Home Work Star Claims Andy And Candis Meredith Went On Vacation Instead Of Finishing Renovation
Aubry Bennion is one of several Utah residents expressing concern about her disappointing home makeover experience with HGTV home renovation stars Andy and Candis Meredith. Bennion channeled her grief through her Instagram account in January 2022 regarding her unsatisfactory involvement with the Merediths. The Utah-based home renovators previously made their debut in television as hosts of HGTV's short-lived "Old Home Love" in 2015. The married couple has a blended family with seven children and a passion for preserving and renovating older homes. In 2021, the couple was recognized by the co-founder of Magnolia Network, Joanna Gaines. Gaines discovered them through their Instagram account, as she personally reached out and offered them the opportunity to host "Home Work," a show that highlights how the family transformed a 20,000-square-foot historic school into their family home. The show further explores other families' home renovation projects.
Having met the Merediths a few years back at a DIY Network party, Bennion had no doubts about collaborating with the couple for her final house project. The kitchen was the focus of renovation on her homestead called Bountiful. Bennion had high hopes for the project from the beginning. "I saw a vision board of potential ideas and a screen shot of IKEA's cabinet planning tool. It WAS thrilling," she wrote. Although it was exciting to be a featured guest on Magnolia's "Home Work," stress, concern, and costly bills were not far behind.
Bennion's disappointing journey with the Merediths
With the project initiated in October 2019, Bennion's first red flag came when Candis promised they could remodel her entire kitchen for $20,000. Bennion was assured that the renovation would be a three-week process and that it would remain within the budget of $25,000. During the kitchen reno, there were large time gaps without any work being done. On Thanksgiving morning of 2019, the HGTV star couple sent Bennion a request for money while they were on vacation in Paris, which she later learned. Bennion then paid them $13,000 (half the budget). Further concerns developed when there was no communication about project updates from the then MIA couple. "My frustration grew as it had been six weeks in duration, but only seven or eight working days were spent at my house," she added on her Instagram.
As construction pushed on until March, other faulty decisions were made regarding an outdoor drainage issue, which resulted in an additional bill of $18,000. Months after the crew finished, more charges arose, including an unpaid flooring bill. With the budget of $25,000 exceeded, the footage of Bennion's home was inevitably withdrawn from the show, per KSL. Initially pulled from Discovery Plus' streaming platform in early January of this year, Magnolia Network plans to resolve the issues presented and have "Home Work" return, despite these allegations. They believe there was no "ill or malicious" behavior intended between the Merediths and the homeowners, per People.