Erin and Ben Napier of ‘Home Town’ ID ‘The Prettiest Part of the Kitchen’
HGTV
Renovations can be pricy and time-consuming, but Erin and Ben Napier of “Home Town” know just how to redo a home on a tight budget and timeline.
In the Season 7 episode “The Clock Starts Now,” the Napiers meet Chance and Emily, a Louisiana couple hoping to relocate to Laurel, MS, by Christmas. They have a tight budget but are thrilled to find a beautiful 1945 home for just $150,000. The place is a serious fixer-upper, but Erin and Ben offer to renovate the whole thing for $130,000, in just five weeks.
It’s a big undertaking, but the Napiers manage to pull off a speedy and cost-effective renovation. Check out their work, which might inspire some upgrades around your own abode, too.
Big trees can be a liability
Before: This tree had to go.HGTV
This home has a charming exterior, but Erin points out that there’s one big problem: the large and faltering tree obscuring part of the home’s facade.
“These Bradford pears, the bigger they get, they lose their strength and they just start to split down the middle,” Erin says of the tree. “It’s a liability.”
So the team has no choice but to remove it.
After: A small tree to the left of the house will bloom into a colorful feature.HGTV
Still, Erin promises to add some color back to the front yard and plants a Japanese maple. While this tree isn’t as big or shady as its predecessor, smaller plants are usually less expensive and can grow large with time. This new Japanese maple demonstrates how even one new plant can make a home beautiful, for minimal expense.
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Use wood paneling as a backsplash
This paneling was original to the building.HGTV
Even during demo, Erin is on the lookout for ways to save money on design. So when she spots some original paneling in the kitchen, she decides to keep it and repaint it.
“I would love to keep the paneling as the backsplash, ’cause we have it, it wraps this whole wall,” Erin says. “It could be really pretty and fresh once it’s painted out, and then we don’t have to buy tile.”
Once the paneling is painted and the kitchen is finished, Chance and Emily love the look. In fact, they’re surprised to learn that this feature wasn’t a brand-new addition. It’s a good reminder that homeowners can save time and money by using—and reusing—existing home features.
The island can be the ‘prettiest part of the kitchen’
The kitchen peninsula is made of stained white oak.HGTV
Chance and Emily like traditional design styles, so Erin works hard to bring this look into the home. One way she does this is by putting a stained-wood peninsula in the kitchen.
“I think if you have a piece of stained wood, that’s a real moment of traditional design,” Erin says. “I’m trying to make this whole design as traditional as it can be.”
Indeed, the stained wood is a good choice for the classic, crowd-pleasing look Erin is trying to create.
This cabinet door has a traditional look.HGTV
When the renovation is finished, Chance and Emily love the stained white oak, and Erin calls the island “maybe the prettiest part of the kitchen.” It shows how sometimes a simple, traditional look can be the perfect choice for those who want a quick and cost-effective design.
New hardware can overhaul a bathroom
Before: The main bathroom was drab and dated.HGTV
When it comes to the main bathroom, Erin wants to make the space feel special; but she is still conscious of her tight budget and strict timeline.
“We talked a lot about if there’s a way to make the layout different and, ultimately, it was just a bunch of ways to spend a lot of money without making it any better,” Erin tells Chance and Emily when they tour the bathroom. Instead of rearranging and reimagining the room, Erin suggests doing what she calls “a budget bathroom update,” which includes simple aesthetic changes to the vanity, included painted doors and new hardware.
After: Some paint and hardware made this bathroom vanity feel updated.HGTV
While the vanity only gets a few inexpensive changes, when the work is done, it looks completely different. The update proves that budget-strained homeowners don’t need to tear out every old cabinet or vanity. Sometimes new paint and hardware can do the trick!
Bathroom tile can be worth the splurge
New shower tile is frequently worth the time and expense.HGTV
The vanity update refreshes the bathroom’s overall appearance, but Erin wants to ensure the shower gets a facelift as well. So, she decides to splurge on tile that will cover the shower walls, as well as another tile pattern for the floor.
While brand new tile can make a room feel modern, Erin sticks to the traditional vibe Chance and Emily love.
“We’re keeping things very traditional—it’s not black and white, it’s softer,” Erin says of the floor tile. “Like, everything in this house is going to be a little bit taupe and have a lot of warmth.”
While new tile can be pricy and take time to install, the feature is worth the effort, because it helps carry the home’s traditional style into this space. Erin and Ben know that while there are plenty of ways to save money during a home renovation, sometimes it’s important to splurge.
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