HGTV stars rebuilding Florida town say Americans crave slower, simpler lifestyle
HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier believe Americans are "craving" slower and simpler lifestyles.
The Napiers, who star in HGTV's "Home Town Takeover," set out to renovate the small Florida town of Sebring, which they "fell in love with immediately."
"It was built as a resort town before the coasts of Florida were really getting developed and blown up," Ben told Fox News Digital.
"Before the theme parks, and that is the old Florida that our grandparents went [to] on vacation," Erin added. "We see all their photos. I have my grandparents' photos from going to those parts of Florida, and we want it back."
"I think there's a lot of us who are craving slower, simpler, less is more," Erin explained. "We want a beautiful lake and a quiet town to go have a really great meal."
Season three of "Home Town Takeover," which premiered March 9, focused on the personal stories of those living in Sebring.
The home builders worked with a kindergarten teacher. The single mom had purchased a historic house that had belonged to her own kindergarten teacher.
"That story alone was just like this magical storybook small town," Ben said.
Her story is "about how we're influenced and impacted hugely in young childhood by the best teachers," Erin added.
WATCH: HGTV STARS SAY AMERICANS CRAVE SLOWER, SIMPLER LIFESTYLE
Ben and Erin found themselves with the challenge of balancing veterans dealing with PTSD with the "escapism" of HGTV.
"We worked with a couple who are helping veterans who are dealing with PTSD and suicide prevention. That was some heavy, heavy stuff," Erin said.
"There were a couple times we had meetings where we kind of pulled back, and we're like, 'OK. How much of this can we tell on HGTV?' Because it's, you know what I mean? It's where you go to escape. It's escapism TV," Ben explained. "But that was a really heavy subject that we covered."
They noted that the couple's door is "always open" and sometimes get calls at three in the morning and are always "ready to welcome people into their home."
"And it's important for their own mental health that that home is a place where they can at least recharge at some point," Erin added. "And so that was our main focus. How do we make this house that felt dark and drab feel lighter? Because the burden that they carry is already so heavy. You don't want your house to add to that."
Erin and Ben have been together for 20 years. The couple met in 2004, while Erin was a sophomore in college. Erin had a crush on Ben before they officially met, as she previously shared in a series of Instagram posts. According to Erin, the two fell in love over the course of six days.
"By December 13, [Ben] had met both my parents," Erin wrote on Instagram. "He had no money, no prospects, and they knew that and they both loved him instantly anyway and said so – they'd never even pretended to tolerate any boys before that. We'd been inseparable for 6 days. His shirts all had my lip gloss imprinted on the chest because I wasn't used to hugging someone so tall yet."
"We never stopped talking. We had 19 and 21 years to catch up on, and there was no detail too trivial. Ben says his mom told him 'you marry the one you never want to stop talking to.' So 6 days after meeting, and 2 days before we would be on a one month Christmas break apart, he told me 'I think I'm in love with you.' and I said 'I'm in love with you too.' 'I'm going to marry you,' he told me – 'Yes. That sounds perfect,' I told him."
Years later, the couple's TV show "Home Town" premiered in January 2016 as Ben and Erin worked to restore the town of Laurel, Mississippi.
The show features the couple working to restore historical homes with found materials and old textiles in their own hometown.
WATCH: HGTV STARS SHOW YOU CAN 'LIVE THE DREAM' IN A SMALL TOWN
Ben and Erin hope their projects show what it's really like to live in a small town.
"People just have it in their mind what it is to live in a small town and what it isn't," Erin previously told Fox News Digital. "And I hope that the more you watch 'Home Town,' the more you see that you can live the dream."
"You can have your hot sauce and salsa farm in the middle of town, and you can build a school for children who are underserved. You can do anything in a small town. And that's the story that's so fun to tell for us."
"Home Town Takeover" airs Sundays on HGTV.
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