Christina Hall Shares Money-Saving Tips Amid Divorce Drama—and Dishes on Rumblings of a New Cast Member

Are we going to get a Christina Hall and Ant Anstead reunion?

After news broke that Christina Hall’s estranged husband, Josh Hall, has left the upcoming HGTV show “The Flip Off,” which will star Christina as well as Tarek and Heather El Moussa, one fan suggested on Instagram that Anstead take Josh’s place.

“How awesome would it be to have Ant replace Josh on the flip off? Ratings would go through the roof,” the fan wrote.

Christina responded to the comment, writing: “LOL that would be a genius ‘ratings’ idea just sayin’.”

But why stop at “The Flip Off”? While Josh used to have a substantial part on “ Christina on the Coast,” often appearing to help Christina talk through a design idea or participate in a fun family activity, it seems he’s made a quick exit from the show. Could we hope to see Anstead back on TV? Surely, it would be a great move!

In the meantime, there’s plenty to bring fans to watch Christina on the small screen. On the Season 6 episode of “Christina on the Coast,” titled “Bucking Under the Timeline,” Christina meets with Aaron and Bre, parents of three young kids. After years of saving, these two just bought their first home.

The Huntington Beach, CA, abode has a lovely exterior and tons of potential, but it’s simply too cramped. Aaron and Bre want to build an extension onto the living room and kitchen and create a bigger living space for their large family.

With a few renovation surprises and a couple of last-minute projects, Christina needs to extend her $150,000 budget to $171,500. Still, for the scope of this project, Christina does a great job keeping costs low and finding clever ways to save money.

Read on to see how the HGTV star makes this living space feel brand new, with plenty of take-home tips for saving money during a renovation.

Put off the demo as long as possible

To save money where they can, Bre and Aaron tell Christina that they’ll be living in the house during the renovation. Dealing with a project 24/7 can be tough, but the couple already have a fridge set up in the garage and are willing to do dishes in the bathtub.

“Living at your home during a renovation is tough. I’ve been there many times,” Christina says. “It’s a lot of takeout and barbecue, not to mention all of the dirt and noise.”

Still, Aaron asks Christina if the team could make their situation a little easier by waiting to demo the kitchen, suggesting they could frame out the addition first and then do the demo.

Luckily, the team can make this work and the homeowners can use their kitchen until the last possible second.

It’s a clever way to plan the renovation that allows Christina’s clients to stay in their house instead of renting temporary digs.

Save money on exterior doors

In Christina’s original design plan, she hoped to give her clients a giant 18-foot bifold door across the living room wall leading to the backyard.

They would need to move an electrical panel, which would cost $12,000, and the door—plus the engineering and steel beam required to get it installed—would be an additional $50,000.

Aaron says right away that this isn’t going to work on their budget. Christina offers another option that could give this home the bifold look—for a much lower cost.

“It would just be two separate 9-foot bifold doors, and then we can center them in the room, and they’re going to be floor to ceiling,” Christina says. “And I actually kind of like the fact that you could open one set of them, leave the second set closed, or have both of them open.”

This would cost $15,000, a price Aaron is happy with. The new doors look amazing, letting in lots of light and giving the living space an indoor-outdoor feel.

Choose designs you’ll love for decades

When Christina meets with her clients to pick out kitchen finishes, she brings some colorful design samples to match Aaron’s bold style and some neutral items that she knows Bre will like.

When the couple look at the options, Bre says she doesn’t like the bold look, especially the green cabinet option.

“I feel like I might get sick of it,” she says, adding that she “would rather move” than have to do another renovation a few years down the line.

They settle on a “putty-colored” cabinet and a countertop with just enough veining to give Aaron the wow factor he craves.

It makes good financial sense to pick timeless styles and colors, so you need only to go through renovations once.

Don’t spend on unnecessary windows

Partway through the renovation, Aaron and Bre express concerns about light and wonder if they should add a window.

“What does every client say at this stage of the process?” Christina asks her design project manager, James Bender.

“I am afraid of it being too dark!” Bender says.

“Seriously, everyone does say that with good reason,” the designer tells her clients. “Because, I mean, one, you’re living in a construction zone, all the exposed wood … the missing drywall. It always feels dark and dreary.”

Bender explains that once the drywall is in, the space will seem much brighter.

Christina notes that rather than having another window, Bre and Aaron would appreciate having a wall of storage. She persuades these homeowners to save their money and forgo another window.

In the end, the space is bright and airy. It looks like they didn’t need that window after all!

Use a cost-efficient way to improve a view

Once most of the kitchen is finished, Bre seems glad they didn’t put in another window because she’s worried about the view from the existing kitchen window.

“It’s definitely an eyesore when you are just starting at the neighbor’s house,” Bre says. “And before, it wasn’t as noticeable simply because the window wasn’t as large.”

“It was farther away, too,” Christina says of the feature on one of the new addition’s walls.

Luckily, Christina has some ideas. She says they could add some tile around the window, taking attention away from the neighbors. She also suggests building a tall wall in front of the existing fence to block the view.

“We don’t have to do the whole, entire area. We could just carry it up,” Christina says. “And then if we did something like a living wall feature, I think that’ll make it look intentional.”

Bre and Aaron like the idea of the living wall, and it’s a great solution in the end.

Now, the homeowners will see lush plants instead of the house next door when they look out the window.