These starter homes will never be forgotten.
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Your first home always holds a special place in your heart. For many HGTV stars who have long since moved on from their starter homes, they’ll never forget the meaningful setting, from how they decorated it to the memories they made there.
Whether you’re eager to see Home Town stars Ben and Erin Napier’s first home that they renovated or Nate Berkus’s first New York City apartment, we’re unpacking every detail we know about HGTV stars’ first homes below.
Good Bones star Mina Starsiak Hawk purchased her first home in her hometown of Indianapolis, which, of course, she renovated herself. But the project didn't completely go as planned. "I accidentally used both matte and glossy tiles and didn’t realize until after they were installed," the designer told HGTV Magazine of tiling her bathroom at the time. "Whoops! Unbox all your tile and check it first."
Similarly, Starsiak Hawk's mother and Good Bones costar Karen E. Laine also bought her first home in Indianapolis in the city's Fountain Square area. "It was only 13 feet wide, and we called it The Cupboard," she told the outlet. "The greatest thing I did was install glass-front kitchen cabinets to the ceiling. In a small house, they add tons of storage and visual impact."
Recently, Nate Berkus shared a glimpse into his first apartment in New York City's West Village neighborhood. The 550-square-foot, prewar pad boasted 10-foot ceilings, and The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project star only filled it with things he loved. He shared photos of the office, bedroom, and living area, all of which took on a neutral color palette. Standout pieces include a black and off white chandelier above the bed, a brown leather sofa in the living room, and an industrial-style, glass-top desk.
Before Eric Bennett left Wisconsin for Palm Springs, the Desert Flippers star secured his first home in America’s Dairyland. He explained to HGTV Magazine that on his first listing appointment after getting his real estate license, he “walked in thinking of ways [he] could market the home” and “walked out saying, ‘I’ll buy it!’” He added, “One of my smartest moves was getting roommates to help offset the cost of the mortgage.”
Jasmine Roth and her husband, Brett, couldn’t find their dream home in Huntington Beach, California. So, they built it. "I learned so much, including the joys of durable engineered wood flooring, custom built-ins, and app-controlled lighting, as well as the downside of having lots of windows—minimal wall space for hanging art,” the Help! I Wrecked My House star told the outlet.
Ben and Erin's first home together was actually a loft in downtown Laurel, Mississippi. In an excerpt from their memoir, Make Something Good Today, the couple detailed how Erin's family owned a historic 100-year-old flatiron building that they transformed into their first home. Ben described the former offices and toothpaste factory as "a beautiful, drafty old place." They got crafty during the redesign, including turning a doorway into a headboard. See inside the former home here.
HGTV Dream Home star Brian Patrick Flynn bought his first home in Atlanta. The midcentury modern ranch house had beige walls and, yes, orange-yellow hardwood floors. "Within weeks, I’d added gray grass cloth wallpaper and refinished the floors in a high-gloss ebony stain,” the designer told HGTV Magazine. “The best decision I made was painting the exterior brick a dramatic black-brown. It gave the house instant edge."
Boise Boys star Clint Robertson and his wife purchased a fixer-upper in Wichita Falls, Texas, as their first home. "It had incredible charm and even a compartment near the back door for milkman deliveries back in the day,” he told the outlet. “My only regret: that we stopped short of a full remodel. It would have made us more money when we sold it."
Karrie Trowbridge, who starred in the short-lived HGTV series Mom & Me, bought her first home with her husband in 2002. Located in Bend, Oregon, the 1923 craftsman needed a lot of love. "Even though our budget was tight, we allocated funds to stay in a rental during the renovation, and I’m so glad we did,” she told HGTV Magazine. “We had a major construction site—new windows, doors, wiring, roof, floors, the works—and two little boys on our hands.”
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