If you’ve always wondered what goes into renovating a home, HGTV’s “Rock The Block” is back with its biggest season ever. This year features the largest budgets and houses in the show’s history and a diverse cast to make it all happen. The show’s six-episode season is hosted by Ty Pennington, a design expert, craftsman, and carpenter.

Set in Berthoud, Colorado, four teams of experts will have six weeks and $250,000 to renovate four identical 5,000 square foot properties. Each home is valued at $1.9 million before renovations, and each team will be challenged to transform the homes into spaces that exude luxury and their signature design styles.

 

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The winning team will receive a street named after them in addition to being “Rock The Block” champions.

Home & Texture had the chance to sit down with the Black designers featured on the show, Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle (Luxe for Less) and Page Turner (Fix My Flip), to learn more about their experience in the industry, their design styles and tips for renovating your home.

How They Got Into Their Careers

Having a full-time career in interior design and real estate is creative and fun, but how do you get started? The designers shared their backgrounds and how they broke into the industry.

Page Turner of the HGTV show “Fix My Flip” has been a real estate broker for twenty years. In addition to real estate, she is a house-flipping expert, fitness entrepreneur, and certified personal trainer.

“It’s a hard business to be in and stay in. You have to be creative and stay on your toes. You have to stay connecting with our people,” Turner said.

 

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Michel Smith Boyd and Anthony Elle both star in HGTV’s “Luxe For Less” and are partners in this season of “Rock The Block.” They are friends in real life and work together. Boyd and Elle also both have backgrounds in fashion.

“Interior design was my way of merging what I loved as a kid, architecture and fashion. I get to do what I love with architecture and textiles every day in interior design,” Boyd shared.

Elle has always loved interior design. “In the midst of all my fashion background, I’ve always had a love and a zest for interior design,” he said.

All three designers took their passion for interior design and real estate and brought something unique to the industry to succeed.

How The Designer’s Cultures Influenced Their Design Styles

Boyd and Elle are from the south, which influences their design styles, especially when it came to designing for “Rock The Block.”

 

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“We design from the standpoint of hospitality because that’s what we were raised on,” said Boyd.

Designers Tips For Renovating Your Home

On the show, each team had $250,000 to renovate each home. If you’re on a tight budget but want to add luxury renovations to your house, the designers let us in on a few tips.

“Things as small as changing the handles on your cabinets in your kitchen can make a world of difference,” said Elle.

Boyd shared one of his favorite hacks from episode 1 of “Luxe For Less.”

“We bought runners online instead of getting them custom, and I’d never done that before. We bought three of those for approximately $50 each. It was perfection and looked just like a custom job, but only cost us $150 in material,” Boyd shared. Custom runners could cost upwards of $3,500.

He also suggested purchasing an appliance at a discount that has light scratches and dents. You could save thousands on appliances; most of the time, the dents and scratches aren’t noticeable to guests.

Turner suggested changing light fixtures, and handles and switching out fans.

“These are things under $500 that you can order online,” she shares.

 

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The designers agreed that you need a narrative for your home. Your design should be consistent throughout your home and tell a cohesive story of who you are, your interests, and your design style.

To get more design hacks, tips, and tricks, tune into the new “Rock The Block ” season, which premiers on Monday, March 6th at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV. It’s also available to stream on disovery+.