Ben and Erin Napier know you can’t please everyone, so they usually shrug off criticisms. But in March 2024, after the episode “Old World, New Build” aired, the pair surprisingly clapped back at the backlash from their fans. In this episode, they bulldozed a home and built a brand new one from scratch. While the final result was stunning — just look at the clients’ reactions — fans nitpicked their aesthetic choices. “The awning looks cheap and it would look better uf [sic] it was just left off! …Big disappointment!” one fan commented, with another saying, “So cute but I wished you’d have left the arch in the original design.”
Erin defended their work, explaining that budget constraints forced them to make some tough decisions. “Our first new build and on a $150k budget, but we did all we could to infuse it with historic charms,” she wrote, adding that there were parts in the design process that the “Home Town” episode didn’t show, particularly their choice of awning. “It was edited such that you didn’t hear the part where we learned the cost to do that (about $3500) would have made it too expensive,” she explained.
In the end, what really matters is that they did their job, and the homeowners loved the result. Erin and Ben also reminded fans to be more mindful of their words, as they can also be seen by the property owners. “You’re not hurting my feelings at all,” she said. “But you’re being really ugly to the people who are living in these houses.”
