Designing Christmas

Production Notes

Stella Murphy (Jessica Szohr) and Pablo Belmonte (Marco Grazzini) have been co-hosts of the renovation show “House Sweet Home” for six years, entertaining viewers with their sharp banter and often opposing styles, while thrilling homeowners with stunning transformations. But their latest makeover hits a lot closer to home…and this time it’s personal.

After many successful seasons, “House Sweet Home” could be on the brink of cancellation as ratings have fallen. Everything is riding on the all-important Christmas episode…when the prospective homeowner suddenly backs out. With no time to find another option—and over Stella’s strong protestations—Pablo and their show’s producer, Zoe, decide on a new plan of action: they will renovate the house on which Stella just closed escrow: a Victorian home in Lexington, Virginia, that was built by her great-great grandparents in 1910. Adding to the draw, Stella’s fiancé, Jack (Mykee Selkin) suggests they combine the reveal with their own onsite wedding…live on Christmas Eve.

With only a few weeks to transform the early-20th-century house that, in the early 21st century, has essentially gone to ruin, not to mention plan a wedding, Stella knows she needs reinforcements. She enlists her friend and mentor, Frederica “Freddy” Greene (Hilary Farr), who is not only an expert on historic homes but also shares Stella’s design aesthetic, which clashes with Pablo’s. Stella wants to restore the once-beautiful house, where she has so many happy childhood memories. Pablo, whose standard approach is summed up in his nickname, “The Sledgehammer,” wants to take down walls and paint or replace…well…everything.

However, as the two work closely together and uncover hidden truths, about the house and each other, the foundation of their relationship begins to shift. And what began as another renovation project just might become a labor of love.

“Designing Christmas” was directed by Pat Mills from a screenplay by Michael J. Murray. Shane Boucher and Caitlin Delaney produced the film, with Ryan Greig and Franca Visconti serving as supervising producers. The executive producers are Suzanne Berger and Arnie Zipursky for Neshama Entertainment; Sheri Singer and Jane Latman for Discovery; Danielle von Zerneck for Wishing Floor Films; and Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment.

The film stars Jessica Szohr as Stella Murphy, Marco Grazzini as Pablo Belmonte, Mykee Selkin as Jack Hale, Leighton Williams as Gabe, Fiona Highet as Sue Murphy, Nicole Power as Zoe, with popular HGTV star Hilary Farr as Freddy.

Behind the camera, Mills teamed with director of photography Peter Benison, production designer Joey Gunn, editor Gloria Tong, and costume designer Jennifer Stroud. The music is by Steph Copeland.

One of the first scripted movies from HGTV, to be presented on Discovery+, “Designing Christmas” is a MarVista Entertainment Production in association with Neshama Entertainment.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

It is undeniable that shows about home renovation, redesign, reconstruction and real estate have grown exponentially in popularity, turning aspiration into inspiration, and inspiration into realization. Since 1994, HGTV has been at the forefront of that surge, with top-rated series that have made stars out of its charismatic designers, contractors and realtors. So it seems a natural choice that one of their first scripted holiday movies would center around a home renovation series.

Director Pat Mills offers, “Our film has all the elements that people want from these movies—it’s romantic, touching and funny. And there is a fresh, new element as it takes audiences behind the scenes of a home renovation show and into the personal lives of the hosts. But in our story, it is not only the house that is being transformed, it is also the lives and relationships of the people transforming it.”

Jessica Szohr, who stars as one of those hosts, says that renovation can, in fact, change your perspective. “To me, homes are where you spend so much of your lives with your family and friends and you’re creating memories. So when you watch those shows where a designer is helping people make their house a home, I think that’s really lovely because we do spend a lot of our time there. So why not make it a place that you feel alive and happy to be there?”

Starring opposite Szohr, Marco Grazzini adds, “A space can communicate so much of your personality and it can actually shift your mood. Even changing the temperature of a light, or tying in colors will make a space feel better. And if you’re spending the majority of your time in that space, whatever it may be, I think you owe it to yourself to do that.”

Mills says when he got the script, “I really responded to it. The writer, Michael Murray, also wrote ‘The Christmas Setup,’ which is another movie I directed, and I worked on that film with several members of the producing team as well. We’d already established a great working relationship, so I jumped at the chance to team with them again, especially on a ‘first’ for HGTV.”

The actors were equally honored to be involved in one of HGTV’s inaugural scripted movies. “I think everyone is super happy to be a part of this. I’m excited for everyone to tune in,” Szohr enthuses.

Grazzini concurs, “I’m proud to be in one of the first scripted holiday movies for HGTV. It’s always nice to be at the forefront.”

HGTV star Hilary Farr is especially gratified to share in her network’s new venture. “It’s exciting. I love riding the wave of something new, and I hope there are many more to come.”

In “Designing Christmas” Szohr and Grazzini star respectively as Stella Murphy and Pablo Belmonte the hosts of the hit series “House Sweet Home,” but after six seasons, the show’s ratings are slipping and they are each facing life decisions that could affect their futures. Mills relates, “I think one of the running themes of the film is about trusting your gut, following your dreams and having the courage to go after what you really want.”

On the surface, it does seem that Stella is already living the dream. Szohr notes, “She loves interior designing, and is the co-host of her own long-running show and has a great connection with her co-host, Pablo. She is also engaged to be married and planning her wedding to Jack.”

Inwardly, however, “Stella is questioning certain things in her life, in her relationships, and in her job,” Szohr continues. “Everything might not be as perfect as it appears. I think there is a realness in the way she is reevaluating things that is very relatable. I was drawn to the character because she is an independent woman and such a hard worker with a very positive energy. I had so much fun playing her.”

Like Stella, Pablo is at a crossroads in his life, but for different reasons. Grazzini offers, “Pablo is a contractor with kind of a rough exterior; he keeps things close to the vest and doesn’t express himself too much. His longtime co-host, Stella, is engaged to be married, and Pablo might have some feelings that go beyond the work colleague rapport, so it definitely gets a little interesting. Ultimately, he is a goodhearted person who genuinely enjoys helping people, and I appreciated the comedic sensibilities Pablo has—very dry, very sarcastic—which is something I share with him.”

“It was vital that we believe that Stella and Pablo have been friends and colleagues for six years, but there might be something more brewing between them,” says Mills. “From the start, Jessica and Marco had fantastic chemistry, which really comes across onscreen.”

Both actors attest that the chemistry came easy. “It was such a joy acting opposite Marco,” Szohr remarks. “We had a wonderful time bringing these characters to life.”

Grazzini adds, “Working with Jessica put a smile on my face every day. We had huge laughs, which is a gift on some of those long 15-hour days. It was a complete blast being part of this movie.”

Stella and Pablo, along with the entire production team of “House Sweet Home,” are looking forward to the Christmas episode, the success or failure of which could either mean renewal or cancellation. When the original homeowners who were slated for the all-important segment pull out at the last minute, all eyes turn to Stella, who has just closed escrow on the Victorian house that had once belonged to her great-great grandmother.

Stella is already reluctant to allow a camera crew into her beloved historic home, let alone Pablo, who’s earned the nickname “The Sledgehammer” for a reason. But the situation becomes even more challenging for her when her fiancé, Jack Hale, comes up with an idea. Why not move the wedding up to Christmas Eve and combine the nuptials with the reveal of their new home? The show’s producer, Zoe, sees the suggestion as an irresistible ratings grab, and Jack knows it could also benefit the launch of his new line of paint, with plans to go public.

Describing his character, Mykee Selkin says, “Jack is an entrepreneur and a marketing guru who is a very calculated guy. His taste is more modern than Stella’s; he likes bold colors and clean lines, so he has his doubts about a 100-year-old house. But I think he changes for the better as he learns that everything isn’t always about business.”

Having no other options open to them, Stella consents to the plan, but she will need a lot of help to renovate the once-grand Victorian house that has admittedly seen better days. Hilary Farr, the co-host of HGTV’s popular series “Love It or List It,” joins the cast as top designer and Stella’s mentor, Frederica Greene, better known as Freddy, who comes to Stella’s rescue.

“Stella was one of Freddy’s protégés and they have since become good friends,” says Farr. “She thinks Stella is a very talented and clever young woman until she makes silly mistakes, and then its Freddy’s job to keep her on track…in love and design,” she smiles.

“Hilary is so charming in the role of Freddy, who was somewhat based on her own persona,” Mills states. “She has so much charisma and is a really good actor. It was great to work with somebody who is up for anything, and she was.”

Szohr agrees. “Hilary is just lovely and sweet and we had a great time. I loved the dynamic between our characters. Freddy took Stella under her wing and helped take Stella to where she is in her career and Stella still looks up to her.”

“Most of my scenes are with Jessica, and she is everything that her character is,” Farr remarks. “She’s warm, she’s smart, she’s funny…she’s an absolute delight.”

Speaking from a designer’s perspective, Farr observes, “At the heart of this film is Stella’s grandmother’s house, and the memories that she has from past Christmases and how precious those are. Her wish is to somehow bring that back. I think that will resonate for all of us who remember Christmases that we’ve had over the years with some of our relatives who have passed on and friends who are no longer with us. I think that’s relevant to us all. And I think it’s very heartwarming to understand that new friends and new memories can be just as fabulous.”

Szohr and Grazzini both concur that working together on the house does impact the lives of both Stella and Pablo. Szohr affirms, “I think through going back to buy her great-great-grandmother’s house, she learns certain things from Pablo and does figure out some things out about the next chapter of her life.”

“I think Stella is a big factor of change in Pablo’s life because he wasn’t somebody who valued tradition,” Grazzini reflects. “He had all these hang-ups about Christmas because his own experiences with family were lacking. So by seeing the joy on her face and how much it meant to her, Pablo comes to the realization that he can change his story moving forward and maybe create something special with Stella.”

The main cast of “Designing Christmas” also includes Leighton Williams as Pablo’s construction partner, Gabe; Fiona Highet as Stella’s supportive mom, Sue Murphy; Eugene Clark as Vern, Nicole Power as Zoe, the producer of “House Sweet Home,” and HGTV’s own Hilary Farr as Frederica “Freddy” Greene.

DESIGN WITHIN THE DESIGN

“Designing Christmas” was filmed on location, with Ottawa, Canada, standing in for Lexington, Virginia. “I’m from Ottawa originally, so it was wonderful to come back to my hometown and shoot a movie,” Mills states.

Production designer Joey Gunn says that working on the first movie under the HGTV banner had some intrinsic benefits. “HGTV inspired us several ways. We worked closely with the writer, Michael Murray and we looked at shows that specific HGTV talent are on. And one of the things we also leaned on was the HGTV viewer. We assumed that they would have an education about how these renovations are is done and would have an eye for beautiful design and the finishing work that you see on the sets.”

Interestingly, Mills reveals that all the design work “was shot in reverse. We shot the ‘before’ last, so instead of building up, we started at the completed stage, and worked our way back, taking off the layers of restoration.”

One of the biggest and most important transformations was in the kitchen. Gunn details, “We wanted to pay respect to the Victorian look, as well as matching some of the newer things that a designer would bring into this. There are herringbone counter tops all throughout, as well as a gorgeous Victorian green that was actually chosen specifically for this.”

In keeping with the Victorian-era décor, Black and copper are very prominent in the space, including the major appliances, as well as the hand-hammered copper sink with a matching burnished copper faucet. Gunn says that set decorator “did a fantastic job getting together all those hand-hammered copper items.”

As is often the case, “Designing Christmas” was set in the winter but filmed in the summer. “Winter in summer is hard; there are no two ways about it,” Gunn asserts. “It involves a lot of fake snow, which can be hard to work with and even harder to clean up. The special effects team just hustled; I’m always in awe at how hard those guys work.”

Szohr recalls, “It was wild to shoot a Christmas movie and pretend like it’s cold and snowing in June. But I would have Christmas every day of my life if I could. On my bucket list as an actor was to do a holiday film, where it’s full-on Christmas the whole time–gifts, decorations, cookies, the music, the snow… I couldn’t have been more thrilled to be doing this movie.”

“You see the Christmas trees around you and the fake snow on the ground, and you’re just magically transported,” Grazzini shares.

“Shooting a Christmas movie when it’s hot and humid outside is very odd, because your body gets a bit confused,” Mills reveals. “There’s fake snow around you, and when the wind blows you don’t quite know what your body temperature is. I was thinking, ‘Am I actually cold right now?’ It kind of messes with you,” he laughs.

Nevertheless, the director concludes, “Making this movie was so much fun. Everybody got along extremely well, and I think the joy of the set comes across on screen, with a nice little Christmas bow on top of everything.”