by Furnishly | Mar 29, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Interior design and renovation is the key to any successful home makeover, but it only matters if the exterior of a property is also up to par. In the latest episode of “Rock the Block,” four HGTV all-star teams finally turned to the outside of their identical houses after several weeks of indoor work. While they had flexibility on personal taste and design in prior weeks, part of the focus of the exterior was creating a home and yard space that fit into the local atmosphere of Charleston, South Carolina.
Judges Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E. Laine (“Good Bones”) were most interested in how the teams put their own spin on the blank slate properties, which began as bare-bones houses and dirt yards. The two standout renovations, and the stiffest competition, came from Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson (“Married to Real Estate”) and Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas (“Bargain Block”), who completely transformed their respective properties.
Bynum and Thomas went for a two-tone color scheme with dark metal roofing to help their house stand out from the others. For the top floor and garage, they opted for a vibrant blue, which was accented by the cedar color used on the first floor exterior. They used the same cedar paint on the front porch support beams, which kept the structures from standing out too much against the backdrop of the house. The whole home was tied together by a brick skirt surrounding both the main house and the garage.
Bynum and Thomas lined the porch in an L-shape with boxwood plants, curving along the driveway. They added magnolia trees and sycamores, which meant that the variety of foliage was dynamic and spread out at different heights. “I like that you used grasses and created all that movement,” Laine said, in reference to the front yard landscaping. The couple also hung a couple of understated plants from the cedar support beams, which helped pull the front of the house and the yard together into one cohesive property.
Sherrod and Jackson were similarly interested in brick, but they opted to take it to a whole new level. The duo added light bricks to the entire exterior of their home, careful to keep the original color of the bricks present in the muted white limewash look.
“I didn’t want it to read too white,” Sherrod explained. “I wanted to capture … the brick undertone, that aged look that a lot of the homes on Rainbow Row have.” Keeping historic Charleston in mind, they also installed gas lamps on the porch for some classic lighting.
The couple added lots of greenery to their yard, including hydrangeas for “a pop of color” that stood out against the neutral tones on the house. They also planted two crepe myrtles to add some local vegetation. Sherrod strategically placed the two trees so that they adorned the driveway and helped isolate the house, maximizing curb appeal and making the front of the house the focal point of the property.
“The brick was an amazing choice,” Starsiak Hawk said. “I think it added so much value. The limewash is beautiful.”
“Rock the Block” airs new episodes on Mondays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.
by Furnishly | Mar 22, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
The area over a two-story garage can be hard to decorate, and even harder to define. The purpose of the space is ambiguous and it’s often difficult to strike a balance between functional and aesthetically pleasing. That was the case for the four teams of “Rock the Block” designers, who began to renovate the upstairs of their identical houses in the latest episode of the HGTV competition series.
The “Finished Room Over Garage,” dubbed “F.R.O.G.” by host Ty Pennington, presented one of greatest obstacles for the teams because there were no clear rules for the space. “It’s all about enhancing these extra spaces, which could be challenging because they’re such a blank slate,” Pennington said.
The original space was open and bare, with white walls and floors (and several white-trimmed windows). Judges Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent (“The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project”) were most impressed by two of the transformations: the work of Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas (“Bargain Block”) and that of Dave and Jenny Marrs (“Fixer to Fabulous”).
Bynum and Thomas turned the F.R.O.G. into a rental space to help up the appraisal value for their home, adding a small kitchen, bathroom, dining, and bed to the petite area. Homeowners could have the option of renting the detached area out and helping pay off their mortgage with some passive income. Keeping their $20,000 budget in mind, Byum and Thomas decided to reuse some of the excess lumber and cabinetry that had been removed from the house in previous weeks. They took the original white cabinets from the gutted main kitchen and moved them to the small kitchen area in the F.R.O.G.
“I wanted that F.R.O.G. space to really stand out and be distinct, so we’re going very saturated, very bold,” Bynum said of the dark teal paint they chose for the main wall color (with purple walls and black tile in the bathroom). The couple brought in a complimentary light teal fridge to help pull the bold colors together, with a similarly colored accent chair. They also added in an emerald green tile backsplash. Despite all of the color, they opted to keep the simple white trim on the windows.
The Marrses opted to make the F.R.O.G. into a guest house of sorts, perfect for visiting family or a relaxation area for older children. The transformation included a bathroom and trundle-style daybed. To cut costs in their $16,000 budget, Dave built the custom bed from scratch. The couple also wanted the space to be able to function as a home office (since “90 percent of the year, you’re not going to have guests,” according to Jenny), making it as multipurpose as possible for prospective homebuyers. Dave took the idea and ran with it, crafting a built-in secretary desk that could fold out into a workspace.
Like Bynum and Thomas, the Marrses kept the white trim on their windows and painted the bed and bathroom door the same color. To balance out the dark, deep green on their walls, they used natural, light wood on the floors, table, and desk. The defining elements of their renovation were the hand-crafted additions, which both Berkus and Brent celebrated.
“I thought that it was absolutely genius how you took the historic concept of a drop-front secretary [desk],” Berkus said. “I think the hand-made trundle bed is genius.”
“Rock the Block” airs new episodes on Mondays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.
by Furnishly | Mar 16, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
A love of serenity and a passion for bright colors left one couple at odds as they attempted to redesign their 1950s Sacramento bungalow. Husband Jeff favored “risky patterns,” while wife Sara was an “aspiring minimalist.” In the premiere episode of HGTV’s “Mash-Up Our Home,” design team Kele Dobrinski and Christina Valencia helped the couple find balance in their differing design styles with a $125,000 budget. The end product was a bright, harmonious makeover of the 1,600-square-foot space.
The greatest point of contention was in the kitchen, which was outdated and impractical for a busy family of four. Kele and Christina got rid of the yellow-tiled backsplash and countertop and instead added a white-tiled backsplash with one thin strip of blue tiling. It provided a pop of color in an otherwise white space, without detracting from the clean and serene vibes.
They made the main countertops white quartz and added a wooden island for additional cooking and eating space. Most importantly, they gave the room a more functional layout, to create a safer cooking experience around the two young kids. Instead of having the stove in a random spot across the room, it was moved into the white countertop space (with a tambour hood and wooden accents to help pull all of the wooden features together).
But the most drastic transformation came in the garage, which started as an empty, run-down room with a dark wooden ceiling and walls. Kele and Christina turned the space into a contemporary “backyard bungalow” that could easily host extended family. They started by getting rid of the old garage door and adding french doors (matching the new white walls) for easy access to the backyard. The space also benefited from the addition of a crafting nook and a kitchenette. The kitchenette served as a miniature version of the house’s main kitchen, even using the same tiles (with a blush pink for the stripe of color, instead of blue).
They also added a low profile pull-out bed to the area, making it into a “hotel suite”-like space, and lots of additional storage. A curtain was installed around the bed for additional privacy. Most importantly, Kele and Christina added an updated ensuite bathroom in the garage, to keep guests from running back-and-forth to the main house.
The entire space, including the bathroom, kept with the white and blue theme of the house, creating a cohesive living space without ever having to physically connect the garage and main house. Both Jeff and Sara sung their praises, with the latter noting, “It all just goes together, without being matchy-matchy.”
“Mash-Up Our Home” airs Saturdays at 8/7 central on HGTV.
by Furnishly | Mar 16, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Page Turner has seen it all when it comes to house-flipping. Best known for “Flip or Flop Nashville,” the real estate broker is hoping to pass on some of her house-flipping expertise in her new HGTV series, “Fix My Flip.” In the show, which is set across Southern California, Turner helps several struggling (and often first-time) house-flippers in their attempt to make a profit.
“In this season, you’re going to really learn the ins and outs of flipping: what to do, what not to do,” she told Apartment Therapy in a recent interview. “I’m coming in with my own money many times, as the distressed flippers need it. I’m helping them get out of holes that they’ve dug, usually because they don’t have budgets, they don’t know where their contractors are, they don’t have a plan. I can go on and on.”
In addition to the lack of budgeting and planning, the biggest issue she’s seen comes from “not getting a mentor first.” A mentor can be a great person to shadow, she said, and help dispel any notions that house-flipping is “easy money.”
“This is a real business, it’s not a game,” Turner added. “And you will certainly lose if you come in with that mentality. So I ask first for you to have a mindset shift, so that we can really ascertain if this business is for you.”
For those at home considering a career in house-flipping, Turner recommended getting out of the “dot-com world” and looking for an in-person real estate mentor. “Find a local group of investors,” she said. “They’re everywhere. We’re coming out of the pandemic, so they still might be online, but find somebody who is personal and a real person that you can actually ‘touch’.”
“It doesn’t always happen overnight,” she added. “But you have to start mingling again to find people.”
“Fix My Flip” airs Thursdays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.
by Furnishly | Mar 15, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
The bedrooms started as empty spaces with bare white floors and walls, and the bathrooms were similarly barren. Each team added their own serene spin to the bedrooms, but the greatest upgrades — according to judges Alison Victoria (“Windy City Rehab”) and Page Turner (“Fix My Flip”) — came with how they redesigned the bathrooms and off-bedroom closet spaces.
The two standouts came from Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson (“Married to Real Estate”) and Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb (“Unsellable Houses”), who completely transformed their respective spaces into relaxing getaways with spacious ensuite bathrooms and ample closet space.
Sherrod and Jackson went for “tranquility” in their bedroom suite and scored major points with the judges for adding antique wooden bathroom doors to an otherwise contemporary space. The couple enlarged the closet into a white, boutique-like room able to store even a bonafide fashionista’s wardrobe. The closet came with display built-ins, which featured eye-pleasing integrated lighting. They also added a second, smaller closet for additional storage.
The bathroom was “spa” themed, with twin shower heads, a double chandelier, and a full-blown vanity. They utilized pebbled tile (keeping in line with the home’s coastal theme) throughout the entire bathroom space, including the shower floor, which made the room feel bigger. The duo, who won the previous week’s challenge, put their extra prize money into “smart shower” features, which made the whole ensuite into a state-of-the-art space.
Davis and Lamb were also applauded for their mastery of the bathroom. The twin sisters redesigned the massive area with a variety of tiles, both on the floors and the walls (using black, white, and a calming green). They also separated the water closet and sink area from the bath and shower area with a see-through glass door and wall, creating a “wet room” that was popular with the judges.
Their greatest triumph, however, was in their enlarged closet. The closet seamlessly blended with the dark, calming bedroom colors. The pair expanded their space by building into the back porch area and providing an overall increase in square footage to the house. With the larger space, they were able to add an additional washer and dryer (the second set of laundry units in their home).
The two added reclaimed wood to the walls (part of their weekly design challenge), which the judges said helped make the closet into more of a unisex space. The renovation also provided open shelving with multiple hanging heights, which allows for the storage and display of a variety of clothing. The additional 50-square-feet of closet space was a game-changer and upped the property value, which is the overall goal in any renovation.
“Rock the Block” airs new episodes on Mondays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.
