Why doesn’t Home Town renovate every room in the house?

Home Town, HGTV’s newest smash hit, has only been on for a few weeks, but we’ve already been able to learn quite a bit about Ben and Erin Napier and how they operate. We know, for example, how Home Town got turned into a show in the first place, and we know how tall Ben is and how long he and Erin have been married. We know about the process behind the show, and we’ve discovered whether or not the people on the show get to keep their home’s furnishings.

Given the intense interest the show has generated in its (so far) brief existence, it came as no surprise that last week HGTV announced they were greenlighting Home Town Season 2. But one major question remained — and it was one that often comes up in heavy fan discussions of other home renovation shows, from Fixer Upper to Flip or Flop to Property Brothers: Why doesn’t Home Town renovate every single room in each house?

Fortunately for curious viewers, Erin Napier is a master of both social media and fan outreach. Since the question was of particular relevance for the episode the week before last, she decided to take advantage of the situation and share the answer. Behold:

It's Tuesday, and I'm looking back on last week's episode of sweet Amanda's cottage on the park. Swipe through to see some of my favorite photos! People often ask us why we don't do bathrooms or why all the rooms aren't shown on the show, and the answer is easy: we design the rooms that our homeowners tell us matter most to them (usually common areas), what their budget will safely cover, and what we have time to do for television since we only have 8 weeks and are renovating 3 other homes in that time frame! If you don't see a bathroom or bedroom, it's typically because it didn't need much work or our handy homeowners are weekend warriors who take it on themselves on a budget and with ample time. Watch a brand new episode of #HGTVHomeTown tonight at 10|9 ct, especially if the words "French country" make your heart beat fast. It may be our best kitchen of all time. See you tonight! ?: @lakeandlandstudio

A post shared by Erin Napier (@erinapier) on May 2, 2017 at 7:32am PDT

Erin’s explanation makes good practical sense. (It also makes for good television: can you remember the last time you saw a major bathroom renovation on an HGTV show?) With fewer rooms to focus on per house, Ben and Erin can devote more energy to every little detail — especially the ones they know each homeowner will appreciate most. And viewers have fewer other, potentially less spectacular things to get in the way of appreciating the big ticket items in each episode. Like, for example, Amanda’s porch in the episode Erin references.

Home Town‘s Season 1 charm offensive continues Tuesday nights at 10 on HGTV.

(Photo credits: Why doesn’t Home Town renovate every room via Instagram)