HGTV "Saving the Manor" hosts Borja De Maqua and Dean Poulton.
Having a brand new HGTV show can be both an exciting and daunting experience. New hosts and My Tiny Estate owners architect Dean Poulton and real estate expert Borja De Maqua know the feeling.
The couple celebrated the premiere of their new show, “Saving the Manor“, on Friday, October 7, though some may be surprised to learn there was a premiere.
In a caption posted to Dean’s Instagram to mark the occasion, the architect told fans that the couple “knew the release date for months but we were too scared to share it incase the network saw the show and thought it was rubbish and scrapped it.”
Were Dean and Borja right to be scared?
Do Fans Think ‘Saving the Manor’ Is ‘Rubbish’?
Fans of the My Tiny Estate project were thrilled to see the restoration project brought to their screens with “Saving the Manor.” The project, which has a following of over 130,000 on Instagram and has been featured in Architectural Digest, involves Dean and Borja rehabbing a 2.5-acre English estate encompassing five buildings, multiple gardens and a courtyard.
“Love your show!!! Congrats to you both!!!! Such a dream to live in an English Manor!” commented fellow HGTV host Jonathan Knight on the My Tiny Estate Instagram account.
In a Reddit thread posted after the premiere, many fans echoed Knight’s sentiment. The word “lovely” was used in multiple comments to describe the show, the manor and the hosts. “My new favorite HGTV show! Every part of this show is beautiful,” commented another Reddit fan.
It seems Dean and Borja won’t need to be scared for the next episodes of their series to air, as many fans shared their anticipation for the rest of the series.
“Watching it now. Such a refreshing change! Looking forward to more,” commented one Reddit fan.
“Wow! I’m watching now. HGTV gave us the change we needed. I’m can’t wait to see the results of the formal garden and stables,” added another fan.
‘Saving the Manor’ Premiere Recap
The “Saving the Manor” premiere, which aired Friday, October 7, at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on HGTV and is available to stream on discovery+, joins Dean and Borjain the middle of their restoration and renovation process of a 500-year-old English manor, once owned by King Henry VII, which has been deserted for the last 100 years. Throughout the episode, the two provided insights into their process, as well as updates on how far they’ve come.
As it stands, work on the caretaker’s cottage is complete, and the space is currently available for rent for just under $300 per night. The servant’s quarters – where Dean and Borja live – are half-finished, with a replica of the building’s original wallpaper installed during the episode.
The couple then began work on the stables by organizing all the clutter they’d amassed in the space (over a debate about whether or not they should get a horse). They plan to restore the space’s original charm while adding a workroom and an office for Dean on one end of the building. Dean’s childhood best friend Chris, who according to Dean “just kind of turns up,” did just that when he popped by to help the couple with their efforts.
After clearing the building out, the couple focused on stripping the paint off the stable’s windows. They brought in a professional to sandblast the paint off of the walls throughout the building, however. Once the walls were to their liking, the couple began to furnish the space through antique shopping and “hacking” flat-pack furniture (inexpensive furniture mailed in a flat package for self-assembly).
To celebrate the end of their work on the stables, Dean enlisted friend Chris to help surprise Borja with some real live ponies and a donkey, but just for the day.
New episodes of “Saving the Manor” will air on HGTV and be available to stream on discovery+ Fridays. The My Tiny Estate Instagram has also compiled a list of when and where to watch the show for fans outside of the United States.