ENTERTAINMENT

Part-time Palm Beacher stars in HGTV reality show

Chris Goddard, a part-time Palm Beacher, says he came back from the filming feeling energized and excited about his work.

ADRIANA DELGADO
Palm Beach Daily News
Designer Chris Goddard, owner of Goddard Design Group,  is one of eight contestants on HGTV’s  reality show "Design Star: Next Gen." Photo by MARK JACKSON

When the call came asking designer and part-time Palm Beach resident Chris Goddard to participate in the reboot of an HGTV design show, he thought it was a prank.

“We all thought it was a joke, but one of my assistants Googled them and said, ‘Wait, these people are real,’” Goddard said. “When they called a second time, they asked if I wanted to participate in a new design show. I’m a big believer that if you don’t take chances, you’ll never know, so I said yes”

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This bedroom was designed by Chris Goddard as project in Fayetteville, Arkansas that he completed in 2019.  Photo by MARK JACKSON

Goddard, 52, the owner of Goddard Design Group based in Springdale, Ark., is one of eight contestants in HGTV’s "Design Star: Next Gen." The show began airing Feb. 24 on both the Discovery + streaming service and HGTV and will run for six episodes on Wednesday nights. 

Goddard's friends and colleagues were baffled that he was even considering taking part in a reality show. But he said being on the show just seemed like a lot of fun.

“This is my 35th year being a designer, and I’ve had these wonderful crazy experiences. I wanted to remember why it was that I got into the business,” Goddard said. “I thought it would be fun to get in there and see if I still have it, because it’s been a long time since I’ve had to paint, build or do anything other than draw, design and manage. I looked at it as an opportunity to reignite my creative passion.”

Besides, he added, as the older contestant on the show, he wanted to show people you’re never too old to get outside your comfort zone. "I wouldn’t be successful if I was scared of everything," he said.

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Chris Goddard, left), with "Design Star: Next Gen" host Allison Holker Boss  (center) and the seven other contestants on the HGTV show.

Hosted by Allison Holker Boss, head judge Jonathan Adler and designer Lauren Makk, the show follows the original "Design Star," which aired on HGTV from 2006 to 2013. The new series features designers and social media influencers from around the country who compete in design challenges for a $50,000 prize and the possibility to have their own show. 

Filming began in mid-October, when Goddard joined the other contestants on a set built near a vineyard in Palos Verdes, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The show was filmed over five weeks, with participants working 12-hour days seven days a week. Filming ended the week before Thanksgiving.

Goddard said that even with the pandemic, conditions on the set were very safe.

“We lived in this sort of design bubble. There was a crew of about 200 people, and we were all tested every day. It was the safest I’ve felt during this crazy pandemic,” he said. 

The first challenge of the show was to design a living room and dining room from the ground up out of a 15-by-30 white box. Designers also were asked to reinvent some of the pieces that were housed within the space. 

The challenge also included posting on social media, which Goddard said he often struggles with.

“I can design the heck out of something, but some of the digital stuff scares me because I’m old school. As we see more magazines go to digital and more things streaming, you have to be able to communicate about design,” he said.

High praise for his work in the first challenge came from head judge Adler, who proclaimed the design “one of the most expensive rooms he’d seen on television,” Goddard said.

Goddard can't reveal who won the competition, but for now he is focused on design projects for his clients, and overseeing the renovation of his new home on South Ocean Boulevard.

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Goddard said he bought the property last fall because after doing the math, it made more sense than constantly staying in hotels. The amount of work from Palm Beach clients keeps him in town for part of the year; the rest is divided between Arkansas and Aspen, Colo.

This living room designed by Chris Goddard is from a 2016 project in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Photo by MARK JACKSON

What keeps him coming back to Palm Beach is not only the town's sense of history and permanence but also the investment in quality architecture and details, Goddard said. While so many other cities are just "smoke and mirrors," Palm Beach design feels authentic, he added.

When asked about what he learned from his TV experience, Goddard said it was "to just be yourself."

"All of us with big egos don’t like criticism, but that’s how we grow. You kind of live in this ivory tower of pointing and selecting and you forget why you started. I came back a new person, really excited about my work," he said.