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What’s interesting is that “Rehab Addict” will spend an entire season focused on only one or two houses that Curtis is rehabbing. They are usually massive projects, but it’s also a cool twist on the genre. Spencer is best known for being a host on “Good Morning America,” which is certainly a big-time gig. However, she has a clear passion for all matters antique and vintage.

And if the network thinks a particular angle is going to increase viewership, its hosts just have to go with it. More than anything, HGTV is looking for actual experts to lead their TV series lineup. As charismatic and appealing as someone might be on screen, it means little to nothing if they don't actually know what they're doing. Whitney Gainer and Ashley Turner, the stars of Open Concept, had a long-running blog called Shanty2Chicbefore they ever appeared on HGTV. And the duo had been building homes for eight years prior to being discovered by the network.
The 25 greatest home improvement hosts
When it comes to the home improvement game, HGTV is an absolute juggernaut. According to Variety, the cable network hits 96 million homes each month, ranking number one among home-owning, college-educated women . Shows like Fixer Upper and Property Brothers have done more than put the network on the map. They've brought HGTV stars into the homes of millions and turned them into household names. He's also spent a lot of time hosting awards show red carpets — including the Prime Time Emmys, the American Music Awards, and even The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
But there are plenty of other shows out there making a name for themselves. Tidying Up with Marie Kondo took social media by storm when it first aired on Netflix in 2019. Known for his show Home Town, which he hosts with his wife Erin Napier, Ben has a woodworking company called Scotsman Co and runs a general store called Laurel Mercantile. Ben and Erin are often considered the new age Chip and Joanna Gaines and are presently on season 4 of Home Town. Known for the HGTV show Flip or Flop, Tarek began his real estate journey at the young age of 21, when he received his real estate license. Soon after, he found success selling homes in the Orange County area in California, where, in 2005, he flipped his first home.
'Fixer Upper' church controversy
However, the recession hit, and the couple ended up working on the property themselves out of necessity. Bryan is known for his humble attitude, expertise, and down-to-earth approach. Many viewers feel that his DIY tips come in extremely handy when renovating homes, especially within tight timelines. Bryan has an admirable net worth estimated at $20 million – all thanks to his perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit.
She left the show in 2012 in order to make another show, Buy Herself, for HGTV Canada. The show, which ran from 2012 until 2013, featured women who were buying property, usually for the first time. "Women buying real estate is not a fad, it's history in the making and I am very proud to be a part of it on TV," wrote Rinomato on Facebook. She continues working as a realtor in Toronto at Sandra Rinomato Realty Inc., and still makes regular television appearances. This British designer was the host of HGTV’s Designing for the Sexes until it was cancelled in 2011.
'House Hunters' staged?
As of 2015, Cunningham and her husband, Scott Jarrell, are the owners of Hammer and Spear, a showroom and design studio in downtown Los Angeles. This beloved HGTV host first made her mark on the design world as one of the original designers on TLC’s Trading Spaces, but it was her Dear Genevieve show that made her an HGTV star. Even though her show aired its last episode in 2010, she’s still heavily involved with the network.
In 2012, David Benham led a prayer rally outside of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he spoke out against homosexuality. HGTV never commented on the decision to pull the series, outside of a tweet saying they wouldn't be moving forward. In an interview with Variety, Allison Page, general manager of HGTV, said it's a network that thrives on being "aspirational, attainable and fun." Part of adhering to that standard is hiring hosts who will be able to embody that for its audience.
More than that, social platforms are a means to give show viewers a glimpse into the personal and professional lives of the hosts they watch on the regular. Fans get an inside look into public appearances, renovations and designs, and behind-the-scenes action. All of that, in turn, keeps them coming back to the shows that have made their favorite home improvement celebrities famous.
The Gaines were slammed on social media after a Buzzfeed article revealed the pastor at their church had been known to make anti-gay remarks. The stars of "Fixer Upper" chose to remain mostly silent on the subject, and many fans defended the reality stars and slammed Buzzfeed for going after them. Chip Gaines wrote on Twitter at the time, "In times of trouble.. you'll find the Gaines family at church." For example, Ben and Erin Napier, the husband and wife team of HGTV's Home Town, work in Mississippi, where an entire project — house sale and renovation — costs about $200,000.
After the show was pulled from the channel, he continued to share his knowledge, but this time through his interior decorating business in Los Angles, which is where he currently lives with his wife. Matt Fox and Shari Hiller are two of the most memorable stars because they were the hosts of HGTV’s very first show, Room by Room,which aired on the network from 1994 to 2006. Not only are they the first hosts hired on by the network, but their show is the longest running decorating show in history with over 350 episodes. When the show ended they took a much needed break from filming, but in 2010 went on to host Around the House with Matt and Shari on PBS. Suzanne Whang was the face of House Hunters from 1999 to 2007. When she left the HGTV network she began to focus more on her flourishing acting career and landed small roles on General Hospital, Don’t Tell My Mother and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
In fact, Yahoo! Finance reported that much of the network's viewership comes from people who don't actually own homes, but would one day like to. For many renters, the network is a part of a reality that they someday hope to achieve, and its hosts make that future feel absolutely attainable. Twitter and Instagram aren't just social networks used to share everyday experiences — at least not as far as HGTV hosts are concerned. In fact, many of the hosts on the network got their start becauseof their use of social platforms, particularly Instagram.
When she left the show she landed a regular gig on The Rachael Ray Show, the Today Show and The Talk as a design expert. In 2012 she landed her own show on the OWN network called Super Saver Showdown which lasted until 2013. Cunningham no longer appears on TV, but as of 2015, she and her husband became owners of a design studio in downtown Los Angeles called Hammer and Spear. But such bad press has done little to stop the HGTV juggernaut. Shows like House Hunters, Property Virgins, Property Brothers, and Fixer Upper, brands unto themselves, are embedded in the network’s lineup. (Some hosts, such as Ty Pennington, have even become design and product influencers.) On any given day you can find unbroken hours of a program, where the specifics change but arcs and narratives hardly vary.

Mike Holmes began his journey in Toronto as a contractor from the young age of 19. He is known for his blunt and opinionated home-building skills on television, a trait that has made him globally famous. Here, he helped homeowners renovate portions of their homes that were worked on poorly by contractors or done by people who have little knowledge and experience in the space. A North Carolina couple filed a lawsuit in April 2016 against the production company behind “Love it or List It,” claiming their home was left “irreparably damaged” after the show. The couple stated producers hired a contractor that the couple didn’t agree to work with. They also claimed in the suit that the show was somewhat staged, arguing people featured on the series are told what to say and how to act.
Joanna handled the interior design, and Chip would do the contracting. Whang, who tragically died last month at 56 after a long battle with cancer, did a lot of acting in her career, mostly in small guest roles on TV. Still, she got to appear in shows like “Arrested Development” and “Las Vegas.” The thing she is probably best known for, though, is being the host of “House Hunters,” the beloved real estate reality show. This groundbreaking home improvement series premiered in 1979 with Bob Vila as host. It's been through a lot of changes since then, but the Emmy-winning PBS hit still stands out as one of the most trusted and beloved home renovation shows ever made.
Despite all of this, her co-hosting duties are still her most notable and profitable. Like Brice Cooper, Kristan Cunningham also hosted HGTV'sDesign on a Dime, but for much longer — ten seasons, after which she went on to make appearances on The Rachael Ray Show, where she was the design expert, as well as the Today Show and The Talk. In 2012, she started her own show on the OWN network, called Super Saver Showdown, which aired until 2013.
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