Drive down the small-town streets of downtown Laurel, Mississippi and you'll probably stumble upon quite a few houses that were remodeled with the help of Ben Napier and Erin Napier of the hit HGTV show Home Town. Now on its sixth season, HGTV's Home Town follows the husband and wife team as they renovate historic homes in the town of Laurel into dream homes. It also happens to be the town where Home Town is Filmed.
Who are Erin & Ben Napier?
College sweethearts who attended Ole Miss, Erin and her husband Ben were running a stationery company when a television producer reached out after seeing an Instagram post the couple posted. Interested in showing off their hometown of Laurel, Ben, a woodworker and craftsman and Erin, a designer and artist, accepted the offer to host a home improvement show.
The couple owns Laurel Mercantile and loves to spend time with their first child, Helen, who was born in 2018.
Where is Home Town Filmed?
The City Beautiful, Laurel, Mississippi is the filming location of the HGTV series, Home Town. Known as the "Yellow Pine Capital of the World." the 18,000 person town was incorporated in 1882 as sawmills fueled the economy.
Laurel, Mississippi is located in Jones County, 35 minutes from Hattiesburg, and two hours from New Orleans. Notable people in the town include Lance Bass from N'Sync, actor Tom Lester, actress Parker Posey, and the Napiers.
How To Have Your Home Renovated By 'Home Town'
Like the majority of reality home renovation shows, participants must pay for the house and renovations out of their own pocket. The approval process is lengthy, with participants required to fill out questionnaires, take part in multiple interviews, and even submit a written essay about the desired design.
Once accepted, Erin and Ben, along with an entire film crew, walk through two houses, talking about the benefits and cons of each. One participant, who was interviewed by Realtor.com, noted that the amount of re-takes got to her.
There would be multiple retakes," she says."One scene could take hours to make. I never really realized that before. It is long days of filming."
Once a house is picked and a contract is signed, participants turn over the keys to the Napiers and construction crew who have full say on the design. Participants aren't allowed to peek at the home until the reveal day, which is filmed with no re-takes for raw, authentic reactions. Participants also have the option to purchase the staging furniture that the crew brought in for the reveal.
In a press release, the couple noted that they've helped renovate over 80 homes in the Laurel, Mississippi area.
Watch episodes of the hit series on Discovery +.
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