Sara Gore has hosted Open House and Open House NYC for over a decade, and she's sharing thoughts about her career and life with Screen Rant. Sara is giving viewers an intimate look into luxury homes across America. She came from a culinary and acting background and then branched out by hosting several shows and interviewing well-known celebrities. The mother of three shares how she has grown alongside the show and what fans can expect to see on Open House in the future. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Sara also opened up about the challenges of filming the show amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As well, she let fans know what she hopes viewers get out of watching Open House.
You came from the culinary world and ended up covering red carpets and becoming an Emmy-winning host of Open House. Can you talk a bit about the journey you took to get where you are now?
I was an actor growing up, and I cooked since I was 10 years old. I went back and forth from cooking to acting, and I did it all through my teens, through college, and into my 20s. And in my 20s, I had a cooking business; I was a personal chef, I taught private lessons - I lived in New York City, so I was trying to make ends meet every possible way I could. I was working as much as I could.
I was cooking for Jean-Georges, and I left Jean-Georges to do an off-Broadway play. I met a hosting agent, who was actually there to see somebody else in the play, but I ended up meeting him and he was my agent from then on. He's not now, but he was at that point. Then I started auditioning for food-related hosting gigs, and it really just fit for me right away. It felt right, so I really never went back to acting after that.
But I did a cooking series for General Mills; I think it was called Dinner Made Easy, and I did that for a year or a year and a half. I was flying back and forth to Minnesota, and winters are not so fun there. But I got to at least check it out, and I did a Food Network pilot that unfortunately did not get picked up. Then I auditioned for this company that was a startup, and I was the food host. It was the first one they did, and it eventually became LXTV.
That was in 2006, I have been growing with that company ever since. And like I said, I never looked back at acting. It has continued to be a big part of my life, but I just don't do it for a living anymore. I was a lifestyle host, and I launched the show 1st Look, which is still on the air and is now hosted by Johnny Bananas from TV. I was doing 1st Look, and then they said, "We're gonna do this real estate show." And I said, "Alright, sounds great." I started doing the real estate show, and it took off.
I've always loved real estate and design. I've always had an interest in it and a passion for it. But I didn't know how well the show would be perceived, and thankfully I was wrong. The show is still going, and I hear all the time how much people love it. But more importantly, I don't like to watch myself, but I love watching the show because it's a good show.
It's interesting that you mentioned the worlds colliding because there are so many fans who call Open House "television comfort food." What is in the show that gives viewers comfort about seeing other people's homes?
Oh my God. I mean, isn't it fun? It's so much fun! One of the things about New York is that we're all so close together, but we're all so curious about our neighbors.
The great thing about this show is that it peels back the curtain, you know what I mean? We're all so curious about how our neighbors live, and we've given you that inside peek and given you that opportunity to see how people are living and what they're doing with their space. And to be creative in maybe ways that you haven't even thought about before.
The reason I love this show is because it always inspires me. It's part inspiration and part aspiration. It inspires me to change things up and to try new things, but it also is like, "Oh my God, someday I'm gonna have that closet. Someday I'm gonna own that house. I can't afford it now, but some day!"
I love that you get to see the beautiful houses and the people behind the creations, and you can really feel the love they have for their homes. Why do you think people become so attached and have such strong feelings towards their homes?
I think your home should reflect your life, who you are, where you've been, and where you're headed. I think your home is the best example of your history and your soul. There's nothing but emotion when it comes to someone's house. If your home doesn't reflect that, that's part of what these shows are all about. Open House is all about helping you make it that way and inspiring you to make your home your sanctuary. Because we all need a sanctuary, right? It's an amazing outlet for people to not only just peek, but to also learn and really grow with the show and get some tips.
Also, you just sit back and enjoy it. I think that it's not only that you learn something from it, but it's also just comfort TV, like you said. I love the phrase that people have said to me for so many years. "It's my Sunday morning ritual." That's amazing! "Open House and coffee is how I start my morning." We did a piece where we toured Liz Lemon's apartment from 30 Rock, and we did it because Tina Fey was such a huge fan of Open House. She said, "I tell my kids it's mommy time! Do not interrupt me when I watch my Open House."
You touched on this a little bit, but with the craziness of the past year, people are feeling more attached to their homes than ever. Do you feel that impact in the response from your viewers?
Yeah, I think not only have I felt that people are attached to their homes, but I have felt that people are more interactive in showing what they're doing with their home. I know that I have done a lot of projects at home; I have become a master at wallpaper this last year, which I did not imagine becoming.
I started with the peel and stick, and I did my laundry room. Then I put it on social media, and then I went onto the pre-pasted and then did the unpasted. I have a house up on Lake George, and I did a bathroom over. It's been all about projects, and I think that so many people have taken on projects this year that they did not know that they were capable of.
This year has proven and shown all of us what we are capable of, not only in our home, but just in what we can handle as a society and what we need to change about society. Whether it's just being kinder to each other, or being kinder to our home and our spaces. A lot of homes have changed in the last year, so it's just finding moments of peace in your home and finding new places that have new meaning to you.
I know that I redid my dining room, which I have been putting off since I bought this house. I guess it's been seven years, and I finally did my dining room during the pandemic. But it's such a happy place now.
What did you do to your dining room? Did you fully change it up?
You know when you move into a house or a new apartment, there's leftover furniture and you just use it because you have it? That was what my dining room was. I bought a brand new table, which was my centerpiece. I loved my dining room table, and I hated everything else about the room. So, I kept the dining room table and got rid of everything else. I just redid the whole space, and now it's something that I really enjoy and that we use a whole lot more. Before it was just kind of depressing.
But I definitely got ideas from the show. The great thing about the show is it's been a great resource for me, I can't tell you the amount of times that I've contacted the designers that we've had on the show. I'll send them a picture and say, "What do you think about this? What should I do with this space?"
Even at the beginning of the pandemic, I was texting with Genevieve Gorder. I was up at the lake, and I was sending her pictures. I'm like, "What do I do with this? How do I make it more fresh?" Because it's turn-of-the-century Victorian, which is one project after another. I'm not afraid of projects! But it's been great. I think everybody's taking this time to have fun with their house.
Just watching the episodes, I've found so much design inspiration too. So, you've applied a lot of inspiration from the houses that you've seen to your own home?
Yeah, for sure. Somebody was asking me what one of my favorite homes were. It was from Lubov Azria and Max Azria of BCBG. They have the most amazing home. It hit me in like such a positive way. I see that home, and I started collecting those mirrors. And it is still up on my wall in my living room.
Is there any other decor that was unique or shocking, that wouldn't work by typical standards, but it came together in one of the Open House homes?
Oh, yeah. It's not even so much that I didn't think it was gonna work, but there are choices that people make that I would never have made. It's like, wow, I would never have picked out all those patterns and thought that it would come together. But that's why I'm not a designer. Even though I try to consider myself one, and I always design my own home, but I'm no designer like these other people that I have seen on this show. Sometimes it's just incredible.
Because what designers are able to do, which is what I learned from this show, is create a feeling. They create an emotion when you walk into the house. Design is so important to the people that live there, and it also helps you sell your house. I've gone into so many homes where that I just thought, "It can use some staging," or "It needs to paint this side and change this color." So, it's really changed my eyes as far as what works and what doesn't. Sometimes I think someone needs to tell the homeowner that. But most of the time, it just blows my mind how beautiful these places are.
Have you heard any striking personal stories that really resonated with you when people talked about their homes?
I've been in thousands of homes over the years, so it's like picking a favorite child. It's hard to remember one specific story. I meet people, and they say, "Oh, you remembered that home on 63rd Street? Yada, yada, yada." And I'm like, "Oh, jeez..." I can't recall one right now, but I've seen so many and felt the love in so many of them.
Totally understandable. After about 13 seasons, I wouldn't be able to remember that much either.
I know, we're into 14 years of Open House and 12 years of New York Live. It's unbelievable. I feel like I should stop saying it, because I'm aging myself. I'm going to go with "just over a decade."
I love that you show such a vast variety of homes. I remember a recent episode with an amazing renovated food truck, and then you have the next episode with apartments in Soho. What's it like discovering all of these unique homes right in your backyard?
It's amazing how creative people have gotten with their living spaces. We go from the most overwhelmingly, in-your-face home to a food truck turned tiny home. And one is not better than the other; it's what's right for you. That's what makes the world go round. We all have different needs and desires, and your home is a reflection of that.
I have just enjoyed seeing the endless possibilities that we have available here. I mean, it's constantly making me want to move. That's not fun. "Maybe I should live there! I think I should live in a truck, or maybe a treehouse." But it's really inspired me to think outside the box, that's for sure.
How have you seen the show grow over a decade?
I think the show has consistently been that peek into how your neighbor lives, taking you behind doors to give you a sneak peek. But I think we've grown as a show in that we're trying new things. It's really fun. I certainly love when I'm in the show a bit more, and I love when we get to travel. I can't wait 'til we can do that.
We did some amazing shows in New Orleans, in Charleston, in Puerto Rico, which was nice. I'm excited for the Hawaii episode, which I can't even believe I get to go to when I have 3 children, but it's a blessing. It's always such a great time to be able to travel with the show, too, and learn about different architectural design in different areas that are key to a certain place.
Like New Orleans, it was the first time I'd ever been there. The architecture there is so amazing and different from how we live here. Hopefully, we get to get out a little bit more and get to travel a little more when everything opens back up and everything's safe. But at the same time, I love exploring our city. I love everything that there is about New York and New York real estate, and I just look forward to continuing the show and exploring new homes.
Have there been any other challenges hosting the show, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic era?
Oh, yeah. I mean, we got the whole family involved. My husband, fortunately, is a filmmaker. He's a New York guy; he did Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf, he did Crazy About Tiffany's, he did Always at The Carlyle a few years ago. He's been busy doing that, and he's got all of this equipment.
So, in the beginning of the pandemic, he filmed all of my leads for Open House for six months. My kids got involved: they were checking audio and holding my camera, and it was a lot of fun. They got into the end of a couple of episodes. So, that was a challenge. And then with the other show that I do, it was the same thing. We had to pivot and just figure out how we're going to do it from home, but we did. I'm really proud of both of our teams for being able to do that so well.
It was challenging for Open House specifically, in that we weren't allowed to go into anyone's homes for a while. Programming-wise, it was challenging. But we have been back in the saddle for a while now, producing new content, doing new shows, and bringing people what they want - which is more Open House.
You mentioned that your kids got involved, and I've seen them make appearances on New York Live too. Do you ever watch Open House together, like a family affair?
Oh, it's rare that we're all sitting down watching TV. But we usually have it on Channel 4. I'm a loyal NBC viewer, so we always have Channel 4 on. On Sunday morning, we usually do breakfast on Saturday and Sunday, so it's usually on in the background. Then my daughter is always like, "There's Mommy!"
As I have said before, I'm not someone that will sit down to watch myself. But I will sit down to watch this show, because it's a really good show and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Have you seen any noticeable home decor changes since the COVID-19 pandemic? Have there been any trends that you've noticed since production started back up?
Mostly, it's just that wherever you go, there's nobody there. That's been a little bit different. But no, I think that people are continuing to have faith in the city, and to have faith that it's coming back. They have continued to live their life the way that they were before in their homes, at least. There's a lot of people suffering this year, too, and I think sometimes it's nice to watch the show just as an escape.
I know New York was hit especially hard, so I imagine that watching people showing their homes is a great escape.
Yeah, hopefully we can take people's minds off things for half an hour.
I know buying a house is definitely a personal experience. Do you have any advice for first-time homebuyers or someone looking to see a home? What stands out to you?
I would tell you that you are not going to get everything that you want. You need to know that. You make your list of pros and cons, and the things that you have to have versus the things you want to have. If you get a few of the things that you want to have and most of the things that you have to have, then you're getting a great home. If you hold out for everything on that list, you're gonna miss out on what could be the perfect place. I think it's about having a little flexibility, an open mind and a vision.
When I bought my first house, it had been on the market for a little while and the décor was horrid. It was like mustard and maroon; there was a saloon in my sun room with a wet bar. It was just awful. But it had good bones, and that is so much better than if you like someone's furniture. You've got to look past all that. And if you can do that, then you're going to find a place that you love and you'll be in for a very long time.
I think that's great advice. What would you say you're most proud of about Open House?
I just think that, first of all, I'm proud of our team. It's been an extended family of mine. We are not a large team, but we are an excellent team and we get it done. I think that we support each other, and we continue to put out good shows that we can be proud of. And I just hope that it continues for another decade. I really do enjoy doing it, and you can’t always say that about every job. I enjoy the people and enjoy what I do, so I feel very grateful.
Is there anywhere that you're hoping you can go to once everything's opened back up?
Oh, God. I mean, anywhere but here in my house, you know? I have a three and a half year old, one that just turned nine and one that just turned seven. And I think we're all itching to get out of here. Yeah, I'd love to just go some place and relax. I would love to do another travel show. There's so many places that I would love to go. Honestly, I'm open to any place. We all are.
Lastly, what do you hope viewers get out of your show, especially in COVID-19 times?
I hope that they learn something. I hope that they are inspired by it. I hope that they are relaxed by, entertained by it, and find some joy in it. And that they have a cup of coffee with me. I mean, that's all I can ask for.
source https://screenrant.com/sara-gore-interview-filming-open-house-amid-pandemic/
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