Home improvement reality TV

June 13, 2008 8:01 AM

How do those families get their home makeovers on HGTV and other channels - how do you apply/qualify to be considered for being the recipient/participant in one of those makeover shows?

I'd love to have my home benefit from these experts, wither remodeling or decorating. Anyone know the ins and outs of applying/qualifying?

posted by schoenbc to home & garden (13 comments total)

Be on HGTV
posted by milkrate at 8:08 AM on June 13

Go to either TLC or HGTV's website, under each show that is currently auditioning there is usually a "Be on TV" type link. These often take you to an outside website for a company that handles the audtions. Most of those cool shows are filmed in California, so if you say, don't live in the Bay Area, you might be out of look for a lot of them.

There are a couple in NY and Atlanta as well. Then there is Trading Spaces which films all over, but tends to have do a couple of shows in one particular area it seems.

Look at the rules for each as well. Alot of HGTV's shows actually do not pay for the improvements, you do. You get the design and what not, but you pay for labor and materials.
posted by stormygrey at 8:09 AM on June 13

Here's an NPR story about the perils of being on one of those shows.
posted by Airhen at 8:29 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]

I've seen them post on craigslist too
posted by safepants at 8:39 AM on June 13

Here's another story from someone who found their actual experience being on one of those HGTV shows wasn't all it was cracked up to be. (She also talks a little about the "hook" she used to qualify, so perhaps that will be helpful if you're really set on doing it.)
posted by iminurmefi at 8:40 AM on June 13

Two friends have gone through the process, one of them made it onto a show. Most of the shows shoot in California, so if you're in Southern California, your chances are really, really good, Northern California it's still possible, but not as many shows drive up from the studios.

I know with one set of friends they had a budget and they basically only got free labor from the show -- everything you saw on the show wasn't free and they spent a few thousand dollars on improvements, but they saved a bundle and probably got twice as many things done than they would have if they hired professionals to do it all.

The other friends went through a screening process and never ended up on a show. I know there were some size issues with their backyard that would be featured and I bet it was too small to film a full backyard makeover show in.
posted by mathowie at 8:55 AM on June 13

you will likely need to live in the Los Angeles area. I know several people who had makeovers and the entire series was filmed in LA. Ever notice how they don't mention the location on the show..?
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 9:54 AM on June 13

My sister-in-law and her house renovations were featured on a couple of shows. I'm pretty sure her architect arranged the whole thing. The house is in Winchester, MA.
posted by thomas144 at 9:57 AM on June 13

Everyone keeps saying California, but I thought a bunch of the shows were done in the Philly suburbs (West Chester) area, because one of those channels was owned by Comcast? Having trouble finding it though...
posted by inigo2 at 10:30 AM on June 13

TLC is based in the Philly area, but Trading Spaces travels.
posted by Airhen at 10:57 AM on June 13

On This Old House, the homeowner pays for all of it. Some of the branded things that are mentioned on air - "My, Norm, this is certainly a fine 17-burner Viking stove!" - are sold to the homeowner at cost, but the renovation isn't free. Last I heard, the application to be selected for the show included verification that the homeowners had at least $250,000 in the bank or in an unused home equity loan.

Source: my plumbers, when I lived in Boston, were Trethewey Brothers, 4th-generation family firm of Richard Trethewey, who is the TOH plumbing expert. (And if you are in Boston, I heartily recommend for plumbing repairs, although we chose not to use them for a bathroom remodel - mostly because we didn't have a TOH-size budget.)
posted by catlet at 1:36 PM on June 13

My wife and I were on Design on a Dime. She just downloaded the submission forms from the HGTV website, and applied. Living in Southern CA was a requirement for DoD, so "know the show" you are applying to.
posted by shino-boy at 3:48 PM on June 13

Also, it doesn't hurt to google the production companies for each show. One major production company is Pietown, here's a link to their casting page.

Trading spaces does travel around. They did an episode on my street. They were there 3-4 days, not 2, likely for establishing shots. I never caught the show on TV, but I did catch the trucks and the additional 20 cars on the street. It also wasn't hard to miss the bright lights coming out of the living room of my neighbor down the street.

My realtor was on "My House is Worth What?" and asked me to audition. I had a phone interview and sent in a tape, didn't get on the show. However, my co-worker who used the same realtor did, but they had done much more work on their house than I did (I don't think it hurt that they look very hip either).

I'm in Austin, not LA.
posted by pokeedog at 4:22 PM on June 13