Houston HGTV personalities Jon Pierre and Mary Tjon-Joe-Pin will be back on air starting June 16 with their newest home improvement/real estate show, “Two Steps Home.”
Best known for their 2019 “Going for Sold” show, the couple’s new, eight-episode show helps clients get one home ready to sell, then helps the same Houston-area clients use the profits from that home to improve the next place they’ll live.
Jon Pierre brings his real-estate and home improvement know-how to each project, and Mary — a former flight attendant with a private charter company and then with American Airlines — handles the design side.
The June 16 series launch — at 8 p.m. Central — features a client who’s a single mom and teacher who also has a baking business on the side. They paint kitchen cabinets and overhaul the living room fireplace iin an effort to get the woman’s current home ready to sell.
In her new home, they install a high-end kitchen with double ovens and a modern staircase design.
Later projects will have them adding a space for home schooling and upgrading a guest bedroom for visiting grandparents.
Mary, 37 is a native of Slidell, La., who grew up influenced by the style and culture of nearby New Orleans. Jon Pierre, 41, is a Houston native whose unusual last name comes from his dad, who is from Suriname in South America. Jon Pierre’s father is half Chinese, so their unusual, three-word last name is the Dutch spelling of a Chinese name, he said. (It’s promounced “Chon-You-Pin.”)
So not only do they help clients with home improvements, they help them understand the buying/selling process and maximize their profits. Homes featured in this Houston-based show are located all over the area: Spring, Katy, Conroe, the Heights, Oak Forest, Richmond, Southwest Houston and Meyerland.
“When it comes to the first step, we do a variety of renovations. It’s about putting money where you get the most out of it. Sometimes that’s renovating a kitchen and soemtimes it’s giving better access to a bathroom,” Jon Pierre said of fixing the home a client is selling. “It’s less about not trying to spend money as it is making sure you spend it in the right place.”
“The second side of it, and Mary does such a fantastic of listening to the needs of the client, is getting the house renovated for them and their lives,” Jon Pierre continued. “That’s the dream part of it, making it for them, not just making it pretty.”
The Tjon-Joe-Pins, who have been married 12 years and have two children, 6-year-old Harper and 3-year-old Grayson, left their careers to launch a home renovation or flipping business five and a half years ago. That business is named Harper Raine Homes, named after their daughter.
In addition to watching the show on HGTV, fans can follow it on HGTV.com with additional photo galleries and behind-the-scenes content. Full episodes can also be found on HGTV GO.