Design experts Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent openly admit they’re not the biggest sports fans. But as we see on the latest episode of “The Nate and Jeremiah Home Project,” they sure know how to score points with sporty homeowners.
Go team!
In the episode, “Story of Sacrifice,” Berkus and Brent meet Mark and Laura, who have lived in Merrick, NY, all their lives. They bought their home 15 years ago and have been wanting to renovate ever since.
The family, which includes two children, has been scrimping and saving for years—with Mark working Saturdays, going in early, and eating PB&J sandwiches for lunch. Over the years, they have managed to save an impressive $175,000 for the remodel. No loans or credit card debt for them!
A important part of their lives involves having people over to watch games—entertaining and sports are their passions. But their home, especially the kitchen, doesn’t really align with their beloved pastimes.
“We’ve lived here for 15 years, and I don’t see us ever leaving this home,” says Laura. “But I kind of fell out of love with this house, and it’s just been sad.”
So it falls on Nate and Jeremiah to help her rekindle the flame. They serve up some surprisingly easy ideas for making a space brighter, happier, and more inviting. Here’s what we learned from their renovation.
Light floors are lower maintenance
Lighter floors show less wear and tear.
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There’s a lot of traffic coming and going in Mark and Laura’s house, and they’re not the type of people who would ask guests to remove their shoes at the door. They need flooring that can stand up to many active feet.
“Do you like going with a really light floor for them?” Berkus asks Brent.
“I do,” says Brent. “Especially for the wear and tear of everyday life, with all the people there. They’ll be easier to manage.”
They decide on a light-wood planking, laid in a beautiful herringbone pattern. The new floors lighten up the space and ensure low-maintenance upkeep.
Get rid of fireplace wings
Fireplace before
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The original fireplace is set in a corner, and its bricks wrap around the walls, like wings. Berkus and Brent insist that removing those wings will give the fireplace a more stylish, updated edge.
“The wing walls on the fireplace were very sort of 1980s,” says Berkus. “So even by just cleaning that up and getting rid of that angled detail makes it more timeless and less of an era, and that’s what we’re always trying to do.”
Fireplace after
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Save money with white paint
Faux beamed ceiling
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Mark and Laura have faux wood beams on their vaulted ceiling in the family room. Berkus and Brent like the idea of the beams but want to take them up a notch by replacing them with real wood beams.
But as the workers begin demolition, they discover the entire first floor is riddled with termite damage. They’ll have to replace much of the wood in the home’s structure, and Berkus and Brent will have to find a way to accommodate that in the budget.
They decide to save money by leaving the faux beams in place and painting them white. Since they’re high on the ceiling, nobody will really know the difference.
‘Performance fabric’ makes for durable furniture
Jeremiah Brent sinks into a cushy couch.
HGTV
Based on the family’s lifestyle, Berkus and Brent select furniture pieces that are easy to clean, hard to destroy, and not too fussy.
“The furniture is all pure performance fabric,” says Brent. “Which will easily stand up to these rowdy sports fans.”
The sectional in the family room is especially important for game watching. They select one that’s so cushy, it’s “jump proof,” according to Brent. The family and their friends have a tendency to jump on furniture when their team scores, so they need something that can endure the roughhousing.
“It’s durable,” says Brent. “It’s like one of those sofas you could fall asleep on.” (And he almost does!)
With collections, less is more
Bar/buffet area
HGTV
Laura and Mark don’t have a lot of things they want to keep—including their old furniture.
But there are a couple of keepsakes and decor pieces that hold a lot of significance for them. One is a beer stein collection that has been in Mark’s family for some time. The other is a wall display of black metal letters, filled with wine corks, spelling out their last name.
Berkus and Brent convince the couple to keep just a few of steins and to display only the first letter of their last name—the rest get stored away.
So is this renovation a win with the homeowners?
“The moment we walked in, I was speechless,” says Laura. “We thought about how it might all play out, but never in a million years did I imagine it would have looked as open and clean and beautiful as it did.”
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