8 ‘Fixer Upper’ Homes You Can Actually Rent

Arguably the most non-traditional home that Chip and Joanna have ever tackled is this project – dubbed the “Barndominium” by Chip – that converted an old barn with a 1,000-square-foot attic apartment, hay storage and horse stalls into a 2,700-square-foot, modern masterpiece.

Available at Homeaway.com at a rate of $1,200/night, the Barndominium can sleep 20, and boasts five Bedrooms, a “Grand Dining Hall” (pictured, described as being able to “seat an army), a sitting area/den, “trendy” kitchen and more.

According to a recent review (October 2016), the Bardominium certainly lived up to expectations. “The Barndamonium is everything we had hoped,” reads the review. “Beautiful architecture, farmhouse design, soft textiles. The bedrooms were great.”

This ranch-style home – which was dubbed the “chicken house” – received an updated exterior to revive the dated look, extending the front porch and adding white wooden railings.

Joanna admits the kitchen is her favourite part of the renovated three-bedroom home, which sleeps seven and is available to rent on Airbnb for $271 per night.

Originally built in 1949, the home received a lot of cosmetic upgrades. The formal dining room pictured here, for example, involved taking down dated floor-to-ceiling wallpaper, so Chip and Joanna “incorporated the existing shiplap walls to give clean lines and a fresh, light feel in this space,” says Joanna.

This renovation was particularly unique, writes Joanna in her blog, since the home belonged to Magnolia carpenter Clint and his wife Kelly. As renovations go, this one was no walk in the park. “When we walked into the house for the first time we could tell the house had a rough history, but we wanted to bring new life into the space,” explains Joanna. “It had been abandoned for several years and was filled with trash, dilapidated floors and walls, and even rats. Clint and Kelly wanted to see this fixer upper restored in hopes of seeing the whole neighbourhood come back to life.”

Available on Airbnb at a rate of $765 per night, this five-bedroom home can sleep 12, making it “perfect for couples, families, big groups and retreats,”

Nowhere in the house is the Magnolia feel more evident than in the kitchen, with its clean white cabinetry, gleaming countertops and exposed wood beams. As Joanna explains, Clint actually built the kitchen island himself.

When Chip and Joanna first got of a glimpse of this 1930 home back in 2015, it was “old, dilapidated, filthy, falling apart, and most of all, uninhabitable,” she writes. “After years of neglect, it became a den for hoarders.” The magnificent reno formed the basis of the very first episode of ‘Fixer Upper’, in fact.

Following the extensive renovation to return the 2,800-square-foot home to its former glory, the five-bedroom, 4.5-bath home is now available to rent for $321per night, and can easily accommodate “up to three families or about 12 guests comfortably,” reads the Homeaway listing.

Chip and Joanna’s goal was to create a functional home while “maintaining the original character and charm,” which is certainly evident in this modern kitchen that has retained its heritage appeal.

Rundown and dilapidated when Chip and Joanna began their renos, this mid-century modern home underwent a dramatic transformation. which included an exterior overhaul and creating more space within.

Available to rent on Homeaway and Airbnb for $300 per night, the three-bedroom, two-bath home now boasts “property features a stunning view of the woods, a pergola covered patio with grill, an open floor plan, a a beautiful state-of-the-art kitchen,” reads the listing. “With its new cedar siding, this ‘mountain’ modern is sure to offer the perfect dose of ‘zen’ that you might be needing.”

Modern homes, explains Joanna, are actually quite the rarity in Waco, and she and Chip took extra care to blend the home’s modern characteristics with a more easygoing eclectic style.

This Waco home – nicknamed the School House by Joanna – had “good bones, spacious floor plan and its big backyard. All it needed was a little character and updating.” To that end, the reno included tearing down a wall to open up the front of the house to the rear to create a large, open space incorporating the living room, dining room and kitchen.

Available for $396 per night, this four-bedroom home can easily accomodate seven, described as a home that’s an ideal retreat and perfect for entertaining.

The kitchen in this home was one of my favourite rooms in the house,” writes Joanna in her blog. “I used classic subway tile, but to mix in [client] Sara’s eclectic style, I added teal lower cabinets. To add texture, we took the subway tile all the way to the ceiling, and some open shelving for a coffee bar and storage.

This 720-square-foot shotgun-style house presented a big design challenge for Chip and Joanna – while an even bigger challenge was that this historic home (one of only two shotguns in Waco) had to be moved to different property.

While it may be cozy, the Shotgun House never seems anything less than spacious inside, and rents for $452 per night on Airbnb. Since the living space is the first thing you see upon entering, the ‘Fixer Upper’ couple wanted to make an immediate statement. “We installed wood floors and beautiful floor length windows, this space didn’t feel cramped in the least,” Joanna writes. “We removed the wall that separated the living to the bedroom and converted this existing bedroom into the kitchen.”

Since the home’s size demanded that the kitchen also double as the eating area, “I designed the largest island that would fit in this space to double as bar seating,” adds Joanna. “I made sure there were as many lower cabinets as would possibly fit for ample kitchen storage, but ultimately decided on open shelving rather than uppers, so the area would look as open and roomy as possible. The clients loved the idea of a retro style refrigerator so I chose a colour that I thought would accent the rest of the space.

Originally built in the 1900s, Chip and Joanna transformed what was a “dilapidated outdated house” back to life in an extensive renovation chronicled in the first season of “Fixer Upper”.

The charming heritage touches were left intact while updates galore have made the three-bedroom home a popular rental on Airbnb, where it lists for $348 per night.

One of the most impressive features of the renovated home is the abundance of natural light that pours through the windows. “From sunrise to sunset,” reads the Airbnb listing, “there is a wonderful natural light that makes one feel like you are outdoors.”