‘Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano’: Dave & Jenny Marrs on Venturing Out of Comfort Zone
Dave and Jenny Marrs are putting their design and reno skills to the test on Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano. The six-episode season, which premieres March 12, sees the popular duo go from Bentonville, Arkansas to Tuscany as they challenge themselves by restoring a centuries-old property. Check out our exclusive clip, above.
Their clients are longtime friends Pierre and Rebecca, who have invested life savings to transform the property into an eye-catching rental that balances modern elements but still maintains its historic roots. The Marrs’ first met Rebecca as their tour guide in 2006 when as newlyweds and kept in touch in the years since.
For the HGTV stars, they faced several challenges over eight months including a different crew, permit delays, and the language barrier. Here Dave and Jenny reflect on their international journey.
At one point did you think that this would make a good offshoot of your show?
Jenny Marrs: Rebecca and Pierre had been looking at houses for a couple of years since COVID. Rebecca would send links to me to get my opinion. We would brainstorm ideas for each of the houses. When they did buy a place, we visited not long after they closed. We went and saw the house with them. We stayed the night there and had dinner. It was fun. They wanted to do these renovations. We were talking about how we could help them. We thought it would be a great show. I would say it came about at the house having dinner together. It’s where the best ideas happen, over dinner.
This project was certainly a different animal. Talk about some of the obstacles you had to overcome.
Dave Marrs: Different country, different language, completely different rules. The preservation of their historical homes to the point where if there was ever a window there, you couldn’t add a window. There is nothing to do to change that. Original colors can be used, but that’s about it. Everything you do has to be run through the communities to make sure it goes with the visions they have in Italy.
They understand when tourists go there to see these buildings and are deadset on looking as historic as they possibly can. That was a big challenge just to get the permits and everything approved. Then once we started, the construction there. I’m used to framing construction or block construction with lumber. These walls are three feet thick of 400-year-old stone. It was all a completely new experience. I’ve been building my whole life. To go and do it in Italy, it was like I was starting over.
How good is your Italian now?
Dave: It’s better, but we are definitely not fluent.
Jenny: We weren’t there for super long at any point because we were always coming home because we had our projects happening here. We were there for four days, sometimes a week. The summer we were there was the longest. We weren’t there a long time to learn it. We have a long way to go for that.
Jenny, there is a point in a teaser where you are in tears. What was happening at that moment?
Jenny: It’s actually where we are driving up to Carrara. It’s raining, there are no guardrails, and our kids are in the car. Our tires are bald. It was terrifying, to say the least. I felt like we were risking our lives at that moment. That was the scariest of the trip. It was incredible when we got to the top.
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Thinking about facing tight deadlines, flying back and forth, being parents, and working on the other projects you have going on. I’m sure that felt overwhelming at times.
Jenny: Overall, it was a stressful project. If we were just helping our friends remodel their house in Italy, it would normally take two or three years. But we had a production schedule to meet. We had to try to get everything moved up quickly. That was the biggest challenge, trying to hit those production deadlines with an Italian crew. We had to push the reveal back several times and the plans changed quickly. We added on more trips. We were only supposed to be three times. We ended up going six. It was tough. We would land a lot of times at midnight. Then have to go at 6 a.m. to film here and work on our ongoing projects. Our schedule here was a little crazy. It was a very stressful crazy year, but we were also in Italy. So that was amazing. We just enjoyed being in a place we loved. There were a lot of good memories but a lot of hectic times as well.
How would you compare getting materials and the cost of them with what you do here in the States? How was it sticking to the budget?
Jenny: Getting the materials themselves was a challenge. There were fewer options. That was the biggest challenge for me. I ended up working with a lot of places I work with in the States A lot of them I wanted to make sure were small businesses with handmade. I also wanted to make sure it felt appropriate for that house. The faucets were actually made here in New England and was a company I worked with before. They are brass and handmade and have an old-world feel. I had to call everyone I use normally and ask them if they ship to Italy. Lights were the biggest challenge given the electrical conversion. You can’t ship American lights. They have to be fitted for Italian outlets.
What was it like for the kids to go there too?
Dave: Our kids are actually good travelers. If we go somewhere, we take the kids. They are part of the family, so they go as we go. That was the great thing for me was getting the kids to have these experiences. To go up the mountain in Carrara where Michelangelo took marble for his sculptures 400 years ago like David. The kids got to stand in that quarry. Something if we had not had that show, I’m not sure they would have gotten that opportunity. They know Rebecca and Pierre. They also have boys that are similar ages as our boys. We’ve gone over there during summers and went to soccer games. It’s just a good experience. It forces you out of your comfort zone being in another country where even going to the grocery store is very different from here. It forces our kids to lean on us and each other. It was a good experience to go several times with them, and something we’ll never forget.
As we get to the big reveal at the end, how was it seeing their reaction?
Jenny: We related so much. We had a renovation of our own with The Welcome Inn a couple of years ago. That was when we had one of the original discussions. They wanted to learn about what we did and ran the business. The reveal was amazing. They had some friends come for a meal that evening after the reveal. They did a tour for the first people who had seen the house. It’s really exciting to know all the people who will enjoy the property. Rebecca and Pierre are so gracious and welcoming and make this a place where people get to come and have these amazing experiences. It was very rewarding and fulfilling. It was one of those deep exhales. Like, “We did it. I can’t believe it. It was a good celebration at the end.”
Do you see yourself doing more projects like this?
David: I think so. We love to focus on new projects and things outside of our comfort zone and do something different. Europe for HGTV is an untapped market. I think to see us over there in Italy, Great Britain or anywhere doing a project, I would love to. It’s all ratings-based, so if a lot of people watch this, and it does well, we’ll see. I think people will have a great experience watching the show and learning about an amazing culture. A lot of things I think America can learn from. Just some beautiful architecture, landscapes, and wonderful people. It was a good experience.
Fixer to Fabulous: Italiano premiere, March 12, 8/7c, HGTV
