People are always asking me how I come up with all the Simple Solutions for Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford. It’s a valid question, especially when you consider that we’ve taped well over 200 Simple Solution segments in the past nine years.

Most of the tool tips and home-remodeling hints come directly from my experiences working in the building trades, and as a serial DIYer. But I also get great Simple Solution ideas from Danny, director Scott Gardner, even television viewers and online visitors. (Got a Simple Solutions tip? Send it along to simplesolutions@dannylipford.com and perhaps we’ll air it.)

My TV career reaches new heights!

People are also curious to know where we shoot the Simple Solutions, and that’s a bit trickier to explain because we shoot wherever it’s necessary to produce the best possible segments.

We often tape in the Today’s Homeowner workshop or at construction sites. But when we need to shoot in a bathroom, kitchen, attic, backyard, or anywhere else in or around a home, we typically end up at Danny’s house. In fact, during our last taping session we shot quite a few segments at Danny’s, even though Danny wasn’t home at the time, which was probably a good thing.

Here’s how one day went:

While we were taping a tip about hanging holiday lights, I found myself climbing one of the trees in Danny’s front yard. (I could only imagine what the neighbors were thinking.) You see, the sun was shining a bit too brightly so Brad, our cameraman, suggested hanging some white fabric in the tree to diffuse the sunlight.

So, I summoned my inner monkey (in my case, a local call), and next thing I know, I’m high in the tree clamping cloth to branches. Once I was safely back on terra firma, we resumed taping, and the segment ended up looking great.

Welcome to the glamorous world of TV!

Later that same day, we spent an hour or so in Danny’s master bathroom, shooting a tip on cleaning shower doors. For a majority of the time, I was just standing in the shower stall as Scott, Brad and Allen gathered props, set up lights and ran sound checks. It’s all part of producing a TV show, and since I have the easiest job of anyone on site, I never mind waiting around.

Although, it did eventually strike me as a bit strange. Here I was, freshly flown in from Connecticut, and then suddenly I’m standing—fully clothed—in a shower stall in Alabama, while a trio of talented technicians work to make me look and sound much better than I actually do.

So, after all these years, two things have become abundantly clear: 1) The Today’s Homeowner crew will do whatever’s necessary to produce quality programming, and 2) Danny—and his wife, Sharon—are incredibly accommodating.

I feel very fortunate to be part of the team. And I promise to do my best to stay out of their trees and shower stalls.

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