Robert & Cortney Novogratz�s West Village Townhouse

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on OCTOBER 12, 2011

Robert and Cortney Novogratz, who juggle decorating jobs in New York City while raising their 7 kids, host an entertaining show on HGTV that just wrapped up its first season called �Home by Novogratz.� Their unconventional style may not be for everyone, but it�s fun to watch them work, and the results are always kind of unexpected and interesting.

One of their most famous projects is their own townhouse. Here�s what it looked like when they bought it:

It was amazing to watch them create a home out of this space on their Bravo TV reality show �9 by Design� last year (I was disappointed when it wasn�t renewed for a second season�they chose to do the HGTV series instead). Here�s how it looks today:

Their townhouse is on the market for $17.45 million. A lot of the scenes on �Home by Novogratz� were filmed in this living room, so you may recognize this white piano and the very cool glass garage door that opens to the terrace:

On the show they now have a new rug in the living room that they designed for their own collection. It has the word �FAMILY� written across it in giant black letters. Here�s Cortney showing it off:

It comes in a colorful version, too. They used it in a makeover on their show on HGTV (the apartment�s living room before is on the left and the after is on the right, just in case you couldn�t guess!):

Back to their townhouse that�s for sale�here�s their bedroom with that huge Adid Aziz desk that had to be lifted through the window of the room with a crane (which makes me wonder if it stays for the next owner!):

They seem to approach decorating from more of an artist�s point of view than a traditional designer�s. We frequently see them starting a project by shopping for funky artwork and commissioning one-of-a-kind pieces for their clients.

We see the kitchen in almost every episode of the show, where Rob and Cortney work on their projects while their kids sit at the table with them, doing their homework:

The townhouse has 5 floors and over 7,000 square feet. It comes with a 2-car garage and its own indoor basketball court that converts into a private screening room. But one of the best selling points about the house may be the amazing river and city views:

Have you seen their show? Are you a fan? I just got a press release from HGTV saying that it�s been picked up for a second season that will begin airing in April of 2012.

For more photos and information, check the listing at Town Residential Real Estate. You can see photos of their work on HGTV.com and their website The Novogratz.

The Truth About �House Hunters� on HGTV

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by HOOKEDONHOUSES on JUNE 2, 2010

Whenever I mention the popular HGTV series �House Hunters,� I get e-mails from readers asking, �Do you know the truth about that show?� I just got another one from someone saying, �I�m surprised more people don�t know how �House Hunters� really works. I was so mad when I found out!�

It�s actually not a secret�the show even explained it in a newspaper article a few years ago, but it doesn�t seem to be common knowledge.  Here�s what it said:

For quicker turn-around, producers sometimes choose buyers who are already in escrow with one of the three locations shown. The other two choices that are filmed, are only shown to allow viewers the option of making the choice themselves.

Did you catch that? The house hunters aren�t actually house hunting in some of the episodes because they already bought one. The producers show them two other houses and they pretend to consider them. Then they pretend to deliberate, and pretend to choose the house that they already chose from the beginning.

Based on the number of e-mails I�ve gotten from people who have written to tell me that they know someone who was on the show and �faked it,� this must be a fairly common practice.

It makes sense from a production point of view. It prevents the problem that we see so often on HGTV�s Property Virgin, in which the house hunters don�t end up choosing anything at all.

According to that same article, the participants get only $500 for being on the show. I was surprised that they earn so little�especially if there�s acting involved! That was a few years ago, though, so maybe they earn more by now.

There can be long hours of filming each house�I heard that they often have to reenter the same room many times until they get it just right for the camera. (This explains why sometimes the sun is blazing when they enter the house, but it looks dark outside in later scenes.)

Another thing I get a lot of e-mails about is Suzanne Whang�s absence. Have you missed her? I told you what happened to her in this post.

So there you have it�a few more insights into how one of HGTV�s most popular series works. What do you think? Does it bother you that there aren�t always real decisions being made? I still watch, but now I try to figure out which couples are faking it. 

P.S. If you have some inside information, please fill us in!