When Hilary Farr's Design Wasn't Enough To Make Homeowners 'Love It'

We've gotten to see the talented Hilary Farr transform homes so completely that many owners who were dead set on selling end up deciding to keep the home. With over 200 hundred episodes and a nearly 60% win rate under her belt, Farr has decided to leave the show. So, we decided to reflect on one of the episodes in Farr's final season of "Love It Or List It" when she lost the battle against her costar, David Visentin. In Season 14, Episode 10, "Betting the Horse Farm," Farr took an outdated, cluttered, and tired farmhouse and turned it into an elegant, modern abode with classic colonial touches. The homeowners were thrilled with the makeover, but ultimately decided to list the home. 

This baffled some viewers, who thought the property was gorgeous and that Farr had done more than enough to address the issues laid out by the couple. To understand why Farr lost the competition in this particular episode, we spoke with interior designer and founder of Erika Dale Interior Design. In an exclusive interview with House Digest, Erika Dale tells us that interior design can only do so much when a homeowner's lifestyle has changed. She explains, "As an interior designer, I would love to tell you that a perfectly designed home is the most important thing to keep someone happy in a home. However, that is certainly not the case. While design can go a long way towards creating the lifestyle and oasis of your dreams, the reality is that dreams change, people change, and circumstances change." 

Naturally, fans wondered if there were anything Hilary Farr could have changed in her design to make the home a better fit for the current owners. One of the main concerns was creating functional, neat spaces with plenty of storage room, which Farr offered in spades. Dale tells us in an exclusive interview that even this isn't enough sometimes, saying, "Even the most beautiful interiors can sometimes stop serving the people who work tirelessly to create and curate them. It is so essential to realize that at the end of the day, the way you spend your time and who you spend that time with are far more important than a piece of property." 

Ultimately, when asked if she thinks Farr made any easy to fix mistakes, Dale says no. That's largely because the couple wasn't clear enough in saying they were exhausted and tired of owning the horse farm more than anything. Dale explains, "Based on the feedback from the homeowners, it sounds like, aside from maybe hiring help to take care of the horses, there were no design choices Hilary could have made differently to change the homeowners' minds." With a different brief from the homeowners saying they wanted to move away from the horse farm lifestyle, Farr could have developed a design that would be conducive to a less rustic lifestyle, "But without that knowledge, there is likely nothing Hilary could have done differently once their minds were made up about their life changes," says Dale. 

It was crucial information for Hilary Farr to know that the couple was over the lifestyle more than the property in order to create an alternative brief. So why didn't the owners just tell costars Farr and Visentin that in the first place? It's possible they didn't realize it until push came to shove. It's vital that a home not just look beautiful and tick your interior design style boxes, but fits your everyday life. Erika Dale explains this importance of this in an exclusive conversation with House Digest, saying, "Generally, designing for your lifestyle in mind is essential to creating a space perfectly tailored to your family." Basically, even if a house listing has the ideal number of beds and bathrooms, if it's smack dab in the city and you love hiking, it may not be the right fit. Dale recommends, "taking a long look at your habits, hobbies, and future plans,"  before you buy a property or begin an extensive renovation. 

Dale, like many of us, realizes that time moves fast, so these choices may not last forever, saying,"Life is ever-evolving and change is inevitable. So if your home is no longer working for you, even if it was perfect at one time, that's okay too." Seriously evaluate if your current home can fit your updated lifestyle by renovating or rebuilding, or buying a new property altogether. As Dale so succinctly puts it, "Time to reinvent or move on!"