Flip Or Flop & 9 Best HGTV Home Design Reality TV Shows, Ranked By IMDb

With the launch of Discovery+ in early 2021, HGTV fans have had the opportunity to stream all their favorite home design series in one place. New series on the platform with well-known personalities like Ben Napier and Joanna Gaines are also a draw for fans.

Over the years, HGTV has gradually leaned into the reality TV style for some of its programs. “Real people” appear on the network to buy, sell, renovate, and redesign their homes. Understandably, fans will seek out the best series for a variety of designing topics.

10 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: 6.0

HGTV’s version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition aired in 2020, but the show had another life on ABC in the 2000s. This reality home design show is story-driven in that families give back to the communities they live in, and the show is giving them something they need.

Over just seven days, the design team transforms each home from the inside out while the family is away. The older program was hosted by Ty Pennington, and the newer installment’s host is Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

9 Flip Or Flop: 6.1

The 2010s brought HGTV into the messy reality of house-flipping. Enter Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead, who were married at the time. Tarek and Christina take on all kinds of lackluster houses; often bank-owned, short sales, or foreclosures.

Flip or Flop takes the viewer through the process of flipping a home, but it also continues to put an ex-husband and ex-wife in the same workspace. Fans are familiar with the drama surrounding the El Moussa and Anstead circle, which is partly why some watch the show. Christina’s other reality series, Christina on the Coast, currently has a 3.3 IMDb rating.

8 HGTV Design Star: 6.3

Design Star was a competition series that originally ran from 2006 to 2013. Hopeful designers worked through a series of weekly challenges to prove their competence. Each week’s eliminations raised the stakes and narrowed the pool to whomever the judges considered the best.

The Design Star: Next Gen reboot launched in 2021 and is hosted by Allison Holker Boss. She is joined by judges Lauren Makk and Jonathan Adler. The eight contestants compete for their own show and $50,000.

7 Love It Or List It: 6.3

Love It or List It has provided HGTV viewers with over a decade of real estate drama behind the scenes. David Visentin is a real estate agent, Hilary Farr is an interior designer, and these two hosts go head to head in every episode.

Hilary wants each couple to see that their current home can be their dream home. David, on the other hand, tries to get the couple to sell their house and buy a new one. David and Hilary are famous for arguing and sometimes pitting spouses against each other.

6 House Hunters: 6.7

House Hunters is over two decades old and has spawned tons of spin-offs since it first aired in 1999. The series is infamous for recreating and faking aspects of the house-buying process. The buyers often want different things, so the drama is dialed up whenever they disagree on how to decorate.

Fans who grew up with the show or found it in adulthood have always loved the fantasy it creates. People love to mentally decide which of the home options they think is best.

5 Beachfront/Lakefront Bargain Hunt: 6.7

Beachfront and Lakefront Bargain Hunt share the same IMDb rating, and both shows take a leaf out of House Hunters’ book.

Beginning in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the water-themed programs guide viewers through the real estate process of buying property by a beach or lake. Both series denote a certain amount of privilege, even if buyers have specific budgets. Fans love to escape to the dock or the sand vicariously through the “bargain” hunters.

4 Deserving Design: 7.0

Vern Yip has had an impressive career in the design world, including on HGTV. His Deserving Design series began in 2007 and emphasized the importance of generosity and empathy.

The series focused on real families in need of redesigns for their homes. Vern Yip carefully planned out whichever room in the house the family would choose, but he also surprised families in the end by completing a second room for them. The show was definitely one of HGTV’s most heartwarming when it comes to helping real people.

3 Martha Knows Best: 7.2

Martha Stewart’s HGTV show began in 2020 and gives the viewers a small glimpse into Martha’s world. She gives tips for gardening and home projects all from her New York farm. Martha Knows Best also includes appearances from celebrities and fans of Martha. She answers all their questions with enthusiasm and friendliness. It’s fun to see Martha in her element.

2 Celebrity IOU: 7.4

Jonathan and Drew Scott have been hot commodities at HGTV ever since Property Brothers took off. The Scotts’ newest series is Celebrity IOU, which HGTV describes as a way for Hollywood stars to “express their deep gratitude to the individuals who have had a major impact on their lives by surprising them with big, heartwarming home renovations that bring everyone to tears.”

Rebel Wilson, Viola Davis, Brad Pitt, Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, Michael Bublé, and Zooey Deschanel are some of the celebrities involved.

1 A Very Brady Renovation: 8.1

2019’s A Very Brady Renovation has been one of HGTV’s most popular reality programs in recent years. The series reunited all six original Brady kids — a rare feat in itself — for a renovation inside the famous Brady residence.

Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Christopher Knight, Eve Plumb, Mike Lookinland, and Susan Olsen had the surreal experience of restoring the real-life Brady home back to its original look. These living icons also share about their own journeys throughout the series.

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