Meet Style's New Alterna-Martha

Why do they call Katie Brown "a young Martha Stewart on a budget" and "Martha for Generation X"? Well, her show does urge busy, urban women to go the extra mile in their cooking, decorating, and gardening pursuits. But that's where these ladies' similarities end.

Brown's new show Katie Brown (debuting Sunday at 7 pm/ET on Style) has more in common with some of her favorite do-it-yourself personalities — like British homemaking vixen Nigella Lawson and cutie chef Bobby Flay — than Martha's more traditional take on hostessing the perfect dinner party.

Still, Brown's start as a TV lifestyle guru does resemble Martha's path to success. Ms. Stewart started out as a fashion model, then parlayed her natural culinary talent into a catering business. As a struggling young actress back in her salad days, Brown also went the catering route. Later, she says she "got tired of my car smelling like curry," so she opened an antique shop with a small caf&#233 in back.

Once a week, she held big four-course feasts, which soon attracted the attention of national magazines. Hence, when Lifetime came looking for a new Martha, Brown was an obvious choice. Now, she's moved over to Style, where she's looking to offer her viewers a bit more reality. For example, she says they'll keep the cameras rolling even when she makes a faux pas. How very un-Martha-like.

So does Katie mind being compared to the doyenne of domesticity? "I think Martha's great," she gushes. "What she's done is incredible." Well, so long as she doesn't take investment tips from her predecessor, this junior miss may have a great future ahead of her.