HGTV’s ‘Designed to Sell’ Comes to Atlanta, Premieres April 3
AH&L recently caught up with Chip Wade, lifelong Atlantan and new carpenter for HGTV’s “Designed to Sell,” to find out more about the show’s fourth season, set in our own stylish city (previous seasons were held in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles). Each episode of “Designed to Sell” highlights the work of a group of designers and carpenters who ready a tired home for market with just three days and a $2,000 budget—and almost always, happy homeowners and breathtaking results.
Hosted by John Gidding, one of AH&L’s 20 under 40 honorees for 2008 and cast with some of Atlanta’s brightest local design talents, this season of “Designed to Sell” proves a powerful combination, and, if you ask Chip—is also the best one yet. Here, he gives us the behind-the-scenes scoop on the cast, the projects and of course, the spectacular transformations that viewers across the country can look forward to this spring. Catch the season premiere April 3 at 8 p.m.
AH&L: Renovating an entire home in three days—that’s amazing! How do you do it? Have there been any instances when you pushed a deadline or budget really close?
Chip Wade: Because of our relentless ambition, we are always pushing it close, and due to our tight budget we end up making many things from scratch. This, of course, is very time-consuming. Certain weeks feel like we have bit of more than we can chew and end up burning the midnight oil! In fact, our very first episode we ended up working until after 3 a.m. to get the house ready for the open house—but we are definitely getting better as the weeks progress. Part of my job is ensuring that we will finish on time and under budget. This includes scheduling and organizing things prior to the staff’s arrival on set.
With “Designed to Sell” host John Gidding (a Harvard and Yale graduate designer) and yourself (a Georgia Tech Mechanical Engineering grad and carpenter) on the job, the results of your designs must be phenomenal. What is the most stunning transformation you’ve seen from all of your hard work?
Our dynamic is undoubtedly a dangerous combination. I have a desire to work with high-level technology and incorporate that into remodeling. Using my prior experience with computer-controlled machining and John’s innovative imagination, we recently succeeded in a joint effort design for a 3D morphing shelving unit as a centerpiece in a kitchen makeover. You might not understand exactly what that means, but when you see it you will without a doubt be blown away! That episode is titled 2512 and should be scheduled to air in the next couple of months.
You are one of two carpenters—with David Wint. How do you divide up the projects? Is there a certain type of carpentry work that you prefer over others?
Typically it is most productive for us to tackle projects as a team, however our specialties help divide many of the tasks. I love working with power tools and woodworking. The part I love the most is being intimately involved in the design process and seeing intricate, custom pieces come to life. Therefore, I tend to take ownership of the many “one-of-a-kind” designs we integrate every week.
Can you give us the scoop on the rest of this season’s cast? Are they down-to-business, funny, fun?
The team is fantastic to work with. We are a phenomenal mix of down-to-business with a healthy dose of fun plus an ounce of crazy. Everyone is a true team player and has a desire to see the projects come to fruition. Undoubtedly the cast works exceptionally hard, but we could not do without our outstanding support staff consisting of our Set Coordinator and Assistant Carpenter, Chris McClellan, our Design Assistant, Krystee Manifold, our Production Coordinator, Kimberly Lacey, our Seamster, Josh Thomas and our fabulous interns!
Can you tell us more about the range of projects you’ve all been working on?
The spaces and projects we tackle are as diverse as the homes we choose. We work on residences in high-rise condos to single family homes ranging in price from $90,000 all the way up to $900,000. We have tackled projects in just about every area of the home, from kitchens, to bathrooms, to dining rooms, to bedrooms, to outdoor spaces and facades.
What has been your most elaborate, challenging, or complicated undertaking during this “Designed to Sell” season?
We gutted an entire kitchen … I mean gutted! Everything from the floors to the cabinets to the wall (not to mention the kitchen sink) was replaced in this three-day makeover. The end result was that which you would not be surprised to find on the cover of a magazine!
That’s something that AH&L will certainly be looking out for! When will “Designed to Sell” air?
The first episode will air this Thursday, April 3 at 8 p.m. The next show will air Wednesday, April 9. Then after that you’ll be able to catch us every Thursday night at 8:00.
And you all have been filming for quite a while now, haven’t you?
We started filming back in late October, so we’re about six months into filming and we’re on our 18th episode. It has been the fastest six months of my life!
Fifty-two episodes total—wow, that’s one every week! I bet you stay busy. How do you unwind when you aren’t filming?
I love to play guitar and take short weekend getaways with my beautiful wife.
You also said that you’ve been restoring your personal home on West Marietta Street in the Howell Station Historic District. I bet that takes up a lot of time, too! Can you tell us more about that? On what details are you most focusing your attention?
Our house is actually the oldest in the neighborhood. It was built back in 1894 for the people who worked on the railroads. It is the typical shot gun-style (long and narrow). I have finished about 90 percent of the projects I want to do, including a great outdoor stone patio and fireplace. We have also completely redone the master bath and bedroom, not to mention the endless small restoration projects an old house demands. My next project will be finishing out the best baby nursery in Atlanta, since my wife and I are expecting our first baby in September.
What advice do you have for Atlantans who are looking to buy, sell or remodel, despite recent setbacks in the real estate market?
It is undeniably in a bad state, not only in Atlanta, but everywhere. Atlanta is actually faring better than many areas of the country. Prior to being cast on the show, I worked at John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, a prestigious Atlanta-based builder. There I saw first-hand the effects of the downturn in the housing market and the seemingly grim outlook for a quick turnaround. Unfortunately it will just take time for the market to recover. In the meantime, I hope viewers will tune in to “Designed To Sell” to find ways to make their homes more attractive to buyers (or fixing up a place they can’t seem to get rid of)!
Find out more about Chip and his company, Wade Built, LLC, at his new Web site, chipwade.com.
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