Designing a home that’s both functional and comfortable can feel like an uphill battle, but with Jasmine Roth at the helm, that challenge becomes an exciting design-driven masterclass. The host of HGTV’s hit show "Help! I Wrecked My House" and founder of Built Custom Homes, Jasmine is no stranger to a peak transformation process. Since launching her career in 2012, she’s become the go-to expert for homeowners looking to strike the perfect balance between comfort and style. Whether she’s rescuing a DIY disaster or building custom dream homes, Jasmine offers her signature blend of innovation and approachability to every job. Alongside the support of her family, Jasmine continues to redefine what it means to build a home where happiness takes top priority.
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Jasmine Roth offers advice to anyone on their own custom home journey, insight into what it’s like being a female founder in a male-dominated industry and a behind-the-scenes look at her HGTV show, "HELP! I Wrecked My House."
See Also: Behind The Scenes: Designer Ali Budd On Her Hulu Show, House of Ali
Can you elaborate on the origins of your mantra, “Build Your Happy,” and how it comes to life in your various projects?
This “Build Your Happy” mantra came about as we started thinking about happiness in general. It's kind of what we're all striving for; whether it's in a home renovation project, in our personal lives, in our career lives, or as parents, we're all just trying to be happy. And what does that mean? And how do we accomplish that? And is that even realistic? Can you accomplish it, or is it more of a process? And so what I landed on is that just like building, it's always a process. And so building your happy is much more about celebrating the journey than it is about the destination. One of the ways that I really like to build my happy is by celebrating the wins—celebrating small moments that incrementally add up to this overall feeling of happiness.
Hosting HGTV’s hit shows "Hidden Potential" and "HELP! I Wrecked My House" has brought your expertise to a wider audience. What have been the most exciting and rewarding parts of these experiences, and how did the opportunity to host these shows come about?
I accidentally got into construction back in 2012. It was something I never thought I would do for a long-term career—when you're doing a house for your own family, you never think, ‘This is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life.’ I really, really enjoyed every single moment of it—even the hard ones. I knew nothing when I started so I relied a lot on magazines [and] on folks that were already in this industry—all these great people who are putting out all this amazing content. That really helped me get my foot in the door and feel confident going into my own projects. I felt like I was a consumer of this kind of amazing content. My goal was to become a creator, and someday, I would know enough, and I would give back to this community that helped me launch my dream career. I think my TV show is just a really great way of doing that.
The home building industry is often seen as male-dominated. Can you share your experiences and challenges as a leading business founder and female figure in this space? How have you navigated the dynamics?
The industry is very male-dominated. I always say I wish that somebody, when I was in high school, told me, ‘Hey, by the way, you could build houses, or you could be an architect, or you could be an engineer, or you could do all these things in the home building industry.’ Nobody ever came to me and was like, ‘Hey, you could be a plumber or an electrician.’ It just wasn't even something that was brought up. The more that we see women in this industry, the more we're shining a spotlight on it.
I'm filling a role that not very many women are able to do at this point, just because it's not something that people are used to seeing, but the more that’s seen, the more it becomes normalized. My daughter is four years old, and in her world, women build houses. And they're in charge. And when we show up on the job site, she knows who's in charge. I love the idea of the next generation being able to watch my show, watch other HGTV shows and see that women can build houses. Why the heck not? You know, go for it.
What would be your top piece of advice for those embarking on the journey of building a custom home from scratch?
I would recommend buying my book, "House Story: Insider Secrets to the Perfect Home Renovation." It's a guide to home renovations and new construction. The reason I love that book is because it includes the checklists that I use on my construction sites every single day. Also, don't underestimate the amount of organization it's going to take to actually complete a project. Everybody needs to be insured. Everything needs to be done with permits and licenses. It's not sexy, but it's what's important when it comes to actually taking on a project because, for most of us, this is a big investment, and we want to make sure we protect our investment as well.
What do you want to feel when you walk into a place? Maybe you want your house to be super calm because your job is super motivating and high-stress. Maybe you're constantly on the go, you walk into your home, and you just wanna be like, ‘Ah, it feels like a spa.’ So I think asking yourself the hard questions is the best place to start. What are you looking for out of your home? What is it that your home needs to be doing that it’s not currently doing? And that could be from an organization standpoint, that could be from a, well, ‘I really wish I could entertain, but my kitchen is really small and closed off.’ And then also just taking a hard look at how you actually live.
How has your design philosophy evolved over the years, particularly as you've transitioned into motherhood?
Since I became a parent, I would say that my design style has calmed down a lot. Parenting is one of the most rewarding, but also the most hectic experiences I've ever had because you just never know, and you can't predict exactly what's next. You're raising a human, and that human has their own ideas, their own agenda and their own little friends. Everything's a lot louder, and a lot messier, which I love. I think that has led me toward a design style that is a little bit more calmed down.
We're still mixing a lot of textures and different tones and hues, but I’ve definitely calmed down with some of my use of color and now try to avoid clutter. I want my home to be a backdrop that's calm and relaxing, and then we can insert the mayhem.
What are you most looking forward to as you prepare for baby number two?
We are in the process of finishing a home here in Park City, and I can't wait to share it with everybody, but especially with myself, because I need to move in. I'm eight-plus months pregnant, and the baby's coming, so I'm trying to finish a house for us here. I'm really looking forward to seeing my daughter become a big sister. She's so excited. She’ll be four and a half when the baby's born, so she's really excited to help.
Fans are always eager for what’s next. Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations they should be excited about?
My show is moving to Utah, which means that we are currently looking for families who might be eligible to be on our show. So we’re casting for season five of “Help! I Wrecked My House.” I’ve been in California since I started, and while I've done a lot of work in Utah, I've never done TV in Utah. So I'm very excited to share some new stories and help some new families here in Utah.
