Jessica Alba, Lizzy Mathis: 'Honest Renovations' build families, too
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis said their show, Honest Renovations, Season 2 premiering Friday on the Roku channel, chooses families as carefully as their housing projects.
In the show, Alba and Mathis lead renovations for families with changing spacial needs as they grow.
"We were also trying to look for families that were quite diverse in their needs," Alba told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "We also wanted to have multi-generation [families] raising kids in a house because that's frankly how I grew up, Lizzie, also."
One of the Season 2 renovations includes giving a family's grandmother her own room.
"Having our grandparents around and living under one roof was such a privilege for us," Alba said. "We're like, 'Oh, we've got to find families that are also doing this."
In Season 2, Mathis and Alba also build homes for a single mother, a mother undergoing cancer treatment who has to make room for visiting family to help her and a family that needs more room when their children visit for holidays.
"Are the renovations going to be different enough?" Alba said was the final criteria. "You don't want to do all bedrooms. You don't want to do all bathrooms or kitchens."
Mathis said the broad spectrum of homes and families helps Honest Renovations reach the widest possible audience.
"This family could be any of ours or any of us out here," Mathis said. "We're showing the renovation side of it, but then we're also showing the relatability."
Alba and Mathis get hands-on with the construction crews remodeling the houses. Season 2 episodes show Alba deriving satisfaction from hammering.
"It's very cathartic," Alba said.
Mathis said she enjoyed using power tools, but became possessive of the machinery.
"I like it when I'm in charge of them, not when she's in charge of them," Mathis said. "In all of our renovations, when I have it in my control, it feels great, and when it's in her control, I feel very uneasy."
Mathis particularly liked a tile-breaker, but Alba did not care for it.
"I didn't love that one," Alba said. "It hurts my soul a little bit."
The hosts also are not afraid to let viewers see them mess up. When they were wallpapering one room in Season 2, the paper kept falling on them.
"We're definitely learning with you in the show," Mathis said.
Alba added, "I think it's funny to watch us attempt it."
Alba also assured viewers and homeowners that a professional crew completes the renovations. The two may be on camera more, but they ensure houses are built to specifications.
"There are professionals behind the scenes who make sure that it doesn't look like a hot mess," Alba said. "I'm glad that we had professionals that make sure that the wallpaper is executed with excellence."
Mathis and Alba have been friends for 10 years since they met when both had 3-year-olds in preschool. They developed the idea for Honest Renovations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The beauty in it is that we became friends first," Mathis said. "We really started to trust each other and love each other."
Honest Renovations gets its name from Alba's Honest Company, and Honest household products are featured on the show and gifted to homeowners.
"They share values," Alba said about the show and her brand. "It's transparency, it's wholesome, it's better for you, it's diverse, it's for everyone."
Most episodes of Honest Renovations end with emotional families expressing gratitude for their new home. Alba and Mathis, who are known to many for their movie and television roles, said making a direct impact on a family's life is a connection most people do not experience.
"It's tender," Alba said. "We feel great whenever we get to have that moment with our families."
