IN EXCESS A ROUND OF SHOWS ALLOWS VIEWERS TO PEEK INSIDE CELEBRITY ESTATES.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Staff Writer

THE INSIDE of a celeb's medicine cabinet is what we'd really like to see - but we'll settle for a glimpse of the living room.

And a little chat about sofa silhouettes.

That's the premise and promise of celebrity lifestyle/decorating shows filling up time slots on cable TV and attracting curious viewers.

``People's fascination with celebrities and their living spaces is consistent with their fascination with celebrity in general. ... We love to know who they're dating, where they're dining and who they're wearing,'' explains Stephen Croncota, senior vice president of programming for the Style network.

It's nothing new. We've always wanted to know how the other half lives, say pop-culture experts.

``We watch out of curiosity. They have more money than we do and we wonder what they do with it,''observes Vera Golakova, producer of the upcoming HGTV special ``The Homes That Made Hollywood.''

What is new is celebrities taking viewers on a home tour and talking about how and why they made interior design choices. Today's shows, from ``Cribs'' on MTV to ``At Home With'' specials on HGTV, reveal how celebrities choose to live. And their choices are sometimes surprising.

Fran Drescher, known to many as the flamboyant star of CBS' ``The Nanny,'' revealed her sense of style on an ``At Home With'' special, notes Nancy Glass, Emmy Award-winning producer of the show that will become a weekly series in July.

``People think she'd have a lot of leopard print, but she's not like that in her personal life at all. She really understands style and design and her home is monochromatic in white with an eclectic mix of new furniture and antiques,'' says Glass.

And TV talk-show host Sally Jessy Raphael may love controversy, but viewers of E!'s ``Celebrity Homes'' discovered her home is quite traditional, even if she does have very unconventional taste in pets.

It used to be presidents and historic figures who topped popularity polls, says Los Angeles culture historian Jonathan Pontell, but since the 1950s it's been celebrities - whom he defines as people well-known for being well-known - who now top most lists.

The first TV celebrity lifestyle show was ``Person to Person,'' a '50s series hosted by Edward R. Murrow who visited the homes of stars such as Marilyn Monroe.

``The show didn't really deal with decorating. ... Instead you'd see Marilyn at home making a quilt or something ... but even if you thought the format was stupid you watched because there was nothing else like it at that time,'' says Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University, New York.

The first celebrity decorating show was in the '60s when first lady Jackie Kennedy took the nation on the first televised tour of the White House, recalls Michael Dingley, senior vice president for HGTV programming.

While Robin Leach took us into the homes of the rich and famous in the '80s, he never asked the tough questions about fabric and paint. It was a relatively unknown East Coast homemaker who turned decorating into a true spectator sport.

``Martha Stewart gets the credit for turning the dullness of interior space into a drama,'' says Thompson. ``She cleared the real estate that these other shows would move into.''

That real estate he's talking about has no demographically defined fans. Industry insiders and observers say people of all ages and professions across the country seem equally drawn to this new generation of television programming. Although Pontell believes baby boomers, especially those who came of age in the '70s, are the primary viewers.

While HGTV programming is a hit with the 40-somethings, says Pontell, upstart networks such as Style are appealing to younger audiences with new shows such as ``Area,'' which is hosted by Lise Simms of ``The Young and the Restless,'' while MTV's ``Cribs'' is targeted at the 12-to-34 age group.

`` 'Cribs' has hit a note people wanted to hear. ... it's a celebration of the glamorous and the mundane, from celebs showing us their retractable roof swimming pool to the inside of their refrigerator,'' says Dave Sirulnick, MTV's executive vice president of news and production. He adds that ``Cribs'' is different not only because it focuses on music artists, athletes and actors that young people are interested in, but because there is no host or narrator. ``The guest star opens his own door and takes you inside and explains how or why he did something (in regard to decor),'' Sirulnick says.

With so many programs competing for celebrity homes, the real challenge is not always attracting viewers, but finding celebrities their doors and let us step inside.

HGTV's Dingley says they check to make sure the celebrities on their programs actually designed their own homes and have a decorating philosophy they can share with viewers. He adds that they are not paid, yet many still participate because they are proud of their homes.

Style network's Croncota adds that some celebrities think it's part of their job description, and that they owe it to their fans.

So, what's in it for us?

Network executives say celebrities most likely have more money and access to the very best resources and the most talented people to help them, so just watching could create a trickle-down effect and influence our furniture-buying habits.

They also say that with new generations of stars on the scene - and the screen - we'll never become bored as long as a program gives real help and doesn't reveal too much of a star's mystique.

Dingley is optimistic about the future of decorating shows, commenting, ``Home ownership and decorating isn't a fad or trend, but we'll need different ways to approach it, such as more theme programs.''

Croncota is equally enthusiastic. ``Obtaining access to what's behind locked doors and gates is prized by many and will continue to be of great interest to us,'' he says.

Of course, the future of these programs is based on the bottom line. And it looks solid.

``Celebrity lifestyle shows are moneymakers. They're cheap to do with a high potential for viewers, and, thanks to 24-hour cable television, there's more time slots to fill.''

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7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Fran Drescher

(2 -- cover -- color) Mariah Carey

(3 -- cover -- color) Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus

(4 -- color) Rap artist Master P opens his doors to MTV's ``Cribs.''

(5 -- color) Lise Simms, one of the stars of CBS' daytime drama ``The Young and the Restless,'' also hosts the home fashion series ``Area,'' 9:30 p.m. Mondays on Style.

(6 -- color) The home of singer-actress Susan Anton will be featured in the first weekly edition of HGTV's ``At Home With'' when it becomes a regular series on July 1.

(7 -- color) Jane Seymour, a Bond girl herself, will offer a tour of the homes of people associated with that 40-year film series in an HGTV special, ``Zip Code 007,'' in November.