Erin Napier Clears Up Confusing Design Choice on HGTV Shows

Erin Napier of HGTV’s “Home Town” recently answered a burning fan question about renovation shows. In a recent Instagram post that included a room filled with books, eagle-eyed fans spotted something not often seen on these shows — the books’ spines are facing out.

Erin Napier Explains Why Books Are Turned Around on Home Renovation Shows

In a January 6 Instagram post, Napier shared a series of photos from a recent “Home Town” renovation. “A home that’s also a school. ❤️ To give to Unlimited Dreams Christian Learning Center and help Dr. Cooley impact these underserved kids’ lives, visit unlimited-dreams.org,” the caption noted.

On the January 5 “Home Town” episode, Napier and her husband Ben renovated a Victorian home to serve as Laurel, Mississippi’s Unlimited Dreams Christian Learning Center. Upon seeing the library space, owner Dr. Amanda Cooley said, “This is my favorite room I have ever been in, maybe.”

The Instagram photos showed the cheery library, featuring shelves filled with books. “Home Town” fans are used to seeing books turned around, so many were surprised to see the spines facing out. It turns out, this isn’t a design choice, but rather a matter of copyright.

In response to a fan who commented, “And this may be the first time you haven’t turned all the books around, hiding the spines,” another person shared, “I’m guessing they do that for copyright reasons … Either way, yes it’s cool to see the actual books!”

Napier cleared up the mystery, writing, “Somehow we got permission from the legal folks!”

Another fan confirmed, “It’s a copyright issue. Normally, you’d have to pay royalties to use a book, but libraries have some exceptions to the law.”

Fellow HGTV star Jenny Marrs, from “Fixer to Fabulous,” was also astounded, writing, “But how?! 😆🙌 So amazing! I love the space and the mission of this school! Bravo, friend!”

The episode was moving for many viewers, with one fan commenting on the Instagram post: “The amount of tears I shed in this episode was off the charts!” Another person noted, “I love everything about this house! What a welcoming space for teaching and learning. Bravo Ben and Erin!”

Jasmine Roth Explained Why Books Are Typically Backwards on HGTV Shows

In a 2022 blog post, Jasmine Roth, host of HGTV’s “Hidden Potential” and “Help! I Wrecked My House,” explained more about the book trick.

She asked, “Have you ever been watching a show on HGTV, and when they cut to the big design reveal, you see that any and all books in the space are turned around backwards?”

According to Roth, the move “isn’t some breakthrough of a design trick,” but rather, it’s all about copyright. She explained, “It’s because the network would have to get copyright clearance from every single title in order to display them. And that’s not very realistic considering each design could have at least 10 books in them!”