Save This House

Like an Indiana Jones of preservation, Brett Waterman whips up enthusiasm for historic homes to make them seem less academic and more approachable.

He brings years of experience restoring such structures to his role as host of the DIY series Restored. In a trademark cowboy hat and grin, Waterman helps homeowners and viewers learn about old houses and their architectural features in a straightforward, accessible way.

His goal is not to bulldoze through a house for a quick update and flip. Rather, he peels away decades' worth of paint and flooring on Restored to reveal the homes' true identities — plus walls, pass-through panels, fixtures and previous remodeling efforts. He also shows homeowners stellar examples of their own homes' architectural style.

"I don't know what I love more — the houses or the people," he says. "As we take these architectural journeys, their eyes will open up. They'll say, 'We're here every day and we never saw that!' It's fun to see people get so excited about their own houses."

Waterman has been fascinated by old buildings since he spent summers as a boy in Big Cabin, Oklahoma, working on the family farm. After graduating from UCLA, he worked in marketing and helped start up realtor.com.

Now a senior vice-president at Santa Ana, California–based First American Mortgage Solutions, he's been with the firm and its affiliates for more than 15 years. "The company is supportive and affords me the flexibility to work on special projects," he says. "I am definitely a busy guy."

As an entrepreneur, he has performed painstaking restorations of gems like the O'Melveny House in Los Angeles. Built in 1908 by a cofounder of one of the city's major law firms, this English Arts and Crafts home was later owned by the wealthy Rindge family and more recently by actor–producer David Arquette.

Waterman also hosts a web series, Unlocking Treasures. On one episode, he climbs the stairs at Kimberly Crest, an 1897 French chateau Victorian in Redlands, California. Discussing the staircase millwork, he focuses on the urn shape of a carved finial on the support column, then swivels around to discuss the orchestra balcony.

He puts the space into context: at the turn of the century, live music was a popular entertainment in grand homes such as this. Pulling back to show both levels at once, Waterman explains that the orchestra balcony's windows helped illuminate the main hall, essential in a pre-electric home.

Renovation, restoration and recreation are "the three Rs," he says. "Restoration is the ideal — when you have original materials, the blueprint, and you can restore what you have. It's also the most cost-effective if the original materials are in good condition." With a blueprint and archival photos, he notes, "You have guidelines on how to put everything back."

A California native, Waterman can discuss his home state's mid-century Cliff May ranch houses and Spanish colonial revivals with ease, but he's looking forward to exploring and restoring in other regions.

As Restored airs its third season this summer, he's working on a new HGTV series about old vacation homes in upstate New York — places where Mrs. Maisel's family might have summered.

"The character of a house evolves over time," he explains. "Scratches in the floor, the sag in a door — those details and nuances make a house feel like a home. Those memories live on in that house."

Discovering the house's backstory helps protect its integrity, Waterman says. "If we don't appreciate and understand it now, we're not going to have enough left to share with future generations."

Viewers can catch up on Restored on the DIY Network app.

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine, Issue No. 8, 2019