A Sneak Peek of Christina Hall’s New Forever Home—and the Design Detail She Keeps Repeating
HGTV
On the latest “Christina on the Coast,” Christina Hall gives us a good look at her recently purchased forever home—or at least where she hopes to stay for quite some time.
In the episode “Another Dime in the Jukebox,” we learn that the designer and her husband, Joshua Hall, have been living in Dana Point, CA. But given her office and kids’ school are located in Newport Beach, she’s been spending a lot of time commuting. Plus, her kids don’t like being so far from friends, leading Christina to conclude that her current digs just aren’t working anymore.
“It’s time to have a serious talk about moving back to Newport,” she says.
“You want to move again,” Josh guesses after hearing his wife’s grievances. Thankfully, he gets it and is game to start the home search.
Amid her own house hunting, Christina also remodels a family home in Newport for clients Morgan and Jessica. Armed with a budget of $120,000 to $150,000, Christina must make the house work for them and their growing family.
Christina Hall working with clients Jessica and MorganHGTV
“I know you guys have three kids—three totally different ages,” Christina tells them. “That means three different kinds of toys everywhere, and I’m guessing storage is a problem.”
“It’s like one kid, fine,” Jessica says in agreement. “Two kids was OK. Three kids, it’s like, we’re outgrowing.”
During renovations, Christina reveals the type of kitchen backsplash tile she’s done for herself as well as multiple clients over the years. Here are a few more real estate tips pulled straight from the designer’s playbook—and personal life.
An open floor plan leaves room for family heirlooms
Morgan and Jessica’s cluttered, poorly laid out main living space is made even more complicated by the presence of an inherited pool table and jukebox that Morgan won’t part with.
“It’s not going anywhere,” Jessica says. “Let’s start with that.”
A pool table poses a big design challenge.HGTV
So Christina crafts an open floor plan design for the kitchen and game room that better suits the oversized heirlooms and incorporates a new bar area, as well as a lot more cabinetry for storage of all of their kids’ stuff.
An open floor plan better accommodates bulky game room furniture.HGTV
“Such a game changer,” Christina comments when it’s done. “Even the jukebox looks so cute in here—it fits perfectly.”
Explore off-market opportunities
The Halls tour an off-market home in Newport Beach, CA.HGTV
“Perfect for our family” is how Christina describes the home she and Josh tour with real estate agent Keven Stirdivant. The modern home was built in 2021 on a 16,000-square-foot lot and is not actually up for sale.
However, Josh shares, “we loved it so much, we wrote an offer on the spot and they accepted.”
And this wasn’t the only off-market deal the Halls have pulled off. It turns out that their home in Dana Point also found a buyer without ever being listed.
“We discussed putting it on the market. Someone down the street got word, made an offer, seven-day close—we close in a couple of days,” Christina says. “Best part is, we sold all this furniture with the house.”
It goes to show that word of mouth can be key to making and getting a great deal when buying or selling a home.
Christina and Josh buy a modern home in Newport Beach, CA.HGTV
Make the most of your renovation window
Meanwhile, Morgan and Jessica also capitalize on a timely opportunity. While demolition is happening, the couple realize they could move the kitchen-adjacent laundry room to the garage and use that freed-up square footage to expand two bathrooms.
Morgan and Jessica dream of a larger bathroom with a better layout.HGTV
“I’ve always wanted a bigger bathroom, so now’s the time we’ve got to do it,” Jessica affirms.
Christina jumps on the additional design challenge, which doesn’t seem to delay the three- to four-month renovation timeline, since the change order is made while the walls are still opened up.
Surely, it would cost more money and time had Jessica and Morgan changed their minds about this at a later date, so take it from them and do as many renovation projects at once as possible.
Losing the indoor laundry room allows for a bigger primary bathroom.HGTV
Swap out subway tiles for square ones
The girls’ bathroom is designed to work for their entire childhood.HGTV
The guest bathroom comes out great and is a space the girls can grow into, since Christina selects a playful yet tasteful floor tile that’s “cute for little girls, teenagers—something that stands the test of time.”
Tile choice in the kitchen is also made with design longevity in mind, though in a slightly unexpected way.
“I see subway a lot,” Morgan muses about the backsplash options.
This square backsplash tile is Hall’s go-to at work and home.HGTV
Christina agrees that subway tile, though classic, is somewhat overdone, so she points them to an equally traditional square shape she personally loves.
“We’ve been doing this one for years—even did it in my own house, that’s how much I like it, and I’ve never gotten sick of it,” she says.
Vinyl floors can look just like wood
Wood-patterned vinyl flooring is an affordable and durable alternative to real wood.HGTV
Christina also makes a convincing case for giving luxury vinyl flooring a go, arguing today’s product comes in better colors and textures than when it first debuted.
“Ten years ago, 20 years ago, luxury vinyl didn’t look like this,” she says. “It looked basic.”
At the start of the design process, Morgan’s heart is set on wood, but even he can’t spot the difference once the vinyl is installed.
“I would not have even known,” he says. “It even has really cool texture.”
Christina also says you can’t ignore that luxury vinyl is “about half the price” of engineered wood and is “a lot more durable,” which is something to seriously consider if kids and animals are in the home.
Jessica is thrilled with the work. “We’re not going to be moving for a long time,” she says with a smile.
“Or ever,” Morgan adds. “I think we’re going to be here forever.”
Hall gives her two eldest children a tour of their new family home.HGTV
That’s the plan for Christina, too, who brings her two eldest children by the new house and tells them, “No more moving! I promise we’re not going to move until you graduate high school. Minimum.”
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