Fans can't get enough of HGTV's hit show Fixer Upper, but what's it really like to get a Magnolia makeover?
Videos by Wide Open Country
Blogger Rachel Teodoro chatted with Lindy and Chris Ermoian from season 3 of the beloved show to get some insight on what the process entails. Here are some of the highlights.
The incredibly busy Gaines are not the client's main contact during the renovation process. Clients work with an official Magnolia Market designer for the most part.
Chip doesn't do as much demo as it appears on the show, and clients actually have more say in the overall design than the show leads viewers to believe.
In her first blog about the show, Teodoro revealed that the final houses are picked, and in some cases, purchased, before filming. The whole "which of these three houses do we want" is just to pad the plot.
For instance, in the Ermoian's episode, everyone pretended that it was an amazing coincidence that the house they were looking at turned out to be one once owned by Lindy's grandmother. The truth was a little more mundane, though. The Ermoians purchased the house from Lindy's parents.
The show isn't completely deceptive, however, because had the Ermoians not been selected for Fixer Upper, they wouldn't have purchased the house. Apparently, Lindy absolutely hated it. As is standard with most Fixer Upper clients, the Ermoians were sublimely happy with the renovation results.
"Chip Gaines may not have driven every nail but you would be hard-pressed to find a single flaw in our home," Chris Ermoian told Teodoro. "The attention to detail is impeccable. Chip and Joanna have final say in the workmanship and it shows."
As Teodoro pointed out in her first blog on the subject, you don't get to keep the furniture that the Gaines' stage in the home (without purchasing it), but you do have the option to buy the custom pieces Joanna makes.
