While HGTV designers each have their own signature style, there are certain trends they all seem to love. On the latest “Fixer to Fabulous,” Dave and Jenny Marrs show they’re birds of a feather with Christina Hall and former “Teen Mom” star Chelsea DeBoer.
In the episode “Small House to Cozy Casita,” the Marrses meet Denise and Pepe Estrada, who spent five years living in Pepe’s native Peru. These empty nesters have recently purchased a 1,317-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home. They hope the space can comfortably accommodate family and friends when they come to visit.
Dave and Jenny have a budget of $180,000 to remodel the entire house. In the process, they arrange for the Estradas to be empty nesters no more.
Find out how the Marrses pull this off and learn plenty of lessons you might be inspired to try on your own abode—including one renovation that’s all the rage (among reality TV stars and others) that can actually save you money each morning you sit down for breakfast.
Go faux on the roof
A red composite tile roof
HGTV
“The exterior of this house needs to feel like it could be found in Peru, and typically Peruvian homes have clay tile roofs,” says Jenny. “So I have some clay tile samples.” Or does she?
“They’re actually not real clay, because clay tiles are very heavy, and we’d have to reengineer the whole roofing system of the house,” she explains. “These are made out of a composite so that they’re lighter.”
They’re also more durable and a lot less expensive to buy and install. Plus, since they’re way up on the roof, no one can tell they aren’t authentic. It’s the perfect, fool-proof cheat to save money.
Keep the roots when removing foliage
Unplanting the plants
HGTV
The Estradas have massive, untamed bushes that dominate the front of the house and hide the entryway, so Dave and Jenny decide to remove them. But don’t worry: The plants won’t be abandoned or left for mulch.
“Now that we have the plants out, the root balls are intact, we can actually replant these, which I love, so they will not be wasted,” says Jenny. “We can get them replanted, and they will go on to live a nice happy plant life.”
Replace wrought iron with wood for a more welcoming front porch
A rustic wood post replaces one made of painted wrought iron.
HGTV
“This column—we’ve got to do something with it,” says Dave as he inspects the white-painted, wrought-iron column with a leaf and flower design. (See root ball photo above.) The home was built in 1975, when that particular post design was still the rage.
“I could build something to make it a really cool post,” says Dave. He goes to his own barn where he has a private stock of lumber reclaimed from the trees that were blown down or removed from a lot they were working on.
There he finds just the right rustic post for the Estrada project. Replacing that wrought-iron post with wood “adds so much character and warmth,” says Jenny.
Remove wall-to-wall carpet
Old pink pile carpeting
HGTV
The flooring throughout the house is covered in an unfortunate pink carpeting. It must absolutely go—and since the house is not that large, they decide to splurge on laying down hardwood floors throughout.
“We’re putting in beautiful floors throughout that will really unify the space,” says Jenny. “It’s light and very warm.”
New wood floors in the same space
HGTV
Don’t be chicken! Embrace this backyard trend
Pre-fab chicken coop
HGTV
In the backyard, Dave and Jenny decide to finally jump on a popular bandwagon: chickens.
With the price of eggs still sky high, it seems chicken coops are hatching everywhere these days. Many reality TV designers are even installing them in their own homes, most recently Christina Hall and Chelsea DeBoer.
Christina Hall with her new chickens
thechristinahall/Instagram
Dave and Jenny know that Denise and Pepe are fond of the idea of filling their empty nest with chickens. So Dave goes to the feed store and buys a pre-fab coop with a fenced-in chicken run and plenty of places for the chickens to roost. It’s all enclosed, so neighborhood varmints cannot harm them.
Cole DeBoer shows off the family’s new chicken coop.
coledeboer/Instagram
He modifies it to match the Estradas’ new exterior and to accommodate four plump chickens, which will provide plenty of eggs for this couple.
Once the entire property has been renovated, the Estradas tour their new home and are enchanted.
“It’s really very hard for me to pick out any spot that’s my particular favorite,” says Pepe. “I think they’re all my favorite. Dave and Jenny, thank you so much for treating us so kindly.”
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