'Fixer to Fabulous' Was Filmed in Dave and Jenny Marrs' Chosen City of Bentonville

A reality TV show charting the incredible home renovations carried out by a philanthropist couple, Dave and Jenny Marrs? That's Fixer to Fabulous in a nutshell. In addition to its deeply satisfying scenes capturing the incredible process of renovating houses, the show on HGTV also sheds light on Dave and Jenny's inspirational life ethos. Fixer to Fabulous was filmed in Bentonville, Ark., the city whose historic properties Dave and Jenny are determined to save.

Dave and Jenny moved to the bustling city in 2004, and at first, they only intended to stay for a few years. 

"[Jenny] graciously said she would try [living in Arkansas] for a couple of years. And I think, like a lot of people, you move here expecting to stay for a few years and then go back to Chicago, back to Florida, back to somewhere else [...] but that was 14 years ago," Dave explained in a 2018 interview with Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. 

Once there, they realized that the city has a vibrant community and plenty of opportunities for those with a keen interest in saving centuries-old buildings at risk of being torn down. In no time, Dave and Jenny earned renown for their almost uncanny ability to turn houses with severe structural damage into mesmerizingly beautiful homes. 

Take, for instance, a farmhouse built in 1903 that once stood on Central Avenue. Was it not for the couple, the building, which was slowly but steadily approaching a ramshackle-like state, would have been torn down.

"The Methodist church came to me with a house right on Central [Avenue] [...] They said, 'Hey, would you tear this house down?' And, man, it was such a cool house. I said, 'If there's any way I could not tear it down — what if I moved it?' They said, 'If we don't have to pay $20,000 to have it torn down and you moved it, then it's a gain for us.' And we would save a house," Dave told Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Instead of demolishing the old structure, Dave decided to transplant it to a piece of land he and Jenny own. 

Their fondness for Bentonville, Ark. extends far beyond the stressful world of work projects, however. As Dave told Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he and Jenny were reluctant to partake in the filming of Fixer to Fabulous at first — as they were too worried that it might depict their beloved city in a bad light. 

It's only when they learned that the producer who first made the offer was from their neck of the woods as well that their opinions changed. 

"We originally said, 'No'," Dave told Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, before adding that "We didn't really have an interest. And I was just worried. I was thinking, 'Small town? They're going to try and portray it as this backwoods thing.'"

"He went to Rogers High School, [...] So I told him what my concern was. He said, 'I want to put your fear at ease — this isn't an LA-based production company. They're from Knoxville. They don't have any interest in portraying the area negatively,'" Dave explained. 

Catch new episodes of Fixer to Fabulous every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on HGTV.