It takes two to save ‘most desperate kitchens’

MANILA, Philippines - Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, more popularly known in the reality TV world as The Cousins, come to the rescue of America’s Most Desperate Kitchens.

It’s their new show on HGTV, which they promoted around Asia, including the Philippines, last week. Derek Chang, managing director of show runner Scripps Networks Interactive (for Asia-Pacific), said, “HGTV has always been in the forefront of providing compelling programs that bring inspiration to viewers around the world and we’re grateful to be part of their homes every day. Inviting The Cousins here is our way of saying thank you to the many fans and viewers of our channel. We hope their new show will excite new viewers and engage even more closely with current supporters.”

The charismatic Italian-American duo have become the faces of kitchen renovation on television since the debut of Kitchen Cousins in 2011. They have also starred in other hit programs such as Cousins on Call and Cousins Undercover.

In America’s Desperate Kitchens, The Cousins, who both run a New Jersey-based family construction company, respond to desperate homeowners’ calls for a kitchen overhaul.

While they didn’t get to see desperate kitchens during their Manila visit, but they had a fun time meeting fans and experiencing local culture.

Asked how their first trip to the country was so far, Anthony told The STAR in a one-on-one, “A lot of good food, a lot of nice people, a lot of bright sunshine. We’ve had a few great meals, but it’s been mostly just meetin’ fans, and hangin’ out here so we could talk to you, guys, and talk to fans.”

John laughingly shared that balut was also served to them but “we politely said no.”

Anthony added, “We tried. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.”

It’s interesting to note how these cousins are so close that they finish each other’s sentences during the interview.

Have they always been close in real life?

Anthony deadpanned, “With him? No, no.”

John added, “No, not at all!”

But yes, they’ve always been close -— make that super close. Anthony related, “All our lives, we’ve been super close. Our families would go camping together in the summertime. I used to drive John to high school when I got my license. I’m two years older. We played sports together, rode bicycles together, we’ve been friends for a very long time.”

They also said that they are a huge influence on each other.

Anthony said, “We keep each other sane, this is my best friend. We talk about everything, whether it’s work, family, business, whatever it is, this (he) is the main influence.”

John added, “I think we’re definitely more like brothers at this point because we’re so close, but the beauty of it is sometimes with brothers and sisters you fight a lot more. With cousins, it’s not that way. We’re there to help each other, we’re there to pick each other up if we need the help. And for our show, it’s very high intensity, it’s a lot of traveling, having two is much better than one. I will tell you that it’s much, much better.”

The two have been working together since 2007 and ventured into TV in 2001.

The biggest difference of America’s Most Desperate Kitchens from their previous shows is that it’s not only a design show but also like a travel program since it gets to move around different cities for every episode.

“The designs are always different, the family is always different, the space is always different, but it’s always good design, it’s always solving problems for our customers. The biggest difference is that we’re traveling all over the United States, and showing up at people’s houses and surprising them with a renovation,” said Anthony.

Any memorable episodes or houses that viewers can look forward to?

“I think my favorite one from Season 1 is the pub style kitchen,” Anthony said. “First of all, as we were walking up to the door, the homeowner came outside and almost saw us… So we had to hide very quickly, and when you have to hide an entire camera crew, it’s not easy. So that was very funny, and it’s in the show, so you’ll see it.”

He added, “But beyond that, he makes his own beer, so we built a custom beer tap system and a bar. It was a really fun episode, the homeowners absolutely loved it.”

As for John, “Our pilot episode was also one of my favorites. We took down a huge wall that separated their living room and dining room, and on top of the wall, we also took down a massive fireplace. So, we made this huge open concept, it had a huge island over 13-feet long. We gave them a custom brass hood that was just gorgeous. It was a very contemporary, sophisticated space. We put a custom tile on the front of the island, a lot of texture, a lot of different designs that I think people, especially in Asia, will love because you get all these different styles molded into one kitchen.”

When they renovate kitchens, the first step in the process is space planning.

Anthony said, “Space planning is a very intuitive kind of skill. You have to be able to see things that don’t yet exist, feel them within a space. And to take it a step further, we do a lot of the stuff from digital images from a distance because we can’t visit the homes ahead of time, because we can’t let the people know. So it’s a very, very challenging part of the job, but it’s probably one of our favorite parts. It’s very technical and it’s the foundation that makes a kitchen work well.”

With renovating kitchens so messy, how do they reconcile shooting a TV show and the construction?

Anthony admitted that construction and TV should not be together. They make it work, however, because “we’re very organized, we plan a lot and we take the time to make sure that all the planning is done properly, and very precisely. Without planning, you’re not getting something like this done, especially on television. Whether you’re on TV or not, planning is everything if you wanna save money, and have a smooth project.”

John thinks that another advantage of their tandem is that they both have the experience of construction and design. “We’re not just contractors, and we’re not just designers. We can pick up a hammer, we can build a house, we can do anything. We also can sit down with some of the top designers in the world, pick out a room and design a room. We bridge the gap of construction and design.” 

They believe that their new show will click not just in America but also in Asia. “No. 1 is the relationship that we have, I think it’s fun, it’s real and it’s authentic. The other reason I think is because it’s a positive show, we don’t argue and we don’t do negative things, fight and create drama. It’s about working together as a team for the betterment of someone else,” said Anthony. “I think that there’s so much negativity in the world today that something positive like this is a nice way to relax at home. You see good design, you get ideas for your own house, and you see guys who love what they do and do it in a positive way.”

Both Anthony and John never thought they would find themselves doing TV work.

John said, “No, I never thought I’d be on TV. I never thought we’d be in Asia doing this right now. TV was an accident.”

He added, “Now, it is our life, and we’re just happy that we get to do these positive things that people all over the world get to see. It’s about giving back to so many people.”

There’s a real estate boom in the Philippines, what tips can they give to someone with very limited budget but wants to redo a room or a kitchen, to be specific?

Anthony advised, “For the kitchen if you have a small budget, the best thing to do are small projects because the kitchen is very complicated. Something like tile back splash or changing a light fixture or changing the hardware on the cabinets to something more interesting. Those are safe things, they’re economical things. Beyond that whether you have a lot of money or a little bit of money, you really don’t want to get into ripping out and re-installing a full kitchen. You want a professional to do that.” 

For his part, John said, “Unfortunately, the kitchen is the most expensive room in the home; it’s just the way it is. It’s gonna be beautiful, but unfortunately most of those (accessories), they get very expensive, because the kitchen has so many moving parts, there’s so many items in there. What I tell people a lot of times is that if you’re gonna be staying in the house for five to seven years, save your money. Don’t do the small renovations that you might change, save up and do one larger renovation all at once, and in the end, you’ll actually save a lot of money.” 

When they’re not working, these cousins make sure their free time are well-spent.

To de-stress, Anthony said, “My girlfriend and I like to travel a lot. We like to travel on motorcycles so we generally go for a nice long ride, and relax a little bit or spend some time with my family down at the beach.” 

John, on the other hand, shared, “Being at home with my wife and daughter, zoning everything out, turning everything off, that’s the best time.”

He added that he would have wanted to bring his family along to the Philippines but “my daughter’s only 16 months old so this is too long a trip for her right now. When she’s older absolutely, I definitely want to bring her to Asia. We’ll do a whole tour of everywhere because of the culture and the experience. I want her to do what I’m doing right now because it makes you understand the world in this greater capacity.”

(America’s Most Desperate Kitchens airs on the home and lifestyle entertainment channel HGTV, which can be viewed in the Philippines via SkyCable Ch. 88 and 246, Destiny Cable Ch. 88 and Cignal Ch. 101.)