Nate & Jeremiah By Design Is Back—and Changing Lives

We talk to the powerhouse duo about season three of their hit TLC show.

We’ve long admired Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s drive and design knowhow, so our Scott Brothers Entertainment team jumped at the chance to produce the latest season of their show, Nate & Jeremiah By Design. Over the course of eight new episodes, the interior design couple helps homeowners on the brink of desperation with their renovations—from unexpected life changes to unrealistic expectations, all of them need Nate and Jeremiah’s expertise and creativity. Season three of Nate & Jeremiah By Design premieres April 13 at 9 p.m. EST on TLC—and you can get a peek behind the scenes plus a look at what’s to come with our two-on-two interview below!

Drew and Jonathan: Nate & Jeremiah By Design is more than just a home makeover show—you tell the stories of the families you help and how they ended up with their money pit. When you were casting for season three, what kinds of stories were you looking for? 

Nate: The stories of the families and meeting them at pivotal, and often difficult, times of their lives is the main reason I love the show. Home is a powerful antidote for many challenges. Everyone needs, and deserves, a soft place to land.

Jeremiah: Our show is about love and its connective tissue regardless of race, sexuality, income, or circumstances. There are all different types of money pits, and at the end of the day we are all one bad decision away from a renovation running away from us. We didn’t want to just makeover homes, we wanted to create real change that would impact people’s lives while telling their stories.

Drew and Jonathan: Is there an overarching theme for season three?

Jeremiah: As with the first two seasons, we wanted to highlight the vulnerabilities and the humanity of everyone involved in the show. We wanted to show how big of a difference it can make to live somewhere where you feel safe and the importance of the energy you bring into a home. I think we lean heavily into the meaning of family—and family at all different chapters of life.

Drew and Jonathan: Are there any other differences viewers can expect to see in this season compared to the first two?

Nate: I think we are both a bit more vulnerable this season. We really connected with several of the homeowners and plan to stay in touch with them so we can watch and celebrate their families’ evolution.

Jeremiah: Apart from the new homeowners, our family has grown quite a bit since the first two seasons. Poppy is now four and a force to be reckoned with. And with the addition of baby Oskar, our family life has beautifully shifted into something very new for us all. Viewers will definitely get to see us learning the ropes all over again!

Drew and Jonathan: Between all the homeowners and you two, how many tears were shed by the end of the new season?

Nate: One hundred? One million?

Jeremiah: I can’t even imagine—I’m always left so dehydrated after filming. But I’m happy to say that they were all tears of joy! It brings us so much happiness to have the opportunity to change people’s lives through design. Our job is to dream a bigger dream for people than they even thought was possible and then walk them into their new reality. There will never be a way to properly articulate the magic of that experience.

Drew and Jonathan: Are you doing anything special—on-screen or off—to celebrate the new season?

Jeremiah: For every season premiere, I watch and live-tweet the first episode! It’s like a full-circle ceremony for me, complete with my version of popcorn: Sour Patch Kids. Season three will be really crazy, and I’m so excited to see how everyone will react.

Nate: We’ll also be enjoying margaritas with the crew.

“Our job is to dream a bigger dream for people than they even thought was possible and then walk them into their new reality. There will never be a way to articulate the magic of that experience.” 

—Jeremiah Brent

Drew and Jonathan: What do you hope viewers take away from every episode of your show?

Nate: That design is a powerful way that we show love and take care of ourselves. 

Jeremiah: The humanity of it all. I really believe that everyone deserves to live beautifully, and being able to work towards that with everyone on the show is a huge privilege for me. At the end of the day, we really tried our best to give the homeowners the home that they deserve. 

Drew and Jonathan: Amid all the design talk, we admire your moments of banter and your one-liners! Does that come naturally to you when you’re on-camera? 

Jeremiah: What you see on the show is how we are in real life! Nate and I work very well together but inevitably we will have our differences, especially when it comes to design. The show does a really good job of capturing how we are, on- or off-camera.

Drew and Jonathan: The homeowners in each episode are usually stressed and at times emotional, but your sheer presence is often a calming force. What is your secret?

Nate: We listen!

Jeremiah: The joy is in the purpose for me. I love my job. I always want our design to feel like a soft place they can land at the end of the day, emotionally and physically. In order to do that, I feel like I also need to represent that with my energy, even if I’m also panicking inside!

Drew and Jonathan: We love that you show your home life and how you’re just two normal working dads. Do you think Poppy or Oskar will show interest in becoming a designer when they are older?

Jeremiah: We’ll never know! Two days ago Poppy said she wanted to be a “Spiderman princess superhero” and this morning she said she wanted to be a scientist. We’ll support them 100% with whatever they choose to be when they’re older. Nate and I are committed to showing them both the importance of being kind and present, so aside from that, their journey is their own.

Nate: Poppy is already showing signs of early furniture rearranging. We will have to let you know about Ockie, who is still a bit of a (charming) blob.

A family affair: Oskar, Nate, Poppy, and Jeremiah. Photo courtesy of TLC.

Drew and Jonathan: What else are you working on outside the show that you’re excited about?

Nate: So many things! Private design clients, the relaunch of my design firm, and especially our partnership and new expanded collection with Living Spaces—the Nate + Jeremiah for Living Spaces Spring 2019 collection launches April 15. Plus, I have a new fabric line for Kravet fabric launching in May!

Jeremiah: The next couple months will be a huge period of growth and change for our family. We’re really excited about this next chapter in our lives and can’t wait to share it with everyone.

Drew and Jonathan: Finally, we’ve been dying to ask you this: Would you ever consider a Brother vs. Brother–style show, where you compete against each other?

Jeremiah: Are you kidding?! Yes! It would be interesting (and so fun) to see us compete against each other. We have complementary skill sets in design so it’d be quite a match if we went head-to-head, but Nate is more practical and traditional while I tend to take on projects with emotion and energy and with designs that are often outside the box. Gulp! Who do you think would win?