Preview: HGTV’s Farmhouse Facelift updates history-filled homes

Kudos to the folks at HGTV Canada for debuting two new—and noteworthy—renovation series in the past several weeks. The first, Rock Solid Builds, follows a family-run business in small-town Newfoundland. The second debuts Wednesday.

Farmhouse Facelift, bowing Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the specialty network, catches up with siblings Carolyn Wilbrink and Billy Pearson as they update farmhouses in Southern Ontario. Not only is it nice to see homes being worked on outside of the Toronto area—Paris, Canning, St. Thomas, and Zorra are among the locations in Season 1—but Wilbrink and Pearson are charming and know their stuff.

Wilbrink, who owns CW Design and Co. with her husband, focuses mainly on the interior designs while Pearson wields the hammer on the projects, though both tackle many jobs.

“Billy and I collaborate on a lot of our work,” Wilbrink says during a phone interview. “And when we go in I always look at a space as a whole. Whatever I do is such a blend of keeping the old with the new. If we tear down a wall, Billy is peeling off all of the trim, hardware, and everything else to put it back up on the new walls.”

That’s evident in Episode 1 when Pearson re-uses old trim in a farmhouse kitchen to highlight a new pantry and repurposes materials for a drop-dead kitchen island.

“If something has lasted 150 years—and a lot of these houses are 150 years old older—why would you throw it out when you can re-use it and keep it beautiful and update with paint?” Pearson says. “People buy a farmhouse based on that charm and character and they don’t want to lose all of that history in a renovation.”

Farmhouse Facelift airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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3 thoughts on “Preview: HGTV’s Farmhouse Facelift updates history-filled homes”

  1. Hello Guys, I live in Belmont Ontario and live in a old farmhouse that is actually 2 old houses put together. i would love for you to see it and let me know what you think. Maybe its bad enough for your show.Thanks

  2. We just love how you transform old farm houses. We have one and would love for you to see how you can make it our dream home. We live between Windsor and London Ontario. We live in the country on a pig farm. The house is well over 100 years old with a big front port .

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