Host of Help! I Wrecked My House, Jasmine Roth, reveals the DIY disasters she encounters on the show and what you should never DIY. Jasmine shares her best advice for planning your own home projects and her advice if you’re overwhelmed with home renovations. She gives her tips for giving builder-grade homes personality and the secret to her success on Rock the Block. Ursula Carmona then joins to talk about the number one reason she chooses to DIY her home projects and the first step she always takes when tackling a project. She reveals the top must-have items in her toolbox and her future DIY home plans.
Host of Help! I Wrecked My House, Jasmine Roth, reveals the DIY disasters she encounters on the show and what you should never DIY. Jasmine shares her best advice for planning your own home projects and her advice if you’re overwhelmed with home renovations. She gives her tips for giving builder-grade homes personality and the secret to her success on Rock the Block. Ursula Carmona then joins to talk about the number one reason she chooses to DIY her home projects and the first step she always takes when tackling a project. She reveals the top must-have items in her toolbox and her future DIY home plans.
Start your free trial of discovery+: https://www.discoveryplus.com/hgtvobsessed
Connect with the podcast: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/hgtv-obsessed-podcast
Follow Jasmine Roth on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasminerothofficial/
Learn More About Help! I Wrecked My House: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/help-i-wrecked-my-house
Follow Ursula Carmona on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homemadebycarmona/
Learn More About Home Made by Carmona: https://homemadebycarmona.com/
Find episode transcript here: https://hgtv-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/how-to-avoid-diy-disasters-plan-your-next-project
[MUSIC PLAYING] MARIANNE CANADA: Hello and welcome to HGTV Obsessed, your podcast for all things HGTV. Today's episode is all about DIY. Do it yourself, or in some cases, don't do it yourself. We have the experts who are going to keep you out of trouble.
First up we're talking to Jasmine Roth, host of Help! I Wrecked My House, all about the helpless homeowners on her show who are in so over their head with their unfinished, half baked projects, and she's going to help you avoid getting into the same situation. Then DIY queen Ursula Carmona chats with me about the number one reason she chooses to DIY and the must have items in her DIY supply closet. First up, let's dive into my conversation with HGTV star and designer Jasmine Roth.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
All right, Jasmine. Welcome to the podcast. How are things in-- well, I was going to say how are things in California, but I think you're in Memphis right now.
JASMINE ROTH: I am in Memphis just for a few days and everything is wonderful.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yes, because, I mean, Jasmine, you're a designer, you're the founder of Built Custom Homes in Huntington Beach, you have your own home decor line, your book is about to drop, you had a baby last year, and you have like three shows on HGTV. You are a busy woman. So what does a day in the life look like for you?
JASMINE ROTH: Oh my gosh. Well, when you list everything out like that, it does sound like a lot. No, I mean, really, if I'm being honest, I just am trying to get from one meal to the next, you know what I mean? That's kind of how I break my day up.
I've been lucky enough to surround myself with some really great teams and people that I can't speak highly of enough. So for me, no two days are the same, and I do what I'm told, basically. I have all of these teams that work on my behalf.
And I think everybody's like, oh, well, you do whatever you want. You work for yourself. And I'm like, when you work for yourself, it's even more so you don't do whatever you want. And it's totally different. Having a baby has been the most amazing, eye-opening experience I've ever been through, and that's saying something because I feel like I've got a lot going on.
MARIANNE CANADA: You got your start on HGTV with your first show, Hidden Potential, which I think is a really special show because you're helping people transform kind of builder basic homes into something with a little character. So I'd love to start by you giving some of your top tips for giving some of these cookie cutter homes some personality, because we can't all live in a historic home with lots of character.
JASMINE ROTH: I live in Huntington Beach, California. It's suburbia and I love it. I'm not using suburbia or suburban life as a negative thing, and I think so many people are like, oh, you live in the burbs. And it's like, no. I live in the burbs because it's awesome.
But I think that there is something that comes with that, and a lot of times it's just that character that is lacking in most people's houses. When your house is the same model as every third house in your neighborhood, it starts to feel a little bit not as special as it could. And so helping folks make their homes feel special and add some personality, and it's honestly an honor, and it's been really, really fun. It's one of those shows that the concept was so relatable, because so many people find themselves in that scenario.
The thing that I think most people overlook or underestimate the power of is a personal photo. And I know that sounds so silly, but it's something that's so easy. It's great to give as a gift, it's great to do for yourself, but going to Target and picking up a little frame, just a cute little frame. It's so easy, like a photo frame, and then printing on your home printer or even having it-- you can go to any of the retailers where you send the man on your phone and they get there like the next day.
Having photos framed-- they don't have to be professional photos. They can just be selfies or pictures of your kids, your dogs, whatever, it makes such a difference. And so that's the thing that I always tell my clients. I'm like, your house isn't done. I can redo your kitchen, I can rebuild your whole house for you, new floors, new paint, new everything, and until you have nice photos framed in your house, it's not done. And I think people underestimate the power of how personal that can make your home feel.
MARIANNE CANADA: I mean it is such a wonderful thing to have a camera that you carry around with you every day, but the worst thing is you never print those photos on the phone. It drives me crazy. You leveraged your knack for adding character to a basic space in Rock the Block Season 1 as well, which you won.
What are some of the unique things you did with that house? Because it truly was-- talk about cookie cutter. It was four of the exact same house. Like, they stamped them out.
JASMINE ROTH: I do a lot of work with my clients on HGTV, but off of TV, I've done a lot of new construction. And so as a developer, I have encountered that same challenge but in real life where I have investors, I'm trying to build a home that is going to feel very custom and it's going to feel like it has a lot of personality, but also appeal to as many possible buyers as it can. It's a tough balance, because you don't want your home to feel so boring that it appeals to everybody, but you also want to make sure that you're not kind of ruling out potential buyers.
I really went back to my roots at Rock the Block and I was like, I know how to do this I'm in. And I think there were things that we did where like I added that reclaimed elm on the ceiling, which I think in the main living room area, that statement ceiling, having that texture was really important.
And then just focusing on the function, really thinking through who might live in that house, and if they were going to come live there how I can make the house work better for them. And it was a broad them. Like, OK, it could be a family, it could be a multigenerational family, it could be just somebody who wants a little bit more space, because it was a pretty big house. Could be somebody with dogs. I tried to go through all the potential folks that might live there and then make sure that functionality-wise there was something for everybody.
And, yeah, I mean, a secret door between the main closet and the laundry room, I think that was really important. And because of where the house was located, the pool I think really sealed the deal, because it was really, really warm in Santa Clarita, California, and that pool, the minute we filled it with water, we all jumped in because it was so hot outside.
MARIANNE CANADA: I loved the lockers that you found at the flea market. People always want to know shopping tips and tricks like that. What are some of your favorite places or ways to find those unique pieces that really set your home apart? Because I love a good Facebook Marketplace find. I probably am on there every day.
JASMINE ROTH: I love Facebook Marketplace, although I will say I'm more of an old school Craigslist. I spend a lot of time on Craigslist. You can use things like Offer Up or First Dibs or those kinds of sites as well. If you want it to be a little bit more curated, Cherish is really good.
I mean, I get out there. I go to the antique swap meets regularly. I love a good yard sale. I think those are kind of coming back now, which is great. I've seen a few of my neighborhood, and I'm like, oh, yard sale. I forgot about those. Even a good antique mart and just kind of digging through stuff.
I also follow a lot of pickers on Instagram, and especially ones that are in my local area. For the last year and a half, I was on maternity leave for part of that time, and I go out and pick the way that I normally would, and so I would see one of my picker friends post something, and I'd be like, done, sold. And then I just have to send somebody to go pick it up, usually my husband.
In Season 2 of Help! I Wrecked My House, I used lockers a couple of times, like for a couple of different clients. I've been doing that for years and years. Anything that has that industrial feel to it is a great way to make a new space feel like it has character.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah it's just adds so much texture and actual functionality. I mean, you can put a lot of stuff in a locker. I put mine to the test in high school. But, yes, I want to talk-- I want to talk about your show. Season 2 of Help! I Wrecked My House just premiered last week on HGTV.
This show is so relatable. You come to the rescue of homeowners who are in way over their head with their DIY projects. And when I say over their head, I mean you're not kidding with the title. These people wrecked their house. It gives me so much secondhand anxiety. What are some of the worst things you've seen?
JASMINE ROTH: Oh my gosh. I mean, if you think that-- I mean, I'm sure that you've seen Season 1, and there were definitely some instances where all of us were like, oh my gosh. Like, what were they thinking? Season 2, it's a whole nother level. Honestly, this season was wild.
And people just-- they reached out. We had so many people reach out. And I think because people have been home and because people have been trying to DIY things themselves, unfortunately there have been a lot of folks that have found themselves in this position where they are. They're in way over their heads and they've literally wrecked their houses.
This season, probably the one that stands out the most in my mind is I had a family call me. They ripped the entire back of their house off and tried to build their own addition, and they got so far as pouring their own slab, but the whole back of their house was open, and they were ready to start their family, but they'd been working on this for three years.
MARIANNE CANADA: With no back on their house?
JASMINE ROTH: No. So every time it rained, they had to put tarps up, and it was a whole thing. And I was just like, oh my gosh, you guys. What have you done? You've really wrecked your house. And they were like, we wrecked our house.
I mean, I felt so bad for them, but it was so good that they were able to call me, we went in there, and obviously fixed their house, but it was a really big deal. And literally it's one story after another after another, just trying to figure out how to put these houses back together.
MARIANNE CANADA: People watch HGTV, and I feel like sometimes it gives them a false sense of how easy things are. We're always encouraging people to try to do things themselves, but in your opinion as a professional, are there some things that you should just never try to DIY?
JASMINE ROTH: Plumbing is one of the main ones. Not only is it something you shouldn't do yourself, but you should always pull permits and you should always get inspected. And I see it every single day where I'm like, if these folks had just done it right the first time, it would have cost them half as much. If you do your plumbing wrong and then you put your whole house back together, you install your tile, you install your cabinets, your flooring, if something leaks or goes wrong, you have to rip all that.
So electrical is another one of those things where I'm like, don't mess with it. It's dangerous. It has to be done correctly. There are people that are called electricians, and there's a reason that trade exists, because they are career electricians. That's all they do. And it's even hard for them still, and that's all they do.
MARIANNE CANADA: The other one I tell people is do not try to cut down a huge tree by yourself.
JASMINE ROTH: Couldn't agree more.
MARIANNE CANADA: It is hard, though. Even in this age of the internet and reviews, it's sometimes hard to find the right reliable person. Do you have some tips on doing research and finding those pros that can come to your rescue or hopefully do it right the first time?
JASMINE ROTH: The best thing that you can do is get a good referral. And word of mouth is a great way to do that, so literally, if you see a house in your neighborhood that you like the way that it looks on the exterior, like maybe they just did a renovation, leave a little note on their door. Just be like, hey, I love the way your house looks. I live right up the street. Can you text me the name of your contractor? Did you have a good experience?
It's a great way to get somebody's name that is somebody you'd want to work with, so just ask. Would you recommend them? And then when you do find somebody, it's really important to make sure that you ask for their license and their insurance. And if for any reason they think that-- they say anything like, oh, no, you don't need that or that's weird or anything like that, mm-mm. You're done.
You want to make sure that you're working with somebody that is licensed and insured, and if they are, they'll have no problem giving you that information. And it's also I think people get nervous to ask the hard questions, to put the budget in writing, to make sure you have a contract before you start any work, to make sure you have a pay schedule.
Like, I'm going to pay you this much upfront. It's not going to be more than like 25%. Then I'm going to pay you the biggest chunk of money when you finish the project, and that's just the way it's going to be. But just being a little bit savvy at the beginning and making sure that you're super upfront.
MARIANNE CANADA: That is the best advice, because I do think people fall in the trap of wanting to be nice. You're not not being nice by just wanting someone to do the work that you're paying them to do. What advice would you give someone listening who has found themselves in this situation, who has started a project that they feel overwhelmed by and maybe feel like they can't finish?
JASMINE ROTH: It happens to all of us. I've been there where I think something's going to be easy, I start a project, it doesn't go the way I planned, and all of a sudden I'm stuck, and then I have to go back to work, and then I have a bunch of other things happening and all of a sudden I'm over it, and it's half done and I don't know when I'm going to finish it.
Don't hesitate to call somebody who knows more than you do. You have a room that's half painted, call a painter. Let them come in. They have all the materials, they have all the ladders and the [INAUDIBLE] to get everything perfect and finished, and let them just finish it.
MARIANNE CANADA: Are there some DIYs that are easier than people think?
JASMINE ROTH: Painting a room I feel like is doable for most folks if you have the time. It's not crazy expensive. The materials also aren't prohibitively expensive. The other thing that I mentioned earlier is hanging things on your wall. All you need is to go to the hanging section of the hardware store, buy some hangers. You need a hammer. It's really something that if you can hang things on your walls, it will make your home feel finished.
MARIANNE CANADA: You have a book coming out. House Story: Insider Secrets to the Perfect Home Renovation. It's dropping in I think just two or three weeks, so I definitely want to congratulate you on that.
JASMINE ROTH: Thank you.
MARIANNE CANADA: I love the cover. It's got this dog nook that you created under your stairs, which is so clever, and I feel like that's like a Jasmine Roth signature. You're so good at making the most of these unused or awkward spaces. What are some other ways you like to take advantage of those spots?
JASMINE ROTH: This book it has all the tips and tricks as far as these secret spaces. And I think this is one of the things that people take construction so seriously, and when I first started into this construction world, I thought it was all very regimented rules, like you have to do this this way and this is the right way to do things. And I think that there's actually a lot more whimsy and a lot more opportunity for some fun in construction than any of us realize.
And I think it's just taking a space and thinking about how it might function differently. So I think there's some really fun ideas in this book. The photos are worth a thousand words. They're all projects that I've done for my friends or family, and so they're really personal to my family, and also just being able to see a secret room or a secret space a hidden space and be like, OK, what did she do?
And on TV, everything moves so fast. And I know. I have people that pause it and literally tag me on social media, and they're like, we're trying to figure out what you did here. So I wanted to take what you see on TV and just slow it down. So that's what this book is. It's just slowed down. You can literally sit, look at it, and then I explain what I did. And I think that it's helpful to have those tips.
MARIANNE CANADA: I just feel like you are a wealth of DIY information. Before you go, I would love for you to tell everyone where we can find you on social media and where and when we can watch your show or the latest show you have on HGTV, Help! I Wrecked My House.
JASMINE ROTH: Oh, of course. So you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter. Instagram, I'm JasmineRothOfficial. And so my show, Help! I Wrecked My House, is airing on HGTV or on the Discovery Plus app.
MARIANNE CANADA: All right, thank you.
JASMINE ROTH: Thank you so much.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MARIANNE CANADA: I mean, I've worked for HGTV for a long time and I am a crafter, but I rarely take on a more serious home renovation level DIY. I think I'm honestly too much of a perfectionist and would rather leave it to the pros. But you know who isn't like that? Our next guest, Ursula Carmona of the DIY and design blog, Homemade By Carmona. She is here to give us all of her DIY advice, tips, and tricks.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Ursula, thank you so much for joining us from your beautiful workshop. It's like a work of art.
URSULA CARMONA: It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
MARIANNE CANADA: Do you have your own neon sign behind you?
URSULA CARMONA: I do! I do. I just got this beauty, and I thought, hey, this is great to kind of put out there what my blog name is so everybody knows all the time.
MARIANNE CANADA: Amazing. Well, Ursula, we're so excited to have you on today because you're such an inspirational DIY authority. But I know that's been a work in progress along the years. What is your number one reason to DIY instead of hiring out for projects in your home?
URSULA CARMONA: Well, I'd have to say money. I mean, isn't that kind of how most people get started? DIY, it's like, hey, I really want to renovate this bathroom but it's just not in the budget, and so most of us get bit by the DIY bug just because of that. It's a little easier to take on projects, small things here and there, help negate some of the costs that come with it.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah. I mean, I think that is as good a reason as any, and in a lot of ways the best reason. But it can get away from you, right? You can get over your head, and that's something we're talking about a lot in this episode. We're talking to Jasmine Roth about her HGTV show, Help! I Wrecked My House. So I'd love for you to give your insight for someone out there who is maybe, like you, buying a home that's a bit of a mess, a bit of a hot mess. What is something you think someone should never try to DIY?
URSULA CARMONA: I've had to tell so many people, please, don't do anything structural on your own. They get excited. They're like, we're going to knock out this wall. And I'm like, baby, put the brakes on. Anything that might have coding issues at the end of the day when you're done doing it.
Even electrical, you could maybe replace a light fixture very easily and that's no problem. But say you're thinking about, hey, I'm going to go ahead and just move this box over over here and I'm going to do this thing over here, I think it's important to think about those things, because not only are we talking about the safety of you and your family, but also when you go to sell your house, if something is not to code, guess what. You're going to have to undo all of that hard work, and we don't want that to happen.
MARIANNE CANADA: There's a lot I will take on myself and DIY, but electrical, never, ever, ever. Safety first, right?
URSULA CARMONA: Absolutely. So that can be plumbing and electric, but those are the big things. I think most people, when they come into DIY, they want to start with small things, and those things are very doable. Something as simple as adding beautiful molding to your room, it can make a beautiful impact, and it's something that a homeowner can take on themselves.
Little things. Adding wallpaper. It doesn't have to be a huge remodel for you to do something that is going to really bring you the satisfaction of the fact that you did it yourself and you saved a few bucks along the way.
MARIANNE CANADA: Ursula, I want to know, where do you start? What is the very first thing you do when you're starting a project?
URSULA CARMONA: Oh, well, definitely making a plan. And I know that for a lot of people this doesn't sound like the glamorous side of things, but it doesn't mean it can't be a lot of fun. There's a process of creating a mood board. Whenever you grab all the little products and things out there that you see on the net and you think that's going to really look beautiful in your space. It can just be an inspiration.
But here's the thing, I think that it's important because the way DIYs get away from you, especially budget-wise, is when you don't have that plan in place in the very beginning. So when you know how much you're going to spend on something and you've actually looked up the supplies, whether it's raw materials or it's accessories or other things you're adding into this space, but you actually have a spreadsheet or something simple.
It doesn't have to be complicated, OK? Simple that you've gone and you put it all together. You have a good idea of both the layout and as well as how much you're going to spend on everything, and how much it's going to cost if you do have to bring in some pros to help do some aspect of your renovation.
MARIANNE CANADA: Now, you're joining us today from your beautiful workshop, so of course I want to talk about tools, because I know from your HGTV Handmade home tour that you've got some beautifully well-organized tools. But let's reach out to the beginners out there who maybe have left mom and dad's house with nothing more than a hammer. What are your top five must have tools in your DIY arsenal?
URSULA CARMONA: Yay. OK, I love talking about tools. I will tell you my top five, my favorites, but I do want to put a little caveat in there, which is that you don't have to go out and spend a ton of money on a bunch of fancy tools. Because when I started DIYing, I started with a jigsaw and a regular manual hammer, OK? And that was it. I didn't have a lot of special tools, but I grew into each one of my tools as I acquired each one. So just putting that out there.
But, now that being said, I'd have to say that some of my favorite tools are a sliding miter saw. If you're going to already by a miter saw, hey, why not go a little bit bigger if the budget can take it, because not only can you cut bare boards, but you can cut a variety of materials. So we're talking about your PVC material, metal materials, a variety of different things that you're going to be able to cut with that. So sliding miter saw, one.
I would say that a Craig jig really took my building game to the next level. So if you can go with a pocket hold jig, that is going to make building so much easier at the very beginning. You'll be able to do things like start making yourself some furniture, and you'll feel like you're just like the queen or king of the garage. You've got this down pat. But it would have been so much easier if you start with that particular type of tool.
Of course, this is the basics. You want to have a good drill. Again, fine, a hammer and nail is great. But if you can get a nice nailer to start with-- again, doesn't have to be anything expensive-- that will make your life a lot easier and makes projects a lot easier, and you're going to love it. Let's see, how many was that? Like, three, four.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh my goodness. Let's see, we said--
URSULA CARMONA: I would say a circular saw. A circular saw would be the last one. I think that's five right there. Those are the starter tools that I think every DIYer, if they can have it, they should.
MARIANNE CANADA: Wow, you've got me ready to head to the hardware store to fill in the blanks that I have in my own personal workshop. Ursula, you're such a prolific DIYer, but I have to ask, I know it is like choosing your favorite child, what is your favorite DIY to date, and what's coming next?
URSULA CARMONA: Ooh, oh, you're right. That is hard. Do I have to choose?
MARIANNE CANADA: You have to.
URSULA CARMONA: OK, twist my arm. My greenhouse. That has probably been one of the more favorite, top of the list DIYs because that challenged my skills. I wasn't sure if I could build a structure. I wasn't sure if I had gotten to that level yet, but I just used some recycled windows and put together a beautiful little greenhouse that I attached to my shed, my tool shed, and it is the space all summer long that I have been escaping to and planting my garden around. I just love it. So that was a big project. It was a big one.
MARIANNE CANADA: And what's on the horizon? What's your next project?
URSULA CARMONA: I do have a couple of big projects, but I can't reveal them just yet, so you're just going to have to follow along to find out more about them. But I will tell you about some small weekend projects that I've had going on. I'm trying to share more of those because I know that not everyone can take on a giant project.
And I always say sometimes it's the little things, like I just did my front door, which just required simple paint and a little bit of work here and there, some zhuzhing. And little projects like that. So I'm always doing some little projects.
Garden projects. I've got several garden projects since this is garden season at the moment. But the big ones, I'm sorry, I have to be mum for the moment.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, that's fine. You drive a hard bargain, but we'll just have to follow along and see what's coming. I'm glad you said the greenhouse, though, because that's my favorite project of yours, and it has really inspired me to try to zhuzh up my sad, sad little potting shed. We're going to work on that this fall.
URSULA CARMONA: All right.
MARIANNE CANADA: It's so fun to talk to you. You just have such a natural enthusiasm for DIY, and it's just so fun to get your advice and to see what you're going to do next. I hope you come back soon.
URSULA CARMONA: Oh, thank you so much for having me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MARIANNE CANADA: Ursula really knows her stuff. And even though I am not personally a huge DIYer, she is making me want to upgrade my tool situation with the jigsaw. I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with it first. I highly encourage you to follow Ursula on Instagram @HomemadeByCarmona, and check out her home tour on HGTV Handmade. We will drop that into the show notes.
A special thanks to both Ursula and Jasmine Roth for all of their DIY dos and don'ts today. You can catch new episodes of Help! I Wrecked My House Monday nights at 9:00 PM on HGTV and streaming now on Discovery Plus. You can also follow Jasmine on Instagram @JasmineRothOfficial.
You can learn more about all of our guests by checking out our show notes at HGTV.com/podcast. And as usual, if you loved today's episode, head over an Apple Podcast to rate and review HGTV Obsessed. I would personally love it if you guys shared some of your DIY disasters in the reviews. And give us five stars, you guys. Don't forget to follow HGTV Obsessed wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode, and I'll see you next Thursday.