Christina Hall might know a whole lot about renovating a house, but the latest episode of her new show, “Christina in the Country,” reveals she still has some major blind spots now that she’s moved to Tennessee.
In the episode “Some Like It Hot,” she meets Tom and Terese, who recently relocated from California. They want Hall to put together a stunning new kitchen and bathroom, with an $85,000 renovation budget.
See how Hall’s project unfolds—and the major stumbling block she encounters that forces her to put half of this renovation on hold. Let this serve as a reminder that remodeling in the country can be a whole different ballgame–and even accomplished designers will need to learn new things!
Rural homes may have a septic tank instead of sewage hookups
Christina Hall cringes at a poorly laid-out bathroom.
HGTV
Hall has big plans to expand the primary bathroom—until her contractor Josh Berry tells Hall that this isn’t going to be as easy as she thinks.
“Because of what we want to do and move around, we have to go through the septic department,” he tells her. “And that’s through the county, and we’re out in the country, that makes it tough. So that’s going to take potentially six to eight months.”
Hall is dumbfounded.
“Wait, what’s happening? They have to go through a septic?” she asks, clearly not understanding the concept.
“They’re not on a city sewer,” Berry explains. “They literally have a tank in their backyard, and that’s where all their waste goes.”
Furthermore, he adds, “We’ve got to get a soil scientist out here.”
Soft-close cabinets are a must
Essential soft-close cabinets
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Once Hall moves on to renovating the kitchen, she is back in her element. Tom tells Hall that soft-close cabinets are essential in their new kitchen, as he slams a door.
Hall jumps at the sound.
“I do not like hard-close cabinets either,” she says.
These days, no modern kitchen is complete without cabinets that gently and quietly close.
The cook’s triangle is essential
The refrigerator, sink, and stove arranged in the cook’s triangle
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“What would you want in your dream kitchen?” Hall asks the couple. Terese has a very specific idea in mind.
“I’d love to have the cook’s triangle, where you have the stove and the sink and the fridge all within a very small space,” she says. “It just makes everything very efficient.”
“Totally,” Hall agrees. “I’m not a super good cook, but I don’t like wandering around the kitchen to find anything.”
She promises she’ll put the sink, refrigerator, and stove near one another in a triangular pattern, so cooking will be easier and not require extra steps.
Granite’s out, quartz is in
Old granite countertops
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The days when real estate listings would proudly proclaim “Granite countertops!” are all but over.
When Tom and Terese make a wish list for their new kitchen, Tom says he understands that granite is not the thing anymore, and would like to replace the granite countertops with quartz.
Hall is all in for that, suggesting white quartz with a blue-gray vein, which is perfect for making the kitchen look light, bright, and up to date.
Trendy white quartz countertops
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Cancel the columns
Doric columns
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Remember when those Doric columns were the epitome of elegance? Yeah, well, not so much anymore.
Hall suggests that just removing the tall, white columns from the two entries to the kitchen will open the space up considerably. They’re only decorative, after all.
Tom and Terese are all for it. They’re also redoing the flooring underneath the columns, so the footprint won’t be a problem.
Kitchen opening without the columns
HGTV
How does Christina Hall’s latest country renovation turn out?
Since it’s going to take six to eight months to get the septic approval, Tom and Terese decided to go ahead with the kitchen renovation and wait on the bathroom.
Thankfully, in the kitchen, Hall confidently knocks it out of the park.
“I can’t believe it’s my kitchen!” exclaims Terese.
“Our kitchen!” corrects Tom playfully.
“It has a very farmhouse, country, slightly coastal feel,” says Hall with satisfaction.
“Christina took it to the next level,” concludes Tom.
Hall says she’ll be back to fix the bathroom when the time is right.
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