Heavy/YouTube/HGTV Ben and Erin Napier of HGTV's "Home Town"
One of HGTV viewers’ favorite parts of Erin and Ben Napier‘s popular show “Home Town,” which was just renewed for an eighth season, is when the Napiers welcome clients into their newly renovated houses at the end of each episode. Cameras capture the homeowners’ wide-eyed and delighted reactions as they see their homes for the first time in months, spotless and staged by the Napiers and their crew.
But those perfect, made-for-TV moments aren’t the kinds of home highlights Erin features in her new book, “Heirloom Rooms: Soulful Stories of Home,” released on October 3, 2023. Rather, the mom of two young girls — five-year-old Helen and two-year-old Mae — set out to capture the essence of well-lived-in spaces, photographed with toys strewn about or dishes in the sink.
While doing media appearances to promote the new book, Erin admitted that she’s “conflicted” about the message her TV show sends versus the one she’s trying to tell in her new book.
Here’s what you need to know:
Erin Napier Says She Wants to Celebrate Homes That ‘Don’t Look Like They’re in a Magazine’
While appearing with her husband Ben on “Good Morning America,” Erin explained the mission behind her new 320-page book, which features a collection of essays “walking us through every room in her home, telling the story of a family’s life,” per her publisher Simon & Schuster. The book also features lots of photos of their home, taken both by Erin and a professional photographer, as well as the homes of their friends, family and clients.
“It’s a nightstand book, not a coffee table book,” Erin told GMA anchor and former HGTV personality Lara Spencer. “And that’s something I think is the distinction between this (book) and a lot of books about home.”
“I want to focus more on (the idea that) our houses don’t have to look like they’re in a magazine to be loved and to be wonderful,” Erin continued.
Ben added, “And they’re still beautiful, that’s what you see in the book,” but he was quickly interrupted by Erin, who acknowledge the contrast between the polished footage of houses they showcase on “Home Town” and the scenes of regular life in her new book.
She admitted, “I’m conflicted about this, because on ‘Home Town’ you see it on reveal day when everything is so perfect! And I’m so much more interested in what happens after that day.”
Many homes that have been featured on the TV show are included in the book, Erin added, so that fans can see how they look once they’ve been lived in.
This is not the first time Erin has noted the difference between her show and her new book, concerned that “Home Town” may make viewers feel pressured to have their rooms look perfect.
In February, she told House Beautiful, “It’s a little frustrating, what you see on ‘Home Town.’ Everything looks so perfect on reveal day, but no one has yet lived there. And that’s what the book is really about. It’s about living in our houses, less about the imperfection. As humans, we tend to bring our clutter with us—and that’s not a bad thing. The clutter is what makes our houses personal.”
She continued, “Think about the photos of yourself growing up in the house that you grew up in. There’s always a Pepsi can in the background and somebody’s ugly old jacket laying over a chair—no one’s styled things. You just live in it, and I want to celebrate that.”
Multiple HGTV Personalities Shared Their ‘Heirloom Rooms’ for Erin Napier’s New Book
In an excerpt of “Heirloom Rooms” shared by Southern Living, Erin acknowledged that in the past, when they’ve shared photos and videos from their two homes in Laurel, Mississippi — one in town where they started their family and the other a country home they finished remodeling in 2022 –the rooms always looked tidy and clutter-free. In her new book, she wrote of wanting to give fans another perspective.
“We have taken staged photos of our home before, and those pictures portray a version of the truth—the most aesthetically pleasing truth,” she wrote. “But people are not perfect, and neither are the homes that keep them.”
Erin also asked past clients, friends and family members to submit their own photos and insights about their favorite, imperfect spaces in their homes. Contributors include her best friend and frequent “Home Town” helper Mallorie Rasberry, who shared her guest room with bed frames made out of WWII-era Navy cargo ship, and Linda Phan, creative director of Scott Brothers Entertainment and wife of “Property Brothers” star Drew Scott, who shared the ping pong table and neon light in their basement hangout.
In February, when Erin first announced the upcoming book release, her friend and fellow HGTV star Jenny Marrs shared that Erin had invited her to contribute to the book, too.
“I’m honored that she asked me to contribute to this lovely project,” Marrs wrote in her Instagram Stories. “I adore the message and heart behind the book and know it will do good in the world.”
“I asked these friends to photograph their rooms the way they actually live in them, unstaged, imperfect,” Erin wrote in the new book. “I asked them to tell me what moments made their houses feel like family members, and I hope it will encourage you to do the same. It is not only perfection that is worth documenting, but what is personal.”