While some home renovators tear a house down to the ground during a remodel, Jenn Todryk, host of HGTV’s “No Demo Remo,” is all about transforming homes without moving walls, altering structures, or doing other major demolition. Instead, she uses design and creativity to help homeowners create the home of their dreams with the house they already have. And the results are always anything but ordinary. One notable project that showcases Todryk’s talent comes from Season 3, Episode 11 of the show. For her “No Demo Reno” clients Carson and Sharon, Todryk shows how much of a difference small improvements can make in their dining room. Todryk spruces up an existing wooden built-in closet with a fresh coat of paint, new doors and drawer fronts, new hardware, and some modern decor inside. As a result, the old built-in closet is virtually unrecognizable.
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Todryk’s quick and easy renovation proves that you can have a modern closet you’ve been dying to have for your space without spending hundreds of dollars on removing your existing built-in cabinetry and buying a new one. Angi estimates that removing a built-in cabinetry can cost an average of $500, but reports that buying a new built-in cabinetry typically costs ten times that, or $5,000. So if you have an old built-in cabinet in your home, Todryk’s “No Demo Reno” is a money-saving upgrade you may want to consider. Below, we analyze the HGTV designer’s closet upgrade and offer tips on how to implement it in your own home.
How Jenn Todryk breathes new life into an old built-in barn
To spruce up her “No Demo Reno” client’s existing built-in dining room cabinet, Jenn Todryk repainted the rustic wood cabinet’s exterior and interior shelves a fresh creamy white that matched her client’s walls and coordinated with her traditional, yet organic and neutral interior decor. The doors and drawers were replaced with new white doors with sleek, modern gold hardware. And each of the four shelves was adorned with modern, organic decor like pottery, candlesticks, a faux plant, and books with stylish bookends—a must-have for book lovers that Jenn Todryk often uses in her designs.
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Todryk’s client Sharon didn’t even recognize the cabinet at first glance. “Is that the old one?” she asked. To which Todryk replied, “Yeah, we just removed the old doors that made us look really old.” The resulting cabinet looks brand new and matches the rest of Todryk’s earthy, neutral design. Similar white cabinets with gold hardware are used throughout the house. And the new kitchen cabinet and cabinets in a dark natural wood tone mirror the door design and gold hardware of the living room cabinet. The decision to use white for the dining room cabinet brings light to the space, which already contains a lot of dark wood. If you’re hoping to create a similar high-quality display cabinet on a budget using an old built-in china cabinet or cupboard, Jenn Todryk’s update is simple, affordable, and easy to steal.
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How to steal Jenn Todryk’s integrated update on a budget
To recreate this built-in “no demo reno” update at home, you don’t need much. A fresh coat of paint in the color of your choice, some modern decor, and new doors and hardware are on the shopping list. However, if your cabinet is an antique and matching doors and drawer fronts are expensive or hard to find, or you want to save money on new doors, you can always repaint your old doors and install new hardware instead. We recommend disassembling the doors, removing old hardware, wiping down all surfaces, and lightly sanding the entire piece. If you plan to keep and reuse your doors and drawer fronts, sand those down as well.
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After you’ve taped off the glass on the doors, you can begin priming and painting. Just like Todryk does for various “no demo reno” clients – make your built-in cabinet look like a permanent, intentional part of the room by painting it the same color you use for your walls. When you’re done, add new hardware to your doors and drawer fronts and reattach them to the built-in cabinet. To decorate on the cheap, look for organic ceramics, bookends, books, candlesticks, and bowls to decorate each shelf like Todryk does. Since she loves decorating homes on a budget, many of her favorite decor items cost less than $50. Likewise, you don’t have to break the bank to find quality decor. Instead, look for bargains and discounts on stylish built-in decor.
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