HGTV’s ‘Totally ’90s House’ Cast on Team Dynamics, Design Experience, and More (Exclusive)

Some of the biggest stars of the 1990s are returning to television for HGTV’s newest renovation competition, Totally ’90s House. Beverley Mitchell, Brian Austin Green, and Jodie Sweetin are teamed up against Keshia Knight Pulliam, Melissa Joan Hart, and Matthew Lawrence (with help from Joey Lawrence) in a competition to give a home from the ’90s a major makeover.

“We had so much fun as a team, not just when we were working, but we spent time outside of work together, and we really bonded and enjoyed each other,” Sweetin told TV Insider. “And I think that’s why, also, we were able to make, like … we had really strong choices, and we were able to feel like we communicated really well amongst each other because we were friends, and it was good. Bev and I, I mean, we’re insane, and we drive Brian nuts most of the time. But he was good, and he fit right into our crew.”

Green added, “We haven’t seen each other much since the show because we’re busy and we live in different areas, and Jodie’s out doing shows and stuff all the time. But it’s really nice seeing the two of them now because I feel like we created a very genuine bond. It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, we did a show, so we got along great while we were on camera.’ But I see the two of them now, and I don’t feel like I have to be on or like, ‘Oh, it’s an interview day,’ so we’re putting on the mask of like, ‘Hey, this is a great time.’ Like, I’m genuinely happy to see both of them, and I know when we see each other again, we have to work on more stuff, which I’m looking forward to. We have that, and it’s really great. There aren’t many times in this business where you find people that genuinely connect, and I feel like we really did.”

Mitchell, meanwhile, reflected on the “field trips” she and her teammates took to bond outside of filming. “The greatest thing was feeling so comfortable when you’re working in such an intimate setting, and we could trust each other,” she continued. “And that’s also why if we really felt strongly about something, we could put our foot down and say, ‘No, I feel strongly about this.’ And there was so much respect amongst all three of us. I think it was really, really wonderful. Jodie and I have been friends forever, and Brian is like my big brother now. I love these people so much, and that was what made this show so incredible.”

HGTV

The teams also worked with mentors to help them throughout the design process. Mitchell, Green, and Sweetin were teamed up with Sabrina Soto. “The best part about Sabrina is she was honest,” Green pointed out. “She did not sugarcoat anything, so she came in, and she truly was — she was hard on us, but in the best way, because she didn’t come in just being like, ‘Oh, yeah. You guys get a free pass. That was really cute. You tried’. It was like, ‘No, no, no. Think about this. Think about this. Think about this. Did you think about it?’”

Lawrence, Knight Pulliam, and Hart agreed that their mentor, Carter Oosterhouse, was a powerhouse. “We did this little side build together, and we had fun. He was a great guy,” Lawrence said, while Knight Pulliam added, “He was super easy to work with, had some really great ideas. And I think the biggest thing that I liked is that he also gave us space to be us and to do the things that we really wanted to do. And [he] came from, ‘OK, how do I support you in that vision?’ Of course, you know, giving us a little devil’s advocate along the way, but I appreciated him just allowing us to just go for it.”

Below, the stars dish on their past design experience and reveal who was into HGTV before the series. Scroll down for more.

Were you guys HGTV fans before getting the call to join the show? What were your aspirations about home design and renovation?

Beverley Mitchell: It’s been my dream to be on HGTV because I love all things home, so this is like really a dream come true for me.

HGTV

Brian Austin Green: I do a lot of DIY at home. I’m always building stuff. And I watched a lot of HGTV when I was younger. And then, I’ve had a lot of homes, like, refurbished and stuff while I’ve lived in them. So, I’m one of those guys that sits and watches and just frustrates everyone that’s building. Like, ‘Why is this guy just standing, watching?’ I’m one of those homeowners. But it was incredibly fun to then be on set doing this because it was unbelievable what I learned. What we got to do together as a team, it was incredible. It was really fun.

Jodie Sweetin: I watched some HGTV, but I am definitely the newbie to the home design stuff in a lot of ways. I have remodeled homes and all of that, but I’m one of those people [where] the DIY is a lot sometimes. So, it was fun to work with really great and talented designers, and also to learn from them and the tips and stuff that they would give. It was really fun. I learned a lot.

Keshia Knight Pulliam: I was absolutely an HGTV fan before this. I love home renos, whether it’s a business or a house or a bathroom or a kitchen. It’s something that I’ve done for a long time on my own, but definitely inspiration from all the HGTV shows from back in the day to now. So, I was excited.

Melissa Joan Hart: I’ll say, I did not really watch HGTV very much before. I don’t watch a lot of television at all, but I’m still one of those — I flip through the magazines. I love nothing more than a good renovation and have done it on numerous homes. But I love just getting a good old-fashioned magazine, if you still can, flipping through it, doing tear-outs, having a file where you have all the inspiration pictures, and working with either a designer, an architect, or just my husband because we have a lot of different opinions.

Joey Lawrence: I’ve watched a little HGTV, a little bit here and there. Love It or List It, I like that show. I watch that. I used to watch that.

Matthew Lawrence: I travel a lot, and you can go all over the world, man, and you’ll see HGTV playing in the most random airports, bus stops. And I’m like, “I am on the other side of the world.”

You guys have all been on different kinds of competition shows in the past. What made this experience different than those?

Sweetin: I’m a super newbie to home construction, design stuff. So, this was, like, way out of my comfort zone. You know? I’ve danced. I can cook, can do all of that. But this was something I’d never really played with before.

HGTV

Mitchell: There is a competition element with the construction, but also, we were so head-in-the-game about our home and making those right choices that oftentimes, we had to be reminded that it was a competition because we were just so focused on doing what was right between the three of us for our homeowner. So, that was always our focus. It was different because the competition wasn’t front of mind at all times, whereas other competition shows, you’re literally battling every damn day and trying not to die.

Green: For us, the win every day was constantly the homeowners and, like, ‘Oh, my God. They’re gonna love this.’ That was the win. If we got to the end of the episode and we lost a room, but the homeowners loved it, that was honestly all that mattered to us, to the point where HGTV and producers of the show were like, “This is a competition. Don’t you want to win?’ We were like, ‘We already won!’ It’s like, ‘No, you didn’t. Stop saying that you won, ‘cause you haven’t won anything.”

The homeowner definitely plays a big role in the show because at the end of the day, you are designing these people’s houses. So, was that hard to kind of put aside your own personal design taste to create something that the homeowner would like?

Green: Not for me, it wasn’t. We knew their story, we knew their family, we knew what they did, how they lived, so it was important to us. It was important for us to make sure that they were honored in all the choices that we made, and that we made choices that worked for their family and their lifestyle. If they do these big dinners and these big social gatherings as a family, then let’s make sure that this house is built for that.

HGTV

Mitchell: No. I don’t think for any of us. I think from the moment we met them, it was very clear that we were — and it was a short time, to be honest, that we had with them. But we could instantly kind of get their vibe and understand them. And so, from the very beginning, it was clear to all three of us that this was paramount, was making sure that our homeowners were happy.

Matthew Lawrence: Absolutely. That was one of the biggest parts of at least what we did with our team in our house. I know, for me, the beachy, cottagey thing, it’s not my vibe at all. I’m beach, but I’m like Bali, tropical, modern tropicalism. Stuff like that. I love that. This was totally different, so I had to put a lot aside because, like, creams and blues and curtains — it’s not my thing, generally speaking, at all. But you know what? I was really pleased, and thank goodness I had such an amazing team that understood and could picture all those colors and things together, because I couldn’t. I was like, “OK, give me a hammer to break down something. If you need something screwed in, or when it’s finished, if you want my opinion, great.” But I’m definitely more in the building process type of thing.

Joey Lawrence: I think we were very unselfish as a team, and I don’t think it was any of our personal styles, actually. But we really kept the owner in mind. It’s her house, right? I mean, it would have been very easy for us to take an ego trip and just design it the way that we want to. And honestly, you know, in terms of wow factor and things, I think that we could have easily come together and created something that we all personally loved. But it was her house, so we had to make it for her, and that’s really a challenge in itself. Not just renovating a home and taking it out of the ’90s, but making it for the owner that actually still wants to be in the ’90s. That was our challenge because how do you do that?

Knight Pulliam: I think the other piece of it is, is that, yes, we’re doing a show, but ultimately, this is someone’s life. This is a home that they’ve worked for, and I know for us, a win was making sure that when Patti entered that home, that she was just floored, ecstatic, happy that we exceeded her wildest dreams. So, that’s what makes it easy when you recognize that it isn’t about you, but it is about how do you bring this homeowner’s dream and vision to fruition. And for that, that’s the win for us. The win is understanding and recognizing that Patti, who’s had decades of life and experiences and memories and holidays in this house, that now we’re giving her something that she can create further memories and leave as a legacy for her family.

Hart: We considered not doing her house at first because it was such a museum to her family and her life, and it was intimidating going in and changing that for her and not knowing if she’s gonna like what we do. But I did like the marching orders of … she wanted this French cottage feel plus a beachy vibe, and like, putting those two things together. When you give me a theme, I will run with it. So, having that theme really, I think, helped solidify the vision for it, as opposed to if it had just been like, “Well, make it modern.” That would have been too vague, right? We could have gone in so many different directions, but having that sort of way to hone in really helped.

Totally ’90s House, Series Premiere, Wednesday, August 26, 9/8c, HGTV

—Reporting by Paige Strout