We had the privilege of starring on our very own episode of HGTV's Curb Appeal! Our "Rustic Inn Makeover" (CRB-1409) originally aired on June 8, 2005, but it's repeated often.

How it all began: We sent an unsolicited "Mission: Curb Appeal" package to the show's production company, Edelman Productions. We included photos of the house and family, bios, and a plea to help us fix up our home before the neighbors revolted.

A producer called, said we look to be just the kind of homeowners they love, and booked us on the show within the week! A month later, we had the first shoot with our assigned designer, Will Wick, and he soon presented us with his initial vision for the makeover.

The transformation took four long, muddy months to complete (we began in September and had our final shoot in January during an uncharacteristically wet season).

There were many a rain delay, and the lawn is ridiculously lumpy to this day because it didn't get the opportunity to dry out before constant film crew trampling. (Fame does come at a price!)

"And...action!"

Wrap-up party in our bedroom! (What?!)

See why we were desperate?

Ta da!

1. Curb Appeal features homes from all over the country. Not true! Edelman Productions is based in Corte Madera and prefers to work with homes within a half-hour distance from there. (If you live on our street, you know why…they film all too frequently, and usually with little or no notice!) You see a lot of Marin, East Bay, and San Francisco homes on the show, though the company goes to great lengths to “hide” the location so it feels like “Anywhere, USA.” More recently, Curb Appeal has branched out to Washington, DC, and other East Coast locations.
2. Homeowners get the Curb Appeal makeover at no cost. 'Fraid not! Homeowners set a budget; Curb Appeal provides a free designer and solicits a few product discounts and donations in exchange for national publicity (our garage door was generously donated by Carriage House Door, for instance; we gladly footed the bill to have it installed). The production company has contacts, but the homeowners are responsible for all the finding, hiring, and paying of contractors.
3. The transformation happens within a week. Nope! We were told that they aim for a one-month turnaround for every project; ours took more than 4 months (so much for the host's on-air transitions: “the next day..."). This means homeowners aren’t allowed to make noticeable appearance changes during production—no major haircuts, weight changes, or breast enlargements allowed. This also means the house can’t be dressed for holidays—no fall pumpkins on the porch and no Christmas tree in the front window (we got around this one by perching our decked-out tree on a dolley and dragging it out of sight as necessary...precarious, sure, but clever, no?).
4. The host is involved from the get-go. Not the case! Rick Spence appears on one and only one day: the grand finale, after the makeover is complete. (You’ll note that you never see the host in front of a “before” image or an in-progress home.) That means the final taping day is spent recreating previous days—which, in our case, necessitated 16 wardrobe changes! (It was Indian summer when we began taping and January when we wrapped…boy, were those summer clothes cold!)
5. It’s all fun and games on Curb Appeal. Not exactly! It's lots of fun for sure, but it’s also hard work, because you have to make fast decisions on pricey items and services (you don't get time to be choosy or shop around), you’re in charge of everything (it felt like a part-time job!), and the designer is rarely available. And the final shoot was a grueling 6:30 AM to 7:00 PM day!
6. There must be a big film crew. Not at all! On most days throughout the filming, there’s simply one camera guy and a producer. On the final day, however, the amount of people grows, and the equipment gets bigger and more intimidating. (Alas, there’s no hair and makeup person for any of it. Ah, so that explains it.)