The teams in Channel 7's new show House Rules.
The teams in Channel 7's new show House Rules. Contributed - Channel 7

Big challenges ahead on home renovation show

EMOTIONS run high on Channel 7's new renovation show House Rules.

The cousin to My Kitchen Rules sees six teams from different states renovate each other's houses in just one week.

Each week a different pair of homeowners must hand over their keys and total control over the reno to the other five teams.

Their only influence is a set of "house rules" they leave behind.

"It's completely crazy to think about it," host Johanna Griggs told The Guide.

"I couldn't do it."

House Rules - Seven - Tuesday at 7.30pm

With just seven days to completely renovate a house with a tight budget, not to mention facing harsh criticism from the homeowners and judges Joe Snell and Wendy Moore, tensions and tempers are sure to flare.

"Jane from Tasmania summed it up well," Griggs said.

"She said 'You pour your heart and soul into it... I gave it my best shot. People are picking apart what I think is beautiful. It's like they're holding up a mirror and showing all my faults and all my weak points'."

But Griggs promised there will be no villains on House Rules.

"One of the things I'm really proud of is we don't have anyone really nasty," she said.

"We don't have Ashlee and Sophia characters (like from My Kitchen Rules). I think a lot of people will relate to the teams."

Even with three experienced chippies among them, the teams are not prepared for the challenges lying ahead of them.

"They're all really out of their depth," she said.

"And they all can't do their own thing. You can't have a house with five different styles. It has to pass building inspection and it has to be tasteful."

Seven will be hoping House Rules fares better than Channel 10's The Renovators, which saw the MasterChef format applied unsuccessfully to home reno.

In exchange for all the blood, sweat and tears, Griggs said the teams improve "by leaps and bounds" as the show progresses.

"If you look at the first reno they do and the last couple you cannot believe it's the same couples," she said.

"They take more risks and they start to back themselves a bit more."