A Boston Episode of House Hunters Renovation Airs This Weekend

Charlestown image via iStock, HGTV logo via Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc.

The ups and downs of buying a home in Boston’s topsy turvy market can be dramatic. Low inventory, sky-high asking prices, and cutthroat competition are all perfect fodder for a gripping TV show.

For two house hunters in Charlestown, their recent home buying experience became just that. Their joys and disappointments will be broadcast for all to see on Saturday when a Boston-themed episode of House Hunters Renovation airs at 10 p.m.

The episode follows the home search of Greg and Alexa Costa, a couple of home buyers who’ve set out to leave their one-bedroom condo behind for a single-family home in Charlestown. Adam Geragosian, a local real estate agent with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, guides them on their search for a Colonial with at least three bedrooms and space for entertaining guests.

“I think people are going to be intrigued to see what they can get for their money in a place like Charlestown, and what the costs of the renovations are going to be, and just how much of a process it is,” explains Geragosian.

When Boston’s characteristically tough market forces the couple to opt for a centuries-old house in need of an overhaul, Malden-based designer Molly Pidgeon swoops in to help renovate it. Pidgeon, owner of design firm House of Dietrich, was tasked with redesigning the first level of the home by opening up the floor plan. In the show, her goal is to create what she calls a “glam farmhouse with a traditional twist.”

Half of the hour-long episode is dedicated to the house-hunting journey, while the second half follows the renovation process. Viewers can sit back and watch Pidgeon and her team tackle renovation challenges along the way, including structural surprises hidden behind walls, unforeseen permitting issues, and other problems familiar to those who’ve updated antique homes. Pidgeon says she’s dealt with construction issues like these before, just never in front of a camera.

“It was interesting because you’re going about your normal day like everybody knows what you’re talking about—and sometimes I can be pretty serious about my job. So to talk about things and then have to rework what you’re saying so that it’s understood [by a more general audience] was the most interesting part for me.”

Hoping to glean some inspiration from the Charlestown project? Tune in to HGTV on Saturday, November 4 at 10 p.m. to see the premiere.

Greg and Alexa, armed with sledgehammers, dive into their kitchen renovation. / Photo courtesy of HGTV