Each new season of Queer Eye brings more catchphrases, surprising transformations and even more boxes of tissues. But it also inevitably prompts a flurry of questions from viewers online. It’s easy to see just how Jonathan Van Ness gracefully shapes a beard, or which of Tan France’s style tricks help Heroes — the show’s makeover participants — finally find the perfect fit, but when it comes to design expert Bobby Berk, his work seems a lot more mysterious. By the end of the season, we always find ourselves asking: How the hell does Bobby pull off his renovations so quickly?

Well, before a hammer meets a single nail, it all begins with a budget. “At the very beginning of every season, there’s always an even amount [of money] spread out across each episode,” Bobby tells Tudum. “Some renovations cost more than others and with some we have amazing brand partners that donate. Often, we’ll end up spending more because the need was different.”

Which begs the question: Does Queer Eye pay for renovations? Yes — the heroes fork over approximately zero dollars for the makeover. “They get to keep everything,” he adds. “This is all financed by Netflix and our amazing partners.”

For every other detail about the Queer Eye renovations, Bobby peels back the (floral, most likely) curtain below to break down his process and share everything from his meticulous prep strategy to the transformation he’s most proud of.

Step One: Find the Loft and Warehouse

To start, Bobby is tasked with finding the season’s headquarters. During Seasons 1 through 4, Bobby would go to the film site weeks before the other Queer Eye members to begin finding the loft — the Fab Five’s home base, essentially. Bobby, along with the head of his team, Tommy Rouse (formerly of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), actually designs and decorates the space himself.

Bobby then finds a warehouse to rent, which he and his team fill with shelves of home goods, including everything from furniture to utensils to plants. “We basically build our own store, so that way, every week, we have access to those types of things that we need,” Bobby says. “Each week, obviously, we find personal things for that Hero, but we try to build our nuts and bolts. That’s how we do things so quickly.” But supply chain disruptions have affected the dynamic — Bobby reveals that, in Season 6, he couldn’t find sofa cushions for one Hero, so the team upholstered them with curtains from IKEA. Now, luckily, Bobby says he doesn’t have to fly out in advance, because he uses the same team every season. “They’ve got it down,” he says. “They’re basically on autopilot at this point.” 

Step Two: Prep Time

Each week, the Fab Five meet the episode’s Hero on Tuesday, and Bobby is expected to be done by Friday. Yep, let that sink in.

It’s a tight time frame, but Bobby says his team preps for the episode a week in advance. While he’s working on the renovation of the week, part of his crew will scout out next week’s location, take measurements and come up with a plan. The Heroes fill out a design questionnaire — which asks questions like most and least liked colors — so they can more accurately order furniture to their tastes.

Typically, the rooms to be renovated are pre-chosen, but, he says, there have been episodes where the team had to pivot last-minute. “The Cory episode in Season 1 — the cop — we had planned on renovating his basement. That was the plan, that was what the furniture was bought for,” he says. “And then we get there and learn more about him, and I was like, ‘Dude, you need to stop hanging out in your basement. I’m not going to give you a cooler place to hang out and not spend time with your family. I’m going to renovate the upstairs, because you need to be up here, spending more time with your family.’”

Step Three: Meet the Heroes 

By the time Bobby meets the Heroes, he has mostly designed the renovation but is missing one key element: the Heroes themselves. “The week we meet them is when I figure out more things about their personality,” he says. “That's how we infuse personalization into the home.” In the past, Bobby has created furniture with loved ones’ handwriting inscribed or created spaces for special pieces like flags or photographs.

After they meet, Bobby and the team will do a walkthrough with the Hero and ask which items they want to keep, donate or throw away. “There are some things they do want to get rid of, but most of the time, they’re like, ‘Keep, keep, keep,’” he says. “They’re afraid to get rid of it, because they don’t realize what we’re about to do to their house.” The furniture and decor the Hero decides to keep gets piled in their garage, shed or another room in their house. Bobby says there've even been episodes where they’ve had to leave the leftover items in the backyard and cover them with a tarp because there’s not enough room. As for any unused warehouse furniture? Bobby says most brands understand the process and are happy to take back goods; if not, they’re donated.

Step Four: Renovate, Renovate, Renovate

Next up, it’s time to actually complete the renovation. Bobby says he has four core team members to help him everyday, and then local workers are hired on top of that. But it’s typically not more than 10 people. “It’s never as big as it needs to be!” he says, laughing. But the group is usually able to get all the renovations done in three days because of the prep work.

Once it’s time to decorate, the team will fill up a box truck with goods from the warehouse and park it in front of the house for easy access.

Step Five: Reveal and Tie Up Loose Ends

The reveal, Bobby says, is his favorite part of the process. “I love it when they walk through their home, and I can tell that they feel seen,” he says. “They find these things in their home, and they’re like, ‘Wow, this reminds me of the first date I went on.’ I’m like, ‘I know. That was on purpose.’” Out of all six seasons, Bobby says he is most proud of the renovation for Season 4’s Wesley Hamilton; he’s excited that the renovation helped Hamilton, who is paralyzed, create an independent lifestyle.

The frat house makeover in the Season 7 opener also stands out for Bobby because it was “such a transformation” with multiple bedrooms and living spaces. 

Sometimes, the team will have to go back in after the reveal, but only in special circumstances — for instance, in Season 6, Josh Eilers’ new trailer home didn’t have water and electricity yet due to a water main break on his farm. “That house was running on a garden hose and a generator on-camera!” he says. And additional renovations can be made: Bobby says the Safe In Austin barn, featured in the Season 6 finale, had enough room to build a second floor, which the group have already done.

Some designers might feel protective about their work, but Bobby typically doesn’t mind if the Heroes put their homes on the market — for example, Season 1’s AJ and Andre sold their apartment after their episode, which he says gave them enough money to start a life together. He’s still in touch with many of the show’s participants, including Season 1’s Neal Reddy. Bobby says he gave Reddy design advice to complete the rest of his home and had him stay over in his Los Angeles house. Season 6’s Miss Tara, a teacher at Navarro Early College High School, even guessed his identity on The Masked Singer.

But Bobby says there’s no secret sauce to the quick renovations he completes: he just has his crew to thank. “Our show is a monster,” he says. “It took quite a few seasons to figure out how to make it happen. It’s been really great to get to have the same people that I work with that are family now.”