‘Fixer to Fabulous’ Takes the Barndominium Trend to New Heights You Must See To Believe
HGTV
Surprisingly enough, Dave and Jenny Marrs have never remodeled an old barn into a barndominium on their HGTV show, “Fixer to Fabulous“—until now.
In the episode “Century Old Barn, Family Home,” Dave and Jenny meet Mike and Kelly Burton, who moved to Arkansas from California a few years ago. They have a beautiful main residence, but they also want to convert the 100-year-old barn on their property into an entertaining space that will hopefully entice their friends and family to visit more often.
Hundred-year-old barnHGTV
Armed with an ample $280,000 budget, Dave and Jenny get to work—and take this barn, and the whole barndominium trend, to a whole new level. Watch what they do, which provides plenty of inspiration on how to make our own spaces more inviting, whether you live in a barndominium or any old home.
Save the siding
Renovated barn with new sidingHGTV
The barn has 100-year-old oak siding, which is going to have to be replaced by new siding that will last another 100 years. But Dave says they’ll use the original siding elsewhere.
“To preserve the look of the original siding, the exterior is getting a wood grain, board-and-batten cement siding that’s going to extend the life of the barn for another 100-plus years,” says Dave.
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Meanwhile, the “old barn wood from outside has been salvaged, and we’re trying to reuse as much as possible,” says Jenny. “We’ll be using it in the living room and the kitchen.”
They’ll also use it for table tops, as well as beam wraps. That old siding pops up everywhere!
Try a feature ceiling
Barn wood ceiling in the kitchenHGTV
You’ve heard of feature walls in bedrooms and living rooms, which have a different texture or design so that they stand out from all the other walls in the room. Well, why not try a feature ceiling?
“I want to carry the salvaged barn wood that we’re going to put on the walls of the living room and put it on the ceiling of the kitchen to make the space extra warm,” Jenny says.
Once it’s installed, Jenny knows she made the right choice.
“It looks so good,” she says. “It’s just warm and cozy and I absolutely love it!”
Slide into extra fun
Slide down from the second floor.HGTV
Since this is not Mike and Kelly’s main house, they want to have some fun with it, and give Dave and Jenny carte blanche to take some extra risks.
Jenny thinks a slide down the side of the stairs would be just the thing.
“I want this to be a place where their guests can come in and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is so cool and different,'” she tells Dave. “This is a unique project, so let’s just embrace that.”
“So you’re thinking just a little slide on the side that would be from 18 to 20 inches?” asks Dave.
“Yeah, just for a little kid’s booty,” replies Jenny. “I mean, I would want to go down it, too, so an adult booty.”
Climb the walls
Rock climbing hallHGTV
“Hallways are boring,” says Jenny. “Just maybe a place to hang a picture, that’s great, but now this hallway—next level!”
She plans to make the hallway into a climbing station, with footings going up one wall and down the other and monkey bars placed along the ceiling to swing from one wall to the other.
When Mike and Kelly’s two young boys see the new hallway, they immediately start scrambling up the walls.
This ain’t your grandma’s screen porch
Modern screened-in porchHGTV
“Screened-in patios are really popular here in Arkansas, because we have a lot of bugs in the summer,” explains Jenny. “It just helps the space to be useable for more of the year.”
Yet if visions of those old aluminum structures tacked onto your grandma’s house start dancing through your head, rest assured this one’s different. It has clear, corrugated ceiling panels to let in plenty of sunshine.
“It looks like a big skylight,” says Jenny. “This used to be a rickety old lean-to that was really terrifying, so this is a total change. They’re going to love this!”
Is Dave and Jenny’s new barndominium a hit?
As Kelly and Mike tour their newly renovated barn, the Marrses can tell that they’ve knocked it out of the park.
“I love the character that’s still here,” says Mike. “I’m jealous of our kids, because they get to have this growing up. Is that bad?”
In fact, the Burtons like it so much, they mull over moving into the barn permanently and letting their family and friends have the main house!
“They’re just envisioning the space full of family and friends,” Jenny concludes, “and knowing that it’s going to be a space where they make great memories and have a lot of fun.”
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