“HOME FREE” FOX Competition TV Series Starting July 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) Features American-Made Furniture Manufacturer’s Unusual Products
ATLANTA, GA (PRWEB) July 15, 2015 -- “HOME FREE,” a new FOX Reality TV show starting July 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), features a lively remodeling competition between nine Atlanta-area couples and some unique furniture made in the Carolinas with its own intriguing backstory.
The connection between the reality show and COCOCO Home, a classic “American dream” success story, came about when one of the show’s producers saw the upholstered furniture in an Atlanta retail showroom.
“One of the TV production company designers saw our furniture in Atlanta,” explained COCOCO president Steve Sechrest.
In early May Sechrest got an email from the show’s producers, which led to several conversations and a deal to be a featured brand on “HOME FREE.”
On “HOME FREE,” FOX’s new competition series featuring couples vying to win their dream home and premiering Wednesday, July 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), nine deserving couples are challenged to revive one run-down home every week.
During each episode, famed professional contractor Mike Holmes (“Holmes on Homes®”) will present the couples with tasks designed to test and challenge the skills of these do-it-yourself enthusiasts. Holmes will be with the competitors every step of the way – picking apart their work and demanding they meet his high standards, while also sharing his expertise and guidance to help them reach new heights.
When the work is done for the day, the couples don’t have far to travel to get home…because not only must they work together to restore the home, they must all live together in the same dilapidated work site 24/7. The more they accomplish, the better they sleep at night.
Each week one couple who has been deemed to be the weakest remodlers will be eliminated, however, in a major TV twist, there are no "losers" on the series. Just when each eliminated couple thinks they have lost it all and are going home, they find out that they have won...a new home!
“HOME FREE” will air on the FOX network starting Wednesday, July 22, (9:00- 10:00 PM ET/PT). The series will be hosted by professional contractor and Canadian TV host Mike Holmes of the “Holmes on Homes” show, who will push the couples to produce top-quality work. The show producer is Tom Forman, who also created the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” series.
The COCOCO brand will be identified in the show as couples shop online for furnishings for their homes, as the furniture is discussed naturally during the programs, with credits at the end of each episode, and possibly other ways, Sechrest said.
“Giving away $100,000 worth of furniture and producing it under these tight deadlines will be a gamble,” Sechrest admitted. “But we believe the national exposure will be a big boost for our brand and help stimulate further sales growth.”
After finishing law school, Sechrest tried his hand at several positions in the financial industry, but none really clicked. “When the mortgage business collapsed, I became unemployed,” Sechrest recalled. “Fortunately my wife had a job working for a small furniture retailer in Cornelius, and I started hanging around the store just to get out of the house.”
When his wife Danielle mentioned that customers were asking for custom sofa slipcovers to be made, Sechrest said, “I can do that” and quickly found ways to get the slipcovers made.
“That turned into a nice little business but people often ordered them incorrectly, or gave their sofa the wrong brand name, so it was sometimes frustrating,” he recalled.
“Then I asked the store owner if I could try to sell some of his furniture online. And fortunately that took off.”
At the end of 2009 Sechrest along with wife Danielle and partner Gary Mangione launched their own online business, The Comfortable Couch Company, which has since been shortened to the brand name COCOCO Home (http://www.cococohome.com). They decided to focus on upholstered sofas, sectionals and chairs that were similar to styles by big retailers such as Restoration Hardware who had moved their production to China. But they decided to make them in more variations in size and configuration, and in a much larger variety of leather and fabrics, and all made-to-order in their nearby Newton, N.C. plant.
“The first year we did about $300,000 in sales and over $600,000 the next year, then $1.3 million, last year about $3.2 million and this year we are on a pace to exceed $5 million,” Sechrest said. “We offer very good quality, all made right here in North Carolina, for substantially less than competitors like Restoration Hardware. Most of our designs are classic, like our popular Chesterfield styles, but we are able to offer a wide range of custom designs, sizes and almost unlimited fabric and leather coverings.”
During the past year Sechrest moved from a small basement office to an expansive office showroom, both in an old textile mill building at 19725 Oak St. in Cornelius. He also opened a showroom in a tony section of Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, and that led to the TV show opportunity.
About Mike Holmes
Mike Holmes is a professional contractor and the host and creator of the hit TV series “Holmes on Homes®,” “Holmes Inspection” and “Holmes Makes It Right.” After working in the building and renovation industry for more than 20 years, Holmes was asked to develop and host his own television series, “Holmes on Homes®,” which became an international success and broke ratings records, solidifying his career in television. With more than 30 years’ experience as a licensed contractor, Holmes has been able to use television as a tool to educate homeowners on how to manage a renovation; what to look for in contractors; the right products for the right job; proper home repair and maintenance; and their rights as homeowners.
“Home Free” Background
“Home Free” is produced by Relativity Television and executive-produced by Tom Forman, George Verschoor, Trice Bartow, Brad Bishop, Andrew Marcus and Mike Holmes. The series will be distributed internationally by ELECTUS.
Mike Holmes Quote about “Home Free”:
“A home is way more than brick and mortar. So being part of this new series and partnering with FOX is truly exciting for me,” said Mike Holmes. “I’m ready to break ground with these couples. It’s going to be a lot of sweat and tears but I promise you, all worth it in the end...trust me on this.”
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(COCOCO Home Media Contact: Buck Lawrimore, Buck(at)Lciweb(dot)com, 704-332-4344.
FOX Publicity: Kristen Osborne, 212.556.2492; Kristen.Osborne(at)fox(dot)com)
Steve Sechrest, COCOCO Home, http://www.cococohome.com, +1 (704) 332-4344, [email protected]
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