Jasmine Roth On Design Star: Next Gen, Helpful Renovation Tips, And What's Next - Exclusive Interview

HGTV doesn't give just anyone a home renovation show. It's probably super hard to score a show on one of the most popular home renovation networks! This fact speaks to the true, one-of-a-kind genius that is Jasmine Roth. Roth has not one, but two of her very own HGTV shows: Hidden Potential and Help! I Wrecked My House. She's also appeared on several other HGTV hits, including Rock the Block, A Very Brady Renovation, and Design Star: Next Gen, just to name a few. When she's not crushing it on HGTV, the blonde businesswoman is running her renovation company, Built Custom Homes, writing her popular blog, and stocking her online store. Oh, and she's got a kid! Talk about a superwoman.

What inspires Jasmine Roth to achieve so much? What's next for her? What are her biggest tips for would-be renovators and home rehabbers? Roth sat down with The List for an exclusive interview in which she answered these questions and more.

What was it like being a guest judge on Design Star: Next Gen?

So this was one of those things where HGTV calls and I'm like, absolutely. This is such an iconic show. I remember watching it the first time and just thinking these people are so talented and this must be so challenging. And so to be called and asked to judge was just a dream come true. So it was pretty wild that this is one of the biggest shows HGTV has ever done. And so the actual campus that they created for this show was extremely impressive. Where they actually filmed the show, it was so beautiful. And I think they really put their best foot forward as far as giving these designers just the best possible scenario to be creative, to showcase their brand and their talents, and to be able to hopefully wow America. So watching the show, it really resonates when you watch the show, how much work HGTV put into the set. And it was really just an awesome experience.

What made you want to be on Design Star: Next Gen?

Well, I think for me it was an opportunity that I couldn't say no to. But I always watch these shows where people are judged, and I feel bad for the contestants sometimes. So I wanted to come in and be just really helpful, but also just, I don't know, [be] unbiased and a real judge. And I mean, I love HGTV, and I expected the show to be that way. We're not trying ever to make something that's dramatic, or we're not doing things just for the ratings.

I mean, the cool thing about Design Star is that it has launched so many careers over the years. I mean, you look at some of the big names of design today — David Bromstad, Emily Henderson, some big names that you're like, well, where did they start? And they started on Design Star. And it's so interesting. So I think that taking it really seriously, and realizing that HGTV is giving these designers not only $50,000 and the title of Design Star, but they're getting their own TV show. So because I'm in that role myself, and I obviously went about getting my TV show in a different manner, I thought that any insight that I could give them and any just real judging would be helpful to them.

Were there any behind-the-scenes moments on Design Star: Next Gen that you wish viewers had gotten to see?

I mean, I think for me being able to meet the other judges was really awesome. I mean, they're obviously the people that I spent the most time with because the designers, they were running around, this is their moment. This is their time. They're not going to stand around and chat. Although they were very sweet and nice, they had a job to do and they were going to do it. But the other judges, while the designers are working, we got to chat and we got to hang out, and we got to kind of just talk. And I think for me, being pretty new in my industry, and definitely, I still feel like I'm new at HGTV, even though at this point I've been there quite a while, it was so cool to be able to just chat with some new, fresh faces. And Jonathan Adler in particular was just lovely. And he was so funny and he was so just awesome just giving advice and sharing information. He was an open book, and that was really refreshing.

One of the things that really, really stuck out to me was just we were chatting about [how] I have an online e-commerce shop, and obviously he does as well. And he told Lauren and I, we were all just kind of sitting and chatting, and he told us how he got started. And kind of his origin story about making pottery, and having it picked up by Barneys and kind of how everything came to be after that. And we were chatting about selling items and about e-commerce and brick and mortar and just all the different options.

And his insight was just far beyond. I mean, I couldn't have hired a consultant to give better insight. I mean, it's Jonathan Adler, right? So it was just so interesting to hear his take on things and how things have changed. And even during COVID, how retail has been affected and stuff. I know that's probably not what you're looking for, but it was so interesting to hear his take from somebody that is in the trenches, has been in the biz for so long, and is still relevant. It was just really, really cool.

Is there more pressure working with professional Rock the Block judges versus just working with your clients?

The pressure from a competition is very different from the pressure you would get from clients. Being in a competition, I felt the pressure from the professional judges because these are the people that I've watched on HGTV for years, that I've looked up to, that I now consider my peers. But at the same time, I don't want them to think that I don't know what I'm doing, or that my work is shoddy, or that I didn't think of something. I don't want them to not like what I've done. So there was definitely a lot of pressure there. But even more so at Rock the Block, the pressure came from the other contestants. I wanted to win, but I also just wanted to prove that I could hang with these super talented, really impressive girls that were my contestants.

On Hidden Potential, and now on Help! I Wrecked My House, the clients that I'm working for, the stakes have never been higher in those cases. They're real people, they're real budgets, and real timelines, right? If I'm going to ask a family to move out of their house, give me their life savings, and not come back until I'm done, I better know what I'm doing and I better do it right. So I'm used to a lot of pressure. I'm used to the real-life stakes. But I think just by the nature of competition and having the cameras on at Rock the Block, it sometimes felt like it was even more, even though probably wasn't in real life.

What was your favorite part?

The crazy thing about Rock the Block was that we didn't see the other contestants' houses until the very end. But so literally we were all right on this little block, right? Two houses on one side of the street, two houses on the other. And we could see each other's houses. We waved to each other, and we saw each other every day, but we didn't know what the other people were doing. And I think that was one of the hardest parts during the whole competition. Because you're like, okay, we all, we all have the same budget. We all started with the same house. What are they doing? How are they spending that money? What are they doing that I'm not thinking of?

And so I think my favorite part was at the very end, when we got to walk into everybody's houses, and see what they did. And actually see it. It was really fun. Leanne [Ford] had set out wine for us. She had candles lit. Mina [Starsiak Hawk] had this really cute little backyard with grass. And it was just really inviting. And then Alison [Victoria] had done some things that blew my mind. She had this crazy toilet and this crazy coffee maker. And just being able to see how they approached the project that literally was apples to apples, right?

Can you talk a little bit about how Help! I Wrecked My House came about? Was it your idea or were you approached about the concept?

This was more of a collaborative thing between myself and the network. I own a company called Built Custom Homes. And I mean, people reach out to us all day every day. "Please help me, please help me. Can you come do my house?" And within those messages, a lot of them, a surprising number of them literally say, "Help, I wrecked my house." They are very honest about it, and they'll send me photos. And these are people that literally have watched HGTV. They've watched YouTube. They've watched whatever it is. They've read a book. They saw their dad do it. And they're like, I can do that. And they ruin their houses.

And so I got enough of those emails, and, of course, HGTV sees the same thing. They have people reach out to them all the time. "Hey, look what I tried to do. And it didn't work. So what do I do now?" So I think together, HGTV and myself, we were like, this makes a lot of sense. It feels like just a really logical progression of if I'm going to be doing houses, I might as well be doing the houses that need the most help. And these people, if I wasn't able to go in and help them, honestly, I don't know what they would do. They would be okay in the sense that they would probably figure something out, I guess. But if they're all at the point where it's like, how are you living like this, and why did you do this to your house? And you didn't have any money to start with, and now you've wrecked your house, and you really don't have any money. So the stakes have never been higher.

And yeah, it's a crazy concept. But at the same time, there's so many people that find themselves in that situation. Especially now, when we've all been home for a year. Okay, so my friends know how hard I work and the expertise it takes and what it takes to renovate, right? They've watched my show for years now. They've watched this new show as well. Yet they have sent me photos. "Hey, we got a little overzealous last night." And it's like their kitchen with no cabinets. And I'm like, "You guys, you know my show, right? You've seen my show. What is your next step?" And they're like, "Yeah, we don't know." "You ripped out your whole kitchen." They're like, "Yeah. Can you help us?" I'm like, "Oh my gosh." So yeah. I think with everybody being home this past year, it's been exponential in the cases of people that think they can do more than they can.

Can you give us a little inside scoop about what we can expect to see in the new season of Help! I Wrecked My House?

So the new season of Help! I Wrecked My House, we're actually just starting filming. So I don't know too much in the sense that... I know I've met a lot of the families. And I know that these are, they're big projects. They needed a lot of help. Let's just put it that way. The cool thing, though, that I do know about this season, knock on wood, is I'm not going to be super pregnant because Season 1 was a challenge. I was really, really pregnant. And I loved filming pregnant, and it was great. My team was awesome, and everybody rallied around to help. But pregnancy and construction sites are kind of at odds, so I got to spend my time doing some different things.

But I think this season it'll be kind of back to normal in the sense that I'll be able to run around and just be a lot more hands on. So I'm really looking forward to that. But also just, yeah, these projects. Here's what I think. I think that most people who have done something similar who have tried to wreck their house accidentally, I think that there's going to be something for everybody. So between these projects, you're going to see something that's very similar maybe to what you've done to your own house, or you've seen a friend do, or your parents or somebody. And so hopefully, it'll help a lot of people.

I think sometimes it's just, honestly, say you ripped your whole kitchen out like my friends. Seeing my show where maybe the next step for them is honestly to call a pro, and say, "Look, I can't build my kitchen back up." But just knowing who to call and how to say that and getting to that point is tough for a lot of people. So I hope that this show is encouraging people to realize that DIY is awesome and it's so fun. And if you have the skills or the time, sometimes it's a great option. But there's also people that do this for a living and there's a reason they do it for a living. And to call those people, a lot of times, is less money by the time you add in your time and headache and time off work and kids missing school. And I mean, it's a problem. So it's a lot less. And you can just get back into your house and pick up and start living your life. So yeah, this season, it's going to be bigger though, for sure.

You've been on so many shows. Which one is your favorite and why?

Oh my goodness. That's a really tough question. Well, I think so my own show is probably my favorite. I think that's an easy answer. But other than Hidden Potential or Help! I Wrecked My House, I would have to say Rock the Block. It was one of those things that it was so hard, but it was so rewarding. I learned a lot. I got to meet some awesome women that I still consider my friends, right? It was like summer camp. You can't come out of a competition like that and not know the people that you're in the competition with. And so I think just, it was an awesome experience. I would not want to be a contestant again. I don't know how Alison Victoria went back. I bow down to her because it's good for her. Oh my gosh. And she's got some real stamina because I don't know how she went back.

Although I feel like maybe it's like childbirth where you kind of forget. Because I'm sure in another year or two, if HGTV is like, "Hey, you want a rematch?" I'd be like, "Maybe. All Right." But I mean, a year ago I was like, never again. To even go back and judge was a little bit of like, oh, wow, this is a lot. But it was awesome to go back for Season 2 and be able to judge. And it reminded me how much I love that show.

Can you tell me a little bit about your e-commerce shop?

I have an e-commerce shop. I have a blog. And both of them kind of tie in together. So on my blog, I post what I call resource books. So for every single project I do, especially for HGTV, I'm able to share all of the products that I use, whether it's the faucet, the paint colors, everything, the wallpaper sources. So literally somebody could go in and just emulate exactly what they see on TV. Which I think on TV, it's fast, right? And it's like, we spent this, this, do this. I mean, it's like social media almost where you nod your head and it's done. So to be able to take that project and just slow it down on my blog is something that I've done since day one. And it's really important to me.

So in addition to that, I started an e-commerce shop because there's so many materials and products that I use on my clients' houses and my own house that I was like, "I want to be able to share this with people." So people are always trying to make that Jasmine Roth California casual style for themselves. And this is just, in my opinion, the easiest way to do it. We sell everything from lighting to a lot of the soft goods, as far as some furniture. And I literally just got off a call with my team that we're going to roll out our whole new product line. So I'm really excited about that. And just being able to pick and curate the items personally has been really rewarding. So yeah, it's called The Shop By Jasmine Roth.

What is your favorite piece from the new product line that you're about to launch?

This is going to sound really weird, but I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to storage and organization and anything that's clever. So in my own house, I just finished my own house, and in one of the bathrooms, I used this rattan little hook that it's multiple hooks, but it takes one nail to hang it. So I was like, this is really clever and it added a really nice organic element to the bathroom, which is otherwise kind of a cold, hard place. And it looks beautiful with towels hung on it. So it's something like that where it's not expensive, it's not anything that's crazy, like buying a couch or a refrigerator. But for me, it brings me so much joy every time I see it in the bathroom that it's like, I have to put this in my shop. So yeah, I think that's the thing I'm most excited about adding.

Between your store or your business, the HGTV shows, and your family, you are so busy. What's your secret to managing everything?

Oh, I don't know. I know that's kind of a not a very interesting answer, but I surround myself with some really strong teams. And there are people that are dedicated and talented, and just really understand what it is that we're all working towards. And so I have to give a shout-out to my teams because I could never do it without them. And there's a lot of them. So at this point, yeah, I think just honoring and being a part of that team every single day. Not necessarily leading the team, just being a part of it, is the most I can do. And usually it works for the best. So we do, we have a lot of balls in the air right now, a lot going on. But it's fun and it's always a good time. So I actually have a big announcement that's coming within the next, I don't know, couple of weeks. So stay tuned for that. I can't tell you anything more, but it's big.

What are the best and worst parts of sharing your story so publicly?

I'm always really cautious about what I share, especially on social media. But I think compared to a lot of people, I do share a lot. And I enjoy having a blog where, for today's example, I posted my entire pumping journey, right? The journey of feeding my baby, and how I landed and became somebody that pumps milk, and what that even means. And just the whole journey. I mean, it was nine and a half months of my life. And being able to write that story and share it with folks that are interested is for me a really awesome opportunity to feel like I'm contributing in the sense that I also like to go and read other people's stories. I love social media. I love looking at what people post, and what they decide to share and how they decide to share it. And I'm a huge consumer when it comes to blogs. I love reading blogs. I love following bloggers. I love signing up for people's emails. And so being able to contribute a little bit back to that entire community is really fulfilling for me. So I think that's the fun part.

I'd say the not fun part would just be, you have to be really careful about taking people's comments personally. I have a super positive, awesome group of people that follow and like and comment, and they're there for me. And they have been there for me since day one. So I'm not even complaining. But once in a while, if you weren't careful, if you read the comments and took things personally, it would be hard. But I try not to do that.

And it's funny because you can get thousands of positive comments, and all it takes is a couple just negative ones, and they can really stick with you if you're not careful. So it's just focusing on the positive. And I mean, the community that I have on my little corner of Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and TikTok and LinkedIn. I mean, it goes on and on, but the community that has surrounded me and my family, I can't say enough good things about [it]. I have been so lucky and so blessed to be surrounded by such awesome, positive people. So yeah, I think the hard part is just once in a while just trying to keep your eyes forward and not get sidetracked by people that don't have your best interest at heart.

What is your absolute favorite reno that you've ever done, whether on a show or not on a show?

I'm sitting here actually looking at the ski mountain at Park City. I'm in Utah right now. And before I had a TV show, my husband and I back in 2015, we pulled the trigger and bought a tiny little 640-square-foot, two-bed, two-bath. We call it the tiny mountain home. It's technically a condo, but it feels like a little house. And we bought it right after Thanksgiving. And I was like, "Look, I'm going to renovate this, and I'm going to have it done by your birthday." His birthday is December... Well, we'll just say by Christmas. So "I'll have it done by Christmas." So Thanksgiving to Christmas, it was five weeks. And I was like, "And I'm going to do it myself." He's like, "All right." I mean, I'm lucky that I didn't end up on my own show Help! I Wrecked My House because I totally could have.

But yeah, I flew to Utah and I stayed here for five weeks, and I had a bunch of my guys come from California, and found some local guys here to work with. And we rocked it. We worked 14-hour days sunup to sundown. It was dark when we started, it was dark when we finished every day. Seven days a week for five weeks. And it's still the project that I'm probably most proud of. It's teeny tiny. I mean, we were down to the 16th of an inch. Every single inch of every space is accounted for, and everything's multipurpose. So the console table for the entertainment center is also the bar, also stores the exercise equipment, and also has the printer. So that's the home office.

And so every single piece does multiple things. The beds lift up, they're on hydraulics. And they're queen -sized beds, but they have full storage underneath them because there's very little storage. And so between snowboards and big winter heavy coats and stuff, we would've never been able to do it without two of those beds. So shout out to my queen-sized Ikea storage beds. But yeah, the project, after Christmas, my husband, and my baby and I, and my mom actually drove out here to Utah. And we've been here since. Never in a million years did we expect to spend this much time here. But if three adults and a baby can happily cohabitate in 640 square feet, [I] think that says something about the renovation.

It's so small, but it's really, really cute. It is on my blog. But I photographed it right when I did it, and I have never photographed it since. But it's just one of those real-life projects that actually turned out. So it's called the tiny mountain home.

What are some of the most common mistakes that you see people make when trying to renovate their homes?

I think the scariest one is thinking that they can take a wall down on their own. Let's just put it this way, taking a wall down is not sexy. It's not that cool in the sense that there are a lot of steps you have to do before. You can just take it down. And obviously, it's not good TV. So nobody's going to sit and watch a show where I'm like, "Now I'm waiting for the structural engineer. Now I'm going to the city and pulling permits." That's not good TV. So what you see on TV is the idea where it's like, "We should take this wall down." And that is an exciting moment. And that does happen in real life.

But then you fast-forward snap to us sledgehammering a wall down, not realizing that there's so many other steps that have to happen. So I think that it's part of the confusion that people have. So they just go for it, and they just take a wall down. And it's really scary. Walls are there for a reason. They don't just separate rooms. They actually hold the house up. And I can't tell you how many times I've gone in, and I'm like, "What was here?" And they're like, "Oh, that was a laundry room." And I'm like, "Did the laundry room have walls?" And like, "Yes." And I'm like, "Where are they now?" And they're like, "We took them down." I'm like, "Did you call an engineer?" "No." So I would say taking a wall down is the thing that really scares me the most.

The other thing that I always leave to the pros, no questions asked [is] electrical and plumbing. And it's tough because you can go online and watch tutorials, and then feel sort of confident going into doing something. But what you don't realize is, one, you have to pull permits anyway. And most DIYs do not. And that's silly. But two, every single area geographically has different codes. And so the odds that the video you're watching online is the correct video for the area that you live in and speaks to the codes and the things that matter...

For example, in California, where I live, our pipes don't freeze. It doesn't get cold enough. But there's a lot of places where if you plumbed a house the way we plumb houses in California, it's going to be a major problem. So if you watch a DIY tutorial from California, and you don't think about that, which I don't think the normal average homeowner would, you could spend all your time plumbing your own house, only realizing it's completely wrong. So plumbing, anything to do with gas, electrical, leave it to the pros. And, of course, anything with taking down walls, you have to have an engineer.

If someone had the budget to renovate just one room in their house, what should that room be?

I would say the kitchen. I think the kitchen is one of those rooms where you use it every single day. It's somewhere that every single person in the house uses. No matter what type of house you live in, every single person uses the kitchen. And it's one of those spaces that if you can update it and you can make it nice and new and fresh, your life will be that much better. It really will. So yeah, I'd say the kitchen.

No. 2, though, might surprise you. So I say No. 2, I say main bedroom. Because what I see is my clients, usually, they do the kitchen, then they do the living room and the stairwell, maybe the entry, maybe the exterior, and then they do the kids' rooms. And then they run out of money, or they run out of time. Or they just kind of were like, all right, well, we've done all the spaces where when people come over, they see. And so we're just going to leave our bedroom and bathroom and never get to it.

The problem is, you own the house, you work all the time. And at the end of the day and the beginning of the day, you're starting and [ending] in this space that may not be serving you. It probably is not making you happy. It's probably not somewhere that you look forward to going to at the end of the day. And so I would say my No. 2 space to refresh would be the main bedroom and bathroom. And let's be honest, the kids don't care what their room looks like. I just don't know. If you can have that happiness and that serenity and that clear peace of mind that having a new space brings, I think that it's the next best thing.

Do you have any other words of wisdom for homeowners looking for renovation or design advice?

I think that watching HGTV... I love it. I watched HGTV so much before I ever had anything to even do with HGTV. I was such a fan. I watched all the shows. And so I think that I don't want to discount what you see on HGTV, because it is very real. The budgets are real. The timelines are real. The homeowners, everything you see is real. It's just sped up for TV. So I think that you can learn a lot, you can get great ideas. You can see floor plans that you never would have thought [about] that actually apply to your own space. And you're like, wow, that looks like my house. Wow. My house could look like that. So yeah, I think just keep watching HGTV and you can learn a lot. Just like I was, just being a fan and watching, a lot of that is applicable in the real world.

Episodes of Design Star: Next Gen are available to stream on discovery+.