Welcome Back Reception for Nina Magon after Completing NBC TV Show
Nina Magon with her parents on her left, Vinni and Arun Verma and her husband Karun on her right, with his parents Krishan and Suneeta Magon at the reception.
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: Surrounded by a crowd of guests who came to welcome her back, Nina Magon expressed her appreciation for the outpouring of support. “I’ve been gone for five months while we taped all the episodes of the show in Los Angeles”, she said as she stood besides the displayed furniture in the Internum Design showroom on Kirby Drive near Richmond on Thursday, April 17. “I just couldn’t have done it without the support of my entire staff and especially my husband Karun who took care of our two kids while I was away”, she added.
Nina Magon (fourth from left) with members of the cast of American Home Builders and other guests at the reception thrown in her honor at Internum Design on Kirby Drive on Thursday, April 17.
Magon is one of the twelve contestants chosen from a nationwide search for the new one-hour reality television show, American Home Builders, which premiered on NBC on Sunday, March 23. The show breaks down the contestants into two teams which pit against each other to renovate homes, with emphasis on the interiors. Their final results are rated by three judges – host Nate Berkus, Eddie George and Monica Pedersen – with one of the contestants eliminated every week. In this past Sunday’s episode, Magon was the Project Manager of the winning team. So far six contestants have been eliminated.
Nina Magon with the staff of her company Contour Interior Design. Her husband Karun is on the extreme left.
Magon has her own firm, Contour Interior Design, which made its debut with the design and construction of a speculative house in West University which sold for close to a million dollars. She received a Bachelor in Science in Economics & Finance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and post-graduate studies in architecture and design at The Art Institute of Houston. She has won several awards for interior design from groups in Houston and also dedicates time to non-profit organizations in the Bayou City.
It was Magon’s growing reputation as a homebuilder and interior designer that caught the eye of the producers of NBC Universal as they scouted around the nation for contestants in their newly envisioned television show. She was the sole candidate left after an extensive search in the Houston area and as of last Sunday’s episode, she was still in the running in the contest. The finale will pit the reaming two designers against each other as they renovate two impressive Southern California homes.
The reception at Internum was partially sponsored by local firms in support of Dec My Room, a local charity that seeks to enhance the lives of children who have been hospitalized for a prolonged period of time, and was promoted by NBC Universal. Apart from Magon, five other cast members of the TV show were on hand to add glamour to the reception which packed the showroom and toured its unique blend of furniture, accessories and artwork. Cordua Catering provided the hors d’oeuvres for the evening.
Magon is the daughter of longtime local Indo-Americans Dr. Arun and Vinni Verma who have a real-estate business and have been prominent in bringing to the Metroplex the hugely successful Ram Leela and Dussehra Mela, held for the past two years in Skeeters Stadium in Sugar Land. They were on hand for the reception, as were Magon’s in-laws, Krishan and Suneeta Magon.