Interview: Team Ty Wins ‘Battle on the Beach’ Season 5

Beachfront views are nice. A Battle on the Beach win is even better.

After seven weeks of high-stakes renovation challenges, Team Ty has officially come out on top in Season 5 of HGTV's Battle on the Beach. Guided by mentor Ty Pennington, mother-daughter duo Michelle Mueller and Sydney Lorence transformed a dated beachfront vacation home along South Carolina's Grand Strand into a standout rental, impressing Renovation Aloha judges Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama and boosting the property's rental value by 257%.

This season, three teams of renovators were mentored by Renovation Island's Sarah Baeumler, Mika Kleinschmidt of 100 Day Dream Home and Rock the Block host Ty. Each team received a $100,000 renovation budget and seven weeks to reimagine some of the largest homes ever featured on the series. But in the end, Ty’s team took home a $56,000 grand prize and earned ultimate bragging rights.

HGTV caught up with Ty to talk about his experience as a mentor, the biggest challenges of the competition and what it feels like to coach the winning team for a second time.

HGTV in Conversation With Ty Pennington

HGTV: Congrats on the win! It seems like it was a fun, yet stressful season. What’s the pressure really like for these teams behind the scenes?

Ty: Hey, thanks. People don't realize how difficult this show is. You're talking about ripping out walls, putting in new plumbing, changing floor plans — and it's two team members and one carpenter. These are huge renovations for two people who have never really been in a competition on television before. The pressure of not having enough time, not having enough budget and not always understanding what you're even going to be able to show off — all of that creates stress. Unfortunately, viewers sometimes watch and think, "Oh, what a crybaby." But I'd like to see them go through what these people go through because, trust me, it is not easy … It really never ends until it's finally over. And I think that's why there's such a huge emotional reaction at the end of every episode. The teams are so excited not only to finish a room, but because they've literally put everything they've got into every single space. And it shows.

HGTV: Viewers couldn't help but notice tension, first between Michelle and Sydney, and occasionally between you and Sydney. What was that friction rooted in?

Ty: Truth be told, I actually got along with them very well in the sense that we had fun. We butted heads a couple of times, but I'm the kind of person who tries to come into anything I do and find the fun in it because I don't like making work miserable. But sometimes you have to have real conversations. I think with me and my team, there was definitely friction, a lot of it between Sydney and her mom. Michelle is an experienced DIYer — she knows carpentry. She knows how to do framing. She's a builder in many ways. I think her daughter, growing up in the shadow of that, was trying to make a name for herself as a DIYer too.

And then you've got someone who comes in and has ideas just popping out of his face, and that was overwhelming. All of a sudden, you've got three people involved, and as they say, three's a crowd. I'm the guy who's trying to help, but I'm also trying to get answers so we can tell the story of what direction this thing is going in. It's a challenge because you want to let them go and see how far they get, but unfortunately, it's kind of like being a parent. If you let them go too far on the leash, the next thing you know, they're in traffic, and it's like, "Oh boy."

HGTV: There were moments when Sydney seemed frustrated that her ideas weren't being heard, and she felt like you and Michelle were kind of ganging up on her. As someone caught in the middle of a mother-daughter dynamic, how did you handle that?

Ty: I've been lucky enough to work with some pretty strong women in my life. The entire thing came down to Sydney’s youth and lack of experience. I think she wanted to prove herself to the world, but in the process, she also had to believe in herself, and she hadn't gotten there yet. When you're young, you want to make a name for yourself. I certainly did. I think with Sydney, she wanted to be able to say, "This wasn't my mom's idea. This wasn't Ty's idea. This was me coming up with a really good plan." Sometimes you just have to let people find their way. I think Sydney was really trying to prove herself — not only to the world, but maybe to herself.

My mom is a child psychologist, so I called her and asked, "In this situation, what do you do?" And she said, "Just try to give them the confidence they need. Tell them you believe in them. You’ll be surprised how far that goes." So, I did just that.

HGTV: How hard was it to allow your team to go in their own direction and to not always have your ideas lead the charge?

Ty: Our job is called a mentor, right? Mentoring means not showing the world what you can do, but helping somebody else try and find their vision. It's a real tough thing because I'm not only super competitive, but I also have rapid-fire ideas I can't even control … I think the challenge with mentoring is the communication, and sometimes your team may not share exactly what their vision is … because they don't really know yet. So, when you're trying to suggest this or that, but they haven't even got a clear idea of what they're doing yet, they need a moment when the cameras aren’t in their faces to sit down and be like, "OK, what do we wanna do?"

The truth is, the teams don't really have a moment to prep because you hit the ground running. You find the house, boom, you've got to go with what you see in front of you, and then somebody's asking you, "Hey, what do you think of this?" And so, as a mentor, you really have to take a back seat, which is sometimes a challenge for people that have always been in the driver's seat. I think that's the way I look at mentorship — you have to let the person that's leading the design charge find their way.

HGTV: Looking back on the season, what was the biggest challenge your team had to overcome that viewers may not have fully understood from watching at home?

Ty: I know it sounds kind of corny, but I think the biggest challenge was gaining trust. In our initial meeting, Sydney had her first breakdown because her mom and I were discussing things without checking in with Sydney first. I didn't realize it then, but that's what triggered Sydney’s reaction of, "You guys can't make decisions without me." I think understanding that situation made me realize, "OK, we can't just tell this young woman what to do. She also has to feel that ideas came from her."

We got better as a team because we started trusting each other. For example, in the kitchen, I was trying to convince them, "You're going to want to go with a green that's a little louder rather than muted because otherwise it's going to blend in too much with the floor." And they actually listened. It's those little moments where trust starts to build. You realize, "OK, we're starting to gel as a team." I think that's when we really started to feel our confidence.

HGTV: The judges commented that the design leaned into the "coastal grandma" aesthetic, rather than a younger, trendier beach house vibe. As their mentor, were you ever concerned that style might not resonate with the judges?

Ty: What worried me about doing a coastal cottage vibe was that it was a little too calm. It's a little too — what's the word? — safe. I like having a wow moment. I like having a big focal point; I'm really looking for a big reaction. Now, I think coastal cottage can look very cute and very warm and cozy, but the question is: Is it going to wow the judges? That was my big fear. The chairs and furniture were very grandma-style, but that's also because my team was very frugal. They got used furniture, washed all the covers and basically gave everything a second life to save money. Could it have been a little better if they had used more modern furniture? Yes, I think so. But that being said, it was cozy and turned out great.

HGTV: One of the more interesting twists of the season was that challenge winners could either pocket $3,000 or roll the money into the final grand prize. Most teams chose to take that guaranteed cash rather than gamble on a bigger payout at the end. In hindsight, was that the right call?

Ty: My wife and I were discussing that: What would we do? But here's the thing. It's kind of cocky to say, "OK, we won this room, and now we feel so confident that we're going to win the whole thing that we're just going to bank that money knowing we'll get it back in the end." But what if you don't win in the end? How confident can you really be that you're going to win back all this extra money? It's a tough call. It's hard to count on the end result when you don't know what the other teams are going to bring in the next rounds. So I'd probably say, "Take the money now." But I think as your team gets closer to the finish line, you're going to wish you'd just rolled it into the prize pool so you could get that bigger payout at the end.

HGTV: The judges praised much of your work, but they weren’t impressed by your home’s exterior. Looking back, do you agree?

Ty: I think Michelle and Sydney sort of ran out of steam for the exterior. My team was just like, "Uh, we kind of forgot about saving anything for the exterior." It was kind of embarrassing because the judges were like, "I'm going to be honest, we're pretty underwhelmed." And I was like, "How could you not be?” We had this one long deck that went all the way to the beach, and it had nothing on it. But we’re talking about a beach house, where people spend most of their time outside! You've got to make it a fun spot.

I kind of threw a Hail Mary and asked, "Have you guys ever been to a really nice hotel in Miami?" And they're like, "No." And I'm like, "We need a custom cabana to change the vibe of the house." That was one of those flare-gun moments — creating the cabana. Without it, I don't think we would have won.

HGTV: Let’s talk about that lifeguard stand in the guest bedroom.

Ty: I was against it the entire time. I thought, "OK, there's only a certain number of people with kids who are really going to want that kind of thing." I said, "Yeah, you can build that, but it's going to take up a major part of the room." Then, Michelle basically built the entire thing from scratch, which was incredibly impressive. That ended up being one of those stunners where I was against it from Day 1, and then they went out and did such an incredible job that they won right in front of my face. They proved me wrong.

HGTV: Your team ultimately increased your home's rental value by an impressive 257% and secured a peak-season rental rate high enough to win the competition. When you were announced as the winning team, with fireworks exploding behind you, you looked like a kid who had just found out his team won the Super Bowl.

Ty: When they announced the winner, I was like, "Oh my God. You guys have worked so hard." Those two put in not only the physical labor, but the mental labor as well. That's how you win. I saw firsthand some of the roughest stuff they went through. They had to struggle with the dynamics of their own family relationship, and somehow they worked it out, and they got to a place where they were proud of what they'd accomplished together. They took this so seriously. They weren't there to finish second.

HGTV: There was a point after the win when Sydney called the experience one of the best of her life. What do you think she and her mom took away from it?

Ty: I mean, honestly, I think what was great about those two is that they finally had the talk some parents and kids never have. It’s the simple conversation of, "Look, I love you. I've always believed in you." Sometimes we think it, but we don't say it. They had a moment where they finally had to face each other and say the things that we all long to hear. And once they realized they were a team, working for each other and trying to prove that they could do work as well as anybody else on the beach, I think they walked away knowing they could trust each other. Not only in their experience, but also in the creative process. It's very difficult to work with anybody, whether it's a friend or a family member, and trust them while also sharing the spotlight in the creative process. I think those two really found a way to work together.

HGTV: In the end, the three of you were filmed wearing matching overalls, with you skipping the shirt underneath. What's the story behind that?

Ty: I think they [Michelle and Sydney] were sort of seen as country bumpkins, but very charming country bumpkins. By the end of it, we were like, "OK, tomorrow we all wear overalls." Our entire behind-the-scenes crew — the camera guy, the sound guy, the producer, our carpenter — showed up in overalls. It was kind of funny because I'm from the South, so I started to look a little like Huck Finn wearing them. I don't normally wear that sort of look, but when in Nebraska, why not? And then, of course, the girls took me out for hot dogs afterward, which was really nice, with the $4.32 they had left over from their budget.

HGTV: Having now won Battle on the Beach twice, would you do it again?

Ty: Would I return? Are you kidding me? I think Battle on the Beach is one of the best shows out there! Who doesn't love it? First of all, everyone wants to have a beach home. Whether we rent one or actually own one, I think we all creatively have an idea of what our perfect beach house would be. Then, there’s the fact that I get to mentor someone. I'm at that point where I want to pass the torch. I want to see the next generation really show what they can do. I love people who can think outside the box. I'm always excited when somebody has a new, bold, brilliant idea because I want to be part of it. I want to help pull it off. I'm right in the mix of the creative process, and for me, that's the fun part. Then, when it all comes to fruition and you see the final result, that's when we all get to say, "Oh wow, that did turn out nice." It’s a win-win!