After dating long-distance for a year, Jason, the community outreach director for the National Trust, and Casey, an architect and artist, decided to settle in Casey’s hometown of Buffalo, New York, where they have since opened their community activated storefront, The Pop In.

Now settled in their—spoiler alert!—three-bedroom, two-bathroom Buffalo Victorian built in the early 20th century, Jason and Casey sat down with us to talk about their experience filming and why Buffalo is so important to them.

What inspired you to audition for “House Hunters Renovation?”

Jason: (laughing) I actually have no idea. Casey and I don’t normally think twice about things and it was just like, this might be interesting, let’s just do it! And so we kind of decided on a whim to apply and we had one day before the deadline to film our audition video. We thought it would be a fun way to document our move here and show a younger, more positive side of Buffalo.

Casey: And also I think we are just really random—kind of a whirlwind. Jason and I were doing long distance between Brooklyn and DC and the fact that we got on a TV show was kind of insane, but the longer that I’ve been with Jason, I realize I should never doubt these random things that he comes up with and we do together. It was a really good experience.

What elements of the house were you able to save during renovation?

Casey: We repurposed old doors that used to be on hinges and actually sanded them down and turned them into a modern version of themselves and made barn doors for our closets. We repurposed a lot of things. We saved the bathtub; we painted it a beautiful green color on the outside and resurfaced the inside.

Jason: Largely when you see these shows, even in older homes, people go in and gut them and then make a very modern open concept. That’s the opposite of what we did. There really wasn’t a chance to not save something because we weren’t tearing anything out. What we achieved, which I hope people realize on television, is a modern open concept that was really respectful of the home. We took down one wall in a parlor and opened up our kitchen and that wall had some really beautiful molding on it but we wrapped it around the new configuration of the kitchen and just made it a part of the new modern design.

We really just kept the house the way it was and showed all of the existing features some love. Nothing was thrown out; everything was repurposed. Casey has even made furniture out of wood that came out of walls.

The only bummer aspect of the renovation was that we don’t have the original floors in the house. But what we did do is put in really beautiful floors that are going to last [the next] fifty or one hundred years. They’re really great quality, they can be sanded down and they look like they’ve always been here.

What is the preservation community like in Buffalo?

Jason: [After the National Trust’s Preservation Conference in 2011,] the entire city saw that there was no way to move forward without our past. In order for Buffalo to come back, it has to be a preservation-focused city; the city is so intact, and we have such a huge stock of buildings that can be repurposed. In that way I think the preservation community is unique here.

Casey: The preservation community is intense. We had a lot of friends come for filming and different parties that we had during the filming process and everyone’s been super supportive. Buffalo has a huge preservation community and I think there are larger cities like Chicago or Brooklyn that wish they had what we have here. It’s really great.

How has the preservation community in Buffalo responded to the show and to your project?

Jason: We had a huge premiere party, so we slept in a little the next day, of course. And I get up and look out the window, and there are people taking selfies in front of our house. I was like, this is the most bizarre thing in the world. First of all, the fact that these people not only watched the show, but they had to figure out where the house was, so that to me showed that the community was proud. That was a really funny moment. And ironically we don’t have drapes on our windows, so I was like "Hide!"

Casey: I remember I went downtown to file some paperwork for my business and this woman saw my license and saw my address and she just said, "You were on House Hunters. I just want to tell you how proud I am of you and your boyfriend Jason." To have a stranger say these things just really made my day and really made me realize I am on the right path for what I'm doing.

What advice do you have for other couples embarking on a renovation of a historic structure?

Jason: Be realistic about your timeframe and know that it’s always going to be more expensive than you think it is. [Ed. note: Jason and Casey went $10,000 over their $40,000 renovation budget.] History is so much more valuable than stainless steel appliances, so I would say invest the money because it’s just going to come back to you when people walk into your home and they feel like they’re in a home and not a development.

Casey: For me, it’s all about keeping it personal. I think a lot of times on TV you see a lot of things that are staged that don’t really reflect the couple. For me and Jason, I really wanted to infuse our personalities.

Don’t forget to tune in to HGTV at 10 a.m. this Saturday, December 5, to see Casey and Jason in action. Check your local listings.