HGTV’s Tiffany Brooks on the key to an actual Barbie Dreamhouse

Barbie-mania is within the air, due to the hotly anticipated summer season blockbuster “Barbie” starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

HGTV is onboard too, with its new actuality competitors present “Barbie Dreamhouse Problem,” which counts HGTV star Tiffany Brooks amongst its judges. 

“My rapid response [to being asked on the show] was ‘In fact.’ I didn’t care what else I had deliberate. I wanted to be there,” Brooks informed The Put up. 

“Having been on a few of their competitors reveals earlier than, I do know that the entire community stars eat, breathe and stay to be aggressive,” she mentioned. “I’ve not but met a non-competitive individual on the community. So I knew they had been able to win.”

Hosted by mannequin Ashley Graham, “Barbie Dreamhouse Problem” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. and follows eight groups of HGTV stars as they rework a Southern California home into an actual life “Barbie Dreamhouse.” 

Every staff is given an area, such because the kitchen or front room, and assigned a decade (the ’60s, the ’90s, and so forth.) 

Then, they rework their designated area with life-size options that appear to be they’re straight out of a Barbie Dreamhouse toy set — together with a pink staircase, a purple pet elevator or a light-up dance ground. The panel of judges decides which staff will get to advance to the subsequent spherical, and the profitable staff will get a donation made of their identify to Save The Kids.  

Brooks, 44, a Chicago-based inside designer, is an HGTV staple. She gained “HGTV Star” in 2013 and he or she was additionally the host/designer for “HGTV Sensible Dwelling” in 2020 (and a competitor on Season 2 of “Rock the Block.”)  

She’s additionally a Barbie fan from method again.

“I’ve a complete of 9 Dreamhouses and Barbie buildings. I principally have a Barbie city. A few them, I made myself, and a few them, I refurbished,” she mentioned. “And a pair I purchased outright. So, I’m sort of a fanatic. It’s a enjoyable interest.

“I had my very own Barbie city once I was 10,” she mentioned. “I ended enjoying with them once I hit the age of 12 or 13. I picked it again up as an grownup once I misplaced my father, as a result of that was one of many issues my dad would do — each week, he’d receives a commission and purchase me a brand new Barbie doll or play set together with his pay examine.

“He’d come residence and shock me with it. I picked it again up after I misplaced him, and it grew till I had a Barbie village, with a grocery retailer, movie show, restaurant … I’ve a nod to Barbie in my very own home –my library is sizzling pink. The bookshelves, the ceilings, the partitions, every thing.”

The rivals on the primary episode of  “Barbie Dreamhouse Problem” embrace couple Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson (“Married to Actual Property”) who compete in opposition to builder Jasmine Roth (“Assist! I Wrecked My Home”) and Meals Community’s Antonia Lofaso (“Beachside Brawl”). 

Kitty Black Perkins, who’s credited with designing the primary Black Barbie, makes an look and Maureen McCormick (“A Very Brady Renovation”) additionally seems as a celeb visitor decide, becoming a member of Brooks. 

“The groups need to echo a decade of their residence,” mentioned Brooks. 

“In addition they needed to have a ‘toyetic’ function, which is like within the Barbie dreamhouse, you press a button and one thing occurs. So that they had been judged on that, and total fashion, and the way properly they carried out the entire look. 

“One factor that I used to be on the lookout for was an precise reference to the Barbie Dreamhouses, or a play set of the many years that they got,” she mentioned. “Iconic options just like the trellis work, or among the patterns that Barbie used. 

“One other factor I used to be on the lookout for is to verify a human of our measurement may use the toy options within the area itself.”