Exclusive: Christina Hall Opens Up About Her Home, Her Heart, and More That Will Show Her in a Whole New Light

Christina Hall is back, in more ways than one.

After a stint in the South doing renovations on “Christina in the Country,” this HGTV star has returned to her West Coast roots for the second half of Season 4 of “Christina on the Coast.”

On the show (premiering on Thursday on HGTV and streaming on Max), the Newport Beach, CA–based designer overhauls houses for her California clients while also remodeling her own family home.

“It never stops,” she tells Realtor.com. “We’re adding a barbecue entertaining area in the backyard because around the pool there’s not a barbecue. And we’re also going to make some changes in our master bathroom.”

Curious to find out what she and her husband, Josh Hall, are up to around their own home and beyond, we caught up with her and learned about some of the latest trends she loves—and a few she hates—as well as her hopes for the future.

Before the midseason break, we saw you move from Dana Point back to Newport Beach, CA. How are things going?

I always thought it would be so wonderful to have a house with an ocean view, which was wonderful. But the sacrifice of not being as close to friends and family, being outside my comfort zone—Newport Beach just feels like home to me. While Dana Point is wonderful, it just didn’t have that same level of home feeling, so we’re very happy we moved back. I love where we’re at. I love being close to friends and the restaurants I like, and riding our bikes. The kids are very happy, too.

What renovations have you done in the new house?

We made a lot of changes throughout the whole house. It’s extremely modern, and modern—believe it or not—is probably my least favorite style. It feels a bit cold if it’s not done correctly, so we added our own take on a modern style. We added an organic vibe—I call it a Bali flair. We softened it; we added more wood textures.

Josh and I both love black, so we added a lot of black in the house. We went with all black Café appliances that look super cool; they add an edge to the modernness. We added a bar area because I think every house should have at least a little minibar or fridge somewhere to have all your beverages. [We] added cool lighting, plants, redid the kids’ rooms—we did it all.

What feature of your home do you enjoy the most?

My favorite room in the house is our bedroom. It feels really tranquil. It’s all glass, and there’s really cool bamboo that you look out at. It has vacation vibes. It sits up high, so you feel like you’re in one of those hotels where the room is on stilts. There’s a cool chair in the corner where I like to read.

In today’s market, what is your best renovation advice for homeowners?

Prices have gone up a lot. That makes it super complicated when homeowners have an idea of what they think they’re going to spend, and those prices have changed dramatically in the past three years.

I would advise everyone to get multiple bids and get referrals. I feel like that’s the biggest problem in this industry—not getting correct work done, or you go into it with expectations and the project takes significantly longer than it should.

What’s the biggest design or real estate lesson you’ve learned since beginning your career?

I started in 2009, and from 2009 to 2023, there’s been, like, 16 different design trends along the way. My goal was always to design for the masses. Especially doing house flipping, we never wanted to alienate anyone.

You want all buyers to walk in and be able to feel like, no matter what is going on, they could come in with their furniture and it would be their style. No matter if the homeowner tells me they’re going to live here the rest of their life, I always look at it like, what’s good for resale?

What still challenges you about real estate and design?

Everyone loves the coastal design, right? Well, that can get a little bit boring since everyone wants pretty much the same design. I have a California coastal edge, but sometimes I want to mix it up, especially when people have a different style house, like midcentury modern or super contemporary. We’re seeing a lot of the same design trends that we have been seeing for the past few years, and that gets a little complicated when I want to try something different.

Is there a coastal design detail that would work wherever you live?

Living by the coast, I picture that as the indoor-outdoor feel, a lot of natural light, bringing in wood textures, wooden tones, natural oak cabinets, real plants. So I feel like the style I’m in right now transfers wherever you live.

What popular design trend do you love most?

Large islands! I love a big island. Especially with kids, we spend a lot of time at the island. We have dinners here, we do homework, we do crafts, we do games.

My advice is, when you choose a countertop material, make sure that it’s durable because families do spend so much time entertaining in the kitchen and around the island. If you go with a porous material, you may regret that later.

As a mom of three, what is your top tip for decluttering a home with kids?

I have a husband who is very neat! But besides that, organizing is so important. We’re constantly shedding and donating and giving away. It’s taking everything out of your cabinets or your closet and really looking at what you don’t use and don’t need and donating those items. You feel so much better when you’re able to find things, you know where things are, and when you open a drawer things look pretty. I just think that it goes a very long way.

Do you ever find it challenging to meet Josh’s preference for neatness?

Oh yeah, especially with three kids—two of them are not neat. They have their sticky fingers, and they’re touching everything, walls, cabinets. Just reminding them to wash their hands, it’s a life lesson that should be taught anyways. Definitely [Josh] is way more neat than all of us are.

Is there a popular design trend you’d be happy to never do again?

One that I’m not into that went out in the early 2000s is that heavy Tuscan [style]. Like the travertine everywhere—and trust me, I used to do it in the early 2000s—I’m not super into that, all the browns, the heavy rugs, and all those things.

What’s the most common issue clients need help with?

People have a really hard time putting everything together. Even when I show clients a counter, backsplash, handles, everything—people really struggle to visualize it.

I’ve done so many flips and transformations, I can walk in a house and know exactly what it could look like in 10 seconds, how the floor plan would be more functional, how you should remove walls, how the flow should be. That’s my favorite part; I mostly enjoy the big part of the remodel. I don’t so much enjoy picking the furniture, but I enjoy taking walls down and making it a space where people can enjoy it more [with] their family.

On HGTV’s ‘Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge’ (premiering July 16), you and co-star James Bender take on Barbie’s closet. Who has the better closet, you or Barbie?

I love my closet, but Barbie’s is better. That closet is insane. James and I use some inspiration from the movie “Clueless.” Remember Cher’s closet? It’s pretty incredible. It was such a fun process.

Your Instagram profile tagline is ‘Master of Manifesting.’ What are you manifesting next?

I really want to be in a big-box store with a home decor line. My favorite places to shop for accessories [like] floating shelves is CB2, but I feel like there are gaps [in the market] for bedding and everything really, so I would love to have my own home decor line. I would also like to have a tile line.

“Christina on the Coast” premieres on Thursday at 9 p.m. on HGTV and streams on Max.

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