HGTV Alum ‘Slowly’ Making Plans After Losing House in L.A. Wildfires: ‘Coming Out of the Fog’

Three weeks after her new house burned down in the wildfires that swept through the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles, former HGTV star Leanne Ford says she’s “slowly been making a plan” for how to move forward after such a “shocking” loss.

On February 1, 2025, the interior designer updated fans in an Instagram post that she called “A love letter to… ‘The House That Never Really Was,’ — a beautiful historical and quirky artists’ home.”

“We had big plans for the place,” Ford wrote of the property, which she and her husband, Erik Allen Ford, had purchased and received the keys to just three weeks before the fires broke out.

Leanne Ford’s Los Angeles House Had Been the Site of Renowned Artists’ Studios

Ford spent several years as a fixture on HGTV when she starred with her brother Steve Ford on “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again With the Fords,” which aired in 2021. She and her husband lived in Los Angeles until 2020, when they headed home to her native Pittsburgh, with their baby girl Ever, to renovate and live in a 1900-era house there, according to Dwell.

But in 2024, they decided to purchase a second home back in their “favorite area” of Los Angeles, Rustic Canyon, and fell in love with a historic property that had been home to several famed artists over the years. In her post, she shared old photos of commemorative plaques that indicated that renowned Russian-American artist Nickolai Fechin established his studio there in 1947 and Ukranian painter Serghei Bongart took over the space in 1964.

Ford even posted a photo of a “gorgeous” painting by Bongart that she and her husband had purchased to celebrate their new home, but told a fan in the comment section that it had been destroyed in the fire, too.

Given that they still have a home in Pittsurgh, Ford wrote that the L.A. property was “still just a house” and not yet a home, “so for us, this is not the same tragedy that it has been for so many other families in Los Angeles.”

“Still, to be affected by fires is shocking,” Ford wrote. “BUT I am coming out of the fog and I just wanna do one little post to honor this special studio and house. I hate that a piece of history is gone.”

Leanne Ford Had Hoped to Bring Artists’ Studios ‘Back to Life’

Ford’s carousel of photos included some of the work she and her husband had begun in their new house. Over one image of her legs and boots as she stood on parquet wood floors, Ford wrote, “We had started working with ‘Dave’s crew’ a couple of weeks ago to bring these studios back to life.”

She also shared video she captured inside the historic property before the fires, showing the old brick fireplace and paned windows throughout, and her scribbles in a notebook about plans for the revitalizing the space.

Though their dreams for the house have evaporated, Ford insisted in her post, “But I promise, we Fords are good! Don’t worry about us!!”

She encouraged fans to support Reality LA, noting that the organization “is collecting and contributing to help rebuild lost homes, rebuild lost churches, and to help with the sweet souls displaced in foster care.”

Many fans commented on Ford’s post, including an artist who wrote, “My heart is breaking over this house. 💔 I walked past it every day and dreamed about what it could be. I had wanted it for myself for years. I was so excited when I found out you bought it Leanne. I knew you would honor it and make it something special. I’m sorry for your loss and I’m sorry for the loss of this historic home. I hope you rebuild something similar in its footprint. That would be incredible. Thank you for sharing these images. Best wishes to you. 🙏🏼♥️”

Though Ford did not specifically indicate if she and her husband plan to rebuild the home, she liked the artist’s comment. She also liked a comment from another artist who wrote, “Oh my goodness. Fechin! I didn’t realize. A special place where beauty will rise from the ashes. 💕”