HGTV's Home Town: Contractor Chaos, Cast-Iron Comebacks, and Color Drenched Dreams

HGTV’s Home Town - Season 9, Episode 16 - “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”
Erin and Ben Napier close out the season with a rescue reno for Rose Meyer, a retired English teacher who moved cross-country—only to be ghosted by her contractor and left with a gutted shell of a house. With a tight budget, a clawfoot tub crisis, and no open floor plan in sight, the Napiers bring vintage flair and 1950s charm to life in Laurel, Mississippi.

Shari and Rhonda are recapping every design choice—from the cast-iron sink revival to the harlequin porch paint to a custom built-in that had them swooning and side-eyeing the TV placement. Plus, we talk pink tile, retro stoves, and the return of chintz (?!).

💬 Bonus: This week’s special post asks which vintage feature you'd keep in your dream home. Sink, stove, wallpaper? Come tell us!

👉 Subscribe, stream, and snark with us at https://designingbesties.buzzsprout.com
and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

Love and Kisses,

Rhonda and Shari

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

Transcript

21 - FINAL AUDIO - HOMETOWN S9 E16

[00:00:00] Shari: If I ever buy a house sight unseen and the contractor disappears with my deposit, please send help. And a sledgehammer.

[00:00:07] Rhonda: And if that house happens to be in Laurel, Mississippi, make sure Erin and Ben Napier are on speed dial.

[00:00:15] Shari: Hi there, I'm Shari, and this is my BFF Rhonda.

[00:00:18] Rhonda: And welcome to Designing Besties. This podcast is for women.

[00:00:22] Shari: and brave men

[00:00:23] Rhonda: who eat, sleep, and breathe interior design and recognize their addiction to HGTV.

[00:00:28] 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.

[00:00:35] Rhonda: Let's talk design, disasters, and all the beautiful chaos in between. 

[00:00:39] Shari: This week on designing besties. We are recapping the Hometown Season 9 finale. It's called, "Everything's Coming Up Roses."

[00:00:47] Rhonda: And it is, but only after Erin and Ben swoop in to save Rose Meyer's Retirement Dreams from contractor chaos.

[00:00:56] Shari: Poor Rose bought her house online, moved cross country, and found out it wasn't just a fixer, it was practically just a foundation with a roof.

[00:01:05] Rhonda: Ugh. Let's not forget the contractor who gutted the whole place and then ghosted her. Sir, we have words.

[00:01:12] Shari: But the Napier's work, their signature Laurel Magic, inspired by wallpaper, rose's, love of color, and a floor plan that finally makes sense.

[00:01:20] Rhonda: So grab your sweet tea or a deceptively strong mint julep and settle in. Because this episode brought the feels, the florals and. The retirement dreams. And Shari, do you know why Southern ladies sip on those pretty frilly drinks?

[00:01:35] Shari: I have no idea.

[00:01:36] Rhonda: Because they like their cocktails, like their personalities. Sweet looking with a punch that will knock your hat off.

[00:01:43] Shari: Well, bless your heart, Rhonda. So I normally am not a watcher of Hometown. I did watch an episode earlier this season, she's redoing the house for an artist and so she likes gallery walls and Erin gets all of the info on like what color white they use 

If I was gonna watch Hometown, that was my episode.

[00:02:04] Rhonda: The white walls episode,

[00:02:07] Shari: The White Walls episode it because Erin's aesthetic definitely works for her fans and clients, but it's very busy for me. And I generally watch HGTV shows for the design element. Like I love to watch that and I don't normally seek this show out.

Also, there was one season where the promos Hader saying Just do it, it really turned me off and I should probably process that. It's probably because I was just doing nothing that I felt personally attacked when she would

say that But I will tell you, this show Sure does have staying power over 150 episodes plus a spinoff called Hometown Takeover, which I love.

[00:02:47] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:02:47] Shari: They have a line of furniture, a line of lighting, and a store in their Hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. 

So, so 

[00:02:53] Rhonda: That is success. 

[00:02:55] Shari: yeah, quite successful. 

[00:02:57] Rhonda: So I am drawn to Hometown. I've watched many, many of the episodes. these two definitely have charm and charisma, For days.

[00:03:06] Shari: Yeah. They do.

[00:03:07] Rhonda: I just love their relationship and it's just sweet.

When Ben says, uh, everything he builds is just him trying to impress Erin. know like he's just so in love with her and it's sweet. Like I said, it's sweet. It's, it's heartwarming, I guess would be the right word. And I also like her style as sort of that boho artist. even though I do prefer, you know, more of the, clean modern lines, I am drawn to the idea of a little cottage with that sort of boho charm to it.

[00:03:36] Shari: I just wanna point out besties that I've been to Rhonda's house and nowhere in her house will you find Boho charm 

[00:03:42] Rhonda: But I'm drawn that would apply.

I'm drawn to it.

[00:03:46] Shari: just wanna keep us honest. Rhonda. I

[00:03:48] Rhonda: this, this, this style is often called grand Millennial style, 

meaning vintage items. 

[00:03:56] Shari: I belong to a Facebook group for the grand millennials because there is a part of me also that loves to see Maximalist style,

but I, I absolutely could not live with it.

[00:04:07] Rhonda: but, uh, yeah, vintage items, wicker chintz.

[00:04:10] Shari: Chintz is coming back. It's

[00:04:13] Rhonda: it is, it is. But above all, modern an amenities.

[00:04:17] Shari: Amenities.

[00:04:19] Rhonda: I'm not saying that right above all modern amenities.

[00:04:23] Shari: Yes. It almost sounds like you're saying Amity and I immediately think of jaws this the 50th anniversary of Jaws. So besties, this where mind goes, my mind goes, I'm like, we should be doing a podcast episode on Jaws.

[00:04:36] Rhonda: It is US 50th anniversary. It's everywhere. Right now. I almost ordered a pair of pajamas with jaws theme

[00:04:42] Shari: for for my no, for my trip.

what?

[00:04:47] Rhonda: I know am obsessed with jaws. I'm obsessed with Jaws, but let's become besties obsessed with this client. back to the Her name is Rose Meyer, and she moved from California. She was retiring. She had a host of jobs

[00:05:02] Shari: during her 

[00:05:03] Rhonda: Jack of all trades. Jack of all trades. Police officer cowgirl, seventies hottie.

[00:05:09] Shari: Yeah, but she retired from being an English teacher in California and I, I grew up in California, so of course I feel an affinity there. And she said, I, I looked at what I really wanted. I wanted a small town, and I can relate because when I left Vegas, I definitely was seeking a small town. I didn't wanna spend an hour and a half to cross town anymore. so she wanted a small town and she said, I wanted something with a theater and check Laurel has one. I wanted something with a museum and check. Laurel has one. And I started thinking, you'd only know Laurel has it if you're like, you're targeting Laurel already. So I feel like she was already a fan of Laurel, probably from the show Hometown.

[00:05:49] Rhonda: presume, I wonder If

anybody's ever looked at that, right? And it checked. all of her boxes, and she bought the house online. She had never seen it in person, but it was listed for a hundred K. She ends up buying it for 125, and she knew it was in bad shape, but when she sees it in person, like it's not even livable.

So would you ever buy a house, a sight unseen, online line,

[00:06:12] Shari: I bought my house site unseen online.

[00:06:16] Rhonda: and you didn't feel in any way worried about that?

[00:06:20] Shari: but he took me through like FaceTime to look at it, and I had been through a house that was the exact same floor plan,

[00:06:26] Rhonda: Okay. Okay.

[00:06:27] Shari: Whatever it was, I knew I was gonna renovate it. so no, like I, I literally bought my house sight unseen. I didn't see it until the day I literally came up to close.

[00:06:37] Rhonda: you didn't worry that you couldn't smell it.

or hear it. no, because I trusted my realtor.

Mm. Okay.

[00:06:43] Shari: But yeah, so I bought my house sight unseen.

And Ben says, when we meet Ben and Erin, this was the low house

[00:06:52] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:06:53] Shari: and it's a two bedroom, two bath, 1700 square feet Built in 1953.

[00:06:59] Rhonda: A charmless box. Really?

[00:07:00] Shari: saw it.

[00:07:02] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:07:02] Shari: I loved the way they had done the steps off from the porch, like in that kind of cascading square. I just, there's something about it. And of course it's a 1950s house and if there's any century, I love for design, it's mid-century modern,

so I loved that about it. now she hires a contractor and she did her due diligence.

She makes sure the contractor was licensed. She puts 50% down, which was I think 80 k.

[00:07:28] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:07:29] Shari: But the contractor didn't finish. He did all the demo. He left her with a shell, so even more unlivable than it was before. And Erin says that maybe he did 10% of the work

and then he took off. 

[00:07:42] Rhonda: Um,

[00:07:42] Shari: But it's almost two years later and she's living in an apartment.

[00:07:46] Rhonda: Uh, a tiny, tiny apartment. Yes.

[00:07:48] Shari: Yes. And she really wants to renovate her house and finish it.

 So lucky for her, Erin and Ben show up to 

[00:07:54] Rhonda: Yeah, for a second I thought we'd see Mike Holmes and family show up and we'd get a, you know, twofer, 

HGTV's like, oh, we missed it, we missed our opportunity.

[00:08:07] Shari: Rose actually starts to cry when Erin shows her the watercolor rendering of the facade because it's in green, which is Rose's favorite color. Also, Erin's favorite color and also my favorite color. 

So I 

[00:08:21] Rhonda: I wanna stop with favorite color. We're not in kindergarten anymore.

[00:08:26] Shari: I still am 

[00:08:27] Rhonda: like, I 

[00:08:28] Shari: color.

[00:08:29] Rhonda: all, we all like all colors, just versions of it.

[00:08:32] Shari: Okay.

[00:08:33] Rhonda: I mean, if she had painted the 

[00:08:35] Shari: Is there anything you Yellow. If she had painted the house yellow, I think Rose would've said, I love yellow. Yellow's my favorite. Or 

[00:08:43] Rhonda: purple. Oh, I love 

[00:08:45] Shari: I, I don't think so. I believe whatever they tell me on these shows, you know, 

[00:08:49] Rhonda: Of course, of course. Yes. And again, anyone who uses as much color as Erin she may say green's her favorite, but her actions say she doesn't have

[00:08:58] Shari: No, I believe it. Erin and I are like, we're like besties now because 

we both have green as our favorite

[00:09:03] Rhonda: You and Alison too, right? Alison loves green

coincidence. Yeah. Mm-hmm. 

[00:09:09] Shari: But no open floor plan for Rose. She describes that she likes a rustic style. Erin says that Rose has an eclectic style with a 1950s aesthetic.

[00:09:19] Rhonda: Yes. Then they foreshadowed the design challenge of kitchen sink in the stove, right? That was always gonna be a problem for them.

[00:09:27] Shari: Yeah. And it so much reminded me of my grandparents' house.

[00:09:31] Rhonda: It did.

[00:09:32] Shari: So my grandparents had this old home in Santa Barbara and it had original plaster walls. They ended up doing a drop ceiling, they took all the character out of the home, but they did like that pistachio green kitchen with black.

My grandmother has this old ancient stove that now would be worth a lot, but it kind of reminded me of the one that Rose was in love with.

[00:09:57] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:09:58] Shari: And then I see that sink and I am, honestly, I'm sort of looking at the things that have to go in and then the process that they're going to use to change the color and make the refrigerator and the appliances look more retro.

[00:10:14] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:10:14] Shari: I think I can tell, this may not be one of my favorite finished designs.

[00:10:20] Rhonda: I, 

[00:10:21] Shari: I,

love mid-century modern, but I'm just like, oh, I don't know if I'm gonna love this, but 

[00:10:27] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:10:29] Shari: interested to see how it played out.

[00:10:29] Rhonda: Well, I, I was curious with the, pistachio again, 'cause we saw that with Alison's basement on rock the block, right? The green with the pistachio again. And I didn't think it worked there and I didn't think it worked in this kitchen. I, I thought the white with those, with those cabinets looked much better than the pistachio just looked

[00:10:46] Shari: I started feeling a little mean girl. Like, you're not gonna make fetch happen, you're not gonna make pistachio happen. But apparently maybe it's just 

like, maybe it's just me. 

[00:10:56] Rhonda: Roll over. Take it. Yeah. It's coming.

[00:11:00] Shari: And for the back bedrooms. Ben says, look, the budget doesn't allow us to do anything more than just basically drywall. These like make it livable, but they're not gonna be able to do anything else.

And then Rose talks about in her bathroom, she likes her tub and shower separate. So I'm like, oh yeah, 

[00:11:15] Rhonda: yes, 

[00:11:16] Shari: room here.

[00:11:19] Rhonda: I don't know. They've done a wet, wet room on Hometown.

It's just 

really not Erin's 

style. 

[00:11:23] Shari: this is the second episode I'm watching, so I really have no idea. 

[00:11:27] Rhonda: Okay. Okay. 

[00:11:28] Shari: I will tell you that I, I actually don't even have much experience in the south.

[00:11:33] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:11:34] Shari: but I did go there for a conference, like an emergency management conference years ago, and it was all about TWA flight, what? 800.

Besties. If you're not familiar with it, you can Google it. It was a, a pretty big disaster and it ended up, the reason you don't see TWA as an airline today, kind of started with that, but I was in Knoxville, Tennessee.

[00:11:55] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:11:56] Shari: It was literally my first trip to the south. Oh no. I guess I had been to Disney World one time before, 

[00:12:01] Rhonda: A lot of people don't consider that the south, just to

say. 

[00:12:05] Shari: a whole afternoon before my flight.

Before I was leaving, by the way, I was flying TWA, so you can 

imagine, you know, I just did this whole seminar on what went wrong with TW Flight 800, and then I get to get on a TW plane, 

[00:12:18] Rhonda: Nice. Mm-hmm. 

[00:12:20] Shari: So I have like hours and hours. Before I have to catch my flight, the conference is done. And of course, the thing that I wanna do is shop. I have extra time. There's a mall. So I find a taxi. This is before Uber, so I find a taxi. You can take me to the mall, but I have my luggage. And the thing I noticed about the south is how friendly people are. And when you've lived in Las Vegas. It's a little off putting. Like people are too friendly. is he friendly or is he a serial killer? I don't know. it's almost off putting because I'm not used to people actually smiling at you and saying hi and good morning.

And so I get this taxi and I am telling the guy that I'm gonna go to the airport and he's like, I'll just keep your luggage. I go, okay,

[00:13:07] Rhonda: Absolutely not.

[00:13:08] Shari: now, now nowhere else would I do this, but I'm like, fine, I don't have to deal with my luggage. So I spend the day shopping. We arrange for him to pick me up at five o'clock.

He's right there. There's my luggage. And so I feel like one of the things about the south that's different than from where I live is just the natural friendliness of people. Which I, by the, by the end of my stay, I'd kind of gotten used to it. Also, it's a weird conversation in the airline when the TWA agent says, have you been in control of your luggage for the entire, like, since you packed it?

And I said, well, no, like the taxi driver had it for hours. And she looks at me, she goes, oh, okay.

[00:13:47] Rhonda: Yeah, 

[00:13:48] Shari: Anyway, it was fine. This was before nine 11. It probably would've been a very different conversation at that point. But at any rate. I do love the friendliness of the South, and I see it in this episode.

I can also see some of that coming through, like just how friendly people are there.

[00:14:06] Rhonda: I would tell you that I've been all over the United States, almost every state and everywhere I go, people are friendly except for Philadelphia Airport. That's the only place I got yelled at.

[00:14:16] Shari: Oh, what did you do?

[00:14:17] Rhonda: I just going the wrong way. Not doing what this guy wanted me to do. You this, a police officer was there just yelling, which I was working with the chief of police in Philadelphia, so I, I thought, you know, you're lucky I don't call my your boss, but Yeah, I, I almost went, Karen, I thought, yeah, just screw it.

Go home. But anyway,

[00:14:34] Shari: well, I like to go running wherever I go. So I've gotten yelled at in multiple states. You know, apparently on the Golden Gate Bridge, there's only one side that you can run in one direction. There's bicycles on the other side, so heaven forbid you don't know the rule 

[00:14:49] Rhonda: Lots of 

[00:14:49] Shari: rules. side Yes. Yes.

[00:14:52] Rhonda: the entire, the entire 

[00:14:54] Shari: consult, they are 

[00:14:55] Rhonda: sweating 

[00:14:56] Shari: buckets. they 

[00:14:56] Rhonda: look 

[00:14:57] Shari: like they're taking advanced Zumba class. 

I mean, it's so uncomfortable in that house and 

they're trying to act 

normal. Like this is 

and 

the front porch is all screened in, so I'm thinking 

sweat and bugs. 

So I don't know that I would trade the friendliness for the sweat and bugs. I'll live in my 

unfriendly 

city. 

[00:15:19] Rhonda: you know, that humidity makes those beautiful trees. I dunno if you notice in the background of her house, she

had some lovely landscaping in the back. Just those gorgeous big trees. Right. So that's, that's what you get. You get those beautiful hydrangeas and roses grow lovely and everything, you know,

loves humidity. I guess it's the good with the bad. Every

[00:15:38] Shari: place has its own puts and 

[00:15:39] Rhonda: sweet and sour.

[00:15:40] Shari: So besties you can tell us like your sweet and sour about 

[00:15:43] Rhonda: yes. Yes. but yes, sometimes they can hide that humidity from the filming, but usually Ben cannot. I think he said one time that it was like a three shirt day. You know, he'd gone through three, three t-shirts in one day. So one filming. So

[00:15:58] Shari: Now as they go through the renovation of this,, they spend a lot of film time showing us hanging drywall, and I'm 

just like HGTV and we don't care.

We know that the Drywall,

goes up, but I don't need to spend a, like, that's when I'm gonna get up and go get a rock. Yeah. Lots of sheet rock. Yeah, 

you're right, they didn't call it drywall. 

Maybe they said sheet rock, 

[00:16:19] Rhonda: I 

looked it up. 

[00:16:21] Shari: but I don't know.

[00:16:22] Rhonda: It's like kleenex and tissue apparently.

[00:16:24] Shari: Oh, okay.

Okay. 

[00:16:25] Rhonda: a sheet rock, I guess is a brand name, and drywall is the

[00:16:28] Shari: Oh.

[00:16:29] Rhonda: name.

[00:16:30] Shari: Now, of course it's not an episode on HGTV if we don't have some drama. So the contractor shows, Ben, that the, I call them the eaves, have not been framed appropriately by the contractor that ghosted rose and they're sagging. So all the soffit and fascia have to come down and be installed.

Appropriately, and that's gonna cost about an extra three K. And they're able to do it within the budget.

[00:16:54] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:16:55] Shari: And even Erin points out that they're doing so much to this house, that it will basically be a new house. And the challenge she's finding as a designer is that she wants to make sure it still has the character of the 1950s house, that it really is.

[00:17:08] Rhonda: Yeah, I called that design challenge number two. You know, the house doesn't have much character, do you put that character in? And I 

think

Erin is 

just the designer for 

[00:17:17] Shari: Yeah, 

[00:17:17] Rhonda: clearly knows 

how, how to do that. 

[00:17:19] Shari: absolutely. I think they did a 

great job. I'll tell you when they're working on the bathroom and they do the built-in in the bathroom with the arches, oh my God. I was thinking, is there a place in my bathroom I could do that? Because I. I was in love with it, and actually there's just not space in my bathroom, 

[00:17:39] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:17:40] Shari: budget,

[00:17:41] Rhonda: Yeah. You'd have to do like a wet room along that wall and have the arch,

[00:17:45] Shari: never trade that off. I got it. I got it.

And it's green, so of course I'm 

just totally in love. 

[00:17:53] Rhonda: Yeah. Green. Mm-hmm.

[00:17:54] Shari: But because the bathroom in there originally was pink.

They're gonna do pink tile in the shower. And I'm like, Ugh.

[00:18:01] Rhonda: So I'm torn with this because initially I hated it. Almost every reaction to pink tile or that green that comes from the fifties, I reject like, oh, I couldn't stand looking at that. But I've been reading a lot about bathrooms since I'm looking at my own and people are, oh, what's the right word?

Pointing out, designers are pointing out, you don't spend that much time in your bathroom. Like actually add up the time you spend in your bathroom. It, we're putting all this money and design into bathrooms when really it's one of the least visited rooms in the house. 

[00:18:33] Shari: Good point. 

[00:18:34] Rhonda: after reading about that, I thought, you know, it, it would be kind of charming to visit pink tile a couple times a day.

Right. As

[00:18:42] Shari: Well, I will give you the 

[00:18:44] Rhonda: at it. Yeah. 

[00:18:45] Shari: house in Santa Barbara, and then next time I think you go to Santa Barbara every August 

you 

[00:18:50] Rhonda: try to. Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:51] Shari: bathroom is still this 

beautiful pink tile. 

[00:18:54] Rhonda: Well, you know, like we watch Bargain Block, right? The guys up in Detroit, they see a lot of that. 

[00:18:59] Shari: You know that got canceled.

HGTV renewing it. It's

[00:19:03] Rhonda: That is, uh, I'm 

gonna, I'm

gonna write a strongly worded letter. 

[00:19:07] Shari: Mm-hmm. 

[00:19:08] Rhonda: but yeah, Nicole up there in Detroit, she also sees a lot of that pink tile.

[00:19:12] Shari: It was a 

thing. Now a couple of other problems crop up in the bathroom. One for this pink tile that they're going to use. The tile guy, the contractor says, look, the level, the height, because they've closed in a carport and where they closed it in, it affects these bathroom walls, and they're not exactly the same height.

[00:19:34] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:19:34] Shari: of us don't have, ours aren't totally square either, but this one's more noticeable.

[00:19:39] Rhonda: certainly

with

Subway 

[00:19:40] Shari: And he says like, depending on how you run the tile, the changes in ceiling height are gonna be more obvious rather than not. And Erin eventually decides on a vertical running bond.

[00:19:51] Rhonda: enjoyed the problem solving little segment 

[00:19:53] Shari: I enjoyed that too, and I liked how she came to the decision and how it's gonna make it sort of a not your eye will, will 

not stop on it 

[00:20:00] Rhonda: yeah. Why is it crooked? Yeah.

[00:20:02] Shari: And then they also, so she buys a tub and I feel like everyone out there can relate to this.

You buy something 

[00:20:09] Rhonda: thing. 

[00:20:10] Shari: and you buy a faucet and these things are supposed to 

[00:20:12] Rhonda: Uhhuh, 

[00:20:13] Shari: together. So how often have you bought things that are supposed to work?

[00:20:16] Rhonda: it says online. This goes with

[00:20:18] Shari: This 

works and then it's clear that that faucet setup is not going to work with that tub and they try a variety of things to make it work.

I've also been in that, in 

that phase as well, they don't want to, it's concrete underneath,

so they don't wanna move the 

plumbing. Yeah. 

because that would be a big project, and they're working with a tight budget, so they finally end up putting it on the wall, which I think actually it's one of those things in design where the solution becomes more beautiful than the original design would have.

So in the original design, it would've been in her tub, it would've been kind of in her way.

And she would have to lean all the way forward to turn it on. Mine is like that today, so I know like I have to lean all the way forward to get some more hot water and now they put it on the wall and it It sits like kind of midway from the tub and I just thought, oh, what a beautiful solution.

It turned out like so nice and I loved the look of that clawfoot tub.

[00:21:20] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

 It was perfect. And again, the solution, I'm so glad it didn't come out janky, you know, 

[00:21:26] Shari: And then they 

bring in a decorative 

painter 

[00:21:30] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Bekye, 

[00:21:31] Shari: who's going to 

[00:21:33] Rhonda: and new way to spell Bekye?

[00:21:34] Shari: Ah, and she's helping, she's basically helping Erin out, 'cause the budget's really tight 

to paint the front porch.

[00:21:42] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:21:43] Shari: create a little bit of a wow factor.

[00:21:45] Rhonda: Yeah, when I looked into a, uh, hiring an artist, uh, it's, it was about a thousand bucks a day. 

It was standard, you know, 

[00:21:52] Shari: pretty expensive. 

[00:21:53] Rhonda: yeah, doing that porch would've been, a good five to 10 K 

[00:21:56] Shari: Well, I like the pattern. The artist comes up with a harlequin pattern with insets of roses and as an homage to rose, the owner and the wallpaper she's picked out for the dining room. But when I see it in a reality, the insets get a little busy for me. And I would've loved just a plain checkerboard pattern.

[00:22:14] Rhonda: Yeah, me too.

I agree. 

[00:22:15] Shari: like, it wasn't that I didn't love it the way it was, but I would've loved it a little more if it had been a little simpler.

[00:22:20] Rhonda: Uh, that was an example of the drawing. I thought was just, oh, wow, wow, wow. Right. And then when it was executed, it, I don't know, it didn't, the roses didn't come out quite, quite as I thought they would. 

[00:22:32] Shari: And, then in a little foreshadowing in my notes, Erin has this wallpaper sample that's from Rose.

[00:22:40] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:22:40] Shari: And Rose wants to incorporate in the dining room, and I look at the wallpaper sample and I think, oh, like I, I do love a floral, I want mine to be a little more neutral. And, and, and in my notes I wrote like, I want it neutral and oversized. Because it makes it feel a little more updated and modern and than I see in the episode that when Erin actually does it, she blows it up. So it is oversized still with all the color, but very oversized. And I'll tell you what, even with the color, like I loved It 

[00:23:09] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:23:10] Shari: It just gave it enough of that modern touch.

[00:23:13] Rhonda: yeah.

[00:23:13] Shari: And then that wallpaper became the basis for all the color they used in the house. 

[00:23:19] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:23:19] Shari: So every color came. Out of that 

[00:23:22] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:23:23] Shari: and literally not a white wall in this house.

[00:23:26] Rhonda: Nope. 

Nope. I didn't even look at the ceilings, but yeah. 

[00:23:29] Shari: and then Ben builds a beautiful built-in for the living room, like it's 15 feet wide, but he adds these diamonds.

And again, I'm kind of like, ah, Coco. Chanel would say, take one thing off. Like, just take that off.

[00:23:42] Rhonda: This supplies to woodworking as well?

[00:23:44] Shari: Because of course I like more simple clean lines, 

and then he builds out the area for the tv.

So it ends up being a little recessed in the wood. And of course, what I'm thinking of is. and maybe it's just me, although I know it's not. 'cause I recently listened to an episode of Giggly Squad 

and they talk about like, who sits on their couch?

Nobody. We lounge on our couches, we lay on our couches. Like I never go in my living room and sit on my couch 

[00:24:13] Rhonda: Yeah. I have someone over. And then I'm just, I want to lay down, but it would be rude with someone else over. But if I'm watching TV in the living

[00:24:21] Shari: room. I, I 

I, am lounging on my couch,

and I'm just thinking the height of that TV and the fact that it's recessed, it would not work for me.

It wouldn't work for me.

[00:24:35] Rhonda: Well, I sit on my couch now. My couch

has 

built in recliners, so 

you know it is, yeah. I feel a little torn here. I, I'm just, I was raised, we were not allowed to lay down and watch tv. don't know why. Control freaks my parents,

[00:24:54] Shari: Well, I 

was 

[00:24:54] Rhonda: had to 

[00:24:55] Shari: drink soda or have sugar cereals, but I 

[00:24:58] Rhonda: here you are. 

[00:24:59] Shari: Here I am.

[00:25:01] Rhonda: I am not saying I never laid, if I'm laying down on my couch, it's to take a nap.

[00:25:05] Shari: Okay. Okay.

[00:25:06] Rhonda: All right. And I'll have the TV on, don't get me wrong, but, it is to take a nap. If I'm watching tv, I'm sitting up.

[00:25:11] Shari: Yeah. Now the 

kitchen. That sink that she had, which was original to the house, and so she wanted to keep it. I cannot believe how good they made that

look. 

[00:25:21] Rhonda: know I've seen a couple of these restorations, I call them magical.

this, rusted out, you know, like that is gonna look like a junkyard in the house. And the, the magic. These people work, these experts that know how to do this. I will say. It does look like a superfund site with those chemicals.

You know, this looks very dangerous. Should you be breathing those fumes or 

should, 

[00:25:42] Shari: don't know.

[00:25:44] Rhonda: should this be legal? This feels very dangerous, but they do a fantastic job. I agree with you there.

[00:25:49] Shari: They do. And it also makes me think about some of these older things we have in our homes are just built with better quality. Like a cast iron sink is ultimately gonna outlive,

[00:25:59] Rhonda: Yes. 

[00:26:00] Shari: you know, this little flimsy sink I have.

[00:26:03] Rhonda: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:26:04] Shari: and then Mike, the flooring installer shows up and even Rose is excited and talks about, oh, like she gets Mike in her house.

[00:26:13] Rhonda: what, what is

the deal with Mike 

[00:26:15] Shari: What is it about Mike that makes him the favorite?

[00:26:18] Rhonda: Why is Mike the, uh, yeah, the fan favorite? I don't know.

[00:26:22] Shari: But he seems very nice. He was also in the episode, , the one other episode I watched. And literally his floors, like what he does with the floors, you would never know that there's any mix between old and new.

[00:26:34] Rhonda: He seems to be a master at it.

[00:26:36] Shari: He does. And then Erin talks about the coloring that they're using and what she wants.

And I think that's when you know you have a professional doing it versus, I just decided I want different colored floors today and I'm gonna go pick it out

[00:26:49] Rhonda: Yeah, it was confusing to me. I wasn't exactly sure what they were doing with

[00:26:52] Shari: the 

50% color 

[00:26:54] Rhonda: Yeah. again, it came out beautiful. 

[00:26:55] Shari: it did. 

[00:26:56] Rhonda: So they must know what they're doing with that sort

of, 

stain. 

[00:26:59] Shari: Speaking of color. We talked about it a little. They really color saturate the kitchen, and that's what my note says. But truthfully, they color saturated every room in this house. And again, Erin pulled from that inspiration wallpaper.

[00:27:14] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:14] Shari: And it reminded me too, of how important it is to have a source of inspiration when you're doing a redesign 

or a renovation. 

[00:27:22] Rhonda: Yes. Keep that 

[00:27:23] Shari: it's often a pillow, a piece of fabric. There's something about the textural nature of that that 

really inspires me but they color saturate the whole house. And going back to the flooring, I like that she makes the flooring less dark because of the darker elements in the rest of the house.

And 

I feel like it kind of balances it

[00:27:44] Rhonda: I agree.

[00:27:45] Shari: and it's kind of the opposite of how you would normally do it with the floor kind of anchoring the room. But it really works. And this 

final design, while it's not my, like it wouldn't be my design, the final design actually looks really well pulled together, cohesive.

[00:27:59] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:59] Shari: Is part of what I put in my notes.

[00:28:01] Rhonda: This was a plain, unremarkable, 1950s version of a builder grade house. Right? That's what we would call it now. and they converted it with charm galore, right? Every 

[00:28:13] Shari: Yep. 

[00:28:13] Rhonda: had charm. 

[00:28:14] Shari: Yes. I totally agree, Rhonda, they really brought the character back into the house. And the other thing that surprised me is that I didn't look up the size of Laurel, Mississippi, but they talk about it always like it's a small town.

 So I think it's crazy that they find craftspeople who can do this kind of newfangled stuff, like wrapping the appliances. And have the machinery to do it. And it's so funny when Erin says like if she had that machine, she would be dangerous. Like everything would be wrapped. And I thought, oh, I totally can get that.

[00:28:45] Rhonda: Yes,

[00:28:46] Shari: it's amazing to me if you have this little town, like you happen to find people in there who bought this really expensive equipment to create it, to make the stuff that does the wrapping.

[00:28:56] Rhonda: Well, I mean, it might be the next town over too. What you're forgetting is where we live, you know, there's not a, a whole bunch of towns in the area, but where they live, you could go 360 degrees and there's, you know, plenty of other places that might, might be

[00:29:09] Shari: Oh, that's true.

[00:29:10] Rhonda: according to the internet.

Laurel, Mississippi has a population of 17,161

[00:29:17] Shari: that's a very small town.

[00:29:18] Rhonda: for us. It is for sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:21] Shari: I loved watching a real wallpaper installer at work as they make it look so easy, which as we've discussed before, very deceptive besties, very deceptive. If there were ever a video of me hanging wallpaper, you'd see what I'm talking about, sort of like I am.

[00:29:37] Rhonda: Fighting, wrestling a bear is what I call it,

[00:29:39] Shari: Yes.

[00:29:40] Rhonda: especially with high ceilings.

[00:29:42] Shari: this guy does it, and he's just like, ding, ding, ding. And I'm like, oh, I love you and hate you at the

[00:29:47] Rhonda: yeah, it's like watching a professional painter. If you're watch people who, you know, they don't tape anything off. They just get up there. they hold that brush like a master. Right. There's never a smudge, there's never any other clothes. I do it and I look like, I've been rolling in, rolling in paint, so,

[00:30:04] Shari: Now they actually, when they go to install the sink, it has these little pegs almost,

[00:30:10] Rhonda: That's perfect example of, oh God, nobody thought about this.

[00:30:14] Shari: No. And then Ben is like, no way are we taking it back outside. I could really relate to Ben. That thing looks so heavy and we're just gonna do it. We're just gonna cut those off. And they easily grind them off and then they seat the sink and then, they're done with it. But I just thought, oh yeah, I would take the dust in the house any day rather than having to try to drag that thing

[00:30:36] Rhonda: Yes. You forget how, exhausting that kind of work is, but I had to move all my house plants outside this week just

[00:30:43] Shari: Oh, that's right. Yeah,

[00:30:46] Rhonda: yeah, those, those, um. West Elm, you know, those little mid-century modern ones I like. So those things are heavy with a plant in it, you know. So anyway, uh, back to the episode, one thing I will criticize about Erin's design is there's really not much rest for the eye, When you look at those rooms, your eye is darting all over the place.

At all the interesting things, right? And it almost feels like if we put one more thing in that room, it's, it's gonna collapse, right? It's just gonna be too much. And we know there's gonna be more added to that room. You're gonna have mail and magazines and, bags from shopping.

And, so it just, I, that's my only criticism of it, is I, I wanna reduce it about 50%. Of just stuff, you know, just books, things that are really aren't relevant to the actual room. accessories. 

[00:31:36] Shari: but I do think that, rose loved it. It totally fit Rose's vibe and what she had been wanting.

[00:31:43] Rhonda: Me too. I would have the exact same response in there, 

[00:31:45] Shari: But it also has to be an amazing feeling when you've been waiting two years to move into your house.

[00:31:51] Rhonda: The relief, like we talked about with the Holmes, you know, the Mike Holmes issue. You know, it's like just that relief. Somebody took care of it. I didn't get ripped off. I'm not doomed, 

[00:32:00] Shari: Yes, 

[00:32:01] Rhonda: that money, 

[00:32:01] Shari: and I'll tell you what, the mid-century chairs on the front porch, I do have a love for mid-century modern,

and that nod, I didn't have to, I could look at 'em and see they're mid-century chairs

[00:32:13] Rhonda: no. I meant did you look, look 'em up to buy 'em?

[00:32:16] Shari: no, no, no, no, no, no. but I just felt like, and in that orange color, I don't know. There was something about it.

I just loved that. Like I think Erin hit that exactly right.

[00:32:29] Rhonda: Yeah. And you saying you liked an orange chair on a greenhouse with a painted floor is not usual.

[00:32:36] Shari: I know, I know.

[00:32:38] Rhonda: So see, see, besties, everybody can change

[00:32:41] Shari: That's right. Anyway, it definitely seemed like the journey was worth the wait for Rose.

[00:32:45] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:32:47] Shari: And the total renovation budget stayed at 150 K,

 which is a lot for a budget. But they did a lot of work.

A lot of work.

[00:32:56] Rhonda: got her money's worth, for sure.

[00:32:58] Shari: for sure did. Mm-hmm. 

Well, besties, that's a wrap on Hometown season nine, and Erin and Ben really said, everything's coming up roses. And quite literally it did.

[00:33:09] Rhonda: Rose Meyer finally got the retirement home she's dreamed of. It was a two year wait and, uh, she had a disappearing contractor. and for us there was more drywall footage than I think I ever needed to see in my life. But it's done. It's done.

[00:33:24] Shari: Yes, the kitchen was peak nostalgia really reminded me of my grandparents in their house. The wallpaper was giving fifties glam and that custom built in with the arch. I'm giving it a whole architectural hug.

[00:33:36] Rhonda: I am giving an applause. Yes, it was beautiful, but I've gotta say it. If I have to tilt my neck like a flamingo to see the TV from the couch, that's a miss,

[00:33:45] Shari: It would be a miss for

[00:33:46] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. We'll have to see how that works out for Rose.

[00:33:49] Shari: Still we're giving Erin a slow clap while Googling that floral wallpaper for bringing vintage charm back without making it feel dusty.

[00:33:59] Rhonda: Or ridiculous, right? That's a lot of it too. shout out to Mike, the flooring guy. Yay. Uh, he may not have demo day energy, but uh, Reddit has spoken clearly. A fan favorite.

[00:34:11] Shari: Oh, and for this week's special post, we're throwing it back. What's the one vintage feature yet? Keep in your dream home

[00:34:18] Rhonda: Hmm. Tub stove, maybe some retro pink tile. I

don't know. We wanna see it all. Bonus points if it's pink.

[00:34:28] Shari: As always, we have some apologies to make. I'm sorry, to fans of pink tile in the shower, high mounted televisions or color drenching on every wall.

 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 designingbesties.com. We're literally everywhere you listen to podcasts, so hit that follow like star or whatever button you're app throws at you. We're not picky. We're just needy.

 Well, until next time, besties. Bye.

[00:34:57] Rhonda: Bye. See you soon.