HGTV Ben and Erin Napier star in "Home Town."
The upcoming season of HGTV‘s “Home Town” will feature Ben and Erin Napier’s most personal renovation yet: a country escape for their newly expanded family of four.
“We are doing a house for ourselves! That is something very different,” Erin told People. As Ben added, “It’s sort of a hideaway for us, a place out near family land where we can go and let the girls run on the weekends.”
The HGTV stars share daughters Helen, 3, and Mae, 7 months. They told People that during the pandemic they felt the constraints of their small yard and wanted to give their girls the same country experience they had growing up.
The 36-year-old told the publication, “We have this tiny little yard in town for the girls to play in, but [Ben and I] grew up in the country, climbing trees and staying outside and not coming home until we were absolutely filthy at the end of the day. And we want that for the girls.”
However, the house needs quite a few renovations. ”It’s a very old house that was added onto in the ’80s,” the graphic designer explained.
According to People, they are currently renovating the kitchen, laundry room, study and girls’ bedrooms. Their daughters will also have a library, playroom and “cousin cubby,” a place for sleepovers when extended family is visiting.
Season 6 of “Home Town” premieres on December 26, 2021.
The Napiers Are Keeping Their Current Home
The Napiers are still keeping their current home, which People reported is a 1925 craftsman in their town of Laurel, Mississippi. As Ben explained, it was “Erin’s dream house since long before she met me.”
She concurred, “I can never not live in that house. I love it forever.”
The house actually inspired her upcoming children’s book, “The Lantern House.”
The book’s description reads, “Imagine a house’s early days as a home: A young family builds a picket fence and plants flowers in its yard, children climb the magnolia tree and play the piano in the living room, and there is music inside the house for many happy years. But what will happen when its windows grow dark, the paint starts to crumble, and its boards creak in the winter wind? The Lantern House dreams of a family who will love it again… and one day, a new story will emerge from within its walls.”
As Erin explained to People, “We know a little bit about the families who built the house, who lived here before us. We know that one girl who grew up in our house got married at the fireplace hearth.”
Erin’s friend and artist Adam Trest illustrated the book, which will be published in May 2022.
New ‘Home Town’ Spinoff Premieres in 2022
The Napiers have become the face of small-town revitalization with their hit show, “Home Town.” Their new spinoff, “Home Town Kickstart” will seek to recreate their success in six new communities: Buffalo, Wyoming; Cornwall, New York; Winslow, Arizona; LaGrange, Kentucky; Thomaston, Georgia and Minden, Louisiana.
This time the Napiers will serve in a supportive role, joined by some of HGTV’s biggest stars.
“We see the positive impact of this small town renaissance every day in Laurel,” Erin told HGTV. “Ben and I can’t wait to share all we’ve learned with our fellow HGTV experts so they can help these communities achieve their goals.”
According to the announcement, the show will seek to revitalize each town through three projects: “refresh the home of a local hero, give a small business a beautiful upgrade and reinvigorate a public space to enhance the residents’ quality of life and engender community pride.”
“Home Town Kickstart” will be presented in partnership with People, which will showcase additional stories from each town. The series is set to premiere on HGTV in 2022.
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