People
Home Town Couple Ben and Erin Napier’s Unbelievable Journey to HGTV Stardom: ‘We Never Expected This’
Ben and Erin Napier might be some of HGTV’s biggest stars, but the college sweethearts never planned on being famous. Before the former church minister, 36, and his graphic-designer wife, 34, shot to success on their hit series Home Town, on which they find and renovate homes for families, they were newlyweds trying to fix up their own dream house: a 1925 craftsman cottage in Laurel, Miss.
By Emily Strohm
Southern Living
Erin and Ben Napier Reveal That Wetumpka, Alabama Will be the Destination for Hometown Takeover
Late last year we brought you the news that the first couple of Laurel were headed out of Mississippi to take on their biggest project yet. Erin and Ben Napier weren’t just going to renovate one home – they were going to take on an entire town. And they were looking to their fans for suggestions. Erin took to Instagram to ask her Southern neighbors for towns who could use some extra love. "If your small town needs restoration and has homes with beautiful architecture that need some love, we want to know about it," her post read.
By Rebecca Angel Baer
Variety
How HGTV Maintains Its Grip on Comfort Television by Constantly Evolving
When David Bromstad, the host of HGTV’s “My Lottery Dream Home,” won that network’s reality series “Design Star” in 2006, the network was a very different place. “Coming in through a reality show, I was just at the start of the big changes that were happening,” he recalls. “When HGTV started, there were still crafts in the morning and quilting — it was a whole other genre.”
By Daniel D'Addario
Southern Living
The Incredible Comeback of Laurel, Mississippi
The rebirth of Laurel, Mississippi, is proof of what real people can do with a little creativity, a lot of commitment, and a deep well of love.
by Danielle Claro