Home Mavens and Misters Follow Martha Down Golden Garden Path

Let’s cut to the chase: Martha Stewart pocketed a cool $1.2 billion when Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. went public in October. Is there a better incentive for the glut of Martha wannabes?

Most of TV’s reigning domestic gurus are, like Martha, old hands in the lifestyle wars-Bob Vila (“This Old House”), country queen Mary Emmerling (“Country at Home”), decorator Chris Casson Madden (“Interiors by Design”) and model-restaurateur B. Smith (“B. Smith With Style”).

But there’s a new generation out there, upstarts who, like Katie Brown, are aiming straight for the hearts--and pocketbooks--of Generation X.

Some members of the emerging class:

CHRISTOPHER LOWELL

“The Christopher Lowell Show” (Discovery Channel, Monday-Friday, 3 p.m. and midnight): Lowell’s pumped-up, can-do philosophy owes less to Martha and more to Richard--Richard Simmons, that is. Mixing high camp and low art, he coaxes and cajoles, zealously reassuring viewers that they can fashion their own valances and re-cover their own chairs. The results range from inspired (the way to live with what you love is to try draping your favorite suit jackets over a sofa) to the insane (is anyone ready for window treatments made from old teacups?).

REBECCA KOLLS

“Rebecca’s Garden” (HGTV, Tuesday and Thursday, 2 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.; and KCBS, times vary on weekends): “Get your hands dirty!” is her motto, and does she ever. This Midwestern meteorologist-turned-mud maven happily tiptoes through the flower beds at home (where faves include Crystal Palace lobelia) and afar (last year, she took viewers on a tour of Holland’s Keukenhof Gardens). She’s already got a book (“Rebecca’s Garden: Four Seasons to Grow On”) and a magazine (“Rebecca’s Garden”) and seems poised for more. And to show she’s a real hands-on gal, Rebecca happily confesses she shuns sissy garden gloves--unless she finds herself “in a particularly thorny situation.”

SUSAN POWELL

“Home Matters” (Discovery Channel, weekdays, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.). There she is, Miss . . . no, we’re not being snarky. Discovery’s latest home maven is, indeed, a former Miss America--1981, to be exact. Powell is also an opera singer and actress, which isn’t exactly a traditional route to lifestyle television. But Miss America Powell doesn’t pretend to be Miss Know-It-All. Want to make a lampshade? Hand-tint a photo? She’s smart enough to call in the pros to show you--and her--how.

COLIN COWIE

“Everyday Elegance With Colin Cowie” (Romance Classics, Wednesday, 4:30 p.m.): He’s sleek enough to be a movie star himself, but the Zambian native simply caters to them, planning weddings, parties and interiors for the likes of Lisa Kudrow, Kelsey Grammer and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. With two books out (“Weddings” and “Everyday Elegance”) and three more on deck, he aims to bring elegance, romance and good taste to the masses. But don’t expect to see Cowie wielding a glue gun. “I’m more into ease, like ‘Where can I order it?’ rather than ‘How can I make it from scratch?’ ” he told USA Today this year. You should be glued to the chair, not chained to the stove.