“We are like couch cats.”

These are the words of Bill Lance, who along with his partner, Joe Ferron Hiatt, have been scratching their marks in the entertainment world like cats upon upholstery.

The Jim Thorpe residents have been set designing and art directing for “NBC’s Tonight Show” starring Jimmy Fallon and have completed similar projects for the two Creed movies in the Rocky series, M. Night Shamalan’s movie, “Glass,” Jason Segal’s “Dispatches from Elsewhere” as well as several others.

Unexpected TV stars

Lance and Hiatt have been quietly going about their hands — on artistic impressions for the past 20 years until recently, when they were both featured on the first episode of “Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House?”

The program has drawn thousands of HGTV fans and is the network’s most popular new show that debuted this May.

“We call ourselves scenic artists,” said Lance, a graduate of Pratt University in New York. “Once we contacted HGTV about our desire to refurbish a house for ourselves in upstate New York, they said, ‘let’s do it’ and we offered our sweat equity to help bring an old, abandoned building back to life.”

Given the choice between two old structures in Whitehall, New York, to make their home, Lance and Hiatt decided on an 1804 firehouse/municipal building.

“Once you remove the garbage, an old building is just waiting to shine,” explained Hiatt, a Temple University alumnus with a post graduate degree in playwriting from the University of Iowa. Hiatt’s creative writing skills were put to work in his live stage productions and podcasts at the Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe titled, “40 Story Radio Tower” in 2015.

From hands to hearts

The HGTV episode reveals the transformation of the firehouse that sold for $100,000 to the two Jim Thorpe men into a home with $90,000 worth of their budget renovations. Extensive removal of interior paint by contractors revealed ornate metal ceilings and walls that had cast a unique character to the dwelling along with the uncovered hardwood floors and large original windows to preserve the building’s history.

Lance and Hiatt scraped old paint off the brick exterior so that a new paint could be applied to allow the bricks to “breathe” and eliminate the trapped moisture that might have compromised the structural integrity of the building.

When asked how many bedrooms are in the house, Lance laughed and said, “None. Joe and I are working upstairs for a few bedrooms, but if somebody comes to stay with us, there’s plenty of wine and plenty of space on the floor.”

When the hosts of HGTV brought them into the house to see the finished lower floor interior, they became quite emotional, especially Hiatt who was shown a musically inspired section of open space that included a brass horn his father used to play in high school.

“It was like it was Christmas when you were a kid,” he said before he took it all in. “You can’t sleep because you just want to take a peek.”

“Our Whitehall home is like a jewel box,” said Lance, as he peered into what had been the mayor’s office in the early 19th century that now will be his work room. “There’s a lot of poetry in this old building.”

Homes sweet homes

For the record, Lance and Hiatt have no intention of moving from their house that’s been their home for two decades in Jim Thorpe, a town that Hiatt said they discovered “with a red map looking for a green space.”

They once had an art gallery there. Both profess their love for the vibe of Jim Thorpe’s artistic and historical character and have made many friends in and about the town for the past 24 years.

Their 30 years of life’s journeys together, which Lance calls a “mythology,” has been premised upon letting go of the idea that they can control their daily destinies.

“We’re happy to just allow things to happen,” said Lance, “and when you let others help you along the way, that makes them happy. When we had to choose one of three interior design concepts for the Whitehall house, we got a sense that the designer really wanted us to pick what she called the “Wild Card.”

So, we went with it and we loved the creativity and color schemes she put into the first floor of the house we intend to use as our weekend getaway.”

A little luck and a lot of laughter

Lance and Hiatt are artistic craftsmen. They enjoy getting their hands dirty and making something new from something old. Their do-it-yourself projects are personal interpretations mixed in with a bit of love and a lot of laughter. When asked about his engaging sense of humor, Lance answered, “Laughter is medication without the pill bottle.”

With an accomplished portfolio of high-end scenic designs for TV and film in New York City and Philadelphia, what might become a project on the horizon will be something out of the realm of old house renovations and entertainment set designs.

“A wooden boat,” said Lance with Hiatt’s laughing agreement. The boat would be ideal since their Whitehall house is a waterfront property that stands in front of the Hudson River Canal.

The “jewel box” in Whitehall, highlighted by a replica of a dining room chandelier from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will be the center of their gratitude for family and friends who come to visit.

“This is how it feels to be lucky,” said Lance near the end of the one-hour HGTV program.

Bill Lance and Joe Hiatt seek no notoriety, but popularity and prestige have come to into their simple small-town life they so much enjoy.

HGTV’s “Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House?” premiere episode, “From City to Rural Residence,” hosted by Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein and featuring Bill Lance and Joe Hiatt will be aired again in the upcoming months. See program guide for dates and times.