The story of a small-town hotel meant for television glory turning into a scene of loss is not the kind of plot you expect from a feel-good renovation show. Yet that is exactly what unfolded in Laurel, Mississippi, when a highly anticipated HGTV project went from dream to disaster and forced its owners to rethink…
Deferred maintenance used to be a quiet line item in a budget spreadsheet. Now it is reshaping which homes sell, which buildings qualify for financing, and how buyers judge value in a tight market. As aging housing stock collides with stricter lending standards and rising repair costs, the decision to postpone basic upkeep is no…
Across the country, contractors are walking into homes and seeing the same problems repeat so often that they now feel less like flukes and more like a pattern. From rushed new builds to aging systems pushed past their limits, the issues surfacing today are more expensive, more disruptive, and more tightly tied to broader economic…
The “Home Town” universe was supposed to expand in the most tangible way yet, with a boutique hotel project turning small-town nostalgia into a place fans could actually book a room. Instead, a catastrophic fire ripped through that dream, leaving charred beams where a centerpiece of the new spinoff once stood and throwing the show’s…
The hotel project that was meant to anchor Erin and Ben Napier’s latest “Home Town” spinoff has been gutted by fire, but the couple is not walking away from the story they started. Instead, they are reframing the series, updating fans on the fate of the property and the people behind it, and insisting that…
The fire that tore through the future “Home Town” hotel in downtown Laurel did more than char brick and timber. It singed a carefully built narrative about small town renewal, television fame, and the fragile line between dream and disaster. In the months since, the people behind the project have been forced to decide what…
The hotel at the center of HGTV’s new “Home Town” spinoff was supposed to open its doors as a love letter to Laurel, Mississippi, not go up in flames before welcoming a single guest. Instead, a fire ripped through the newly restored property just after renovations wrapped, turning a feel-good TV project into a test…
Chip and Joanna Gaines have renovated scores of properties on television, but their new Colorado retreat raises the stakes from design challenge to family legacy. By turning a 1960s mountain house into a long-term gathering place for their children and future grandchildren, they are treating this project less like a client job and more like…