Before and After: HGTV’s “Married to Real Estate” Creates a Beautiful and Functional Home Office From a Previously Underused Space
After several years of living in an apartment, Mark and Rebecca were eager to move into a house near their daughter’s school in the Dunwoody, Georgia area. Fortunately, husband-and-wife real estate and renovation duo Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson were able to find the family of three a fixer upper within their price range. In the Season 2 premiere of HGTV’s “Married to Real Estate,” Egypt and Mike gave the dated house a modern makeover, including an office and dining room transformation.
Mark and Rebecca shared that they were big entertainers and that Mark needed a space to work from home, so an excellent dining room and office were a must in the renovation. The couple were interested in crafting a space that would fit into a “refined, modern farmhouse” without going too far backwards in time. Egypt’s goal was to mix “a little bit of history with a little bit of modern.”
The office was originally just a front room in the house and served as a spare lounge space. It had light walls, dark wooden floors, an old couch, a TV, a couple of pieces of outdated and mismatched wooden furniture. The room had some good natural light, thanks to three windows, but it otherwise lacked character and depth.
Mike and Egypt opted to begin the transformation by adding in a murphy closet space, hidden by four bookshelves. The shelves and closet opened into an ensuite for additional bathroom access. “It marries, again, design and function into the space,” Egypt explained. “I’m always trying to figure out how to make a room multipurpose.” The new light wooden flooring and white walls meant that Mike and Egypt could get bold with their accent colors, so they painted the trim and bookshelves Essex Green. They brought in accessories for the shelves, a wooden desk, two white chairs, a new rug, and hung two pieces of artwork to help make the space feel more personalized.
The original dining room was already in good shape and only needed new flooring, furniture, and a brief structural update. The team created a half-wall between the dining area and the casual conversational seating space that was broken up by open wooden shelving. It allowed for a better flow throughout the entire home and for additional natural light to stream into the dining area. “I actually like the way it gives you a little bit of privacy, but it’s not blocked off as you can see through,” Mark said. Mike, Egypt, and their team filled the shelves with decorations and added a wooden structure and two mirrors for additional depth.
The space received the same new light wooden flooring and window shades as the office, in addition to a white table and flour black chairs. They also replaced the single overhead light with a five-bulb, yellow-brass light fixture. “Just the light and the airiness and how open it is… it’s just absolutely gorgeous,” Rebecca said. “It’s exactly what we were hoping [for].”
“Married to Real Estate” airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV.