What Ben And Erin Napier's Gorgeous Home Really Looks Like

Before Erin and Ben Napier moved into and renovated a 1925 craftsman cottage in Laurel, Mississippi, they lived in a former WWII toothpaste factory (via Hooked on Houses). Modern has never really been the HGTV stars' jam. Instead, the HGTV stars made magic out of thrift store finds, vintage decor, the occasional (affordable) Ikea purchase, and family photos. They might not live in a mansion, but they take impeccable care of the space they do have. You've never seen it on "HGTV Home Town" because, as Erin wrote on Instagram, this is the Napier family sanctuary. "We guard our time here fiercely" Erin explained. "Home is the only place I feel I can drop my guard. I don't have to perform here." 

Those wandering through the Napiers' Instagram pages can nonetheless tour their 2-storied, 100-year-old home. Climb the stairs to its second floor and you'll find two bedrooms and a Jack and Jill bath (via Hooked on Houses). The cottage's first floor features a dining room (via Instagram), a study, a kitchen connecting to a mudroom-laundry room combo (via Hooked on Houses), and a front porch with columns and screen doors perfect for lazy afternoons and lemonades (via Country Living and Instagram). Of course, there's a fireplace in their living room (via Instagram). Of course, their floors are hardwood (via Instagram). The contrast between warm-colored walls in entryways and white-walled main rooms (via Instagram) makes the Napiers' house both cozy and bright at the same time. The bones of the house are beautiful. It's what the Napiers' have done to it that makes it into a haven. 

Nothing in the Napier's craftsman cottage is accidental. Take the dining room, which features a giant, wooden farmyard dinner table. Per Erin, that's the first piece of furniture that Ben built (via Instagram). The top, made from Erin's parents' back porch, isn't accidental either. "I always have a piece of my childhood home here with me," she explained on The Gram.

Sit down in the living room on the Napiers' Ikea sofas, and you'll find a factory cart converted into a coffee table (via Hooked on Houses). That blue and white striped cotton rug? Erin is a big fan of "Something's Gotta Give," and bought one to match the movie set (via Instagram). And that's not the only movie-inspired decor in the Napiers' house! Travel back to their dining room, and you'll find an oil painting that was a prop in "The Sopranos" (via Life At Cloverhill).

Ready to head upstairs? Enter Erin and Ben's bedroom and you'll find a bed made with timeless, white and cream, mismatched linens accentuated by a black, wrought iron bed frame (via Instagram). Ben puts his clothes in a handmade armoire, a collab between Erin's dad and Ben Napier, made out of Erin's grandpa's barn door (via Hooked on Houses). Ben and Erin Napiers' furnishings are more than just amenities: they're memories.

Ben and Erin's kitchen is the only room in the house that they renovated entirely when they moved in 2011 (via Instagram). That butcher block countertop with built-in wine bottle storage that you're drooling over? It's an Ikea find! Erin designed the refrigerator cabinet, and Ben brought it to life. Don't get us started on the cast iron enamel sink. Yes, it's vintage. Ben's mom found it (via Hooked on Houses). Let your eyes wander up when you get a chance because not even the kitchen's lighting is 'just because.' Instead, the Napiers achieve an industrial-but-homey look by hanging their lights off of cotton factory pulleys (via Life At Cloverhill). You can tell how important the kitchen is to the Napiers' homelife by how Erin describes it on The Gram. "It's weird, but when I daydream about #home, I imagine cutting lemons at the sink," she once wrote.

It's the photos in the Napiers' house that are the real treasure, though. You won't find a picture of Ben and Erin in it. The wall space is taken up by something far more important. "Our walls are covered with the people we love, our grandparents and parents," Erin wrote on Instagram. "Our people were young and silly and adventurous, they shaped who we are and what we become, and their presence everywhere we turn makes home feel the way it should."

As much of a sanctuary and safe haven that Erin and Ben Napiers' house is, it isn't always photoshoot ready. Because who's house achieves that level of perfection? In a heartwarming attempt to get real with her followers, Erin recently posted a photo of the 1925 craftsman cottage in a mild state of disarray to The Gram. She captioned the photo "Real life: sinus infection, snacks, books, juice, books, design research, books."

After you're finished loving the Napiers' more for the post showing their living room table in all of its cluttered glory, turn your attention to their bookshelves. Yup, the home improvement experts installed those, too (via Instagram). What's on them? A mix of southern noir, art history (for inspiration, we assume), historical books about Florida, and fiction novels, according to Erin's Instagram post. Of course, their daughter, Helen, has their own set of shelves. And no, before you ask, Erin's not concerned about sorting that out anytime soon. "Seriously, helen's 2 book shelves are bananas but I'm definitely not going to do anything about it," she confessed on The Gram. 

In another post, Erin further explained the inspiration for her realness: "Life isn't perfect or neat," she wrote. "It's dear, and cluttered, and familiar ... No one needs help feeling bad about their imperfect lives. I'd like to see designers embrace that a bit more."