It's onward and upward for the Napiers as HGTV's 'Home Town' starts Season 6

For Ben and Erin Napier, "Home Town" is not only a TV show but also a lifestyle to be embraced.

Indeed, the husband-and-wife home restorers from Laurel, Mississippi, consider themselves cheerleaders for small-town living and see their HGTV series as a way to get the word out.

"We hope that when people watch 'Home Town,'" Erin Napier says, "they learn something unexpected about what small-town life really is. I think people who maybe have never lived in a small town imagine it to be one thing that's very, you know, backwoods or boring or settling for less. But for those of us who live in small-town America, which I would say is most of the country, we recognize it (as) what makes up the flavor of our country, are these small towns. ...

"And that's the thing we love so much about 'Home Town,'" she continues, "is we get to share something that may be unexpected with people who haven't been to small-town America."

The series opens its sixth season Sunday, Dec. 26, and finds the Napiers in the midst of several new projects on properties that they themselves own. They're expanding their existing store, the Scotsman General Store, and opening a bath-and-body store, both in Laurel. Additionally, they'll be renovating a farmhouse they recently purchased outside of town, redoing the bedrooms, kitchen, baths and laundry room and creating an entire upstairs area for their two daughters. It will be a place that's perfect for weekend getaways and large family gatherings.

"For the first time people will actually get to see the way we live and the way we would design a house for ourselves," Ben Napier notes.

And then, of course, there will be projects in the community for friends, neighbors and even a few businesses, including a boutique hotel and an architectural firm.

Looking ahead to spring 2022, the Napiers will be premiering another HGTV series, "Home Town Kickstart Presented by PEOPLE," in which they go to other small towns in need of revitalization across the country and work their magic on three properties, assisted by HGTV personalities including Ty Pennington, Jasmine Roth, Alison Victoria, Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent.

"We think that the magic is possible for literally any town that wants to work hard enough to tell their story and show the world what's special about it," Erin Napier says.

Ben Napier points to Wetumpka, Alabama, which he and Erin helped revitalize in Season 1 of "Home Town Takeover," as a perfect example of that.

"Wetumpka is seeing this huge, overwhelming influx of tourists," he explains, "and people are discovering what is great about this small town is that it's not like Erin and I came in and built the town. They're discovering that the town already has so much to offer. It's already a great town. And that's true of any small town."