Ever wonder what members of New Kids on the Block have been up to lately? Turns out, former boy band heartthrob Jonathan Knight has been cavorting with horses and renovating farmhouses!
Knight’s home improvement skills are now on full display in a new HGTV show, “Farmhouse Fixer,” which premiered in March. And on the latest episode, “The Horse Farmhouse,” Knight and interior designer Kristina Crestin team up to help Corine and Michael, who own a Massachusetts home and horse stable that’s definitely seen better days.
“This house has just been not loved for so long, and now you have trees growing in your gutters,” Knight points out.
Knight and Crestin want to make the house feel new again, but don’t want to renovate the history out of the home. They’re given a $200,000 budget to update this old farmhouse without making it feel too modern.
Here’s how this not-so-New Kid on the Block and his design partner rock their latest renovation, which might inspire some upgrades around your own abode, too (plus some nostalgic NKOTB replays of “Hangin’ Tough” and other hits. Enjoy!).
Add a worktable instead of an island
HGTV
Corine tells Knight and Crestin that she wants her kitchen to have an English farmhouse vibe, and right away, Crestin knows how to do it.
She explains that there’s one big difference between American farmhouse kitchens and European ones: the storage.
“I find, in design, here in America we’re fixated on more storage, more storage, more storage,” Crestin says. “But Corine told us she wants a European or an old English farmhouse kitchen. So in almost every English kitchen, you see worktables, and this will visually tell your brain, ‘Oh this is a little bit different.’”
HGTV
So Knight and Crestin build a huge, 14-foot-long surface that feels more like a worktable than a typical island. It gives the kitchen a hint of that signature European style. Plus, it gives Corine and Michael lots and lots of place to prepare meals.
Fill an empty kitchen wall with a functional pot rack
HGTV
While the worktable makes a big difference in this kitchen, Knight and Crestin don’t stop there. They add a rack that will hold a collection of copper pans.
When finished, the rack looks great. It makes for a convenient way to store cookware, plus it fills an otherwise empty wall, making the kitchen feel extra homey.
Brick flooring looks great in a sunroom
HGTV
When Knight and Crestin first tour the house, they’re unimpressed with the sunroom. The space has lots of beautiful natural light, but strangely it still feels unwelcoming. The room is simply too big and too plain.
Knight and Crestin decide that one of the biggest problems is the painted floor, so they add brick flooring to warm up the space and give it some texture.
“The brick on the floor in the sunroom is going to really warm up what would otherwise be a very airy and wide-open room,” Knight says.
HGTV
New Kids on the Block Star Jonathan Knight Renovates Farmhouses Now—Take a Look appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.