HGTV Stars Dave and Jenny Marrs Take on Their Dream Project in 'Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano'
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Dave and Jenny Marrs are leaving Arkansas behind and heading to Italy! The Fixer to Fabulous stars had the opportunity of a lifetime to renovate a centuries-old Italian villa in Greve in Chianti, Italy, for their old friends Pierre and Rebecca.
Working in the Tuscan countryside comes with its perks, but also introduced a unique set of challenges for Dave and Jenny. Logistically this project wasn't easy, but the couple made it happen, and now we can finally follow along as Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano premiers on HGTV!
The newly renovated but still historically charming villa will welcome tourists from around the world to the land of wine, cheese, and olive oil for an unforgettable travel experience in the Italian countryside.
Meet the Homeowners
Dave and Jenny have visited Italy numerous times over the past 16 years. They first fell in love with the country as newlyweds and now continue the travel tradition as a family of seven. On one of their first trips to Italy, Dave and Jenny met Rebecca, who eventually led them to this opportunity years later.
"One of the first people we met in Italy was Rebecca, who a few years later got married to Pierre, and so we’ve known them for 15, 16 years now. They actually were living in Florence and they were starting to look for a farmhouse. They wanted something where they could give guests a unique experience because they deal in wine and cheese and olive oil and just all these amazing things that I think Americans and tourists love," Dave Marrs told Country Living. "So we kind of helped them through that process of finding a home. When they bought it, they said ‘Hey, is this something you guys would consider helping us on?’ With the chance to work in Italy, we said absolutely."
After helping Rebecca and Pierre find the perfect house, the Marrs's pitched the idea of an Italian spin-off series to HGTV, and the rest is history!
A New Approach to Renovation
Of course, renovating a historic villa in a foreign country is a little bit different than renovating an American home built within the past few decades, and hence the challenges began. "We were in a country where we didn't fluently speak the language, working with construction practices that I had never worked with. These houses are made of 3-foot-thick stone walls. Trying to find a shop to build stuff in, where I'm used to that at home, trying to find product in cities and in a country where you just don't know the area. So, literally every turn was a challenge," Dave explained.
Navigating different building permit requirements, extreme weather, and a tight timeline only added to the stress of the renovation. On top of these challenges, Dave and Jenny were busy traveling back and forth between Arkansas and Italy, juggling their life back home amid renovations. Their ambitious design plans didn't make their job any easier. They explained that pre-renovation the first floor of the villa was a stable for horses, which they converted into additional living space and a kitchen (now that's a pretty extreme renovation!). At times these challenges had Dave and Jenny wondering if they'd bitten off more than they could chew with this project.
However, there were plenty of silver linings to make up for struggles. In particular, Jenny, who gravitates toward organic materials and vintage pieces, was in design heaven. "The biggest thing that we loved about Italy, in terms of renovating, was the fact that there was access to so many amazing artisans and so many handmade materials and vintage, one-of-a-kind pieces. I've always loved using handmade pieces, and I think just continuing to do that is always my favorite. Organic materials like marble and terracotta, wood, brass, those kind of natural materials that you find in nature are something that you see a lot in Italy," Jenny said.
Though they may have been renovating at what felt like warp speed, Jenny and Dave also made time to appreciate the slow pace of life in Italy, especially when their children came to visit over summer vacation. "It's a culture that's all about hospitality, all about family, spending time together, and slowing down, which we love and need more of," Jenny admitted. Even though their work in Italy is done for now, the Marrs family plans to continue their tradition of traveling to Italy. Jenny revealed they will be back this summer to visit with friends and spend a night or two in the house they renovated. "It feels like a second home to us now," Jenny gushed.
You can live vicariously through Dave and Jenny and see how they took this Italian villa from fixer to fabulous on Tuesday nights beginning March 12 at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on HGTV. Episode will also be available to stream on Max.
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