Tag Archives: Tackle My Reno

Preview: Samantha Pynn joins Sebastian Clovis on Save My Reno

I first spoke to Sebastian Clovis back in 2014. Then, the former CFLer was promoting his first-ever home makeover program, Tackle My Reno. Sure, the title was cutesy and a nod to his days as a defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Grey Cup-winning B.C. Lions. Since then, Clovis has become a bonafide member of HGTV Canada’s stable of talent, joining Scott McGillivray, Bryan Baeumler and the Scott Brothers as go-to dudes to swing hammers and do great work. Heck, they’ve all worked together on a couple of seasons of Home to Win.

Now Clovis is back with a new season of Save My Reno … and a new co-star. Samantha Pynn, who has starred in her own series Pure Design and Summer Home, as well as Home to Win, joins Clovis when Save My Reno returns on Tuesday with back-to-back episodes at 9 and 9:30 p.m. ET on HGTV Canada.

Simply put, the pairing works. Clovis and Pynn know their stuff when it comes to renovating and decorating, and their ease helping homeowners get over the stress of figuring out both is palpable. Watching them turn the first episode’s cramped quarters into a stunning space is entertaining, fun and a teaching moment. You don’t have to break the bank to freshen up a space, and this pair shows you how.

And, just as important at the pair are skilled, they get along like gangbusters. The result is a season of Save My Reno that is a good time … and a good lesson in renovations on a budget.

Save My Reno airs Tuesdays at 9 and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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Sebastian Clovis tackles renovation nightmares

Mike Holmes, Scott McGillivray and Brian Baeumler have become household names thanks to HGTV Canada. Those lads have spent several television seasons informing, educating and instructing homeowners on how to get the dream homes Canadians crave.

Now there’s a new player on the block in Sebastian Clovis.

“It would be a wonderful thing if I could step up to a level where they could put me up there to become the face of HGTV,” the host of Tackle My Reno says humbly.

For now, the former CFL player–he was a defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and 2006 Grey Cup-winning B.C. Lions–is just happy to return to his construction roots. Clovis swung his first hammer at the age of 15 when a contractor working on the family’s kitchen took on the young man as an apprentice. A football career sent renovations to the sidelines but now he’s back at it.

Debuting Tuesday night on HGTV, Si Entertainment’s Tackle My Reno isn’t your typical renovation series. Yes, Clovis drops by on an unsuspecting homeowner–in the first episode it’s Ben, who still hasn’t completed the family basement after 16 years of hacking away–and gently chastises them for their slipshod attempts at home building. But unlike, say Holmes on Homes or Disaster DIY, there isn’t a lot of time spent on the intricacies of grout or taping drywall. As Clovis tells it, Tackle My Reno is more focused on the entertainment than the nitty-gritty.

The result? A series that spotlights both the homeowners and host on a level not served in most home renovation programs. The strapping Clovis–muscles rippling under a tight tee–is shown equally comfortable threading beads into a necklace or helping sort through basement detritus as he does buttering the back of tile for a shower stall. You can’t fake the natural charm Clovis exudes while sharing a laugh with the folks he’s trying to help; the dude is a natural for the small screen despite having no aspirations for hosting a home reno show.

“It really came about by chance,” he says. “I had sent a video to my director friend where I said, ‘I bring energy to the work site like I’m still playing football, baby!’ It was a joke between friends, but he showed it to production and the next day they were at my renovation site with the cameras, doing a three-hour interview. Two days later I was at HGTV. Four days after that I was in somebody’s house with a TV camera behind me.”

Tackle My Reno airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.

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