Dear Friend,

One of my biggest cheerleaders growing up was my Aunt Paulette. When I lost her to Covid, I was completely devastated.

The day after her passing, my stepmom Ilene said “Rob, grab a magazine, go to the park, find a bench, and enjoy this beautiful Spring day. You have to get outside and keep living.” 

As I sat on a park bench, reading House Beautiful magazine through swollen, tear-stained eyes, my gaze landed on a photo of a white farmhouse with pink shutters. 

The family shared it was their “sanctuary property”.  That hit me.  George Floyd had just been murdered – I along with every other Black man in the country desperately needed a sanctuary property.   

That magazine article led me to a Zillow where I found my house.  At that moment, I knew I needed to transform that house, make my ancestors proud, and fill it with love.

Buying this house was a generational move. I was building my own table, one that would honor all of my ancestors and generations to come. 

After I bought the house, life changed in magical ways. 

✨ I shared my story on social media, and that post went viral, reaching millions. 

✨ Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, and Calmatic invited me to guest star in their music video for their song Entrepreneur. 

✨ And I landed a TV show with OWN Network and HGTV, which we are still filming, that chronicles the challenging, room-by-room renovation of Hartwell House. 

And I owe all of this to you, the millions of you who double-tapped that Instagram post and made this all happen. 

Hartwell House is a place to honor our ancestors and ensure that their losses were never in vain. It exists to make the world better than it was before. 

It was a very long 4 year renovation process, but as my friend Ivy McGregor says, “big ships turns slow, but they turn”.

The good news is our ship turned and we finished! 

Now, it’s time to celebrate.

I’m going across the country to celebrate that we made it!

Come spend a few hours with me and hear about the home –  the journey to it and the plans moving forward and also meet my family who will be with me on the tour. 

I promise you will leave filled with hope and plan forward to tell your own story – because we all deserve to come home.

All my love and excitement,
Robert Hartwell
Homeowner 
Hartwell House