Get to know HGTV’s famous couples—the Napiers and the Marrs—and how they balance work, family, & their love of small-town living. Host Marianne Canada chats with the stars of Home Town, Ben and Erin Napier, about their life in Laurel, Mississippi, their unexpected rise to fame, and their new show Home Town Takeover. Dave and Jenny Marrs of Fixer to Fabulous fame talk about their journey to HGTV, and how they work together as a couple while managing a family of five kids and a farm. The Marrs share the first question they ask before they start a renovation and how they come up with creative solutions for their clients (hello hidden wine cellar!). Both couples share their experiences filming Home Town Takeover, how they approached giving an entire small town a makeover, and how the locals of Wetumpka, Alabama really feel about their new look.
Get to know HGTV’s famous couples—the Napiers and the Marrs—and how they balance work, family, & their love of small-town living. Host Marianne Canada chats with the stars of Home Town, Ben and Erin Napier, about their life in Laurel, Mississippi, their unexpected rise to fame, and their new show Home Town Takeover. Dave and Jenny Marrs of Fixer to Fabulous fame talk about their journey to HGTV, and how they work together as a couple while managing a family of five kids and a farm. The Marrs share the first question they ask before they start a renovation and how they come up with creative solutions for their clients (hello hidden wine cellar!). Both couples share their experiences filming Home Town Takeover, how they approached giving an entire small town a makeover, and how the locals of Wetumpka, Alabama really feel about their new look.
Connect with the podcast: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/hgtv-obsessed-podcast
Learn More About Home Town: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/home-town
Learn More About Home Town Takeover: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/home-town/ben-and-erin-take-home-town-on-the-road-in-new-hgtv-series-home-town-takeover
Follow HGTV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgtv/
Follow Erin Napier on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinapier/
Follow Ben Napier on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scotsman.co/
Learn More About Fixer to Fabulous: https://www.hgtv.com/shows/fixer-to-fabulous
Follow Jenny Marrs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennymarrs/
Follow Dave Marrs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Dave.marrs/
Start your free trial of discovery+: https://www.discoveryplus.com/hgtvobsessed
Find episode transcript here: https://hgtv-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/small-town-love-with-ben-and-erin-napier
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hi, everyone and welcome to HGTV Obsessed, the weekly podcast about all things HGTV. I'm Marianne Canada, executive producer and HGTV.com lifestyle expert. And when I am not obsessively watching HGTV, you can find me making crafty videos for HGTV Handmade, gardening, cooking or making a list of new projects we need to take on at my own house.
BRAD: Hang on, Marianne, let me stop you right there. This is Brad, the producer, by the way, in case anyone out there was wondering who's talking. Color me curious, but how much work have you guys had to do on that house?
MARIANNE CANADA: [LAUGHS]
BRAD: Quite a lot, right?
MARIANNE CANADA: Well, it depends who you ask. If you ask my husband he would say too much. So for anyone who doesn't know, I bought my grandmother's house two years ago this week, actually. And it was in great shape, so it only needed aesthetic updates.
It was built in 1974 and it was a time capsule. So we did like-- we got to do the fun renovations, like removing wallpaper and painting and updating lighting, but we didn't have to do any of the less fun stuff, like replacing electrical and plumbing. Because I really hate spending so much money on things you don't even see.
BRAD: I saw that house and it's beautiful. But I'm surprised the electrical was good.
MARIANNE CANADA: It was perfect. It was this house was immaculately maintained. My grandmother was like very Type-A about it. But Brad, you guys live in a new-build, right? You haven't-- have you done any renovations?
BRAD: Our house is like eight years old.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh my god.
BRAD: We've done nothing. I bought a lawnmower and it was the most that I've spent on this house so far, knock on wood.
MARIANNE CANADA: I have never lived anywhere in my life that was new. I mean, even my apartment in New York was older than any house I've ever owned. It was kind of a classic Lower East Side apartment building.
Anyway, I moved out in New York because I couldn't handle the big city life, which is the perfect segue to today's episode, which is all about small towns. We have kind of a shorter episode today. And it's fitting. Small towns, small episode.
I'm talking to two couples who have tons of experience with renovations, restorations, and historic preservation. Today we are achieving a podcast bucket list item because we have Ben and Erin Napier from hometown here to talk about small town living and their newest show, which is the show most guaranteed to make you cry on HGTV, Hometown Takeover.
And then I'm talking with another HGTV couple that live in a small town, Dave and Jenny Marrs all about their life in Bentonville, Arkansas and their show, Fixer to Fabulous. They also show up on Hometown Takeover, so we've just got a real HGTV family effort happening on this episode.
I'm so excited for you guys to get to know these couples even better and hear about the joys of small town life. So let's kick things off with my chat with Ben and Erin Napier.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh my goodness, I cannot be more excited to have HGTV royalty, Ben and Erin. Welcome to the podcast.
ERIN NAPIER: Hello.
BEN NAPIER: That still sounds so crazy to hear.
ERIN NAPIER: We're not royalty to anybody.
BEN NAPIER: Just our names and, like, with HGTV still sounds.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah, sounds kind of unbelievable.
MARIANNE CANADA: Still not used to it, huh? I mean, you only have three shows. It'll sink in any day now. So I have to say, I have to address the biggest news you guys have going on. I know you've got your show and everything, but I really want to congratulate you on the news that you're expecting another little girl.
ERIN NAPIER: Yay, we are.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yay.
ERIN NAPIER: Yes.
BEN NAPIER: We're very excited.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah, we have another little girl on the way.
MARIANNE CANADA: Congratulations. How does Helen feel about being a big sister?
ERIN NAPIER: Well, we had a doctor's appointment this morning and she asked if we would be bringing her sister home from it, so she's pretty psyched. I had to say, nope, not yet.
MARIANNE CANADA: She's ready.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah.
BEN NAPIER: And she's very like, when my sister gets here she can play with these toys, but not these because she's too little.
ERIN NAPIER: And when my sister gets here I will teach her how to eat strawberries because she won't know. But she won't have teeth yet, so I guess we'll have to wait on that.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, the reality of a newborn is maybe not quite as exciting, but that is so sweet.
ERIN NAPIER: We're like, mostly, Helen, she's just going to sleep and cry. So there's going to be a big learning curve. I hope there won't be a lot of jealousy that's-- I want to be sure Helen always feels like she gets our attention and our time just as much.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, I get that. I'm one of four, I'm the oldest of four. And I've got two and they are best friends. I've got a girl and-- a girl and a boy, but they're best buddies.
ERIN NAPIER: I like stories like that, thank you.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah. I can give you lots of positive stories. But I mean, I'm just in awe of you guys. You've got-- about to have two kids, literally have three shows, two small businesses, and this may be-- this may be a dumb question, but how do you balance it all?
ERIN NAPIER: I think there's no such thing as balance, you just say no to things.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah, we say no to a lot of things. Honey, we have a--
ERIN NAPIER: You have to have an amazing support system--
BEN NAPIER: I was going to say, yeah. We have--
ERIN NAPIER: We have grandmothers and nannies and--
BEN NAPIER: Store managers that you trust--
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah, our store-- like, yeah. They run the world for us. Without all of our family, maybe you've heard us talk about them before, but they're on the show. It just takes a lot of people. That's the answer.
The balance lies in lots of great, trustworthy, and skilled people.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, I mean, that's so wonderful that you have solid people you can trust. So let's take it back to 2016 when Hometown premiered and you all put your hometown of Laurel, Mississippi on the map. What were your thoughts when someone-- I actually know that someone-- when someone came to you with the idea of a show?
ERIN NAPIER: So well, it just felt like, well, that won't ever happen. It just felt-- Ben had, at that week, that day--
BEN NAPIER: That day.
ERIN NAPIER: Made a decision--
BEN NAPIER: A few hours earlier.
ERIN NAPIER: That he was ready to leave student ministry, something he'd been doing for 10 years. And so for us, it really felt more like a sign from God.
BEN NAPIER: This is an affirmation.
ERIN NAPIER: This is an affirmation.
BEN NAPIER: You are following all the right directions.
ERIN NAPIER: Now what would happen, we didn't know or anticipate in any way. Because she was also very clear that most shows never happen. And we were like, oh, cool. OK. Well, yeah.
BEN NAPIER: So don't get our hopes up, got it.
ERIN NAPIER: So we never-- we still don't have our hopes up. We'll film an episode and still I have in the back of my mind like, it might not air. They can always just decide to quit airing Hometown.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah, that's why you're like-- that's been our approach this whole time.
ERIN NAPIER: You don't get your heart broken that way.
MARIANNE CANADA: That's true. But guys, I think you're good. I think we like you.
ERIN NAPIER: You never know.
BEN NAPIER: We don't know how those last. We got one more episode of season five, we don't know what the ratings will be like.
[LAUGHTER]
But at that same time, in RTR, the production company, they were all-- they've also always been very--
ERIN NAPIER: Upfront about expectations.
BEN NAPIER: And realistic. Just have fun with this because it could be over tomorrow. And we like approaching it that way. Whereas like, this is a gift, we're going to write it as long as we can.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, and you guys are such vocal advocates for small towns in particular, especially Laurel, where you live. What is it for you that makes Laurel so special?
BEN NAPIER: It's where she's from.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah, I mean, this is where my mama took me to the park on Fridays and we would eat French fries at the picnic table. It's where I went to Pancake Day, it's where we saw the Christmas parades--
BEN NAPIER: It's traditions. Where did you grow up?
MARIANNE CANADA: Here in Knoxville.
BEN NAPIER: OK, so you grew up in Knoxville, so you probably went to a few volunteer games growing up--
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, sure.
BEN NAPIER: Orange and white everything, like there are just traditions that, where you grow up, you have traditions there. Well, I moved around a lot, so--
ERIN NAPIER: He never had any roots to any place.
BEN NAPIER: Right. My traditions are all locked within my family. It was things that we did. And so I never had--
ERIN NAPIER: They're not attached to places.
BEN NAPIER: And they're not attached to places. I never experienced that. And I would live somewhere for a short period of time and there would be tradition there that I really like, but then we would pick up and move. And so that tradition was over. I've been craving-- I went to high school in Reedswood, North Carolina and they would do these Brunswick stew cookings, where people would stay up all night cooking this stew.
And I don't even remember if it was that good, but I've just been craving it for the last couple of years because I can't have it anymore. Erin grew up here and had those roots and had those traditions, and it felt good to be able to lock into something like that.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, it's so special. Now I hear you 100%. I mean, I bought my grandmother's house, like we are solidly--
ERIN NAPIER: I love that.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, solidly here.
ERIN NAPIER: I want my mom and dad's house one day. Yeah, I'm just a sentimental person and--
MARIANNE CANADA: Same.
BEN NAPIER: It's something that I just-- we just did another interview and I talked about this. I was in New York City, or we were in New York City, walking down Fifth Avenue and a guy wearing a flat bill Yankees hat and glasses with tattoos everywhere, as he was passing me he bought me on the shoulder and said, Hometown. I love your show.
And it felt like this incredible moment, this guy who's probably from Brooklyn or Jersey or New York, I don't know, but he-- or Manhattan, I mean-- and he liked our show. And Lindsay actually pointed out, I told her about it, and she said, well, everybody grew up somewhere. Everybody has place that they call home.
And they all have this dream of being able to go back to it. Or of it being a successful place.
MARIANNE CANADA: It's so true, which I mean, is a perfect segue way to your new show. I mean, you guys have branched out. You are leaving Laurel with your new show, Hometown Takeover. It's set in with Wetumpka, Alabama. This might be one of the most heartwarming shows we've ever had on HGTV because you are giving this small town that is struggling, like so many small towns in America, giving the whole town a makeover and truly have this ambitious plan to bring it back to life.
So what made what Wetumpka stand out from other small towns? Because you guys had thousands of submissions.
BEN NAPIER: There were so many submissions and honestly, for Erin and I, if it had been left to us, we'd still be trying to pick a town.
ERIN NAPIER: They're all contenders.
BEN NAPIER: They were all so good. We saw so many videos and read about so many towns that we were glad that we didn't have to be the ones to pick it. It was something that the network did, HGTV combed through, I don't know how many, there's thousands of videos and submissions.
At one point, we were like, where will we end up? What if we end up having to go to Oregon? Or Pennsylvania? Somewhere that would be hard to get to. And--
ERIN NAPIER: Literally, the logistics of that are difficult because nearest airport to us is two hours away.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh my gosh.
ERIN NAPIER: And so, if you assume we're going to go to a small town and want to-- wherever we're going--
BEN NAPIER: It's going to be two hours from an airport.
ERIN NAPIER: It's going to be two hours from an airport too. It's very-- the travel logistics became a real bear that we had to take into consideration.
MARIANNE CANADA: Sure. There's not exactly any direct flights--
ERIN NAPIER: No.
MARIANNE CANADA: Out of Laurel.
ERIN NAPIER: Laurel goes directly to Houston. And that's it.
BEN NAPIER: Ultimately, the network decided on Wetumpka, which we were really excited about because we had heard of it. And it was a place that we had wanted to visit because--
ERIN NAPIER: Big Fish, it's my all time favorite movie.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yes, the Big Fish house. I have seen it and I saw a little sneak of the show.
ERIN NAPIER: Somehow that movie was really under the radar for a lot of people, but it came out when we were in college. Right before Ben and I met, and this is a story that I like. But he went on a date with another girl to see that movie before we met. And Ben loved it. And she was like, that was weird.
And that's how we knew.
MARIANNE CANADA: And you're like-- I can't. I cannot. We have no future.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah.
BEN NAPIER: It was such a cool story and beautifully made. And so then when we started dating and Erin was like, have you ever seen the movie Big Fish, I'm like, have I?
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, that's so special. So where do you even start when you're giving an entire town a makeover? How do you set a goal?
BEN NAPIER: With the people.
ERIN NAPIER: First, you start with your city leaders and people who are really in the know about who are the people in your community who are working really hard on Wetumpka. Who are the people who are doing the most for the young people in Wetumpka? Who are the people who are the givers? Who are the volunteers? Who are the ones struggling, but also working as hard as they can?
BEN NAPIER: What are the things that stand out to the people? Where are the places that the people go or that they used to go? And like-- it was all about the people of Wetumpka.
ERIN NAPIER: We relied heavily on them to guide us in what the needs were. Because we didn't want to do projects that they didn't want.
MARIANNE CANADA: Sure.
ERIN NAPIER: It was silly to go investing all of our time and energy into something that just didn't matter to them as a town. So the people of Wetumpka were just absolutely amazing and invaluable and 100%--
BEN NAPIER: And, well, similarly--
ERIN NAPIER: Part of the process.
BEN NAPIER: Because we did six public spaces, some of them were-- we did a restaurant, we did a barbershop. But then we also-- we did six houses for families. And it wouldn't have made sense to go and do houses for people who weren't already doing something for Wetumpka.
When you watch Hometown here in Laurel, it's where we're lucky if we get somebody who has a unique story. It's mostly about the house and about-- and then we learn that person's story. And sometimes it's-- somebody's retiring and they want to move to a small town. And sometimes it's somebody who does something incredible in this place and they want to come here and do it.
But with Wetumpka we focused on who is doing the most good here.
ERIN NAPIER: And how do we make that visual.
BEN NAPIER: And how do we make that visual, and how do we help them do that good.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah, and it was all about teaching a man to fish versus giving a man a fish. Ben and I can only be there part time because we're also working in Laurel all the time. And so the best way to do that is to basically just take them, our wealth of knowledge, everything we've learned in 10, 12 years of doing this in Laurel, and tell them, this is what worked for us. Apply that through the lens of Wetumpka and see what sticks.
MARIANNE CANADA: I love that. Now I have to ask, because I small towns have a lot of wonderful things about them and they have a lot of very passionate community members. Was everyone receptive to the changes you were making? Because change is hard.
ERIN NAPIER: Every town has a few sore heads.
BEN NAPIER: Everybody that we spoke to loved it.
ERIN NAPIER: [LAUGHS] Yeah. Every town in the world are going to have people who are resistant to change because change is scary. I'm resistant to change, honestly. I'm a person who hates change.
We felt like it was important to put these people at ease to say, we want to do what you want for your town, not what we think you need. And once you could explain it that way and say, we're not coming in here to shake things up and change everything that you love about Wetumpka. We keep everything that you love about it and fix what's wrong, if you can tell us what those things are.
MARIANNE CANADA: I love that. I think, particularly since the pandemic, there has been this renewed interest in small town, in slower living. I know a lot of my friends in New York have left the city. Do you guys have any advice for someone who's looking to make a change to small town life?
BEN NAPIER: One would be the travel thing. If you work for a company where you can work from home but every now and then you're going to have to fly to New York, think about that.
ERIN NAPIER: And be prepared to just drive a little bit. That's fine.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah.
ERIN NAPIER: That's OK. And if you really love exotic food, like Thai food.
BEN NAPIER: So there's actually a Thai food--
ERIN NAPIER: There is a Thai food restaurant in Wetumpka.
BEN NAPIER: In Wetumpka.
ERIN NAPIER: The city of 6,500 people.
MARIANNE CANADA: Hey, there you go.
ERIN NAPIER: Not in Laurel. If you love Thai food and you live in Laurel, you just need to learn to cook it.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, that's what I always say. The things I miss about living in New York are my friends there and the food.
ERIN NAPIER: Anything you want.
MARIANNE CANADA: I know you guys are crunched for time, but before we let you go, we couldn't let you leave without having guys weigh in on one of our favorite segments called Defend the Trend where we give you guys a trend and you weigh in on it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And so today we're talking about something that I think is probably triggering for you all. It's triggering for a lot of the HGTV audience, I can tell you that much. And that is painting over wood. Whether it's wood work in a house or furniture, where do you guys land on this? Is it an expression of creativity or is it a cardinal sin?
ERIN NAPIER: Mostly cardinal sin, I think is our camp. But I think that you have to take into account every unique situation.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah.
ERIN NAPIER: If it's a wood that--
BEN NAPIER: Season two-- season five, the premiere episode--
ERIN NAPIER: You can paint poplar. That's Ben's rule.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah, poplar's good to paint.
ERIN NAPIER: Paint poplar.
BEN NAPIER: But we did Brooke and Robbie Jeffcoat's house and there was a room that was all cypress. Ceiling, wall--
ERIN NAPIER: That's a tough, tough, tough call you got to make.
BEN NAPIER: Because it was beautiful. But it just didn't--
ERIN NAPIER: But it's also kind of a Ponderosa in there.
BEN NAPIER: It didn't match their lifestyle, didn't match them. We kept half of it.
ERIN NAPIER: It's a personal choice.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah.
MARIANNE CANADA: There you go. Well, it is. It's so personal.
BEN NAPIER: With painting furniture.
ERIN NAPIER: We just pretty much don't paint furniture.
BEN NAPIER: I think that's a cardinal sin because if you want to paint it, go find one that's made out of something else--
ERIN NAPIER: Poplar.
BEN NAPIER: And then paint it.
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah.
BEN NAPIER: Somebody messaged me one time recently and they said, I have this buffet and it used to have trays that went in it. It was my grandmother's. And one of the trays was missing after she passed away. As you can see, it was really ugly and then I painted it. And it was this beautiful flamed mahogany piece, and it was just absolutely gorgeous.
Like multi-thousand dollar worth of furniture. And she asked if I could make a tray for it. And I didn't have time and wow--
ERIN NAPIER: You didn't even answer her--
BEN NAPIER: What I wanted to be like was, no, I will not make a tray for you, yo heathen.
ERIN NAPIER: Abuser.
BEN NAPIER: This is furniture abuse.
ERIN NAPIER: [LAUGHS]
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, man. That really does. That hurts a little bit. All right, Ben and Erin, before we let you go, where can we follow you on social media, respectfully? And where can we watch all of your shows, Hometown, Hometown Takeover, and Hometown: Ben's Workshop?
BEN NAPIER: All of our shows are on Discovery Plus on the HGTV tab.
ERIN NAPIER: And two of our shows--
BEN NAPIER: Are still on HGTV.
ERIN NAPIER: Yes. And--
BEN NAPIER: That's been a-- whew, people are--
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, people have a lot of thoughts about that.
BEN NAPIER: Yes, they do.
ERIN NAPIER: They do. So we're on Twitter on Sundays, pretty much. We just tweet during the show.
BEN NAPIER: Yeah, but I'm scotsmanco--
ERIN NAPIER: Instagram's my number one. It's my main squeeze.
BEN NAPIER: What's your Twitter? Erin--
ERIN NAPIER: ErinRNapier.
BEN NAPIER: E-R-I-N-R Napier?
ERIN NAPIER: Yeah.
BEN NAPIER: And then I'm scotsmenco. And then on Instagram I'm scotsmen.co.
ERIN NAPIER: I'm Erin Napier. One "N."
MARIANNE CANADA: All right, well, guys, this was truly a delight. You have been on the very top of our list to have on the podcast since day one. I hope you will come back, and I'm just so excited for you and your happy news. Thank you so much.
ERIN NAPIER: Thank y'all so much.
BEN NAPIER: Bye, y'all.
ERIN NAPIER: Bye.
MARIANNE CANADA: Bye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I have to say that from all of my years of working for HGTV, nothing gets people worked up more than painting wood furniture or wood trim. But I will confess that this house, again, built in 1974, this was not pretty wood trim. It was fake cherry. It was so dark.
And we painted every bit of trim in this house. I feel like I can't even confess that to Erin and Ben, but I feel like they would support me because it was not pretty wood.
BRAD: You need to get ready for the hate mail. I wasn't prepared to talk about gross wood. What makes wood gross?
MARIANNE CANADA: For this wood, it was the finish on it. It was just a very dated, very dark reddish-brown stain. And it was so heavy. It made the house feel oppressively dark.
And now everything is light and bright and fresh.
BRAD: It sounds like this was the exception to the rule of "never paint wood."
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, sometimes it's right. Anyway, I really want to take the focus off of painting my wood trim because I'm feeling like people are just flexing their hate mail fingers. And so, let's move on to our second interview today because we have another inspiring couple that we're talking to Dave and Jenny Marrs from the HGTV show Fixer to Fabulous.
These two are couple goals all day. I fell in love with them when I was watching their show, and talking to them was just a dream. So let's get to it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Dave and Jenny, welcome to HGTV Obsessed. We're all such big fans of yours and so excited to have you.
DAVE MARS: Yeah, thanks for having us.
JENNY MARS: Yes, thank you.
DAVE MARS: It's awesome.
MARIANNE CANADA: So you guys, for anyone who doesn't know, you guys live in Bentonville, Arkansas with your five kids, your blueberry farm, and all of your animals, which just sounds so idyllic. It's like quintessential small town living. So what does a typical day in your life look like?
JENNY MARS: [LAUGHS] That's funny.
MARIANNE CANADA: Is there a typical day, is maybe the better question.
JENNY MARS: No, it's just every day is its own form of chaos. But typically we take the kids in the morning, Dave actually takes them while I'm getting my littlest ready for the day, but take the kids to school. And then depending on what we have going that day, I mean-- well, I should say it starts with animals first, then the kids getting off to school.
And then basically us just dispersing-- just stop and check in on all of our properties and projects.
DAVE MARS: Yeah.
JENNY MARS: Pretty much just kind of running all day. And then we have, pretty much, an activity-- this is the season spring of all the activities. So we either have baseball or basketball or soccer or ballet every night. [LAUGHS] And then, yeah. Check the animals and--
DAVE MARS: Yeah, so I mean--
JENNY MARS: Get everyone to bed.
DAVE MARS: We-- Jenny and I, it's really nice when we're filming-- when we're filming reveals or walkthroughs because we actually get to spend time with each other. So typically, I would take the kids to school and then Jenny would watch Luke. And then I would leave and Jenny would go the other direction.
And we talk after school when we pick the kids up. I think like a lot of families, it's just busy.
JENNY MARS: We're getting ready. Berry season's coming up in June, so we're in the fields a little bit out there too. Starting to get a fields ready for berries.
DAVE MARS: All the things.
JENNY MARS: So that's another thing. Yeah.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh my gosh. I mean, I love picking blueberries. I want some blueberry-growing advice from you before we leave. I have I have blueberry bushes. They're not doing great. I don't think I have them in the right spot.
But before we go down that path, I want to talk a little bit about your show, Fixer to Fabulous. It's all about restoring and preserving historic homes in and around your hometown of Bentonville. How did you guys get started in this?
DAVE MARS: We own a building company that we've had since 2004. Jenny started working with me, doing the design because I'm pretty terrible at it, in 2010. And then this show-- we tell this story a lot. We got an email from Carrie at the network, asking if we would be interested in filming a sizzle reel for a show on HGTV.
Jenny thought it was spam, deleted it, and--
MARIANNE CANADA: [LAUGHS]
DAVE MARS: Then we actually had someone reach out to us and say, hey, a friend of mine works over at HGTV and she's going to be sending you an email. And so it started there and it was always-- we thought it'd be cool to maybe try it. And so we gave it a shot, never thinking it would go anywhere, and it's just always been the next step.
And here we are in season three. So we've been very blessed and we have a great community that will-- we get to highlight every day. And our family, even though it is busy and crazy and a mess, it's our family. It's a beautiful mess.
So we get to talk about that. So I think we're pretty fortunate to be able to do all of those things.
MARIANNE CANADA: Well, and I have to say, I mean, I watch a lot of HGTV, it's literally my job now. You guys have such a lovely relationship. It's so delightful to watch you guys interact. You're so supportive of each other and your ideas.
I mean, I don't know what it's like when the cameras are off, but I have to say it's just great to watch. But how do you guys balance your marriage and working together? I mean, and five kids and renovating all these houses. I mean, I just want advice.
JENNY MARS: People ask that a lot. I don't know how we do that.
DAVE MARS: Well, I think with the kids it's one day at a time. I mean, the days creep by, but the years fly by. And so, we never had any intention of having five kids, but I mean, I know how that works.
I don't know how we mess that up and didn't figure it out at like number three. Here we are with five kids, and I wouldn't change a minute of it. I always think that I definitely married up when I married Jenny. And so, I think just making it work is taking one project at a time, doing one thing at a time, and doing that well. And then just moving on to the next thing.
And so it's always just about, what do we have to accomplish and what do we have to get done today?
JENNY MARS: I think intentionality, too, is a big thing that we try to focus on as a family. When we don't have something going on on a day, we're very intentional to figure out like, OK, how do we spend this day? We could easily just waste it away and just do chores or do whatever.
And sometimes you just have to step away from all of the stuff that is on our plates and just get away together as a family, whether it's just going for a walk or-- I don't know. We just try but be intentional with our time because that's our greatest resource. Right?
And so at night we all-- even though we have so much going on with the kids their schedule, literally, is a full time job keeping up with it, but we always try have dinner together as a family. And those kinds of things that are important. At the end of the day, that's the most important.
So that's what we always prioritize. And other things can fall off. And Dave and I, I think, do a good job balancing each other. Sometimes we drive each other crazy, of course, because that's what married couples do. But Dave-- I get caught up in the details and Dave is more of the big picture thinker.
And so I think our personalities, we've just always really balanced each other well. But we're also similar in that we like-- we're always busy and we like to be busy and we like to have a million things going. And I think we thrive in chaos, so it just works.
I don't know. I don't know if that's any advice, but--
DAVE MARS: Well, and everything's broken out. I mean, it's seasons of life, right? So I mean, we're--
JENNY MARS: Dave reminds me that a lot.
DAVE MARS: I do. Hey, this is only a season. I mean, and we have so many friends that have older kids that-- just like, enjoy this season because you're going to look back and you're going to long for that season when your kids were little and when you were crazy with sports. And so, enjoy what you have.
And even if it is busy, it's a season of life. And I don't know, we like being busy. I like to be doing something different every day and Jenny, fortunately, is the same way. And so, I don't know, maybe it's just a good fit for us that we have a lot going on.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, I'm the same way. I don't know what to do with myself if I'm not busy. I feel like something's wrong. And it's good to remember, they're all the good old days, right?
JENNY MARS: Yes.
MARIANNE CANADA: You always look back on the past with some degree of fondness. I do think it's so telling that you guys renovate houses as part of your job together because that is-- I mean, that is one of the number one things we hear is couples trying to take on renovations themselves. And it can be a big stressor in a relationship.
Do you guys remember the first home you renovated? And what have you learned since then?
JENNY MARS: I will say it's very stressful when it's your own home. It's more stressful than when you're doing it for someone else. Because, to me, it's always more stressful to do our own home. But yes, the first one--
DAVE MARS: So we had a little home that we bought in downtown Bentonville. And this has been, I don't know, a long, long time ago. But that was the first major renovation that we had. And we were just so concerned about keeping this home looking exactly as it did and preserving the historical aspects of it.
And I think that's great to do whenever you can. But there's a lot of situations where you just can't, and at the end of the day, the home needs to fit. And Jenny always says this, it needs to be a representation of your family.
And so if that means that you have to change out and you have to open up rooms and you have to change the design of the original layout of the house, it's just a house. And it sticks and bricks. It's always something that you can move around, and then you can shift. And make it fit your family.
And so like that's one of the first questions that we ask people now is, what is the best way that this can fit and be a representation of your family? And even if that means taking away some of the historical nature of it, or the way it started, we try not to, but you just have to make it fit your family.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, I love that. And speaking of you guys staying busy, on top of having your own show on HGTV, you're also guests on Hometown Takeover with the Napiers, who we're also talking to in this episode, it's great. This is like small town plus couple goals, it's like the whole theme of this episode.
What did you guys help out with on the show? I mean, were you just in love with working with Erin and Ben?
JENNY MARS: Yeah. That project was so much fun. It really was. I think what was so great-- we worked on one house and then one business. It was the boutique. And then a house for our family that is a foster family.
And what was so cool about that whole project was the fact that we were able to tell stories. That's what we love. We just love hearing family stories and people's stories. And everyone has a story. And so the fact that they were able to really highlight the stories.
I mean, it was a very emotional. I feel like we cried a lot. Gosh. It was emotional. But it was like-- we just were rooting for the business owner and the family that we worked with, and for the whole town. Because it really was-- you want this town to just-- I just can't wait to see what happens in 10 years from now, the way that this town has rallied around this project and how everyone was just so kind and so excited and so welcoming.
And you just-- I just can't wait to see the ripple effect of this show and this project, and what happens to the town and the businesses downtown and the families that live there. So it was really fun to be a part of.
DAVE MARS: We got it from the first moment. Ben and Erin called us and said, hey, we want you guys to be a part of this hometown renovation. And you could feel their excitement, and it was infectious. Like, this town, just wait til you guys get there. You'll understand it when you get there.
The whole town was rallied behind this project. And I grew up in a really small town in Colorado where you have the whole Friday Night Lights, where the whole town supports the football team or support sports. So there's just this community, this big community. And community is so important.
I mean, especially with all the stuff that we're going through right now with COVID and not being able to be in community with each other, to have an entire town rally around and support the whole television show, it was really powerful and it was really special to be a part of it.
MARIANNE CANADA: It is. It's special to watch. It might be one of the most purely heartwarming shows that I've ever seen on HGTV. You talk a little bit about growing up in a small town and, obviously Ben and Erin live in Laurel, you all live in Bentonville. Hometown Takeover is in what Wetumpka, Alabama.
What are some things about small town living that you guys love?
JENNY MARS: I think I love, just again, that sense of community. Where we are, people really do help out. I mean, our neighbors they really-- we've lived in several places around Bentonville, but we've always had amazing neighbors. I mean, I just think of one time Dave was out of town and was in the middle of the night and I heard a weird noise outside.
And I called my neighbor and he came over at 2:00 in the morning and did a loop around our house and-- I mean, that's our town. But it's the fact that I could call it 2:00 in the morning, our neighbor, Mr. Bob, and say, I think I heard something. I'm so sorry, can you come look? And he did.
And that's what I love is. That there is this really this sense of like, we're all in this together life in general. We're better when we are kind and we wave at each other when we drive by. And I don't know, I just love that. That's my favorite thing, is the people.
DAVE MARS: Well, and I think I think it speaks to-- the towns like this, they speak to a time gone past. A time where when we weren't maybe in as much of a hurry and when we could sit out on our front porches and enjoy the company of those around us. And that's a lot of the allure to some of these shows that are filmed in the small towns, is people remember when they were young. When maybe there was they weren't quite as many phones and there was a little bit more time to sit with other people.
And so, that community aspect it's still here in Bentonville. And you could feel it in Wetumpka. We've never been to Laurel, but I'm sure it's very similar there as well.
MARIANNE CANADA: Love it. Well, in addition to renovating homes and having a show on HGTV, you all have a really thriving development business and have completed over 300 custom homes in and around Arkansas. So I have to ask, do you guys find new builds or are renovations more rewarding?
DAVE MARS: So I mean, definitely for me, the new builds, they keep the machine rolling. They keep the subcontractors on our jobs and they keep the business going, but the renovations, for me, are so much more impactful. Just because there's always a story behind the renovation.
Where a new build is just-- you're not stepping into a story. You're building something so the new story can begin, but we just came from a walk through, it's just such an amazing story. And a lot of these homes they've been through and they've seen a lot. And so to be a part of making them fit these families is just really special to me.
JENNY MARS: And it's more of a challenge too, right? You have to really get creative sometimes, because you have a footprint and you have to work within that. Our house is over 100 years old and it's small. And when we bought it, or when we moved into it and renovated it the first time, we only had two kids. And now there's five of them.
And so we had to really get-- we have to get creative with space and how to utilize the space well. And I think that that's a challenge, but a good creative challenge.
MARIANNE CANADA: Yeah, I tend to agree. I see renovating houses as like a puzzle that you have to figure out. And I enjoy that challenge. Speaking of figuring that out and figuring how to maximize the space that you're in, it makes me think of an episode of Fixer to Fabulous with that hidden wine cellar that went viral on TikTok.
I mean, everybody just-- literally, it was like a mind blowing moment. How do you guys come up with these unique out-of-the-box solutions for your clients?
DAVE MARS: Jenny alluded to it a minute ago, where we live in an old farmhouse that was built in 1903. And we have-- there's seven of us in this house. And so it's utilizing every single bit of space that we can find. Whether it's under a staircase, whether it's in a closet, whether it's an old root cellar or basement, that we can bring back to life.
And so anywhere that we can find space-- and like you said, the puzzle of it. I love puzzles. I love the challenge of trying to figure out how we're going to make this house best fit the family that we're renovating it for.
JENNY MARS: And that one, I mean, it just unfolded really naturally. We found this old root cellar and we just knew we had to utilize that space somehow, but we couldn't-- we really weren't able to figure out how do we get down there? Do we have to go outside?
We didn't want to do that. We talked about cutting a hole, basically, in the living room to create a staircase. But then it's a really small house, so that takes up space that we couldn't lose. And we it's about hiding it under a coffee table.
I mean, we basically just kind of went through all of the scenarios and then as we were laying out what that space would look like and then what the kitchen-- how everything-- it just made sense to put it in the kitchen. And then, I think you came up with the idea of hiding it in the island, which was amazing.
DAVE MARS: Our exec at HGTV, he always challenges us. Where is that MacGyver moment? Where is something that you can create, this unique space. And so I think it's born out of a challenge. I love challenges too.
And we try to make best use of the space that we can. And that one, it just worked out. I don't know how it worked out. It was a lot of late nights figuring it out, figuring out the track system. Because I mean, that was a 600 pound piece of solid surface material on top of that, that had to slide.
And you can take your finger and push that thing and it slides open. It turned out really good, but there were a lot of moments where we were wondering, how are we going to do this when that counter top or if that counter top won't actually slide?
MARIANNE CANADA: Well, it was a jaw-dropping moment and everyone listening has not seen that, we will make sure to put a link to the video in the show notes at HGTV.com/podcast. Well, Dave and Jenny, it's just so delightful to talk to you all. Where can everyone listening find you all and follow your work on social media? And where can we watch Fixer to Fabulous?
JENNY MARRS: So Fixer to Fabulous is on Discovery Plus now, the first two seasons. Social media, we're Jenny Marrs on Instagram.
DAVE MARRS: Dave.Marrs.
JENNY MARRS: Dave. Marrs.
MARIANNE CANADA: And it's Marrs with two R's. And don't forget, you can also find the Marrs on Hometown Takeover, where they are pitching in with two pretty amazing and touching makeovers. I hope you guys will come back again soon.
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You guys have got to watch the TikTok of that hidden wine cellar. It's truly like a magic trick. I would take a wine cellar, hidden or not, though. I have no shame.
BRAD: Are you kidding me? I'd love a wine cellar. First of all, I'm just obsessed with the concept of secret hideouts.
MARIANNE CANADA: [LAUGHS]
BRAD: But I would just stay down there every day. I'd take all my Zoom calls down there, I'd work down there, I'd play down there. Put a little cot, I could sleep down there.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, I think Madeleine is on TikTok right now. Like, Madeleine, when I said you need to check TikTok, I didn't mean while we were recording.
MADELEINE: [LAUGHS]
BRAD: Oh, OK. Wasting no time, our other producer, Madeleine, everybody.
MADELEINE: I'm watching right now.
MARIANNE CANADA: So you see how it just opens.
MADELEINE: OK. I didn't know-- when you said hidden wine cellar under an island, I just thought you meant wine storage. Just extra places for wine. But there's a complete cellar down there that you step into with stone, the whole thing.
MARIANNE CANADA: It's crazy. They took-- when they first went down into that cellar and they were like, we could turn this into something. I was like, you can barely stand up. What are you talking about? It's incredible.
MADELEINE: OK. This definitely lived up to the hype. Wow, yes. There is a reason this went viral.
MARIANNE CANADA: Well, Madeleine, you should watch that whole episode because that house is so cute. It's very young, the whole thing is pink. It's really cute.
MADELEINE: Oh, I think this would be so cool. I want something like this. But I don't really drink wine. But I really want to get into pickling, so I could pickle stuff and have all my jars down there.
MARIANNE CANADA: Oh, so you could be like your larder.
MADELEINE: Yes. Yeah, exactly.
BRAD: That was just the weirdest way to say that, though. I'm going to get into pickling, I was not ready for that.
MARIANNE CANADA: Call it preserving.
MADELEINE: OK, preserving or brining. It could double for that. Or I'm really into pottery, it could be a pottery room. Yeah, or a great intruder in the house, lock down in the cellar room.
MARIANNE CANADA: A panic room?
MADELEINE: Yeah, a panic room, exactly.
MARIANNE CANADA: It's the three P's. It's pickling, pottery, and panic.
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Oh my goodness. I watched a lot of Hometown Takeover and Fixer to Fabulous before these interviews, and let me tell you, I don't know if I'm just extra emotional right now, but there were tears. These shows have so much heart. I loved getting to know these couples today.
I hope you guys enjoyed it too. Big thanks to both, the Napiers and the Marrs, for coming on the podcast today and sharing their small town love with us. As usual, if you love today's episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to rate and review HGTV Obsessed.
I need five stars across the board, guys. Truly, I read every single review. Don't forget to follow HGTV Obsessed wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. And head over to HGTV.com/podcast for the show notes on today's episode. We're going to definitely drop that hidden wine cellar in there. I'll see you guys next Thursday.
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