scouted by a Japanese scout and went to Japan," the "Extreme Makeover" star explained, with photos from Pennington's modeling days blowing fans away. "Over time, I get comfortable with being in front of camera, so I go back to States, do graphic design, [and] won some awards."

Pennington pursued commercial acting when living in New York City, but was ready to give up on that part of his career when he moved back to Atlanta. He was putting his construction experience to work renovating an old piano warehouse downtown with his brother when he got an audition. "There were all these really handsome tall guys, and I was just thinking, I have to get back to work," he recalled. "I didn't care whether I got the job, but then next thing I know I'm on 'Trading Spaces.' Life is funny like that." Pennington eventually left his TLC show behind, but it was his opening into the world of renovation TV.

Before "My Lottery Dream Home," David Bromstad landed a job at Disney after attending art college, though he was initially working in project merchandising. From there, he signed on with the Parks Production Company, where he exercised his creative skills contributing to major installations for theme parks like Walt Disney World, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios. "Sculptures at Disney are nothing short of immaculate—they can't have any flaws or marks," he told Tattoo Co. "It was a tough job, but it made me appreciate that if you don't have finishing skills in any artistic life, your work isn't going to look expensive or truly finished."

Unfortunately, Bromstad was forced to switch gears when he was laid off, but a chance encounter launched his interior design career. "I met an interior designer at the gym," the HGTV star said. "He needed paintings done for one of his client's homes and asked to see my portfolio. He gave me a $2,000 budget to do this kid's room, and it turned into an unlikely, super-fun project for me." Bromstad spoke exclusively to The List about how he ended up as an interior designer, revealing that working on these kids' rooms was a major turning point for him. He went on to audition for HGTV's "Design Star," becoming the Season 1 winter and cementing his role on the network. Both Ty Pennington and David Bromstad's unconventional road to stardom prove that you never quite know where life will take you.