In a thrilling showdown of interior design vision and skills, three talented teams tackled the challenge of revamping a neglected mountain residence. Each team consisted of spouses who have already made a splash working together doing budget-friendly home renovations.
Guided by a skilled mentor, the teams had $100,000 to work with and a six-week total timeline to update five rooms plus the exterior. A a strict one-week deadline to work on each room of the house added to the difficulty… and demanded higher levels of creativity. That all adds up to abundance of innovative home remodeling ideas and inspiration for your own projects.
The overall objective for each team was to do the best job of increasing the property’s value by the end.
One of the teams, Amber and Trey Masciarelli, did an amazing overhaul of a promising home with a drab interior, but breathtaking views.
This is HGTV’s Battle on the Mountain, and, as a chosen flooring supplier for the show, Bestlaminate was excited to collaborate with Amber and Trey as they transformed their so-so home into an airy, stylish retreat.
Meet Team Wolfe – The Mentor for this HGTV Home Makeover
The husband-and-wife renovation duo, Amber and Trey, teamed up with Kim Wolfe, the designer featured in HGTV’s series Why the Heck Did I Buy This House? In the Battle on the Mountain, Kim helped Amber and Trey take a 1,198 square-foot home with a painfully awkward layout and turn it into a far more functional design that makes excellent use of its outdoor space.
As part of the design journey, Amber and Trey needed to redo and redesign the kitchen, the main suite, the living room, the guest suite, and a bonus room, as well as the home’s exterior.
Here, you’ll see how they approached each room, and how you can use what they did to come up with creative home remodeling tips for your own space.
Updating the Kitchen: Small Home Remodeling Ideas to Make a Cramped Space Airier and More Functional
Between the before-and-after, it’s hard to recognize this kitchen as the same space… in part, because it’s not.
The original kitchen was a closed-off, boxy area with a small window and an awkward layout.
@diydesignerduo You don’t know what you are capable of until someone pushes you to your limits @HGTV #beforeandafter #homereno #diy #diyproject #homeimprovement #kitchen #fixerupper #remodel #husbandwife #bathroommakeover #transformation ♬ Le Monde – From Talk to Me – Richard Carter
Knowing that the kitchen serves as more than a place to cook — it’s often a gathering space as well — Amber and Trey did away with the walls closing the kitchen off and expanded it into the rest of the main floor.
The new space flows easily from prep area to cooking area to dining area.
A large island offers space to work, but also provides seating so guests or family can sit and visit with whoever is cooking.
Amber and Trey kept the palette of the new open floor kitchen and dining space neutral with a couple of surprises.
They choose a two-tone look for the cabinets, with lighter ones above the counters and darker ones below. They also found a vintage, red fireplace to give a pop of color to the room as well as serve as a conversation piece.
They chose European White Oak vinyl plank flooring with an ultra-realistic wood texture. The color of the flooring pairs perfectly between the two cabinet colors and range of neutrals in the space.
Home Remodeling Ideas for Your Kitchen
Create an open space: A kitchen that is open to the dining area and the main space of the house can provide better flow. It also means, when entertaining, that conversations are easier, which makes gatherings more memorable and fun.
Pay attention the view: If your kitchen looks out onto a lovely outdoor area — whether that’s a well-tended garden or a breathtaking mountain vista — bring that view into your space. One way to do that is to arrange the furniture based on where the windows are. Another is to lean into a neutral palette, letting the outside colors take the spotlight.
Do something unexpected: It’s tempting to make your room look like a spread in a magazine, but you don’t want your space to feel sterile or overly designed. An unexpected pop or color or an unusual choice (like two-toned cabinets) can make a room feel more personal and memorable.
Use flooring to tie your palette together: Your choice of flooring can give a room a cohesive look. If your floors pair well with each color in your palette, that tie all the colors together into a beautiful, intentional look.
>> Get the look: Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak as seen on HGTV <<
For their kitchen remodel, Amber and Trey chose Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak vinyl plank flooring. It’s a beautiful look with an ultra-realistic wood texture that adds elegance to any room.
Updating the Master Suite: Reimagine the Space for an Affordable Home Remodel that Adds Value
When you’re doing a major renovation, it can pay to think big. Rather than being locked into the existing floor plan, consider whether completely rethinking the layout could improve the functionality of your home and your enjoyment of the space.
That’s what Amber and Trey had to do when figuring out how to approach their master suite.
@diydesignerduo 100% Obsessed with the Bathroom 🤩 The fact that we transformed this space in 7 days is still mind blowing to me 🤯 #diy #beforeandafter #primarybedroom #bedroomdesign #bathroommakeover #diyproject #fixerupper #homeremodel #homeimprovement #hgtv #interior ♬ Live Your Life – T.I.
The mountain cabin’s existing master was a small room in the basement without a lot of natural light. Rather than accepting the limitations of the space, Amber and Trey turned their eye to the two bedrooms on the main floor. By combining them, they were able to create a larger master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom, more natural light, and better views of the surrounding woods.
They gave the space a unique flare by adding a built-in headboard of their own design. The natural wood they used for the headboard gives the room a woodsy feel that perfectly suits a mountain retreat. The same, rich, medium-toned floors that run through the main floor also feature in the master bedroom, again tying the room’s palette together and adding to the outdoorsy feel.
Home Remodeling Ideas for Your Master Suite
Don’t let yourself get locked in: You can take a room that is serving one purpose and transform into something completely new. You also don’t have to rely solely on prefabbed furnishings to create a space you love. With a little imagination, creative thinking, and sweat equity, you can build something that fits your exact needs and style, and that is one hundred percent your own. This works especially well when there’s an obvious configuration for the space. If the bed really works against only one wall, consider a built-in for that wall, something of your own design.
Use accents to add interest: Items like a throw rug, decorative pillows and wall art can take a room that feels like any other bedroom and turn it into something inviting and thematic. Don’t overlook those special touches and pops of color.
The floors can make the room. The color and style of your floors can add elegance to your design and pull all the pieces in the room together into a single, signature look.
>> Get the look: Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak as seen on HGTV <<
Updating the Living Room: Simple Home Improvement Ideas Combine Practicality and Whimsy
The main living space Amber and Trey had to work with was in the basement of their mountain home. A long, narrow room with classic “basement dimness,” it presented some difficult challenges.
They wanted to create a space the flowed naturally from cozy seating and conversation to the beautiful outdoors taken in from the home’s lower deck. That meant tackling some practical details, like what someone coming in from outside would need to move from one setting to the next.
They created a built-in seating area with room for gear storage (even skis) directly inside the new door leading to the outside deck. It serves as a mudroom where people can sit to remove shoes before going to join friends in the main seating area.
A beautiful wide wooden beam recharacterized the natural break in the room, framing the living room and providing separation between it and the new mudroom. On the way to the seating area, guests can stop at the new custom bar located in the previously unused space under the stairs. And then the living room proper has plenty of seating, making it ideal for conversation or curling up with a book.
Pale woods with a variety of textures and organic lines make the room feel like an extension of the outdoor space. A strategically placed mirror makes excellent use of the light. A piece of hand-made art ties in woodland themes. And snowshoes repurposed into a light fixture give the room a memorable character.
The floors carry the same look from the upstairs into the downstairs space pulling the common areas of the house together.
Home Remodeling Ideas for Your Living Room
Create a common theme: If you’re doing a whole house renovation, consider creating a common theme to carry into all your rooms. A great way to tie the theme together, giving your overall design a more cohesive feel, is to use the same flooring in all your home’s common spaces.
Think through functional needs. Before you plan your design for a room, think carefully about the room’s purpose and what people in that room will need to have the best experience there. In Amber and Trey’s case, the addition of the mudroom to the living space makes the indoor-outdoor flow work much better, making the space more usable… and that’s the key to people spending quality time there.
Bring the outdoors inside. When you have a room that uses the outdoors as part of its flow, pull some of outdoor elements inside to create a playful, cohesive feel.
>> Get the look: Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak as seen on HGTV <<
Updating the Guest Suite: Easy Home Renovation Projects Add Function and Beauty to the Room
When it comes to hosting guests, two things are especially important.
First, the bed needs to be comfortable.
Second, there needs to be plenty of storage.
And of course, it helps if the space is attractive and inviting.
Amber and Trey checked each of these boxes.
They began by painting the room — both walls and ceiling — a sage green. Perfect for the mountain location.
They used pale wood to build matching wardrobes on each side of the bed. When combined with a decorative headboard and petite floating shelves, along with some customer artwork, the finished look is clean, cozy, and very practical.
They also upgraded the dated, ho-hum floors for a rich wood look, essential to pulling together their clean, minimalist woodland theme.
@diydesignerduo 48 hours to renovate 2 rooms is so unrealistic yet somehow we made it happen 🤯 #homeimprovement #diy #diyproject #beforeandafter #howto #homerenovation #interiordesign #reno #remodel #HGTV #transformation #fyp ♬ Le Monde – From Talk to Me – Richard Carter
Paint the walls and the ceiling. A fresh coat of paint can revitalize a room. It’s common to leave the ceiling a pale neutral color, but for an enclosed guest space, consider taking the wall paint to the ceiling as well. It can change the whole feel of the room, making it cozier and more inviting.
Maximize storage. For a guest space, look for ways to increase the storage without cluttering the room. Guests will feel more at home when they can unpack their things and really live in the space.
Floors tie the room together. The floors you put into a guest room can pull the whole look together and transform the room into a welcoming place where your guests want to spend time.
Similar Flooring Options
Check out flooring options similar to the Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak
Updating the Bonus Room – Budget-Friendly Home Renovation Ideas for Creating a Multifunctional Space
A bonus room can be the most-used room in the house, or it can be an awkward space you aren’t quite sure what to do with.
To create a bonus room that added functionality and comfort to their mountain retreat, Amber and Trey thought carefully about what the home still needed. They landed on an extra sleeping space for kids and extra storage for oversized gear.
A pair of bunk beds, a reading nook, long shelves made of reclaimed wood, and lots of new lighting transformed a dim, drab corner of the basement into a welcoming space for kids to hang out away from the grown-ups… along with a place to store skateboards, snowboards, fishing poles and anything else that might need to be stowed out of the way and up off the floor, but still within easy reach for going out to play.
Once again Amber and Trey created a clean, inviting look using a variety of neutral colors. And once again, it’s the careful choice in flooring that really pulls those neutrals together into a cohesive, pleasing palette.
Home Remodeling Ideas for Your Bonus Room
Pay attention to lighting. Good lighting makes a room inviting. It also makes it a space that people will want to spend time in. Include lots of lighting options in your bonus room to give visitors plenty of choices when it comes to how they’ll use the space.
Plan for the room’s role. Think carefully about the purpose you want your bonus room to serve. The best option for your bonus room will depend on what your specific house needs. Is it a playroom, a sleeping space, an entertainment room, an office, or something else?
Warm tones draw people in. Choosing a warm, rich tone for your floors can complement almost any décor, and will make your bonus room more inviting and usable.
Similar Flooring Options
Check out flooring options similar to the Bestlaminate Adduri EIR European White Oak
Start Your Own Home Remodeling Project
If you’re getting ready to start your own home improvement project, Bestlaminate is here to help!
Renovating a home is a big project and it helps to have both inspiration and guidance.
Hopefully you’ve found plenty of inspiration in Amber and Trey’s mountain cabin overhaul. (You can see all the before and after pictures of their cabin home remodel here.)
For guidance on choosing, installing, and maintaining floors, that’s where we excel.
You can visualize how different flooring options will look in your space with our Room Viewer.
You can plan for your flooring purchases more accurately with the aid of our Area Calculator.
And if you have questions or need advice, our team is ready to help you. As a small family-owned business, our commitment to your success is higher than what you’ll get from any big box store. From answering questions about planning your project to installing your floors to taking care of them after you’re done to celebrating your new look… we’re here every step of the way.