Interior design has become almost as American as baseball and apple pie.

You can barely turn on the television without seeing some form of home improvement in progress — “Trading Spaces”, “Extreme Makeover-Home Edition” and the ground-breaking “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” are just the tip of the iceberg. Whatever you think about the recent mania over interior design, there are two things that are clear: design has become more affordable, and consumers are being bombarded with home improvement media.

Enter the community: Many of the top designers helping to fuel this mass-makeover movement, in the media and at large, are gay – and many in the gay and lesbian community are undertaking home makeovers, whether as designers, consumers, impulsive renovators, or all of the above. What’s up with the new space sensitivity?

“Most gay men are perceived as having an innate artistic sensibility,” says Franco Pasquale, an internationally-known designer with Pasquale Design Associates. “This makes them interesting clients. People are very sensitive about their spaces. Because gays and lesbians are expected to have impeccable taste, criticism is often much more difficult to take. I often say that the best thing I can do when I go to a friend’s home for dinner is to keep my mouth shut.”

On the other hand, the gay community has a lot of advice to give out.

Bravo’s ground-breaking “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is a prime example of the gay community’s influence on mainstream America. “Queer Eye” does not even flinch on capitalizing on the stereotypes of the two communities. And America is eating it up.

“This stereotype comes from the fact that fields such as interior designers, floral designers and hair dressers were populated with effeminate-seeming men,” says Pasquale. “Gay men are more acceptable in these areas. Now, don’t be my lawyer if you are gay, but you are more than welcome to give me advice on my home.”

Many of the top global designers are, of course, openly gay. Tom Ford and Isaac Mizrahi (see interview, pg. 43) are two power-houses in the design world, both of whom happen to be openly gay. And then there is the gay design uber-couple Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

But the sword cuts both ways.

“In the design world,” Pasquale, who is gay, explains, “if you are not already out, then people are waiting for you to come out. It can feel like an atmosphere where it is virtually forbidden to be straight and be a gifted designer.”

In a society that seems to be bracing itself for a conservative cultural backlash as issues like marriage for same-sex couples and adoption rights get debated, having hit shows that feature gays and lesbians may seem like a paradox.

For Julie Brightney, a former designer for Pottery Barn and a lesbian, there is light ahead.

“I think that as the mainstream in America realizes that the chairs they are sitting on and the plates they are eating off and the recipes they have used to cook are done by some wonderful and talented gays and lesbians, then those ‘out’ designers and ‘out’ artists and ‘out’ culinary experts can go back to just being geniuses instead of ‘gay geniuses,’” says Brightney.

The irony, then, is that while interior design is supposed to be a direct reflection and articulation of the individual self, it may go some distance in speaking to gays and lesbians as part of the group.

In the meantime, there’s a whole lot of decorating going on.

Social trends cannot happen in a vacuum, says Colin Pearce, co-owner with his partner, Cesar Mendez, of Grand Entrances, a high-end door and entrance-way store in Miramar.

“Especially in Southern California, home equity has sky-rocketed in the last several years,” says Pearce. “As a person’s home equity rises, they feel richer, and they understand that it is the house that has made them that way. So people don’t feel as afraid of putting more money into their home. They see it as an investment.”

High home equity, though, also means high home prices. With the average home in San Diego moving rapidly toward a half-million dollars, many people realize that while they could sell their home for a high dollar, they likely couldn’t get into something similar at the current pricing.

Jim Walters of San Diego-based J.P. Walters Design Associates explains, “A lot of people who have equity simply do not want to move. They understand the reality of the housing pricing structure. Maybe they refinance with a lower rate, take some of the money out and put it back into the home. Either they want to have a little more of a jewel for a home, or they just want to be more comfortable where they are living.”

Interior design isn’t just limited to homes and condo owners anymore. Even those who are renting are getting permission from their landlords to design. This is partly driven by the lower cost of interior design.

“People realize they can try new things at lower prices,” says IKEA-US’s head of marketing, Lena Simonsson. “The affordability takes away some of the risk factor. If you like it, great – if not, you can change it.”

Even the high-end designers agree.

“There is no question that there is good design out there for everyone, regardless of income,” says Pasquale. “I think for many people, places like IKEA and Home Depot are a good place to start. For others, though, a good interior design consultant is necessary to bring out your own style. There is a difference between interior decorating — layering what is there — and interior design, starting with the structure and looking at your home from a new light.”

When designers like Michael Graves began partnering with companies such as Delta Faucets, Dansk and Target, good design began appearing in stores where the masses shop. This is the direct result, says Graves, of his experiences in Europe, and, in particular, when he was a student in Rome in the 1960s.

“Being surrounded by good design was not a luxury but a given,” says Graves. “Therefore, making good design desirable, if not a priority, in America became one of my goals, at least in my heart.”

And for Graves, partnering with a huge company like Target gives the buying power, distribution and vision to make that happen.

Likewise, many clothing designers began to parlay their success in the fashion world into design.

Ralph Lauren and Laura Ashley are two of the most successful examples. “The interior design industry is really an extension of the fashion industry,” says Walters. “A lot of fashion designers are starting to do ‘home’ lines. People who feel comfortable wearing Ralph Lauren clothes are going to be comfortable spending the money on Ralph Lauren bedding. They trust the name. They trust the quality. They have a relationship with the designer.”

Home stores even set up entire rooms for displays to help consumers choose a one-stop-shop solution. Once relegated to furniture stores or the back area of a store, major department stores are getting into the business of promoting familiar names with home improvement.

But is the media setting up the consumer for disappointment and frustration? After all, most of the shows on television last only 60 minutes, and look at what they can accomplish in that short amount of time.

“The media has created what many in the industry call the ‘Home Depot Mentality’,” says Pasquale. “It lures people into believing that it is as simple as going to Home Depot on Saturday morning and designing an entire room for $1.99. And all it takes is an hour.”

While Pearce agrees, he also suggests there are some very interesting results of this do-it-yourself design trend.

“I think the home improvement shows cause people to look at their houses through different eyes,” says Pearce. “I think they see what is possible and they are increasingly recognizing that while it may take some time, they can make changes little by little. And these aesthetic changes can translate into happier households … just nicer looking homes.”

Walters explains, “I think that part of it is that society is more focused on interior design and therefore people are exposed to it more often. People are being educated about how to recognize good style. This gives them the confidence to make a purchase that they might not have made five or 10 years ago because they didn’t have the resources at their fingertips to study.”

“As an architect,” says Graves, “I tend to see design in the broadest sense. It is embodied in a lifestyle and not just in the form or color of an individual object. I think people today like choices in the marketplace so they can personalize their homes and so the combination of décor and artifacts to fill our living spaces becomes important.”

Adds IKEA’s Simonsson: “Good design is also about good health. Knowing how you live helps create the right design to improve your quality of life. Creating your environment around your personality and movements at home helps increase energy and happiness in your time off work.”

World events seem to be a factor, as well. “While it may sound dramatic, the reality is that as long as people are not 100 percent comfortable traveling, they will stay at home and create an escape there,” says Brightney.

“Spaces in the home that used to be considered ‘private’ areas are now becoming ‘social’ areas because people are staying home more to entertain,” says Simonsson. “This means that people are paying more attention to what these social spaces look and feel like. They are paying more attention to making sure it reflects them as individuals.”

And for couples who might not normally think they have much in common to do on the weekends, Pearce says, working on the house can be a great relationship-builder.

“Don’t get me wrong,” says Pearce. “I have witnessed some pretty close near-divorce moments, but all-in-all, couples are learning that this is one area where they can work as a team and where they both have a vested interest. I think more and more gay and lesbian couples are formalizing their relationships in ways that allow them to understand that they will be together for a long time. This gives them the comfort level of co-investing in projects such as home improvements.”