Chris And Calvin LaMont Tease Their Favorite Moments From Buy It Or Build It - Exclusive
Chris and Calvin LaMont have shared more of their life adventures with each other than most people — as twins, they not only grew up together, but shared the same hobbies and professional interests. They've been an inseparable team since birth, later pivoting from their original career plan of playing professional football to real estate and development when they were young college graduates. This has proven to be a winning formula for the two, allowing them to quickly build up a successful business and a strong reputation for smart, stylish designs.
Their professional skills, plus the unmistakable chemistry between the brothers, attracted producers at HGTV, leading to the launch of their new show, "Buy It or Build It." In each episode, the brothers help clients choose between buying and remodeling an existing home (a challenge Chris loves) or designing and building a completely new home (Calvin's favorite type of project). No matter which option the client chooses, however, both brothers work together to make it happen. In an exclusive interview with The List, the LaMonts share some of their favorite moments from the show so far.
The twins guarantee the show is never boring
Chris and Calvin LaMont clearly have enjoyed the challenge of building and renovating homes on camera, and they believe audiences will enjoy following their experience as well. "[The show is] an hour long, and you will not be bored," Calvin said. He added that while the show brands him as the "build it" brother and Chris as the "buy it" brother, both have the same skill sets and can easily slip into each other's roles if needed. "You see Chris picking out floors [and] designing special tables from scratch with carpenters. You see me doing demolition and stuff like that. On this show, you'll also see Chris and I doing a lot of the same things together," Calvin added.
And sometimes, they even get their clients to roll up their sleeves and join in the adventure, as Calvin shared in one example. "On Episode 1, you saw me take tempered glass, and myself and the homeowner, Darien, turned that tempered glass into what we call 'fire wow rock,' which is a glass that you can use in your fireplaces or your fire pits. It's super cool." He quickly added that, while this is a fun and easy project, it still requires safety precautions. "[If you're] going to try that at home, make sure you use tempered glass and some glasses and gloves — proper PPE," he said.
Other memorable moments involved special effects and family bonding
A challenge for many designers and builders is helping their clients envision what their future home will look like — designers may have a clear vision in their minds of the finished product, but drawings and architectural sketches alone aren't enough to convey that vision to most laypeople. In "Buy It or Build It," however, the LaMont brothers' creative visions are brought to life through 3D animation. That is, animations of Calvin's new home design or Chris' envisioned remodel are superimposed on the proposed construction site or home, allowing the brothers to virtually walk with their clients through their completed projects. "That was a fun part of the show that I liked," Chris said. "It's different, and it engages everyone and really brought me in."
For the twins, everything ultimately boils down to family. "My favorite moment overall — I think for Chris, too — is being able to have our kids and our families on the show," Calvin said. "Seeing them on TV with us is cool. I know they're going to like that in the future."
Follow Chris and Calvin LaMont's latest updates at @TheLamontBrothers, as well as @TheChrisLamont, and @TheCalvinLamont on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. New episodes of "Buy It or Build It" air Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT on HGTV.