by Furnishly | May 19, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
While Anita and Andre’s home in River Forest, IL was already up-to-date in the main living area, the two doctors wanted nothing more than a modern sanctuary in their outdated basement. The busy parents of two hoped for an adults-only sanctuary that they could relax in after a long day. In the latest episode of “Renovation Goldmine,” Meg and Joe Piercy found several money-saving renovation and restoration ideas to help give the couple their oasis.
The basement began as a large living room-style space, with a very outdated kitchen and small workout room off to the side. The floors were made from large white tile and the walls and cabinets were made from wood. The ceiling had some issues, namely water damage in the kitchen. The furniture — including multiple overstuffed leather sofas — was also from another era.
The focal points of the basement were the pool table and gray fireplace, but both were in desperate need of some upkeep. Andre had already tried to do some renovation and knocked down a few walls, so the basement had a fairly open layout, but he left some loose pieces of wood floating around the room. The couple requested a modern space that would be consistent with the rest of the house, plus room for a poker table.
With a $50,000 budget, Meg and Joe got to work turning the basement into a swanky lounge. They started by stripping the old tiles from the floor. They spray-painted the ceiling, which added more height to the space, and added drywall (with crown molding to hide any jagged edges). The couple painted the fireplace black, which gave it a fresh look. They also took apart the pool table and refinished it with yellow paint, to help give the room “some pops of color,” according to Meg. For a finishing touch, they added several pieces of tan and green modern furniture to the space.
The kitchen and workout area become a wine cellar, bar, and poker room. The Piercys gutted the original kitchen and brought in cabinets from another project (to save on money), which they painted green. They painted the walls of the poker area black with some orange patterned wallpaper and kept the drywall of the kitchen white (with additional backsplash tiling). They added white countertops to bring some lighter color into the dark space.
Joe found an old, free poker table (with a built-in bumper pool table) at a used casino game store and brought it into the home. The structure came with a large wooden table top, so it could easily become a dining space if needed. The duo “re-felted” the table with the same camel color that they used on the pool table (as seen in the room beyond the kitchen, above), so all of the basement’s “gaming” areas had a similar look. For a finishing, flourishing touch, the Piercys enlisted one of their artist friends to paint a simple line mural against the far wall of the basement.
“With the money we saved by getting free cabinets, by reusing their pool table, [and] a free poker table, we were able to add a lot of special design elements,” Meg explained, “like the tile on the wall, the really cool countertops, [and] the mural.”
“Renovation Goldmine” airs Saturdays at 8/7 central on HGTV.
by Furnishly | May 18, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Lisa Kudrow understands the importance of being a good friend, which is why she decided to give her cousin and best friend Thea a thorough condominium renovation in the latest episode of HGTV’s “Celebrity IOU.” The “Friends” star wanted to craft an updated condo that was also pet friendly for Thea’s many adopted animals.
The condo began as a big, light-filled space with several outdated features. The walls and ceilings were white, with visible signs of water leakage. The floor was an uneven Spanish tile that easily absorbed spills and pet-related messes. The room also featured a fireplace with no mantle and an excessively large hearth. Thea had already done some work in the kitchen, so the main indoor space that needed attention was the living and dining area. In addition to modern updates, Lisa requested lots of storage space for her cousin’s vintage clothing collection.
With a three-and-a-half-week deadline, Jonathan and Drew Scott (“Property Brothers”) began the transformation with Kudrow. Kudrow kicked things off by taking a sledgehammer to the half-wall that divided the kitchen and dining area. By knocking down the unnecessary wall, the trio were able to open up the space and help the entire room flow together in a more cohesive manner. A clunky post in the dining area turned out to be load-bearing, so the brothers incorporated it into a new pantry space for Thea.
Kudrow, Jonathan, and Drew stripped the light fireplace tiles and instead used a black plaster finish. They reduced the large hearth space and added a mantle, which turned the fireplace into a modern statement piece. It began the focal point of the entire living space, rather than an eyesore. “The new fireplace is fantastic,” Kudrow said. “It’s still modern, but earthy.”
After removing all of the Spanish floor tiles, the Scott brothers added thick, luxury vinyl flooring. Jonathan explained that while the vinyl had the sophisticated appeal of regular wood flooring, it was “so much more durable than any species of hardwood,” which would help with any accidents from the pets. They created a closet near the entrance of the living area for Thea’s vintage clothing, using custom wooden doors. For additional storage, they incorporated free-floating maplewood wooden shelves (with holes for the cats to play with).
They finished off the room by adding updated furniture (including a new dining table and chairs, a sleek couch, and a coffee table). Any of the furniture that might be used by the pets was upholstered with durable fabric that could protect against tearing and stains. Kudrow helped pick out designs that fit with Thea’s “eclectic” tastes.
The living area flowed into an outdoor patio space, which had seen some wear-and-tear over the years. The area started out with a dirty and dilapidated red floor and outdated furniture. The brothers cleaned up the patio and used weather-proof seamless concrete for the new floor. They also added new seating, several plants, and a handy turf pet run with drainage so that the animals could use the bathroom without ever having to leave the property. They also added a slate feature that provided additional shaded seating.
“Celebrity IOU” airs Mondays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.
by Furnishly | Apr 22, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Restoration can be a labor of love — and a real money saver — if done right. Joe and Meg Piercy, stars of “Renovation Goldmine,” have made a career out of it. In their new show, airing Saturdays starting April 30 on HGTV, the Chicago-based couple put upcycling first as they help people renovate specific spaces in their homes. At the center of each renovation is an emphasis on cutting costs by reviving old items.
Despite many success stories, it can be tricky to determine whether a piece of furniture is worth restoring (or if it should just be thrown out), but the Piercys have some hard-and-fast rules as part of their process, which they shared in a recent interview with Apartment Therapy.
“First of all, if something has mold or smells really bad, or it smells like an ashtray, that’s going to be really hard to salvage,” Meg said. “Getting intense smoke smells out of pieces is hard.”
She also shared that when something is “functionally not working,” it’s difficult to attempt a restoration or refurbishment. “Unless it means a ton to somebody, it’s usually not worth the effort you’re going to put in,” she said.
“I would say pieces to stay away from: water damage, mold, and cigarettes,” Joe said, in agreement. “Pieces to gravitate toward would be things that have dovetailing. There are certain brands that you could actually recognize that are stamped on the top right or left drawer of a dresser.” He recommended several brands — including Drexel, Henredon, and American of Martinsville — that are often safe, quality bets in the furniture restoration game.
“I just think if you love it, it’s worth as much effort as you want to put into it,” Meg added. “But they become a bigger headache than they’re worth, if there [are] any of those problems.”
“Renovation Goldmine” airs Saturdays at 8/7 central on HGTV.
by Furnishly | Apr 20, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
One of the most common questions that homeowners face when renovating is whether their design choices will be palatable to potential future buyers. Is this wall color too dark? Are those fixtures too flashy? Style decisions often become about other people, even for homeowners who have no immediate plans to put their houses on the market.
Christina Valencia and Kele Dobrinski — stars of HGTV’s new series “Mash-Up Our Home” — believe that it’s important to design your home based on your own tastes, even if you think you might end up selling the house down the line.
“Design it for you, because you are the person that is living in that space,” Valencia said. It’s best to spend time exploring what you personally like, even if it’s a bit different from what fits into a traditional design category. “It’s not about what other people are telling you,” she shared.
“I think from an investment standpoint, for a homeowner, there’s a lot of conversations about what you can do that is the most bang for your buck when you go to sell,” Dobrinski said. “And I think the best thing you can do is something that is going to make you love your home and stay in it for another two or three years.”
In “Mash-Up Our Home,” Valencia and Dobrinski help couples identify their specific tastes and design their homes in ways that are pleasing to both people. The challenge sometimes makes for a very unique space, but those are often the most interesting projects to work on.
“Home value continues to rise around the country,” Dobrinski added. “And I think that if there’s something you can do that’s really going to make you love your home, you’re going to love your space [and] you’re going to want to stay there longer, and ultimately there’s value in that.”
So if you’re thinking about trying out a funky new paint color or a unique tile pattern, it might be just the thing that your home needs.
by Furnishly | Apr 15, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
It’s a tale as old as time: a couple buys a new house or decides to renovate their longtime home, only to realize that they have very different design ideas. The situation is common enough that Christina Valencia and Kele Dobrinski, the couple behind the Sacramento-based creative studio Colossus Mfg., have created a new HGTV television series devoted to helping out style-conflicting homeowners.
In the show, “Mash-Up Our Home,” the married design team provides guidance for couples with differing styles and tastes, and helps them create a home that both parties can agree on. For those who are looking to mash-up their styles at home and find themselves without expert designers on hand, Valencia and Dobrinski shared some of the secrets to their mash-up empire.
“The way that we go about it is, when we walk through home, we separate the homeowners and we try [to] get as much information from them as we can,” Dobrinski said. “I think it’s a really good starting place.” The key to success is being very straight-forward in your interests initially, even if you know they’re not the same as those of your partner. “I think when you’re in a relationship for a long time you tend to think about ‘we’ a lot. And I think it’s nice to actually start by being selfish and be like, ‘Okay, what do I want in my space?’”
From there, couples can start making a list together of likes and dislikes and see if there’s any crossover or overlapping interests. It’s also helpful to identify what each person absolutely can’t have in their space. It’s important, Dobrinski shared, to look beyond just style and really examine specific materials and colors that might be of shared interest.
Valencia noted that an “unbiased third party” can be especially helpful for couples. “Even if you had a friend over that can be unbiased and be like, ‘How much color do you really need? How much of the rainbow will make you happy?’,” she suggested. “[Having] someone work through that actually could be a really fun happy hour.”
