Designer and co-host of the show on A&E “Fix This Kitchen” answered a few questions about design, the show and reality TV in general! FTK is back for its second season and premiered on September 10th. Visit www.fixthiskitchen.com for more!
Catch the show Saturday mornings at 9.30/8.30 Central!
Q: What is the most difficult part of fixing a home?
A: That’s a great question which can be answered two different ways depending on if it’s for a private client or for a tv show. Since we’re discussing tv, I’ll stick with that because it’s more fun to dish out what happens behind the scenes. Design shows are harder,
Designer & Co-host Nicole Facciuto
more intense, have a list of restrictions, and insanely fast paced. Preparing and executing a design show is like completing a design ironman!
The entire design is planned out before we even show up to shoot our first scene. There are many moments which occur before, during, and after we tape an episode the audience never gets a chance to see. During “fix this kitchen” the tricky, and sometimes difficult, part is making it all happen in 5 days. So many critical elements have to be in place beforehand for us to be able to complete the kitchen in such a short amount of time. When something goes wrong, we do our best to recover. Though there has been a time the camera has fooled you and it didn’t take 5 days. Though you’d never know it…reality tv isn’t always reality.
Q: What advice do you have for college students who want to decorate dorm rooms but don’t have much space?
A: Not only do you not have much space, you most likely don’t have a lot of money to be investing in larger pieces either. Make your space more personal by adding smaller items you can easily take with you if you move to another location, which is likely. I’ve found so many inexpensive, cool, and dynamic accessories at vintage/thrift stores. Make a collage of interesting old paintings or scour yard sales for funky brass sculptures. There’s so much great stuff out there, all you have to do is find it!
Q: What will fans see on the show?
A: Transformation. Not only in the kitchens I design, but in the homeowner’s lifestyle. They go from living and working in a kitchen which is completely dilapidated and uninspiring to a space which excites them. When you have a passion, like cooking, and you have been given direct access to express that passion, there’s nothing better. Witnessing that shift is truly the best part of my job.
Q: What is your favorite aspect about the show?
A: The reveal and the moment I finally get to see the expression on our homeowner’s face when they see their brand new, gourmet kitchen for the first time. For me, everything else around me disappears: the cameras, my producers, everything. It’s in their moment of joy and elation where it all becomes reality for me, because in the end, it’s all for them.
Q: Where do you find inspiration when designing?
A: Everywhere. Creativity begins when you are present and in the moment. Most of my ideas come from literally nothing. I’ll either wake up and have an idea and then expand on it, or it’ll be based on what I have to work with already. Some of my best designs/ideas have been made through pressure. When I’m forced to work with what is given, I make the most out of it. We’ve all heard the expression “making lemonade out of lemons,” well that, in a nutshell, is what reality design tv is all about.