If you watch a lot of home-makeover TV shows, you know the plot: Homeowners agonize over a home purchase and/or renovation, obstacles ensue and are overcome, all culminating in the big final reveal of their perfect home. Cue the happy smiles. Cut!
"Stay or Sell," the new HGTV series shot in the Twin Cities, treads that familiar ground. But Brad and Heather Fox, partners in Fox Homes, combine serious style and skill with a dollop of Minnesota Nice. The Edina husband-wife-duo share a warm, playful chemistry and moments of wry humor to leaven the well-worn formula.
It's also fun to catch glimpses of local landmarks, from frozen lakes to Penny's Coffee to the Bob Dylan mural in downtown Minneapolis. And if you're looking for distinctive Minnesota-made products for your own home makeover, you'll see some in every episode.
In the season premiere episode, airing at 8 p.m. Aug. 27, the Foxes create a dream home for a Plymouth couple, Shawn and Teresa Determan, who have two young children and have outgrown their small 1950s rambler. After a few mishaps and surprises during demolition and construction — and an almost-all-nighter to stage the completed home — the Foxes present the Determans with a "rustic midcentury" two-story with open-concept floor plan and spacious master suite.
It may not be revolutionary TV, but it's life-changing for the Determans.
