Most of the questions, however, focused on three areas: exactly how bad is their kitchen right now? What, specifically, do they want their dream kitchen to look like? And have they lived through prior renovations, to ensure they'll put up with the inevitable headaches while still smiling for the TV cameras?

The Lombardis, both writers with jobs in marketing, polished their answers as carefully as a high-school senior crafting a college essay. They tried to be funny and show lots of personality. They mocked the previous owner's penchant for applying multiple layers of wallpaper and paint to every flat surface. They offered lots of specifics about what they'd like from their new kitchen: instead of a standard granite-and-stainless-steel combo they hoped for a Tuscan feel, with oatmeal-colored cabinets, textured plaster walls and a copper sink. But at the same time they made it clear they were receptive to designers' suggestions. "We're open to new ideas, even if they're currently not all the rage," Nicole says, suggesting that concrete counters would have been fine. "And we tend to view projects like this as an adventure, versus a headache." They were also in no rush.

As someone who has watched a fair bit of HGTV—and who has spent time inside the company as a reporter listening to a producer debate whether to cast a family on a show—I would say their application was pitch-perfect. They highlighted precisely why their current kitchen is a disaster—a requisite ingredient in makeover shows, since the "before" photos must be compellingly awful. (Inside HGTV, producers call this "the oops factor.") The couple's sense of humor comes through; a TV producer would guess that they would be good on camera. It's also evident that they've done enough renovations that they'll be game to help tackle easy aspects of the job themselves, like taking a crowbar to their old cabinets.

Within a few months a producer brought a camera to their house for a pre-interview. "He just turned the camera on us and said, 'Just go. Talk about the room. Talk about yourselves'," Nicole says. The couple spent nearly 45 minutes being filmed. They tried to be enthusiastic and funny, and they felt good about how it went. (The fact that they're both in their early 30s and attractive didn't hurt.) The only problem, the producer said, is that the rest of their house was still in the midst of remodeling. To be on the show the couple needed to finish the adjoining rooms. But after the pre-interview the Lombardis felt they had a reasonable shot at being cast. "We didn't really get the impression we were in competition with a lot of people," Nicole says.

A few months later, when they'd finished renovating the downstairs, they called the producer back. A staff member came back for a look-see. Afterward they heard they were "accepted" for a segment, though they could have to wait months before a crew showed up. In July it did.

Their kitchen remodeling took two weeks, including three days in which Nicole and Marc were filmed for the show. The results are stunning, with a more workable floor plan, a gleaming copper sink and high-end Aga appliances, including a $6,000 range. The best part: while the producers estimated their renovation job at $40,000 to $45,000, the Lombardis paid just $7,000, since many of the materials (including, presumably, the Aga appliances) were donated by sponsors.