Flipping Out Q&A with House Flipper Turned Designer, Jeff Lewis

They said it plainly: "I learned that I'm an asshole. That's what I've learned. There's nothing you can say about me that I don't already know …" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Having developed some of the most coveted homes in Los Angeles, Jeff Lewis has earned the title of America's most well-known house flipper. Lewis has created a brand of properties in harmony with their exterior and interior living spaces. By taking his well-rounded knowledge of more than 20 years of design and renovation, Lewis brought his business Jeff Lewis Designs to the next level — designing House Beautiful Magazine's 2010 Kitchen of the Year at Rockefeller Center and launching an exclusive line of products for QVC and Alluminare.com. Premier Guide Miami caught up with Jeff ahead of Flipping Out Season 5 on Bravo.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How would you characterize the Jeff Lewis aesthetic?

JEFF LEWIS: I lean more contemporary and my looks are definitely more streamlined. I like big open spaces. I don't really like a ton of furniture. I'm not one of those people that over-accessorizes. Let me tell you a little trick of the trade that designers do — which I don't. I work out a different fee structure. I don't mark up everything that I buy for my client. The reason you'll see a lot of homes that are over-accessorized and over-furnished — they hang something on every single wall and put something in every corner — is that designers mark up every single thing they buy. They have a vested interest in over-selling furniture and accessories to you. What I would suggest is you work out a flat fee with a designer, or an hourly. You don't want to do the markups because the more furniture they sell you, the more money they make. When I did the kitchen for House Beautiful, what I do was called "soft modern" — taking a very modern space but warming it up. Because the problem is people love contemporary design, but it does tend to feel chilly and it's not always family-friendly. We have clients with $30,000 budgets and clients with $2 million budgets. But what's difficult is taking a $30,000 budget and making three rooms look beautiful — not just furnishing them but painting them, putting in moldings, floors, and wallpaper. There are two projects this season that you wouldn't believe what I do for 30 grand. That's really what takes skill and talent. Otherwise, if you have no budget, anybody can make a space look beautiful.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Do you think there are any negatives for your business being on television?

JEFF LEWIS: The only thing is that I do have a lot of clients, and at least half of them don't want to be on TV. So that actually creates a little bit of a problem for me — I have to push them back to when we're not filming, or I have to see them only on weekends and evenings. So I end up working longer hours and more days to service these clients outside of filming. We film from 9:00 to 7:00 every day. But otherwise, being on the show has helped my business tremendously. It's given me a platform and exposure that I could never have or afford.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Do you have any summer decorating tips?

JEFF LEWIS: Right now the most popular color I'm seeing is gray — specifically the charcoals. People are going back to the '80s when we would just spray everything white. And ironically that's kind of what's happening right now. Everything is white and gray, white with gray accents and black accents, and I'm seeing a lot of polished chrome and a lot of glass. What's interesting to me is that in the last six to eight years, it doesn't matter what the exterior of their homes are — they are wanting a contemporary blend. And that's actually good for my business because that's my aesthetic. So even if they have this cute little craftsman bungalow, they're coming to me and saying we want an updated, sophisticated, modern blend. I'm working a lot with older homes — we have a lot of those in Los Angeles — and I'm trying to leave the original details that bring character to the home while also bringing in some more contemporary elements.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What have you learned about yourself in doing this show?

JEFF LEWIS: I learned that I'm an asshole. That's what I've learned. I don't know if people realize this about me, but I'm actually a pretty self-aware person. There's nothing you can say about me that I don't already know about myself. And that's why those nasty, hateful blogs don't bother me — some of them I find amusing, actually. Because they're nothing I don't already know. I don't walk into a room and just be a jerk to be a jerk. I always start with nice. Unfortunately, in my business, nice doesn't always work. I always ask people nicely — repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly — and if I don't get any response, then that's when I have to get angry and enforce boundaries. It's not something I want to do or like to do. But I have a business to run and projects to deliver, and not everybody's cooperative.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What have you done to try to adapt or change that in some way?

JEFF LEWIS: Absolutely nothing. Just embrace it. I think what had the bigger impact was when the market fell and the flipping business came to a complete screeching halt and I had to start working for clients. I didn't have the money that I had in previous years. That was really the biggest dose of humility. And I think that's what gave me a little bit more empathy and sympathy for people. When I look back, it was probably one of the best things that happened to me.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Will we see your romance on the show?

JEFF LEWIS: Yes, but you're not going to see sex scenes. That's where I draw the line. I view this as kind of a workplace dramedy — most of the action happens between 9:00 and 7:00, and that's when we film. I'm not comfortable diving too deep into my personal life. But my partner Gage works with me, and there was really no way we could film around him because he's such a big part of this business now. So it was either give up the show or open this part of my life up. I didn't really want to lie and say this person is an employee but we're not dating. I didn't feel comfortable doing that either.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Will we see your personal fights with him on the show?

JEFF LEWIS: It's kind of difficult — it's like a balancing act. Because I don't take things so personally. Like if something goes on at work, after hours I can just let things go. But my partner isn't necessarily like that. If we had a disagreement at work, that does carry over after hours, and that's difficult to handle. So yes, you can't really get around that stuff. I think people who have spouses that work together could probably relate.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Were you hesitant to date another person that you work with?

JEFF LEWIS: Well, actually it was the reverse. I was dating someone who had his own business — he was in the garment industry, and how well's that doing right now? So it didn't really make sense. He could've continued that or gone into another industry. But I needed help and it actually worked out really well. With all the opportunities and leads he's generated, I would say my income has gone up at least 20%. It was a position I needed filled. Just to clarify — I was dating first and then I brought him into the business. I don't really date employees. Until now.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: You butt heads with Jenni constantly, but always seem to work it out...

JEFF LEWIS: I guess after 11 years together it still works. Any relationship has ups and downs. We've been through a lot together. We both support each other in really bad, stressful times. We have a really good line of communication, so we think nothing of just sitting down and hashing things out — normally in the car because we're a captive audience, or on a plane. We really just tell each other what we feel. It doesn't always feel good, and we might raise our voices, it might be kind of dramatic, but we get it out and we work it out. We're both very committed to working this stuff out. Her timing is sometimes a little off, but I do appreciate her opinion.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Is Jenni dating anyone?

JEFF LEWIS: She's dating somebody and — guess what — he has a job, which is a real improvement over the last one. He's a doctor. He's not a chiropractor.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Jenni's theme song for Watch What Happens Live is pretty cool. Do you think she has a musical career?

JEFF LEWIS: Oh, please don't encourage that. Which will never ever happen — she's talked about it for six years. There is no rap career. There is no rap career. No more questions about this. She's a one-hit wonder.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Why do you think you cannot keep an employee?

JEFF LEWIS: I don't understand why we can't keep an employee. I don't get it. These kids getting out of college want to be VP in three weeks and they don't get what it takes to be successful. I think one of the reasons Jenni and I have been together so long is that we both know nothing comes easy. We work really, really hard and we don't expect to have something the next day. It takes years and years and years to achieve what we're trying to achieve. These kids that come out of school today — they're just impatient, they're entitled, they're not willing to put in the work. A lot of them are willing to just screw you over in three seconds, and that's something that's scary, really.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Two employees get fired this season. Can you tell us who they are?

JEFF LEWIS: I will tell you that one is very expected. And then completely out of the blue something happens. And the other one is completely unexpected, which really turned the office upside down. That happens right around mid-season. So one is expected, one is completely unexpected. And now we're kind of scrambling because we're still filming and I'm trying to fill their spots. One is really like out of the blue.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How much screen time will your pets get this season?

JEFF LEWIS: A lot — one of them in particular. We had a little drama with one of them. But everything's fine now. I probably shouldn't have teased — I'll get in trouble. It ends up working out, but it was really kind of traumatic for me. But it's okay now. You'll see a lot of the pets.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Have you ever considered doing an intervention on the homes of the Real Housewives of New Jersey?

JEFF LEWIS: Out of all the Real Housewives, which house would I redo? All of them. All of them. How about that?

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