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On “Fixer Upper: The Castle,” home renovation royalty Chip and Joanna Gaines are attempting a new first—and it’s not simply that they’re tackling their first castle.
“This will be the first one we’re styling to sell,” says Joanna in the second episode, “Floors, Doors and More.”
Styling to sell versus styling for keeps, you see, are subtly different endeavors. Rather than catering to a particular homeowner’s tastes, they must do their best to make the decor appeal to everyone.
At this point, they’re more than 60 days into their makeover, and although things have gone fairly smoothly so far, a number of surprises pop up that throw Joanna for a loop.
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Yet despite these setbacks, the Gaineses find some clever solutions that help turn this stark castle into comfortable living quarters—and on a budget no less. Watch what they do, and learn some great tips that might work wonders in your own abode, too.
Let the architecture be the star
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Joanna thinks it’s high time they started “homing in on what pieces of furniture we’re going to be needing for this castle.” So she meets with a couple of members of her design team in each room so they can start trying to find the right stuff.
“There’s so much great architecture in here that it can be kind of minimal,” Joanna continues. “Just to give people an idea of what this room could be, but then they can envision their own life in here without us overdoing it.”
In the drawing room, for example, there’s an ornate fireplace, banks of multipaned windows, plus plenty of intricate paneling and molding. So she envisions simple furniture that won’t detract from those elaborate elements.
Keep it comfortable—even in a castle
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Just because it’s a castle doesn’t mean the furniture has to be huge in scale and grand in design. Since they’re staging it for someone else to actually live in, it has to look livable and comfortable, in a style that will appeal to many, not just the few who prefer a lot of gold and red velvet.
“The balance I’m trying to do with the furnishings is that it’s not so nice that people walk in and they can’t see their actual everyday life in this space,” says Jo. “So it’s a balance of, hey, it’s everyday life, but it’s a little bit elevated because you’re in a castle.”
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Don’t let a headboard block the window, unless…
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Joanna and her team walk upstairs to what they’re calling the “Girl’s Room,” where she intends to paint the walls blush pink. The room has a beautiful fireplace that’s being restored, and because of it the room’s shape, so it’s a little difficult to decide where to place the bed.
“It’s just hard, because you don’t want a headboard in front of this,” says Joanna, standing in front of an elaborate, multipaned window. “But if it’s a metal bed, it could be really pretty, so it looks kind of see-through versus upholstered. Super simple.”
Sometimes, a wood floor can’t be sanded and saved
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Joanna was in love with the narrow-plank hardwood floors and was excited about the prospect of sanding them down and refinishing them.
“The big surprise was having to move all the wood floors on that main level,” says Chip. “But I haven’t had the heart to tell Jo about that just yet.”
Joanna is not exactly thrilled when she sees that Chip ripped out the original wood floors without telling her.
“Why did they take up all the wood floors?” she asks.
“Well, they’d been sanded down for a century, incrementally, until the tongue on the tongue and groove was then exposed,” Chip explains. “So we couldn’t sand it down again. Now we’ve got some hardwood floors coming to replace them.”
Styrofoam moldings are a mind-blowing way to save money
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Joanna worries even more when she sees that Chip has ordered moldings of styrofoam, so light he can pick up a huge bundle of them with ease. She thinks it’s going look cheap and tacky.
“It’s the way it’s done now,” Chip explains. “Look, babe—they tack that up, and then you plaster over the styrofoam.”
He points to a place where the molding has already been installed.
“Holy cow,” Joanna says upon seeing it. “Unbelievable!”
“This is an advanced technological reality,” Chip says.
“The amount of savings we’ve captured by using this styrofoam technology to re-create that amazing plastered crown molding?” he says as he makes a head-exploding gesture. “Pow!”
It’s one of those rare moments when Chip is actually right.
The post ‘Fixer Upper: The Castle’ Marks a First for Chip and Jo—and One Cheap Renovation Trick That’ll Blow Your Mind appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.