See How Home Town’s Ben and Erin Napier Put a Southern Spin on This 1980s Time Capsule

After Ben and Erin Napier got their hands on Tiffany and Jonathan’s new family home, the result was truly breathtaking. Curb appeal got a major boost, thanks to a second floor balcony built over the front door, new cheerful awnings in a blue and white stripe (a theme we’ll see more of) and gas lanterns flanking the front door that have us crooning, “Well isn’t that just darling?” But believe us when we tell you, it didn’t always look like this…

Read: Home Town’s Ben and Erin Napier Tackle an Airstream Reno That’s Cuter Than Most People’s Homes

When Tiffany and Jonathan toured The Brooks House, they had a few immediate red flags, namely the gloomy exterior. They knew they needed more space after inheriting a petite, three-bedroom home from Tiffany’s mother who’d recently passed away, but Erin and Ben wanted the young family to feel like they were getting a fresh start on a positive note, and nothing about this exterior felt uplifting.

Read: 12 Curb Appeal Improvements Guaranteed to Increase the Value of Your Home

Erin touched on Tiffany’s love for blue and white throughout the home, starting in the entryway. The colour combination is elegant, yet still playful, and indicative of the family taking over the old Brooks House: young and eager for a fresh start! And while Erin and Ben typically prefer working on older homes, they found the former Brooks House to have lots of surprising touches for an ’80s design, like the regal wainscoting and traditional spindles running up the stairs.

Watch: Erin Napier on how to make DIY rosemary scented candles.

The kitchen felt oppressive with its heavy brick, awkward layout and drab colour scheme, but Erin and Ben had big plans for what would eventually become the heart of the home. The square island (that Ben could hardly fit around) was removed and replaced with a rectangle island in a more functional placement. The brick remained, but an updated colour scheme made for a dramatic transformation. It’s hard to believe it’s the same 1980s kitchen!

Can you believe this is the same kitchen? A quick coat of blue paint totally transformed the dated wood cabinets, but it’s Erin’s statement backsplash in cream and blue tile that really commands attention. To ensure it all felt cohesive with the big brick wall, Erin chose a terracotta grout for the tile that offers a subtle tie in with the red brick. Jonathan was quick to pick up on it, which no doubt pleased the detail oriented designer.

Go behind-the-scenes of this home renovation to see Erin Napier’s design process in the latest episode of Erin’spired.

Tiffany might have had a great deal of sentimental attachment to the home she inherited from her mother, but she and Jonathan had to come to terms with the fact that it would always be a small home, even with Ben’s remodel. When Tiffany saw the space they could have if they bought The Brooks House, complete with six bedrooms, four and a half baths, spacious living spaces, and exciting extras like this breakfast nook, she knew in her heart it was what her mother would have wanted for her. The newly renovated house is primed for a growing family to make new memories in.

There’s nothing family-friendly about this family room! From the sad floor tiles to the weird closets, Erin knew this space would need her stamp of approval before it was ready for Tiffany, Jonathan and their daughter to move in. She set about reconfiguring the closet to serve as a built-in dining hutch on the other side of the wall, and got to work replacing the tiles. Tiffany loved the hardwood floors in other areas of the home, so Erin found a floor to match perfectly.

Once again, thanks to Erin’s styling, an oversized brick feature now feels cozy and inviting. A fresh coat of paint on the walls and ceiling really opened the space up, but it’s Erin’s blue built-ins that immediately captured everyone’s eyes! Her creative use of this colour in small doses all throughout the house provide cohesion, without it feeling overdone. It’s the same way Erin and Ben so perfectly mix old and new, like the butcher block kitchen island that was converted into a new coffee table!

The new wood floors made all the difference in this family room. Without them, the space was pretty depressing, but now, it looks as though they were original. The key to achieving that was selecting a floor that was slightly more traditional, in line with the overall style of the home. Anything in a grey or super modern light wood would have been jarring in this time-honoured ’80s home.

Read: Home Town’s Ben and Erin Napier Risk It All on a $65,000 Blush Pink Craftsman Bungalow

Erin knew she could take design risks with Tiffany and Jonathan’s new family home. The couple wasn’t afraid of colour (or wallpaper, for that matter) so Erin leaned in, and reaped the rewards! The young couple loved the “bold and crazy” floral wallpaper in the dining room (and we love how perfect Tiffany looks standing beside it, in her blue floral dress!). Jonathan loved the unique touches to the home, like the custom built-in Ben and Erin created out of a vintage hutch, made to fit perfectly in the wall. It’s these little, thoughtful touches that transform the houses Ben and Erin Napier work on into well loved homes.

Want more? Watch our reveal video for more details and inspiration.