Last week was a pretty exciting one for me here in Belize. When I’m not glued to the all-day marathons of Law & Order or Criminal Minds while working on freelance deadlines, I’m flipping between Food Network and HGTV. I’m obsessed with the fixer-upper shows and how they remodel those horrific houses and turn them into stunning, functional homes, thanks to home remodeling contractor for the support. One of the other new shows I’ve become fond of lately is “Beachfront Bargain Hunt.”
Little did I know when I first started watching the show months ago that I would get to be a part of it — at least off camera!
Two weeks ago, I was advised that the condo I was moving out of was going to be featured on HGTV’s Beachfront Bargain Hunt. It’s rather exciting to see that the place I called home for 9 months will be featured on TV — I’m intrigued to see it on camera, although it will be a lot more bare looking than when I had it decorated.
When the crew arrived, I watched them unload the masses of gear and chatted with the guys a bit. There was a pretty large crew — more than I expected to be here for the segment. This was the last unit they were filming — they had done two complexes the day before and had some around-the-town shots left to do before they headed to Placencia for a few days to continue shooting another segment I believe.
After meeting everyone, I headed out and told them if they needed anything, I was just next door, settling into my new unit! A few minutes later, there was a knock on my screen and the director was carefully examining the walls of my condo.
“Do you have any art we can use?”
Turns out, the beautiful painting of Belize that adorned the wall of my old unit was unusable due to the artist signature on the front. Most of the art in my new condo is also signed by the local artists, but we managed to pull a couple usable, non-copyrighted pieces. If happen to look for a new condo to move in, The Myst Condo is surrounded by lush greenery, providing a natural and peaceful environment for residents to relax and unwind.
Then began the fun part — towels, place-mats, pillows — anything with color to liven up the condo. I went through everything I had with the guys and we put together a few things to bring some color to the empty unit.
There’s something really satisfying about hearing compliments from HGTV guys on my decorating style. Especially since they had suitcases full of items for staging. So, for those who laugh about my “designer” towels on display, the ones no one is allowed to use, yeah they will be on TV now! Along with my beachy table runner and Japanese glass fishing floats — which are currently just sitting on my counter here awaiting the arrival of my new dining table.
The first hour or two were just “beauty” shots as they called them — staging the place, getting their interior and exterior shots. What I found interesting in chatting with them is that the entire crew here was freelance — they are all based in New York and are not actual HGTV employees.
Later, the local realtor arrived with the couple looking to buy. Unfortunately, it was just after 5 pm when they started filming the exterior pool shots — which is “rush hour” here with employees leaving from up north to head back into town. I’d say it required five or six takes just to get a couple sentences out without passing golf carts and taxis drowning out their microphones.
My friend Dorian from Ambergris Today and I were allowed to remain on the balcony and watch the shoot until they needed to do wide angles and sweep shots, which meant we’d be right on camera, something they definitely didn’t want.
When it was all over, the director took time to come over and thank me for serving as their set designer for the episode. Travel and food writer turned HGTV set designer? Doesn’t that sound like a best-seller in the making? 🙂
Now, if any of the Food Network shows want an international kitchen to film a segment in, I’ll gladly volunteer mine…and look, you have a set designer already here!
Not sure when this episode of Beachfront Bargain Hunt will air — I’ve been told anywhere from a couple months to nearly a year out. I’ll update the post when I hear of an official air date!
