Star Kitchen: The Neelys

Pat and Gina Neely look at home on their TV show for a reason: They film Down Home With the Neelys right in their own kitchen.

From: Food Network Magazine

Photo By: Miki Duisterhof

The Neelys' Kitchen

Pat and Gina Neely never intended to turn their home into a full-on TV studio: They started out taping Down Home with the Neelys in a rental house, but the place sold after the first season. "The real estate agent used the show as a selling point," Gina says. So in 2008, the couple bought a new house in suburban Memphis, and they made sure it was camera-ready.

TV-Friendly Colors

When Pat and Gina moved in, they did the unthinkable: They tore out dark walnut cabinets and brand-new marble counters and put in these cream cabinets and lighter marble counters instead. "I loved the cabinets that were in here," Gina says, "but we needed colors that would pop on camera."

Pig Corner

Gina collects pig figurines, but only a few get to stay out during filming. She keeps the rest in her "pig parlor" in the next room. "I wanted a big pig head on the backsplash," she says. "But the producers said, 'No, ma'am, not on TV!'"

Handpicked Stones

Fieldstone covers the front of the couple's built-in island. "I saw this idea in a magazine and loved it," Gina says. "We picked out each individual stone from a quarry in the middle of summer."

Year-Round Grill Station

Winters in Memphis are chilly (39 degrees is the average January temperature), so Pat installed an indoor flattop griddle and a commercial ventilation hood. "It's like, whooooosh! when you turn it on," Gina says. "It really clears out the house."

Sentimental Favorite

Pat and Gina, who married 16 years ago after reuniting at their high-school reunion, have moved this sign from home to home over the years. "I've had it forever," Gina says. "I built the whole kitchen around it."

On Tonight

Down Home with the Neelys