Kim and Andy's outdated kitchen has no flow, no function and no personality. But they're clueless on where to start a remodel or how to agree on a style. Enter our superstar team who will blend their modern and traditional tastes together to turn their kitchen disaster into a family-friendly Great Room. A new galley layout makes the kitchen feel much more spacious and opens it up to create a cozy dining area on one end, and a unique, deconstructed bar for entertaining on the other side.
When Karen and Wayne moved into their '50s ranch home, they inherited a kitchen with pink countertops, pink sink and even a pink oven. They also desperately need help in their living and dining room, where they've collected a hodgepodge of furniture and decor from their travels. HGTV is up for the challenge and will give the kitchen a sleek, new modern design with better function and flow. A large pass-through will open up the kitchen into the living room where an underlying Asian-inspired theme will unify the spaces into one warm, inviting Great Room.
Even though Monique's kitchen has plenty of room, it's also got plenty of ugly. From the cheap, laminate parquet tile on the floor to the drop-down ceiling, it all needs to go. HGTV is going to turn this run-down relic into a great entertaining space. It will be filled with bold, colorful features to match Monique's diva personality including a vibrant glass backsplash, a sculptural flower installation created by a local artist, and a custom-coved metallic ceiling with a refurbished glass chandelier.
With its concrete features, brick walls, and open floor plan, Heather and Tony's condo is the ideal space for a couple of free-spirited artists. But they're ready to move onto the next stage of their life and replace or update their cheap furniture bought on the internet, as well as find a home for all their artistic pieces. Since they're about to be married, Meg is going to start them off on their new life together by creating a more sophisticated and cohesive design throughout the loft, but still have it reflect their fun and funky side. A custom-built loft with wood pillars, a trip to an auction house, and a visit to a local glass artist will result in some of the unique furnishings that will create the Bohemian look they love.
Ari and Orly call their 1940s home half bungalow and half trailer park. The hardwood floors are beautiful and the interior is homey but the kitchen is a mess. They definitely need the help of Meg to create their dream kitchen. Since more space is needed, the kitchen will be opened up into the adjacent study. A grand center island, complete with a built-in banquette and game table, will make this an amazing Great Room for the whole family. The overall style will be an updated art deco design in a palette of black, white, and yellow with a few unexpected twists in the mix.
Mary Beth and Kevin are totally stumped when it comes to decorating their split-level home. Meg will start by using their love of nature as a springboard for a design that will bring personality and life into their space with nature-inspired pieces. She'll create a new focal point in the room with an amazing 12-foot indoor water feature and then add custom millwork pieces that include a bookshelf railing, a room divider, and a unique dining room table with a base inspired by tree rings. It will be a stunning new great room that has exactly the kind of wow factor the homeowners want.
Steve and Margo's kitchen, dining and living room are all in desperate need of a major facelift as nothing has really been updated since they moved into their Midwest suburban home nearly 20 years ago. Meg is going to create a gorgeous new great room where rustic meets modern. She'll create an atmosphere for entertaining that includes a large center island that comfortably seats eight with a concrete countertop custom built on site. The living room will have a beautiful backdrop of white quartz stacked stone panels accented with rustic shelving that Meg selects herself from a local sawmill. It will become a cozy lodge retreat where the entire extended family can entertain, relax, and enjoy.
Dana says the main room in her 1950's ranch home looks more like a basement than a living room. Meg is inspired by the architecture of the home and is going to bring in the mid-century modern style that Dana loves to create a Great Room that blends kid-friendly items with fabulous design elements. A unique art installation will float across the brick wall and the other side of the room will become a beautiful media and storage wall covered in gray washed oak panels. Bold color on the walls, furniture and accessories, as well as custom-designed room dividers will help create a pop art inspired effect. The whole style is one of movement and color and evokes a mid-century meets 60s mod kind of look.
Heather and Neil's family home has been passed down three generations but very little updating has been done to it over the past 70 years, leaving the kitchen in a sad and sorry state. So Meg is going to turn their very tiny kitchen into a beautiful and cozy new Great Room. The kitchen will be completely reconfigured and the new finishes will reflect the outdoorsy feeling the homeowners prefer. The dining room table will be repurposed from stainless steel elevator doors and Meg will hunt through an antique warehouse to find the perfect set of chairs to reupholster. For the living room, Meg will take the homeowners on their first ever shopping trip for furniture and then create a one-of-a-kind snowboard coffee table just for them.
Joel and Bryce love their loft home, but their kitchen is a complete 180 degrees from their personality. They have lots of big dreams for the space, but since Bryce likes vintage style and Joel prefers a modern look, they've been stuck on where to begin. Meg has a plan to merge their two styles and give them a kitchen makeover that will incorporate the open, modern floor plan while bringing in some classic pieces they both can appreciate. She'll add a bar area for entertaining that will feature a custom built wine wall and a unique countertop that looks like stainless steel but is actually made of cement. The new kitchen will be a warm, modern industrial space with lots of storage, pops of color, and plenty of character.
Michael and Katie's dream kitchen would be described as eclectic. They're both drawn to vintage items they find at local flea markets and they love to mix and match pieces in their home so that nothing looks too coordinated. To give them the unique style they want, Meg is going to take the classic farmhouse look and give it a contemporary twist. Their new kitchen will have plenty of color and character, with a mix of teal and cream cabinetry, a gorgeous glass island countertop that looks like the jadeite Katie loves to collect, and a stunning tile backsplash that has layers of blue, green, and white glass all fused together. Then Meg will take the adjoining sunroom and turn it into a charming French country breakfast nook. She'll open up the ceiling to expose the peaked roof, build a custom table with an interchangeable top and fill the space with fun, colorful fabrics.
Emilios and Nicky are a well-traveled, active couple with two young boys. Their kitchen is the stomping ground for all their family activities and unfortunately, the dumping ground for their junk. Their disorganized mudroom is attached to a kitchen that lacks style, comfort or function. Meg's plan includes a designated dining area with a colorful built-in banquette, storage that doubles as art and a new moveable island. Meg also uses a colorful blue glass backsplash as a nod to Emilios' Greek heritage while keeping Nicky's love of earth tones in check with dark cabinetry and custom-designed clay hardware.
Jenny and Kent Longardner have a classic case of design indecision. Their large, open living room is completely devoid of personality with only one lonely picture, hand-me-down furniture and an office recliner awkwardly making up the room. The problem is that they can't make up their minds about what to do, so they don't do a thing! Meg knows she can make this space the classy, comfortable living room they're looking for and starts by bringing in architectural detail like crown molding and a chair rail. A custom fit built-in provides storage, a blast of color and a fun passageway that you'll miss if you're not clued in. To top it off, a large photo collage and vintage tiki bar makes this space chock full of personality and a great space to entertain.
Twenty-something's Brett and Deanna wanted to be closer to work and family so they moved from the city to one of Chicago's northern suburbs. Since they're just starting out they've had to furnish their new home with a sparse collection of hand-me-down furniture that doesn't really reflect their style. So Meg is going to create a hipper, more contemporary home for them by tearing down the wall between their two smaller living spaces and creating one large great room. Meg will divide the room into three areas for relaxing and entertaining through the use of various wall treatments, seating arrangements and area rugs. Custom pieces like an artistic sculptural wood wall, a do-it-yourself stenciled rug, and a unique puzzle motif painted on their old game table will bring in lots of personality and style to the room. The overall design will be sophisticated and elegant but still have lots of fun, eclectic, elements for these young homeowners.
Ron and Geri love living just south of downtown Chicago. And even after adding two children to their lives, they are committed to staying in the city and not running to the suburbs in search of space. Instead, they just want to make their home function better for their growing family. Meg loves the idea of helping their lifestyle work within the confines of the city and has plenty of solutions to help. First, she opens up their kitchen space so the family room is more communal and adds an island overhang for casual dining space. She also takes into consideration Ron's wish list that includes a large sectional and awesome new flat screen TV. But, Meg steers clear of the man cave feel by balancing those amenities with a new built-in with lots of storage and pocket doors that can close off the television. When this makeover is finished, Meg's sure they won't need to or even want to leave this house or the city any time soon.
Even though Alyssa and Robert have a fantastic view that showcases the city, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, the inside of their condo is looking pretty sad and rundown. They live in the Marina City towers, which are the famous corncob shaped buildings in the heart of the city that were built in the 1960's. Each unit in the building is shaped like a pie wedge and has no right angles in any of the rooms so it presents a unique design challenge. Meg's plan is to take down as many walls as she can to really open up the space and direct the eye to the incredible view. With modern decor and furnishings that reflect both Robert and Alyssa's tastes as well as the unique architecture of the building, Meg will create a retro-inspired great room that takes full advantage of the gorgeous Chicago skyline.
Matt and Katie bypassed Chicago's suburbs and went straight for the small, historic town of Lemont, about 30 miles southwest of the city. They even bought one of the oldest homes in town which is a three-bedroom corner lot built in 1890 with original decorative metal ceilings wrapping through the kitchen. The history of Lemont and the beautiful landscape were an easy sell for Matt and Katie, and they want to make sure they emulate that feel in their home. Meg has a hunch those metal ceilings exist throughout their now bland living and dining room too. She wants to capitalize on the original tin ceilings, while also opening up the existing archway between the rooms. Meg tags Matt and Katie's style as classic right away, so adding details like wainscoting, along with pieces like a mid-century console and hutch will help give them storage with style. A breathtaking landscape mural across their dining room walls, along with a hanging terrarium light fixture above a custom-built farm table, make it feel like the stately home it was back at the turn of the century.
Meg has been so busy designing for other clients that she has had little time to focus on her own place which she describes as a big white box filled with hand-me-down furniture. She recently tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend, Randy, so she would like to create a cozy, new home for the both of them. At the of top of Randy's wish list is a big, comfy sectional. It's not Meg's first choice but she's willing to compromise. She'd also love to hide some of the clutter in the bookshelves, get a small dining table so they no longer have to eat on the couch, and overall bring in a lot more color infused with the Palm Beach Chic style that she loves. There's a large patio right off of the living room and it affords Meg the opportunity to extend their great room to the outdoors and bring in some southern beach style for Randy. The end result will be a big, bold, colorful, indoor and outdoor retreat that's overflowing with style and personality.