How Much Of HGTV's No Demo Reno Is Real?
If you're an HGTV fan, then you'll probably have come across "No Demo Reno" before. The show stars talented influencer and blogger Jenn Todryk, who uses her skills to dramatically transform homes without doing any invasive demolition. The home improvement series first began in 2021 and became a huge hit for the DIY network, bringing in fans in their droves just like its fellow series, just like HGTV's fellow big shows such as Tarek El Moussa's "Flip or Flop" replacement, "Flipping 101 w/ Tarek El Moussa" or "House Hunters."
But how real is what we're seeing on "No Demo Reno"? We watch houses being totally transformed with minimal to no renovation work being done week after week, but is it actually possible for Todryk and her building crew, Manta Construction, to do all that in such a short amount of time and have everything happen the way it seems? "No demo reno is totally the way to go," Todryk promises (via Realtor). "You'll fall in love with your own house all over again, but without the sweat and money involved in a total renovation. Leave the sledgehammer in the garage."
Amidst speculation about which HGTV may well be fake, it turns out there may just be a few things going on behind the scenes at "No Demo Reno" that viewers aren't aware of. The transformations may be real but aren't always quite as simple as they appear to be on TV. It turns out that Todryk often gets some help that makes the whole process seem easier than it is.
What goes on behind the scenes of No Demo Reno
One of the biggest examples of HGTV and Jenn Todryk maybe not quite telling the whole truth about the behind the scenes of the show happened during Season 1. Following the airing of the second episode in April 2021, Todryk took to Instagram to show off her work and revealed she'd worked until midnight to make sure everything was perfect. One thing she didn't explicitly share, though? The help she had. Texas based home staging company Atmospheric Home Staging confirmed it was involved on its website, noting it provided furniture and accessories viewers saw in multiple rooms.
Todryk also hinted to D in September 2023 she has a very strict schedule when filming ("Even if it makes people unhappy that day because I have one more thing that I'm supposed to shoot, and I can't because I need to get home," she said), which could mean some little things may have to be done by others when she's not around. There can also be a timelines difference between what happened and how we see it. "The way you film it, you have to remember, OK, this scene, we had already done this, but we hadn't done this yet. You film out of order," Todryk told DFW Child in July 2023. Another thing to note? While the process is condensed into around an hour, Kim Rudeen, whose appeared on Season 3, revealed on LinkedIn the process actually took eight weeks.
But don't expect and fake scenes involving Jenn Todryk's children
While it could be argued that "No Demo Reno" fans maybe aren't seeing everything that goes into seeing to get the final product, Jenn Todryk has admitted that fans shouldn't expect to see anything staged or fake when it comes to her family. The TV star told D that she refuses to force her children in front of the camera, and seemingly suggested she won't try to recreate real moments with them either for the sake of the show. "I have a very strict rule: I don't care what we had planned for filming, if my kids don't want to film, they don't film. And I will never ask them to do that if they don't want to film," Todryk, who shares three children with her husband, admitted.
And, that budget? Well it seems like that's more than likely real too. During an interview with Paper City in September 2023, Todryk hinted there doesn't seem to be any handouts from the production company when it comes to how much they can spend In fact, she claimed the only way they can give the budget an upgrade during a project is to sell items they take out before the renovation begins via local markets. "It boosted our budget by over $2,000 in some cases this season. That's enough to purchase some statement light fixtures," she confessed.