Canadian designers Andrika Lawren and Emmanuel Belliveau renovate rooms that have been caught in a time warp.

My Parent’s House made its debut on HGTV Canada in 2004 and is now aired in the U.S.

About the Show: My Parent's House

The show begins with adult children standing outside their parent’s house and inviting the audience to come in and have a look at a room that is in dire need of updating

There is a brief biography and old pictures of the parents shown before the parents appear on the scene. The parents leave for 48 hours of relaxation and the children are shown the design plan for the space.

The remainder of the show chronicles the room’s transformation along with special projects done by the kids. At the end of the show, the parents are brought back for the reveal. Sometimes there is a teary eye of appreciation.

In solo appearances throughout the show, Andrika and Emmanuel express their opinions and concerns with the audience. Sometimes their solos will let the audience in on a predicament about a product not delivered on time or not being what they ordered. After some tense hours, it all works out before reveal time.

There are times when there is light comedy on the show. In one episode, Emmanuel made an attempt at Ukranian dancing. In another episode, Andrika and Emmanuel had a water fight and the sound man appeared on camera and ripped the microphone off of Emmanuel’s chest!

About the Hosts: My Parent’s House

Andrika Lawren

For over 10 years, Andrika has been involved in Toronto’s arts and design community. She attended George Brown Theatre School and then earned a diploma in Interior Design from the Academy of Design in Toronto.

With training in theatre and interior design, Andrika landed a job as the on-camera designer for Much Music's original design show Much in Your Space. She also made appearances as a guest designer on HGTV’s Home to Go with Peter Fallico. Andrika also worked on the series Naked in the House for Fashion Television.

In 2004, she launched her own design firm Drika Co. and she has done work for large corporate clients such as Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Chrysler and Hudson’s Bay Company. Andrika also contributes to Style and Home and Niche magazines.

She is involved in the film industry were she was the production designer and producer of the feature film Magnus Opus plus art director of the film Redeemed Believers Banquet Hall. Andrika was the art director of the music videos Cold Outside for Raoul and the Big Time and Out of Time for Trish Bentley.

In the field of acting, Andrika had a long term lead role with Toronto’s Second City and stage credits for Lands Down and Touching. She also was in the film The Constant Now as the co-lead.

Emmanuel Belliveau

Raised in Salisbury, New Brunswick, Emmanuel graduated from Dalhousie University with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology. After graduation, he moved across the country to Vancouver B.C. where he worked in kinesiology and other jobs such as a flight attendant plus took acting lessons.

In Vancouver, he decided to follow his dream and go into designing so he worked as an intern for one year at FNDA Architecture Inc. Through the architectural firm, Emmanuel worked on many residential and commercial projects including overseas in Umbasa and Dubai.

When he got the job as co-host on My Parent’s House, Emmanuel moved to Toronto. He is talented at building and designing furniture and renovates old homes when not busy on camera.

Emmanuel is the also the host of the HGTV program World’s Greenest Homes where he travels all over the world to showcase planet-friendly homes.

Talented and witty hosts Andrika Lawren and Emmanuel Belliveau attribute to the popularity of My Parent’s House. The room transformations are amazing and it’s heartwarming to see parents appreciate what their children and designers have done for them.

Related Articles:

Canadian Designer Sarah Richardson

Divine Design by Candice Olson

Holmes on Homes Makes it Right!

Sources:

HGTV US

HGTV Canada

Big Coat Productions – includes episode index