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The fabrics in the living ver wonder what it would be like to buy your house room soften the feel on HGTV’s hit show “House Hunters”? Well, meet of this area, which is a Deke Lee and Joseph Rogers, owners of the Avantplace that begs to be relaxed in. The sofa, garde Salons in Destin. The young, professional chairs and rug are couple was featured on the show on Jan. 22, 2013, and shared all in a similar color family, so gold-leaf was some insight on what it’s like behind the scenes. applied to a couple Lee and Rogers are passionate about the salons they co-own. demi-lune side tables Lee manages the business side of things, while Rogers founded for shimmer, texture and contrast. Thick the salons and is a stylist. The couple loves to travel, especially acrylic legs were added to New Orleans, where they own a second home. They have a to the custom greyed core group of friends and relish time spent around the dinner oak slab coffee table to lighten the visual table enjoying wine. “volume” of the piece, Their longtime friend and Re/Max realtor, Destin Lowery, since the sofa and chairs already have a has been selling real estate on the Emerald Coast with the Suheavy presence. sie Kirkland team for 15 years. Lowery had the opportunity to work with HGTV and “House Hunters” for the first time in 2011. Her clients at the time were looking to move to Destin from Atlanta and applied to the show on a whim. HGTV loved the idea of Destin Lowery selling real estate in Destin, and after a few video interviews it was lights, camera, action! “The network loved the first show we did in Destin and called me to see if there were any other interesting buyers willing to do the show,” said Lowery. “I was showing property to Joseph and Deke at the time and knew they would be perfect. They have great personalities and are obviously good looking guys. Plus I knew they would be doing a great renovation.” Initially the couple declined HGTV’s offer to do the show. “We told them no because we are very private people,” said Rogers. The show’s producer won them over by promising to promote their salons, and they caved. After all is said and done, Lee and Rogers admit that the “House Hunting” experience exceeded their expectations, and they recently filmed a segment of “House Hunters: Where Are They Now,” which is expected to air in December 2013 or January 2014.
Behind the Scenes
Everybody knows that a little drama makes good television, and that is exactly what the producers of “House Hunters” are looking for. Lee was interested in a condominium with an ocean view, while Rogers preferred the privacy and space of a single-family home. “The producers want the couple to disagree on their likes and dislikes,” said Lowery. “This way you don’t know which property they’re going to pick, and it keeps the viewer guessing.”
The three homes Lee and Rogers viewed on-air were the only properties they looked at. They looked at a condominium in Silver Shells Beach Resort, a single-family home in Regatta Bay and a condominium in One Water Place in Kelley Plantation. “Coming from the perfect house, we were extremely picky in what we would look at,” said Lee. “It was very easy to take things off our list.” The on-site “House Hunters” crew consisted of one producer, one cameraman and one sound technician. Filming involved of four eight-to nine-hour days, plus an additional day to film the finale. “The first few hours of filming were nerve-racking, but then we loved it,” said Rogers. If Lee or Rogers said something the producer liked she would have them repeat it several times so they could shoot it from different angles and sometimes rephrase the comment to add more pizzazz. “When we were viewing the condo in One Water Place I said, ‘I don’t care for the floors.’ Immediately I hear, ‘Cut!’” said Rogers. “The producer had me say, ‘I hate the floors,’ and that is what’s on-air!” After a while the couple would forget that they were filming, which according to Rogers was a good and bad thing. “The funny part is that you forget you are hooked up to a mic,” said Rogers. “So even when you are not in the same room as the crew they can hear you.” Lee and Rogers were outside discussing a property, and Rogers commented on how the producer would not like a scene. “When we came back inside the producer let us know we were right and that she would not like the scene,” said Lee. “Then she reminded us we were EmeraldCoastMagazine.com October–November 2013
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