‘Queer Eye’ star offers design tour of new Triangle community. Here’s a peek
For eight seasons, Bobby Berk graced TV screens as part of the Fab Five on Netflix’s “Queer Eye.”
Now, the interior designer is bringing his signature style to a newly opened 102-townhome development on the Durham-Chapel Hill border.
After leaving the show in 2023, Berk signed a multi-year deal with California-based homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes. He has designed the interiors of its new subdivision, Twinleaf Townes, located in Durham County but with a Chapel Hill address at 1012 Zelkova Lane, just off Interstate 40 and Farrington Road.
The site has three Berk-designed model townhomes now on display, featuring his “BB Edit” collections, like Textural Neutral, Classic Mid-Century and Serene Scandinavian.
This week, Berk flew from his Los Angeles home to the Triangle for its official launch. He spoke to The N&O and offered a peek inside.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
A chat with Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk
N&O: Welcome to the Triangle! How’s life after “Queer Eye”?
Berk: It’s been great. I’m working on some other shows that will probably be announced soon, both acting and unscripted as well. I’m playing a sports agent in a new show. We start filming next week.
N&O: What attracted you to this project?
Berk: I started working for Tri Pointe long before “Queer Eye.” It’s one of the reasons why I was brought onto “Queer Eye.” In 2014, I worked with their Vegas division, doing model homes for them. Now, we work with every division nationwide. The thing I really love about Tri Pointe is that they’re a design-focused builder. A lot of builders just want to get the walls up where Tri Pointe looks at building homes with a human perspective.
N&O: What should our readers know about this development?
Berk: Buying a home can be kind of paralyzing. There’s a lot of decisions that go into it, and it can be daunting to pick out every single material: floors, counter tops, cabinets, knobs. Something that’s supposed to be joyous can start to feel like a job. So we created 10 different collections called the BB Edit, where I’ve went through and selected every single material in the house. Everything goes together perfectly and harmoniously. You know, there’s no green-gray next to a blue-gray.
N&O: How does it work?
Homebuyers will also have access to Tri Pointe Homes’ Design Studio, featuring its Style Finder. You take the design quiz, and nine times out of 10, it’s exactly on point of what your design aesthetic is and gives you two or three different collections to choose from. We can even do the furniture. You just show up with your stuff, and every material is perfect.
N&O: How hands-on were you?
Berk: Very. We started about three years ago and launched it in 2023. We’ve done quite a few in Charlotte, and this is our first in the Triangle. My hope is that the furniture I’ve selected as part of the collaboration makes customers feel like I’m right alongside them designing the perfect home for their needs and style.
N&O: What’s next?
Berk: This year, all 15 metro areas Tri Pointe Homes serves are expected to receive access to The BB Edit designs. We’re already working on our second project, Summit at Homestead, a 190-unit townhome community, also in Chapel Hill.
Other project details
In 2023, the firm purchased the Twinleaf Townes site — close to 8.5 acres of mostly wooded land along Crescent Drive — for around $5.9 million.
The community will have three- and four-bedroom townhomes ranging from 2,098 to 2,317 square feet.
Prices will start in the $400,000s.
To date, “our product has been well received,” Nicole Conniff, Tri Pointe’s national vice president of marketing, adding the celebrity partnership with Berk has added “so much value.”
The community is the latest in a string of investments for the national home construction company, which is currently selling six communities in the Triangle, including Elm Park and Barlow in Raleigh and Townes at Chatham Park in Pittsboro and Tredenham in Durham, with several others in the pipeline.
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM with the headline "‘Queer Eye’ star offers design tour of new Triangle community. Here’s a peek."
