‘Home Town’ Hotel Owner Shares Their Favorite Pre-Fire Renovation Photos

One of the owners of the Heirloom Hotel is offering a glimpse into the building’s completed renovation before it was damaged in a fire.

HGTV‘s Erin and Ben Napier helped their friends — Jim and Mallorie Rasberry and Josh Nowell — transform a building in Laurel, Mississippi, into the Heirloom on the miniseries Home Town: Inn This Together, which wrapped its run in May. The show documented the hotel’s renovation process and the August 2025 fire that delayed the hotel’s opening.

As the reconstruction process continues, Mallorie took to the Laurel Mercantile blog’s website to share several pre-fire photos of the project. “One of my favorite parts of The Heirloom was getting to dream up all the little design details that made each space feel warm, welcoming, and full of character,” she wrote. “I thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain a bit and share a few of my favorite choices from the retail space and why they mattered so much to me.”

Her first favorite design detail was the Heirloom retail space’s original maple floors. “Not only did restoring them save a significant portion of our budget, but those hundred-year-old floors quickly became the foundation for the entire design. You simply can’t recreate the warmth, patina, and character that comes with generations of life,” she shared. “After the fire, one of the things I’m most thankful for is that we were able to salvage these floors. That alone felt like such a gift, and knowing they’ll continue telling their story in a new way means more than I can say.”

 

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The shop’s “custom checkout counter” was another of Mallorie’s “favorite focal points.” She wrote, “We topped it with beautiful Scotsman maple countertops and painted the cabinetry in Sherwin-Williams Naval, a deep Americana blue that feels both timeless and classic. Like Erin joked on the show, ‘Maple is like a good brassiere — it supports everything and makes it all look better.’ She wasn’t wrong.”

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In addition to the shop’s “vintage American flag banner” and “acoustic ceiling tiles,” Mallorie is also proud of the play area for kids called Snoozy’s Kitchen.

“When we were planning the store layout, there was an awkward little area beneath the front staircase. Most people probably would have turned it into storage. And honestly… that would’ve been practical,” she explained. “But I kept thinking about my girls. One of their favorite things to do is play kitchen. They’ve spent countless hours pretending, taking orders, making imaginary dinners, and creating entire little worlds. It’s become one of my favorite corners of our own home. I wanted children visiting The Heirloom to have that same experience.”

The play area features “miniature maple cabinetry modeled after the Retro Cooking School Kitchen,” a real sink, and a “dorm-sized refrigerator.”

 

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Mallorie concluded the blog post on a sentimental note, writing, “Sometimes the quietest design decisions end up making the biggest difference. At the end of the day, our team pours so much intention, skill, and pride into every product we make. We wanted the retail space to do the same. Rather than creating something overly designed or trendy, we focused on building a space that feels warm, timeless, and understated—a place where the craftsmanship could take center stage. Because the products were always meant to be the hero of the room. Our job was simply to create a space worthy of showcasing them.”

Mallorie and her fellow owners have yet to announce when the hotel will officially open its doors. Last month, however, the hotel’s official Instagram page teased that some exciting news about the rebuild will soon be shared on The Heirloom Podcast.

“Filming a new Heirloom podcast episode | The update y’all have been waiting for + a way each of you can all join the ‘framily’ real soon,” read the caption underneath a June 25 clip of Jim and Josh recording the upcoming episode.