Behold: The Best Home Improvement Shows in TV History
Sometimes, it's nice to watch experts take on hard, impressive work while you sit back and relax. Luckily, there are plenty of good home improvement TV shows for doing just that. And while the projects featured on these shows aren't easy feats, they can often make something as big as a gut kitchen renovation seem like a casual weekend job. While the electrical and plumbing are best left to the experts, home renovation shows offer loads of inspiration and ideas to inspire viewers' next projects.
Home renovation shows can indeed be misleading when it comes to costs, labor demands, and overall project expectations, but that's exactly what makes for good reality television. Sometimes, the clients' budgets are totally arbitrary. But it's important to remember that these guys are professionals who often deal with product placements and trade discounts along the way.
Whether you're looking for farmhouse-fresh ideas from the queen of shiplap Joanna Gaines or landscaping designs to put your neighbors' yards to shame, the best home renovation shows are a great resource for budding DIYers and home improvement aficionados alike. Even if you're tuning in for fun, the pretty homes and places these television stars visit can give you ideas for your next vacation or Airbnb booking.
No matter the reason you watch, it's always fascinating to see a home go from dated disaster to Pinterest-worthy in a mere 30 to 45 minutes. Plus, it's much less stressful than managing your own renovation. If you're in a television rut, we're here to help with the 21 best home improvement shows to watch, stream, and binge right now.
For more home entertainment content:
Hack My Home
Hack My Home is all about maximizing functionality within a house's footprint. The Emmy-nominated show stars Mikel Welch, who handles the design; Brooks Atwood, who is in charge of innovation; Ati Williams, who focuses on construction; and Jessica Banks, who leads engineering. Together, the expert team turns overcrowded and underused spaces into hard-working interiors.
Where to watch: Netflix
Fixer to Fabulous
Dave and Jenny Marrs star in HGTV's Fixer to Fabulous. The husband-and-wife duo renovates properties all across their hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. With five seasons of the series under their belt, the couple has also starred in multiple spinoffs—including an Italian one in which they turned a villa into a charming vacation rental.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Celebrity IOU
Hosted by everyone's favorite dynamic duo, the Property Brothers, Celebrity IOU features celebrities like Taraji P. Henson, Heidi Klum, and Ray Romano giving back to those who have helped them in their careers, from family members to housekeepers, with the renovation and design experts at their side.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Married to Real Estate
Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson are the Atlanta-based hosts of Married to Real Estate. They're known for their dedication to making their clients’ dream homes a reality thanks to Sherrod’s real estate and interior design knowledge and Jackson’s builder expertise.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project
This docuseries stars Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent (Queer Eye's new cast member) as the designers and married dads of two renovate family homes in and around New York City. They help clients choose what items in their home to keep, repurpose, donate, or toss. Then, they renovate the home and reincorporate those items into it. The resulting design portrays the family’s style more thoughtfully.
Where to watch: Max, HGTV
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Millions of viewers tuned into ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with host Ty Pennington for more than a decade. Although the final episode aired in 2012, the show’s nine-season run cemented it as an iconic home makeover production. In the series, entire houses are renovated by designers and experts in just seven days.
Where to watch: Netflix (30 episodes), Hulu (seasons 3–5)
Maine Cabin Masters
Maine Cabin Masters follows a team of experts—including Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge, Ryan Eldridge, Matt “Dixie” Dix, and Jared “Jedi” Baker—as they work together to save and transform outdated cabins across Maine. There are currently eight seasons of the series—and it's getting an Italian spinoff that premieres in summer 2024.
Where to watch: Magnolia Network, Max
Good Bones
Good Bones follows Mina Starsiak Hawk and her mom, Karen E. Laine, who launched a home renovation business called Two Chicks and a Hammer in 2007. During the eight-season series, the mother-daughter duo renovates properties in their hometown of Indianapolis.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Van Go
Tiny home living has only increased in popularity over the past decade, and Van Go puts a design spin on the nomadic lifestyle. Host Brett Lewis renovates sprinter vans to bring all the comforts of home along, no matter where you're parked.
Where to watch: Max
Restored by the Fords
Celebrity interior designer Leanne Ford is joined by her husband, Erik Allen Ford, in this show that brings Leanne's signature effortless style to historic homes in rural Pennsylvania.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Christina on the Coast
Following her success as the cohost of Flip or Flop, Christina Hall is back and bringing her signature SoCal style to the homes she renovates and designs as part of her docuseries. Binge the current seasons to prepare for 2024's new episodes. If you like what you see, consider also watching her Tennessee-based show Cristina in the Country.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Home Town
Hosted by Erin and Ben Napier, Home Town follows the couple as they spread their shared love of Southern culture and revitalize historic properties in their actual hometown of Laurel, Mississippi.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Fixer Upper
It's a familiar trope—the wife runs the designing, the husband manages the construction—but no one does it better than Chip and Joanna Gaines. The couple helps families choose a fixer-upper home, then fix it up in Joanna's signature farmhouse style. Would we even know the term shiplap if Jo hadn't taught us? Since the Gaines started Magnolia Network, they've also done a few Fixer Upper spinoffs. Most notably, they starred in Fixer Upper: The Hotel. (And if you want to know what the hotel is like IRL, we have everything you need to know about it here.)
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Property Brothers
Twin brothers Drew (the real estate expert) and Jonathan (the contractor) Scott help families find and renovate homes that are need in of a little TLC on this massively successful show. Part of the success lies in watching their 3D visions come to life; the other part is all in the rapport of these siblings.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Love It or List It
Love It or List It has been on the air in Canada and the U.S. for more than a decade, and it's easy to see why. Hosted by Hilary Farr and David Visentin, it consists of every single one of the features that make other renovation shows great: couples with unrealistic expectations, plenty of torn-down walls, and questions about whether homeowners should stay in their flipped homes. While Farr announced her exit from the show in 2023, you can still enjoy the 19 seasons she's in.
Where to watch: HGTV, Max
Going Home With Tyler Cameron
In The Bachelorette alum and general contractor Tyler Cameron's home renovation show, the reality star follows his dreams as he starts his own construction company in his hometown of Jupiter, Florida. With house-flipping expert Robb Ritch and Miami-based interior designer Jessica Quintero, he renovates homes in the area and tackles other exciting projects like vacation rental properties.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Designing Miami
If you're looking for a home improvement show that's easy to watch and has a single season, look no further than Designing Miami. The show follows Miami-based designers Eilyn Jimenez, founder and creative director of Sire Design, and Raymond Jimenez, founder and creative director of RAYMOND NICOLAS design house. Yes, that means the husband-and-wife duo operates competing businesses in the design world.
Where to watch: Netflix
Tidying Up With Marie Kondo
Marie Kondo is not tearing down walls with a sledgehammer on this show—unless you count emotional walls. The best-selling author's smash Netflix hit series follows her as she helps people organize and pare down their possessions, a surprisingly poignant experience for everyone involved (including viewers).
Where to watch: Netflix
Dream Home Makeover
Launched in fall 2020, Dream Home Makeover follows the projects of Studio McGee's Shea and Sid McGee. Expect cozy textures, chic color palettes, and Shea's signature, timeless styling across the show's four seasons.
Where to watch: Netflix
Rehab Addict
Unlike many other shows on this list, where the goal is to rip apart old houses to make them look modern, Rehab Addict is all about restoring old homes to preserve their special architecture. Host Nicole Curtis sticks with just a few houses in the midwest per season so viewers can really appreciate the journey and effort that go into each project.
Where to watch: Netflix
This Old House
If your memory of this iconic home improvement show is of host Bob Vila, get with the program. Since he signed off in 1989 (!), there have been two other hosts, tons of contractors, a magazine, and three spinoff shows.
Where to watch: PBS, This Old House app
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