HGTV's Down Home Fab: Cowboy Contemporary Meets Car Crash Chaos

Chelsea and Cole DeBoer are back with a bang—literally—as Season 3 of HGTV's Down Home Fab kicks off with a plate-glass disaster, a sunroom demolition, and a heartfelt home makeover for a single mom of three. We’re recapping every wild turn in this premiere: Chelsea’s evolution from Teen Mom to design powerhouse, Cole’s mustache glow-up, and the transformation of a closet into a jewel-box home office.

We’ve got thoughts on weather continuity crimes, cabinetry crushes, and whether Chelsea is the new Joanna Gaines (hot take alert). Plus, your besties Shari and Rhonda spill the tea on all things slat walls, design inspo, and why performance fabric is the real MVP. #CowboyContemporary

Love and Kisses,

Rhonda and Shari

Find us at https://designingbesties.buzzsprout.com, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

Transcript

009 - DOWN HOME FAB S3 EP1 PREMIERE - FINAL

[00:00:00] Shari: When your dream renovation includes a private office space, but the sunroom isn't permitted, you know we're in for a wild ride

[00:00:06] Rhonda: And when a car crashes through your storefront just before your grand opening, it's more than just a design emergency. It's a full blown crash course.

[00:00:15] Shari: sure.

 Hi there, I'm Shari, and this is my BFF Rhonda.

[00:00:21] Rhonda: And welcome to Designing Bitches!

This podcast for women

[00:00:24] Shari: and brave men

[00:00:25] Rhonda: who eat, sleep, and breathe interior design and recognize their addiction to HGTV.

[00:00:31] Shari: Whether you're rearranging your living room for the 12th time or here to justify another HomeGoods spree. You're in the right place.

[00:00:37] Rhonda: Let's talk design, disasters, and all the beautiful chaos in between. 

[00:00:42] Shari: We meet Madison, a mom of three, who's juggling life, unfinished home projects, which I can totally relate to, and some serious health hurdles. She's basically a superhero without a cape.

[00:00:53] Rhonda: And lucky for her. Chelsea and Cole show up just like the home reno Avengers, even with their own store-opening chaos looming.

[00:01:02] Shari: This week we're diving into the Season 3 premiere of Down Home Fab, where Chelsea relates to Madison's journey as a former teen mom and delivers a makeover that's equal parts heart and high style.

[00:01:14] Rhonda: We've got thoughts on kitchen finish choices, home office miracles, and the power of slat walls, plus a few spicy takes on what the heck is with the weather in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

[00:01:26] Shari: Mm-hmm. So grab your drink of choice besties and join us for the kickoff of another season of Midwest Glam deBoer style.

[00:01:33] Rhonda: So I thought this episode should have been titled Nothing's Easy because. That felt like the energy they're trying to convey with opening the store and running a house with four kids and oh, one of those kids is learning to drive and the other one's sick by the way. And speaking of driving, someone drove through the plate glass window of the store, and while we're at it, let's work on a remodel for a single mother who bought a house with an unpermitted add-on falling off the foundation.

[00:02:02] Shari: Yeah, well, I felt like they already had all of this stuff on their plate, but the reason they took this job with Madison is because Chelsea really related to her and felt, and it almost seemed like she felt like, I can't really say no.

[00:02:16] Rhonda: Did you ever see her on Teen Mom? Did you ever watch Chelsea on

[00:02:19] Shari: No, I'm a reality show junkie, but I never watched 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom.

[00:02:25] Rhonda: You know, I'm not a reality TV watcher, and if I ever saw any clips of 16 and Pregnant, it was usually a crying baby, a teen mom looking like a worn out dish

[00:02:35] Shari: Oh yeah. I wouldn't,

[00:02:36] Rhonda: her own mom in the background, looking like she can't believe this is her life now. And the baby daddy either driving off or sitting on his ass playing video games because there just ain't no jobs out there.

So, it was really just too uncomfortable. 

[00:02:49] Shari: I 

[00:02:50] Rhonda: Too uncomfortable for me. Yeah. So.

[00:02:52] Shari: what though, on the funnier side, Chelsea's support for Cole's porn stash is so cute.

[00:02:58] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:02:59] Shari: And Cole, when he talks later in the episode about how mustaches are trending, you know he's actually right. They are.

[00:03:08] Rhonda: Are they? Mm.

[00:03:09] Shari: I'm still not a super fan. I like a clean shaven Cole better, but I just thought that was so cute when she's like, Ooh.

[00:03:17] Rhonda: Well, you know, you gotta keep that relationship alive and exciting. 

[00:03:20] Shari: I also thought as they're going through the house, that Madison did a great job of building that bench. I don't know is, you know, I'm the, the greatest at starting a project and not finishing it or thinking I can do anything and then I reach a point where I really don't know what I'm doing.

But she finished that project. It looked really good and I love that they used that as inspiration for the ultimate bench that goes in there.

[00:03:45] Rhonda: I was really impressed when she said she built that desk, because to me, that's next level. Right? That's something I would never even consider trying, as opposed to painting cabinets or hanging up wallpaper, right? Those are things that I feel comfortable with. But when she said, yeah, I built that bench, I honestly was like, get out.

Yeah, get out.

[00:04:04] Shari: The thing that's weird to me in this episode is that they rarely discuss specific budget numbers. 

They never talk about an initial budget.

[00:04:14] Rhonda: That's a good point.

[00:04:15] Shari: And as I was thinking about it, you know, we talk about quote unquote "HGTV Math," but honestly, it's a double-edged sword. If they talk about it, we just have all kinds of comments about how much we think those

[00:04:26] Rhonda: Yeah. How much?

[00:04:27] Shari: would really 

[00:04:27] Rhonda: Yeah. How bad. How bad. It's,

[00:04:29] Shari: Yeah. And if they don't, we're questioning that too. They do show some of the numbers later, like the removal of the sunroom was 6,600 bucks or something like that, but I couldn't remember from previous seasons if the budget discussion was more.

Upfront 

[00:04:48] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:04:48] Shari: and I don't know, but certainly for this episode, they really didn't talk a lot about budget numbers.

[00:04:53] Rhonda: Yeah, that's a good point. And I guess, you know, we can't be pleased, right? If, if they give 'em to us, we criticize 'em. And if we don't, we wanna know how much things cost. So, I did like that Chelsea immediately bonded with the client as she was a single mom. That reminded me of you, Shari, because you said, in previous jobs, whenever a single mom trying to get their degree at night, you would immediately bond with them. Like you would immediately be on their side, want them to succeed. And I felt like Chelsea was doing that when she was saying, you know, if you're successful working in this, you know, fill in the blank crappy office.

Imagine how good you'll be with a nice office. Like it felt like a little cheerleader for her. I just love that she wants her to succeed.

[00:05:34] Shari: Again, although we're gonna probably talk about this later, that I think the timeline is maybe not the real timeline. You know, it's gotta be pretty egregious when I who never question anything about reality tv. I'm thinking things that make me go hmm.

[00:05:50] Rhonda: yeah, yeah.

[00:05:52] Shari: I also liked that in this episode they were dealing with a lot of realities.

They can't make the kitchen bigger because of the prohibitive cost of moving stairs. So the kitchen and the breakfast nook have to stay where they are.

[00:06:06] Rhonda: Is what it is. Yes.

[00:06:08] Shari: Yep. And they wanna use the sunroom to create Madison's office, but as it turns out, that's unpermitted space, looks a little dangerous.

The cost of actually getting it up to code would be more than it's actually worth keeping

[00:06:22] Rhonda: I totally feel for somebody who has to pay 

money for less space. 

[00:06:28] Shari: Yeah, and I was thinking like, oh my God, how awful when the client hires you to make pretty spaces,

and pretty much the first thing you're telling them is that you have to destroy the sunroom and make your home smaller before they even start to make

[00:06:43] Rhonda: Your office is now a closet. I'm sorry. Yeah. I imagine that must be really hard to swallow. But Cole did mention, oh, by the way, this does increase the value of your house because your, your unpermitted room that's falling up the foundation is no longer. I mean, I don't think you could sell a house like that.

And part of me questioned how she bought a house like that.

[00:07:01] Shari: I question that a lot too.

[00:07:04] Rhonda: Yeah. Wouldn't an inspector come in and say, uh, yeah, no. this is not permitted?

[00:07:08] Shari: I feel like they should, but I certainly think that there's a lot of times when that doesn't happen.

[00:07:14] Rhonda: Hmm. Okay. Well, we, we see it a lot on Tarek's flips, right? That he, they come in and it's not,

[00:07:20] Shari: But he does no 

inspections. Like that's part of how he helps get 

[00:07:24] Rhonda: sale. Yeah. Cash sale's the only one that can do that. Right. So maybe she paid cash, I don't know.

[00:07:29] Shari: And then they end up, so they do demo the sunroom 

[00:07:32] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:34] Shari: which seemed like that was a good thing. But then they, they worry about, because there's kind of a hole in the dirt by where one 

of the posts is. And when they sent like their ground freezes to a depth of 42

inches, I actually looked it up where I live.

Like what is the frost depth?

[00:07:50] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:07:50] Shari: And here it's 24 inches and where you are, I would've thought zero. But actually it says it's 18 inches. And I'm like, that's gotta be a soft

18 inches 'cause there's no 

[00:08:02] Rhonda: happened. Come 

[00:08:04] Shari: I actually get real winter. I actually get a real winter. And I don't know. You guys don't really.

But what a sigh of relief when that footing in ends up being to code. I.

[00:08:15] Rhonda: Yeah, I felt like that was a little bit of the manufactured drama, which I don't know they really needed for this episode 

given all the other things happening in the background with their store. 

[00:08:25] Shari: But it did feel, it did feel really real to me in that a lot of people go into, I wanna make these things pretty in my house. So for instance, I'll use my house as, as an example, it's 30 years old and there are things where code has changed. And if I make a big change, 

I have to bring everything up to code.

And so you think something's gonna be simple, right? We'll use Joanna's term. It's gonna be a little mini reni and

holy, holy, you know what...

it's not a mini reni because you're having to do things you never expected to do that you didn't even think were part of the scope of what you were 

[00:09:02] Rhonda: yes. And again, you're paying for things that aren't the, the pretty things. And

to borrow from Joanna again, she's like, I just hate putting money into things that 

[00:09:10] Shari: Yeah. 

[00:09:11] Rhonda: you know? 

[00:09:11] Shari: So for me, it actually felt a little more real than it did feel about manufactured drama. I actually thought this felt like a real renovation.

[00:09:20] Rhonda: Because this was a slab, I assumed that that part was built to code, but you're right. Maybe the house was old and not built to code either way.

[00:09:30] Shari: I also really felt Chelsea on how small projects grow into something bigger.

, all my projects seem to go that way, and I think it's actually just my dysfunction

that where I start out with something that could be simple and I decide it's a Rubik's cube.

And before I can do that, I have to do this. And before I can do this, I have to do this other thing. And I maybe make it more difficult. It might just be my dysfunction on why things grow bigger.

[00:09:58] Rhonda: or just circumstances, well, if I do this, I have to fix this. And, you know, again, we, we've both been in that, that situation where just wanting to hang wallpaper ends up being, you know, a major project with 

[00:10:09] Shari: Yeah. 

I also wondered which came first, this episode with Cowboy Contemporary or Rock the Block's Cowboy Contemporary?

[00:10:18] Rhonda: The same thing.

Did she try that out on Rock the Block and went, Hmm, this fits? Yeah. I really like this because she's talking now about this is her style, right? This is her, her identity is now Cowboy Contemporary, and she describes it as rich, warm, rugged, and edgy, which she never did on Rock the Block.

So I have a feeling that she had time to think about what does cowboy contemporary actually mean?

[00:10:43] Shari: Yeah, because I don't know when this episode was filmed. it's supposed to be like in the spring, which would kind of make sense. Like they did Rock the Block last fall,

[00:10:52] Rhonda: yeah.

[00:10:52] Shari: and I feel like that this episode was probably done this year, so it kind of makes sense she would've refined it. This episode for the first time

[00:11:01] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:11:01] Shari: also made me think about Joanna Gaines.

[00:11:05] Rhonda: Me too. I put her 

[00:11:06] Shari: And I think of all of the couples who've come after Chip and Joanna, and how much HGTV has wanted to recreate that magic

with people like Aaron and Ben, Jenny Dave Marrs, Egypt Sherrod, and Mike Jackson. But these two, Chelsea and Cole actually remind me of the most of Chip and Joanna. Chelsea's more serious.

Cole's a little bit goofy, but Chelsea also has a definite point of view with her design that is not mainstream. And Joanna was not mainstream when she 

started out. Nobody was talking about modern farmhouse.

[00:11:45] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:11:46] Shari: Cole tries 

to be a design assistant and Chelsea shuts him down.

[00:11:50] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:11:51] Shari: They're focused on parenting and live on a farm.

Cole calls theirs a hobby farm. I don't know what the difference is. Maybe a working farm versus a, but I'm assuming even for Chip and Joanna, like that's a hobby farm.

[00:12:03] Rhonda: yeah. No, they said their animals are pets,

[00:12:05] Shari: yeah. we just need to see Chelsea having a late night doing the installation while Cole brings the kids and food 

over, and it would be complete, but I can imagine a year or two from now.

Thinking about like really, is Chelsea gonna be this generation's Joanna Gaines? 

[00:12:27] Rhonda: Well, I would hope so. I'd like to think so. 

they're a little more hip, I

[00:12:31] Shari: Mm-hmm.

[00:12:31] Rhonda: but maybe that's just my interpretation of the influencer lifestyle that sort of Chelsea embodies with nose rings and pink hair and fake eyelashes as opposed to Joanna, who's very zen down to earth organic, right?

[00:12:45] Shari: Joanna also had her own style, and I think about Chelsea similarly, that Chelsea has her own style and she's not, she's unapologetic for it, and I love that. I love that about both women actually.

Now, drama alert. During the demo, Chelsea gets a call and there's a car that's just driven through the front of their store. And just to point out, it's clearly full spring summer when Cole races to the store, 'cause we'll talk a little bit more about weather later on. Did that person think they were going in reverse?

[00:13:17] Rhonda: Yeah. That wheel has turned so hard that I think maybe she thought she was gonna straighten herself out and, uh, yeah. 

Right through the window.

[00:13:26] Shari: Cole and Chelsea have to get this fixed before their grand opening in

[00:13:29] Rhonda: Mm. 

Drama 

[00:13:31] Shari: Oh 

[00:13:31] Rhonda: tension. Oh gosh. Was anybody hurt? No.

[00:13:35] Shari: And when Chelsea's cleaning up and she's surprised about how far the glass went, I can totally relate 'cause I had a picture fall the other day and I still am finding pieces of glass where I swear I've cleaned it all up.

Luckily nobody was injured.

[00:13:48] Rhonda: anyone who's ever dropped Pyrex, like you, you find it years later, right? Like, where, how did this piece get over here? What the heck? Right? So, yeah. I'm imagining a giant window, like

that's certainly, 

[00:14:00] Shari: PS their store is right next to Starbucks, so I'm totally in, I would totally be a customer there for sure.

[00:14:06] Rhonda: I bet that got fixed right away.

[00:14:08] Shari: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:14:10] Rhonda: I was really glad to see their success at that grand opening, or at least what HGTV wanted us to think was a success. Right? Like all those people in there.

[00:14:19] Shari: Yeah. 

[00:14:21] Rhonda: I do hope it continues. I know Chip and Joanna, as we discussed, have set the standard on brick and mortar stores.

but I'm not sure how these go overall post 

[00:14:30] Shari: bet it does get a lot of business. There's a lot of chat on social media somewhere. I can't remember where, but it's pretty recent about the prices in their store.

[00:14:41] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:14:42] Shari: And it was so funny because whoever was commenting this was just thinking these were such overpriced items, but when they quoted the prices, I felt like this is the price of design in 2025, and it did not seem to me to be overpriced.

[00:14:58] Rhonda: Well, you're a person who regularly shops Crate and Barrel, so your standard or your calibration may be a little higher

than the 

[00:15:05] Shari: Maybe, but Crate and Barrel isn't 

even like the most expensive place you can like be and spend a whole lot more than Crate and Barrel.

[00:15:12] Rhonda: That's a good

[00:15:13] Shari: That's true. 

[00:15:13] Rhonda: a good point. Yeah. I, I know Karen and Mina on Good Bones, they had a store that they closed, but I'm not sure that was due to sales. it might have just been their

[00:15:24] Shari: Personal relationship. 

[00:15:25] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.

[00:15:27] Shari: I do worry about brick and mortar because during Covid those were hit so hard, but I also see people are wanting to get out and shop and let's be honest, what else are you gonna do in Sioux Falls?

[00:15:41] Rhonda: Well, 

[00:15:42] Shari: You're gonna 

[00:15:42] Rhonda: all those pets. You gotta feed all those pet cows. she does have her own flooring line, I guess. Uh, and then she has her wallpaper line. Lots of elk that, 

[00:15:56] Shari: I wouldn't put on my wall, but I love that, that's her niche with this cowboy

[00:16:02] Rhonda: It is, it is, it fits perfectly in that. And they have a, a lifestyle brand called Aubree Says, guess based, uh, their daughter's named Aubree, the one who was learning to drive. and it's sort of just jewelry and apparel, maybe more of an influencer thing as

opposed to a design thing. I don't know. I, 

[00:16:19] Shari: speaking about Aubree. It's so cute when Cole teaches Aubree to drive.

[00:16:25] Rhonda: And he seems so relaxed.

[00:16:27] Shari: I know I actually taught Matt to drive, and I remember we practiced parallel parking a lot near the university campus because parking is so crazy there, so it's a good test of your ability. He did pass his test on the first try, but like the deBoers, it's terrifying that your child who can't even keep their room clean is now gonna be 

[00:16:51] Rhonda: That was, yeah, that was funny. When she did say, basically, this girl can't cook chicken 

[00:16:56] Shari: Yes. In a 

[00:16:58] Rhonda: she's gonna be driving an SUV. Yeah. I have a similar story. My brother is six years younger than me and when he was learning to drive, he was telling me about how awful it was with my dad, who is

someone who really can't control his temper. So I thought, you know what? I'm gonna be the cool sister. I'm gonna be the cool sister. And I also took him down to the university, which is so funny 

that you did the same thing Yeah. Years later. But, it, it offers plenty of challenge, right?

 I had to keep saying, honey, you're gonna hit the curb. You're gonna hit the curb. Yeah. You're gonna hit the curb. Yeah. Okay. We hit the curb. Right. That kind of thing. I just remember trying to be relaxed and cool 'cause I'm not like my dad. Right. I'm not gonna yell, I'm not gonna get angry. But when we got outta that car, I remember my jaw hurt from actually clenching 

it the whole time. 

[00:17:46] Shari: I 

didn't feel that way even teaching Matt to drive. And honestly, you know, this is years ago and he's such a good little driver now,

[00:17:55] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:17:56] Shari: and he keeps his room clean. So I 

feel like, yeah, I've raised him. I've raised him well. 

And he spent a season working at a ski resort where, you know, at three in the morning in any kind of weather he is driving around Tahoe. I like, I have so much confidence in his driving. He really is a very responsible driver.

[00:18:14] Rhonda: Well, I will tell you, my brother is a shit driver,

so he's got, he got no better. He did pass his test, but he got no better.

[00:18:23] Shari: Well getting back to the episode I just wanna say I loved the dark cabinets with the grain showing, reminded 

me of the cabinets they used on Rock the Block, and they

[00:18:32] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I will tell you that my original cabinets I picked for this house were very similar to that, that sort of rough black cabinet is what I originally picked. And then of course, the builder called and said they're no longer working with that cabinet company, so I had to switch to my dark brown.

But I do in my office have some very similar Ikea, much cheaper versions of those dark, dark cabinets, those dark, rough cabinets with the flat, the flat face. I just think they're, they're lovely and they're modern. Right. They have a very

[00:19:04] Shari: Yeah, well, it was nice. They actually showcased the brand in this case, I'm assuming they got a 

discount, but it's, it's a company called Showplace Cabinetry, it's a national brand but they're located in South Dakota. So again, 

it was that kind of tie back to things that Joanna would do and that was 

using local businesses and they'd make beautiful cabinetry.

[00:19:28] Rhonda: Yeah, clearly. Clearly they do. I'm really impressed with that kitchen overall, the dark counters with the dark 

[00:19:35] Shari: I like 

a

little bit

more contrast. 

[00:19:38] Rhonda: Yeah, I'm, yeah, with the white walls, it felt kind of antiseptic. And quite frankly, I'm going to quote my favorite design goddess Egypt Sherrod,

 says, inject some color when a room is black and white and gray.

And I do imagine winters in South Dakota when you're looking out the window and it is a day without color, you know, just gray and white. I have a feeling like with your house that if she puts some plants in there, maybe like some, some tea towels or something that would, would bring some contrast.

[00:20:09] Shari: And there definitely is green in the living room area.

[00:20:12] Rhonda: Yes. She put

[00:20:13] Shari: they used it as a highlight. And also the other thing I always wanna point out, it may not be my taste, but clearly Madison loved it 

[00:20:21] Rhonda: Oh yes, clearly. 

[00:20:22] Shari: what matters.

[00:20:23] Rhonda: I, I will tell you, I would've, you know, it's not my taste either, but I'd have hugged her just as hard and said, thank you so much for doing this. This kitchen's beautiful with that built-in bench. It's beautiful.

[00:20:33] Shari: Here's where I'm a little confused about the change in weather that seems to occur over this episode. 

[00:20:39] Rhonda: Nothing gets by 

[00:20:40] Shari: and you know it has to be pretty obvious for a Little Miss Reality TV Believer.

[00:20:47] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:20:48] Shari: but they do the store opening

and from an aerial shot, all the trees are leafed out in green.

[00:20:54] Rhonda: Chelsea's wearing a miniskirt. 

[00:20:55] Shari: That's right. 

[00:20:56] Rhonda: She's not cold. That suggests spring and summer. And I actually looked on the internet and that grand opening was July 13th of 2024. 

[00:21:06] Shari: So definitely this was a summer opening. Her outfit and the condition of the trees makes perfect sense.

But then they're making us think that this

move in for Madison happened like right around the same time as the store opening,

[00:21:25] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:21:25] Shari: but when they do another aerial shot, the trees have all lost their leaves and there's snow for the move-in day for Madison. And then you have Cole talking about, oh, you just wait 20 minutes and the weather will change.

Which by 

[00:21:40] Rhonda: yes. 

[00:21:40] Shari: every location says that. And secondly, I thought, oh, HGTV put that in there to think they were gonna throw us off track.

[00:21:50] Rhonda: Yes.

Which 

[00:21:52] Shari: I may be blonde, but I'm not that blonde.

[00:21:57] Rhonda: I'm sure that they were having a production meeting and 

said. Oh my God. We have the most exciting thing with this car driving through a window and they were like, you know what, let's save that for the premiere even though it's gonna be six to eight months later. 

[00:22:09] Shari: I completely agree from a they, they have to, 

and to help Chelsea and Cole with their business, like highlight their business. I think it's a great that they included the grand opening as part of this episode, I am always a little curious about why couldn't you just be honest about the timeframe?

[00:22:31] Rhonda: I don't know.

[00:22:32] Shari: I 

would've been totally fine with that. Also, Chelsea, I love how vulnerable she is and she talks about being a teen mom and the goals for herself. It was so moving and inspiring. 

And we had just watched her talking about her daughter being sick and trying to get work done when she gets her daughter down.

And then I was just thinking, oh my gosh, even us preparing and doing this little podcast, like we don't have to worry about kids getting sick and that having an impact. 

[00:23:00] Rhonda: nope. 

[00:23:01] Shari: we have is, you know, Hector's snoring.

[00:23:03] Rhonda: Yes. Which he is right now. I'm

so sorry. yeah, but I still get a lot less done than Chelsea

[00:23:08] Shari: overall.

[00:23:09] Rhonda: Agree. She seems to be a high energy kind of

girl. Right. I'm sure you know, Cole clearly is spending a lot of time in the gym. He's looking more hunky than ever,

but, 

[00:23:17] Shari: and your fascination with Cole, like it's a

[00:23:20] Rhonda: well look at him. He's, no, I am, you know, 

just 

[00:23:27] Shari: married Uhhuh. 

[00:23:28] Rhonda: His hard work 

is paying 

[00:23:29] Shari: Listen to these episodes.

[00:23:30] Rhonda: No, absolutely not.

[00:23:32] Shari: He's never mentioned anything about Cole? 

[00:23:34] Rhonda: He does the standard.

I don't know how to find a podcast, but yet he watches podcasts all day. So yeah, I could take a hint

[00:23:42] Shari: well back to installation

day. Uh, the living room. You know, I am a big fan of a white gallery wall, and this living room looks great. There's a clear spot for the tv. You know, 

[00:23:54] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:23:54] Shari: the functionality. It'll go above the fireplace.

[00:23:57] Rhonda: Ugh, I don't like that, but

[00:23:59] Shari: And I, it is not my favorite either, but it's what a lot of designers do

because it 

it centers the focal point and

the green in there is of course the accent I use.

So I love that. I'm like, ah, yes. and Chelsea points out again that they didn't move any walls, 

but the space is used much more functionally.

[00:24:19] Rhonda: And beautiful.

[00:24:20] Shari: And beautiful, and that continues into the kitchen and the breakfast nook. They do remove the peninsula, but that's it. It looks a lot more open. It looks a lot more elevated, and that bench in the breakfast nook keeps the inspiration from Madison's original bench,

but it just is elevated and done very thoughtfully for a family of three kids or a couple of drawers in there.

It looks 

[00:24:46] Rhonda: Mm, mm-hmm. I do always appreciate that they took the peninsula out. I can't imagine that would be popular with a lot of people. Like a lot of people want that peninsula. but it did open up that kitchen to like she said, the chaos and traffic of three kids in and out. And, it just felt a lot bigger

[00:25:04] Shari: it did. 

[00:25:05] Rhonda: And again, it was just a beautiful kitchen. So

[00:25:07] Shari: And I loved those chairs in the breakfast nook. Those same chairs are in HGTV's Smart Home for 2025, 

[00:25:15] Rhonda: yes. 

[00:25:16] Shari: different color and fabric, and I 

love them in that game room. 

[00:25:19] Rhonda: is that fabric washable? Can you wipe that? Wipe that

[00:25:22] Shari: I'm assuming it's performance fabric for three kids. Um, I wonder if they're comfortable though. You know, Matt always says, I pick the most uncomfortable chairs. 

And I feel like this is, this is what good parenting is all about. You will sit in that chair and you will be comfortable. 

Um, 

[00:25:41] Rhonda: It looks good.

[00:25:42] Shari: that's right. I'm all about like, but does it look good?

And I just wonder, I wanna go find one of those and sit in them. They look almost like they'd be very ergonomic.

[00:25:53] Rhonda: Yeah. I think they look comfortable, but a lot of times you never

[00:25:56] Shari: You never know til you sit in them. 

[00:25:57] Rhonda: you get in it. Yes. 

You sit in it, 

[00:25:59] Shari: And I think we already talked about it, but I'm not the biggest fan of the minimal contrast between the cabinets and countertop.

[00:26:05] Rhonda: no. Mm-hmm. What'd you 

think of the backsplash? What'd you think of that backsplash, Shari?

[00:26:11] Shari: it, it wouldn't be my favorite.

[00:26:13] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:26:14] Shari: But I get that the idea that when you put mirror and it's reflecting a window, there's something about the light that it brings in.

That's a very smart choice for 

[00:26:24] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:26:26] Shari: I do think it very much fits with Madison's vibe.

[00:26:29] Rhonda: Yeah, I didn't really care for it because when it's such a dark kitchen, like it didn't stand out. I barely noticed the back splash to be quite honest, other than she mentioned it. I thought it was interesting, like she didn't let Madison pick a back splash. That's sort of feels like kind of the cool part about having a designer is having some things offered to you where you get to pick you you 

like. 

[00:26:50] Shari: though, is that. Is that actually true or is it just something we 

[00:26:56] Rhonda: yeah, that's a good point. 

[00:26:58] Shari: hub? I don't think they actually put backsplash in the other areas of the

[00:27:01] Rhonda: Yeah. Like I said, I didn't even notice it 

really, to be quite honest, until you mentioned that there was that mirrored backsplash. The mom hub is a gimmick because the whole kitchen is the mom hub, let's face

[00:27:10] Shari: A good point. Good point. 

[00:27:12] Rhonda: and she's got the oven and stove or countertop 

[00:27:15] Shari: She is gonna make her kids sit down in those uncomfortable chairs and

[00:27:21] Rhonda: They're like, I can't wait till I'm 18 and I can move out,

get a, get a, 

comfortable desk chair. 

[00:27:26] Shari: like, I'm gonna at least have a comfortable chair 

and that office. 

[00:27:31] Rhonda: with his girlfriend now and the chairs in their house.

[00:27:34] Shari: Now, you know what's funny is that when they moved into their last town home, she had a chair that she'd had forever that literally was one of those wood ladder back chairs.

Can you imagine a more uncomfortable chair 

for your desk? 

[00:27:49] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:27:50] Shari: And I joked with them about, Matt is the king of, don't make me use these uncomfortable chairs.

But here she had this chair that was probably even worse than the desk chair I had had for him before 'cause mine of course was from West Elm, 

but it didn't have arms because it went with everything else. And he wanted a gamer chair. And I'm like, uh, but a gamer chair wouldn't go with the aesthetic in here.

You know 

[00:28:15] Rhonda: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:28:16] Shari: that when he goes to a therapist years from now, he'll be like my mom...

[00:28:19] Rhonda: It's like, I'm just imagining his partner being like, what's with the chair fascination? Like, why can't we just buy a chair? Why do you have to sit in every chair?

[00:28:29] Shari: Right, that's right. 

Now 

[00:28:31] Rhonda: in the store? 

Yes. 

[00:28:34] Shari: office, 

it's the perfect little jewel box.

[00:28:37] Rhonda: So small.

[00:28:39] Shari: it's functional

and it gives her what she needed and she can shut the door and Chelsea does it with a glass door so it 

doesn't feel so closed off but she can lock the children out.

I bet it has a lock on the inside of the door.

[00:28:52] Rhonda: bet it does too. I do think it, I, when you talk about design looking intentional, I thought those doors to that office helped make it look 

intentional. Like that wasn't just a hallway or some storage closet that they made into a clo into an office. It looked intentional. Right? 

And that giant window that would make all the

[00:29:10] Shari: It would 

[00:29:10] Rhonda: sit in that small room and look out and see that never ending yard and the South Dakota prairie and uh, feel like you had plenty of space.

Right. 

[00:29:21] Shari: Anything else 

you have to say about this episode?

[00:29:24] Rhonda: I just, you know, will say that. When I saw that office and thought, that's never gonna work, I did a little, like, gut check with my own office and said, you know, I've expanded to fill my office with paper and files and, you know, whatever I can, I feel 

like if you have a small office like that, that you're a little more efficient with your space, 

right?

You're a little more controlled and maybe not quite so lazy with books and again, old things that I don't need to have in here. So I am, I'm inspired to do a little office purge here.

[00:29:54] Shari: Oh,

[00:29:55] Rhonda: Yes, yes. Uh, it's my intention.

[00:29:58] Shari: maybe we'll get to see a before and after.

[00:29:59] Rhonda: Oh, I should take a before and after, but I am embarrassed to take the before, to be quite

[00:30:03] Shari: We have a before cause we did post a picture of

your office. 

[00:30:07] Rhonda: well, I, I moved plenty of stuff out of the way for that, and

even that looks cluttered, so, 

yeah. Yeah, okay. You 

[00:30:14] Shari: heard it Besties. That's a 

little behind the scenes. 

[00:30:17] Rhonda: Sorry about that.

[00:30:18] Shari: right, well, let's wrap up our thoughts on this eventful episode. Poor Chelsea and Cole didn't even get a week's break between the Rock the Block finale and this premiere.

Ha ha ha. At least in TV time.

[00:30:32] Rhonda: Maybe the weather was legit. Maybe it really

does change like that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So Madison's home got a significant transformation beautifully blending functionality with Chelsea's signature Cowboy Contemporary style, staying true to herself. 

Chelsea and Cole renovated the living room, kitchen and created the perfect home office.

The only walls they removed were for the sun porch, which basically had to go bye-bye before a tornado took it off the house, uh, as it was not permitted and basically leaning into the neighbor's yard. So it's more, more a problem than solution.

[00:31:10] Shari: True. Now, I wanted to give a shout out for Chelsea's office drawings. We see so much online about AI and in particular about AI and design, but those were a real masterclass in real-deal design. They weren't AI. They're not Pinterest. They're just pure talent and a program called Design 2020.

[00:31:29] Rhonda: Hmm. Sounds like you're familiar with

this Design 2020. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

We have a special posting for this week's episode on Facebook and Instagram. Just before their grand opening, as we mentioned, someone drove into the store. And I mean, in through the plate-glass So, we are curious Besties, drop your worst home or retail renovation disaster in the comments.

We'd love to see it.

[00:31:53] Shari: Ooh, and don't be shy because believe me, between Rhonda and I, we have quite a few.

[00:31:58] Rhonda: We do still looking at a couple of them.

[00:32:00] Shari: As usual, we have some apologies to make. I'm sorry to people who confuse drive and reverse, the awesome people in Sioux

[00:32:10] Rhonda: Awesome.

[00:32:11] Shari: I'm sure there's plenty of super fun stuff to do, and anyone trying to make sense of the weather continuity in this episode.

[00:32:19] Rhonda: Oh, you might be the 

only person that noticed that Shari just saying,

[00:32:23] Shari: don't think so. I 

haven't checked 

[00:32:25] Rhonda: saying 

[00:32:25] Shari: but I feel like I'm not the only one.

[00:32:29] Rhonda: what the heck's with the weather? 

[00:32:32] Shari: If you are vibing with us and your brain is basically made of HGTV at this point, you need to catch up on all of our episodes at designingbitches.com. We're literally everywhere you listen to podcasts, so hit that follow, like, star or whatever button your app throws at you. We're not picky. We're just needy.

Well, until next time, besties. Bye.

[00:32:52] Rhonda: Bye. See you soon.