The newest spherical of HGTV’s hit collection “Rock the Block” will supply essentially the most “insane” motion but, in response to host Ty Pennington, who has urged viewers to organize for some never-before-seen antics as his crew—and a star-studded solid of would-be renovators—heads to Las Vegas.
With Pennington, 61, on the helm, Season 7 of the present will see all kinds of celebrities showcasing their renovation abilities, with a number of showcasing shocking skills in an effort to show themselves to be the last word Sin Metropolis wild playing cards.
Late wrestler Hulk Hogan‘s daughter, Brooke Hogan, former boy band star Drew Lachey—brother of Netflix host Nick Lachey—Tremendous Bowl champion Vernon Davis, and “Southern Appeal” alum Chelsea Meissner will go head-to-head within the seven-week competitors, which is able to see them every overhauling their very own “clean slate” dwelling on a cul-de-sac within the Nevada locale.
Nevertheless, the celebs aren’t going it alone of their effort to show they’ve essentially the most renovation chops. Every celeb can be paired with their very own HGTV mentor: Scott McGillivray of “Renovation Resort Showdown,” Taniya Nayak of “Battle on the Seaside,” Mina Starsiak Hawk of “Good Bones,” and Kim Wolfe of “Why the Heck Did I Purchase This Home?”
Chatting with Realtor.com® forward of the present’s premiere on April 13, Pennington put his cash on this season being essentially the most intriguing but, revealing how the celeb contestants considerably upped the ante by displaying off some shocking design and renovation abilities proper from the off.
Past elevating the stakes with their surprising talents, Pennington highlights the celeb contestants’ willingness to showcase a aspect of themselves they’ve beforehand saved non-public because the present’s actual ace within the gap.
Specifically, he factors to the vulnerability Hogan, 37, delivered to the desk. For the final eight years, the previous singer has quietly made a dwelling because the proprietor of a design agency in Nashville, TN.
She was readying to make her return to actuality TV as a contestant on this present when she was prematurely thrust again into the highlight following the dying of her well-known father in July 2025.
“Who knew Brooke Hogan can be—not solely so cute within the sense it is hilarious—however then additionally undergo such an emotional curler coaster due to the loss she’s gone by along with her dad, after which actually share what her life has been like along with her [show] associate, Scott, on this entire design course of,” displays Pennington.
“That actually reveals what this present is about, which is what I really like,” he provides. “This season, you actually noticed what it is like for somebody to indicate their genuine self, like, ‘Look, you might know me as this, however I’m really this one that does greater than sing. I really renovate and design and [it’s] one thing I am very captivated with.’”
Attending to know Season 7’s celeb contestants in a brand new gentle is one thing the seasoned HGTV execs needed to do rapidly.
Whereas some could have been aware of their companions from afar, just one pair—Wolfe and Meissner—had real ties to one another earlier than the present. The inevitable studying curve, Pennington notes, is but one more reason this season stands out.
“The rationale this explicit season is so insane is since you’re working with a stranger you have by no means labored with earlier than,” explains Pennington.
“Anyone who’s ever needed to work with anybody earlier than, whether or not or not it’s a partner or a buddy, that is troublesome sufficient. However a stranger you have simply met, despite the fact that they could be a celeb, you are like, ‘Is that this gonna work?’ You are type of watching these 4 completely different prepare wrecks in design. It makes people who find themselves good should be nice.”
Including to the strain of working with a stranger is the “compressed” timeline of the competitors. Over the course of simply seven weeks, groups are tasked with fully overhauling their three-bedroom, four-bathroom, roughly 5,000 square-foot home utilizing a beneficiant $275,000 funds.
Every week visitor judges together with Lisa Vanderpump and “Property Brothers” Drew and Jonathan Scott will think about the general design, creativity, and naturally, added worth to find out a winner.
In a brand new twist, the staff that comes out on prime every week may have the selection of $3,000 to place towards the following renovation problem or add $1,000 to the ultimate appraisal worth.
The up to date prize choice might be essential to the ultimate final result, as Pennington particulars the distinction between the appraised worth of the primary and second place houses in nearly each earlier season has been lower than $10,000.
As such, the precise promoting worth of the single-story houses, which every have a beginning market worth of $1.9 million earlier than the “Rock the Block” renovations, has develop into a contest in and of itself that Pennington and his castmates care very a lot about—in some methods much more so than the precise present championship prize, which is having the staff’s names cemented on a road signal.
“Oh, God, sure,” Pennington admits. “As a result of I am pals with all of the designers which were on these reveals, I am the primary one to get hit up, like, ‘Guess whose dwelling bought first?’”
“Generally it is spot on to what the Realtors® voted on, and generally it is one home off, nevertheless it’s at all times fairly near what precisely the realtors judged on,” he provides.
“In an actual property market, the individuals who reside on the market are gonna know what kitchen structure is gonna promote higher, which facilities, which issues within the yard are gonna promote extra. There’s loads that goes into ensuring you set in what’s going to elevate that worth.”
With the competitors going down in a sprawling desert neighborhood in north Las Vegas, contestants had ample room to include over-the-top added facilities similar to RV garages, non-public courtyards, and multigenerational suites, they usually have been granted full permission to play with the glamorous, horny, and dramatic design aesthetic Sin Metropolis is understood for.
“The visible stimulation and inspiration that these groups received from being there actually confirmed up within the rooms and it is simply superior,” reviews Pennington.
“With Vegas, it is metallics. It’s something shiny,” he describes. “That might be an vintage brass or it might be a daring mirror. Vegas is about texture. It might be fur. It might be checkerboard. There’s so many various themes and designs in Vegas.
“Let’s not overlook Liberace! I imply, you might go approach excessive, you understand? And I feel that is what it is about. You’ve got received this tremendous swank, trendy lounge vibe that you might go together with, however you might additionally go tremendous basic—all the things from Cosmopolitan to Caesar’s Palace is feasible. I feel as a result of Vegas is such an incredible palate, it’s additionally an incredible present.”
Whichever Vegas-inspired decor vibe the contestants rolled the cube with, Pennington says the groups who targeted on their dwelling’s first impression performed their playing cards proper.
“I’m a giant fan of wow them once they stroll within the entrance door,” he explains. “Anyone who’s a possible purchaser, no matter they see once they stroll within the entrance door goes to find out, truthfully, I feel it is 75% of the sale.
“If you happen to get a sense by strolling within the door, whether or not it is the lobby, whether or not it is the lounge, or whether or not it is you seeing the kitchen to the proper, that’s going to find out whether or not you are going again to see it once more or if it will prime the final place you simply noticed.
“That is what this present does. It’s that wow issue of once you stroll right into a room that may instantly inform you, ‘Oh, this one’s gonna win.’ Till you see the following room. And you then’re like, ‘Oh my god, that one’s gonna win.’”
Pennington himself has utilized the recommendation to incorporate a wow issue at one in all his private houses. Whereas the added function at his Savannah, GA dwelling isn’t situated close to its entrance door, it’s simply as welcoming.
“We constructed this 9-foot pool exterior that, in Savannah, which is tremendous scorching and [then] chilly within the winter, it is so key,” he says. “We had just a bit tiled space earlier than and we have been like, ‘You realize what this wants?’
“Generally simply spending the cash on one thing small like that may change the texture of the entire place,” he provides. “Now there’s this nice little carriage house proper subsequent to a 9-foot pool, which modifications the entire vibe. It feels such as you’re in Europe. I feel it is these issues [that] you are like, ‘What can I do for $10,000 that is going to essentially enhance the worth of this dwelling?’”
It appears one of the best odds of hitting a jackpot within the renovation world, in response to Pennington, is betting on the home. Because the saying goes, the home at all times wins.
Season 7 of “Rock the Block” premieres Monday, April 13 at 8 p.m. on HGTV.
