Ever wonder what MTV’s “Teen Mom” stars are up to now? It turns out, one of them has her own home renovation show.
The new HGTV series “Down Home Fab” stars Chelsea DeBoer, who debuted on “Teen Mom 2” in 2011 at the age of 16 and ended up meeting her husband on the show, Cole DeBoer. In 2020, they built their own dream home in Sioux City, SD, where they’re now raising their four kids. This experience instilled in Chelsea a love for home design, so she now offers up her services to clients, with Cole pitching in as project manager.
“Dream team!” Chelsea cries on the show as she attempts to fist-bump with Cole but misses.
In the premiere episode, “Ranch Glam,” Chelsea explains, “I would describe my design style as very South Dakota glam. I love cowhides, painting things black, anything a little bit different.”
She demonstrates that as she asks Cole to build the kids a playhouse and insists that it be painted it black, denying the children’s loud requests that it be painted pink.
While this family project unfolds, Chelsea and Cole also help their friends Jessica and Nate redo their ’70s home with a budget of $100,000.
And as bizarre as some of Chelsea’s ideas may sound, they’re certainly fresh and fun if you’re craving a new look. Check out what she does, and learn some new ways to shake things up around your own abode.
Love animal prints? ‘Ranch glam’ could be up your alley
Ranch-glam den
HGTV
Chelsea decides to redo this couple’s home in her own signature style, aka “ranch glam.”
“The ‘glam’ is some animal print, the gold,” she says. The “ranch” is “nature, wood tones, antlers.”
She demonstrates this in a step-down den where she lays an animal-print carpet, adds gold velvet chairs and gold frames to the walls, and fills a natural vase with dry foliage.
Make a statement at the entrance
Statement entryway
HGTV
When Chelsea asks Nate and Jessica about their personal style, Jessica answers, “Bold but classic, like an old Hollywood style. But a rustic glam. Big and loud, ’cause we’re kind of big and loud.”
Chelsea decides to apply this style to their entryway, saying, “I want to make a big statement first thing when you walk in.”
To achieve this, she uses black and white patterned tile on the floor, hangs colorful family photos, and mounts the couple’s beloved deer head with glasses and a pipe on the wall facing the door.
“I wanted the first thing when you walk into your front door to be a ‘bam,'” Chelsea explains to the delighted couple. “Fun, funky—we wanted to give that feeling to other people when they first came into your house.”
Update a brown rock fireplace with whitewash
Massive, dated, dark stone fireplace
HGTV
Nate is very attached to their massive brown stone fireplace. It’s up to Chelsea and Cole to persuade him to brighten it up and bring it into the 21st century.
“We’re just thinking about lighting this up with a whitewash,” says Chelsea. Whitewashing is a common practice of applying a mix of paint and water in thin layers. Chelsea and Cole demonstrate this on stone samples.
Once they finally convince Nate that it won’t be solid white and that some of the original color will show through, he’s finally on board.
Whitewashed stone fireplace
HGTV
Paint cabinets rather than replacing them
Dated kitchen with patterned cabinets
HGTV
The existing kitchen has off-white cabinets with diamond patterns etched into them. For some reason, Jessica and Nate love them, so Chelsea decides to keep most of them and paint them.
“We’re stripping and painting these cabinets black,” says Chelsea. “I love this pattern, but I think it’s going to be nice painted black, because then it’s not going to be so in your face. It’s such an inexpensive way to get a huge change in here.”
She’s right about that. The cost to strip and paint the cabinets is $15,000. New cabinets could easily have cost twice that much.
Newly refinished kitchen
HGTV
In a hurry? Use chalk paint
Chelsea DeBoer with a chalk-painted piano
HGTV
Chelsea wants to refinish the upright piano and paint it, you guessed it, black. So she calls in her stepmom, whom she’s dubbed the “refurbishing queen,” to do the honors.
“I’m going to make your life easy,” says her stepmom. “We’re going to use chalk paint, so we don’t even have to sand it, ’cause chalk paint sticks to mostly everything.”
They also don’t have to use primer.
“Chalk paint is named for its chalky matte finish,” explains Chelsea. “It’s water-based, it doesn’t drip much, and chalk paint is going to give this piano a very distinctive look.”
A gallon of chalk paint costs $45. Having the piano sanded, primed, and repainted by a professional could have been far more expensive.
How does Chelsea DeBoer’s home makeover turn out?
Once they see the results of Chelsea’s work, the couple are delighted.
“We love it!” says Jessica. “You guys are trendsetting.”
Chelsea seems relieved. “We can breathe,” she says. “It is rewarding at the end when everything comes together, and they love it. It’s like, ‘all right, I did my job.'”
“My cheeks can unclench,” says Cole with a relieved smile.
“It’s so hard making all these decisions,” Chelsea adds. “But I’ve learned that I just have to trust my gut and roll with it.”
The post From ‘Teen Mom’ to ‘Down Home Fab’: Chelsea DeBoer Unveils a New Trendsetting Home Style appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.